March 31, 2009

Media Release: JT To Be Featured on A Word on Words

J.T. ELLISON, BESTSELLING AUTHOR, TO BE FEATURED ON NPT’S “A WORD ON WORDS” WITH JOHN SEIGENTHALER

The Show Will Air on Sunday, April 5, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. on WNPT-TV 8

JUDAS KISS Spends 4 Weeks on DAVIS–KIDD Bookstores’ Bestseller List


NASHVILLE, TN—March 31, 2009—J.T. Ellison, Nashville resident and Bestselling, Acclaimed Author, will be the featured author on NPT’s A Word On Words, on Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. CST on local TV channel 8, WNPT. A Word on Words is hosted by Nashville's renowned editor and First Amendment advocate, John Seigenthaler who interviews the authors on their writing styles, ideas, philosophies as well as their published works.

Seigenthaler on the NPT website, states that "Through A Word on Words, I hope to be able to 'get to' authors and to afford them a larger opportunity to 'get to' us." A Word on Words, one of NPT's signature programs, has been celebrating authors, literature and ideas for close to three decades.

After the airing, the interview will be available for download and/or podcast on www.wnpt.org/productions/wow/

In a recent review of JUDAS KISS, The Strand Magazine’s Steven Steinbock states “With a heartbreaking opening and a heart-stopping conclusion, J.T. Ellison's third novel is at times disturbing, at times titillating, and from start to finish a fast-paced pleasure to read.”

In addition, as of Sunday, March 29, 2009, JUDAS KISS has spent four (4) weeks on the Davis-Kidd Bookstores’ Bestseller list. JUDAS KISS is the third novel in the critically acclaimed Taylor Jackson series that includes ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS, 14, and the forthcoming EDGE OF BLACK.

For book tour dates and locations, please visit www.jtellison.com/tour

All of the books are also available for download at http://www.ebooks.eharlequin.com/. In addition, ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS and 14 have been translated and released in France as well as released in Australia and New Zealand.

MEDIA CONTACT: Kim Dettwiller, Team Strategies, 615-321-4073, kimdet@comcast.net

March 26, 2009

The Strand Magazine Review of JUDAS KISS

by Steven Steinbock

With a heartbreaking opening and a heart-stopping conclusion, J.T. Ellison's third novel is at times disturbing, at times titillating, and from start to finish a fast-paced pleasure to read. Like her previous two novels-All the Pretty Girls (2007) and 14 (2008)-Judas Kiss features Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler John Baldwin.

The main plot of the novel centers around the murder of Corinne Wolff, a pretty young housewife with an eighteen-month old daughter and another child on the way. Corinne's sister arrives at the suburban home to pick up her sister for a tennis date and finds her beaten to death with her toddler crawling through the blood. The victim's husband is the first suspect. Despite claims of being out of town at the time, his story doesn't seem to hold up. Soon an intricate web of deceit, distrust, and pornography rises to the surface.

The novel is as much about the heroine, Taylor Jackson, as it is about her case. In fact, there are almost too many sub-plots to keep track of. Taylor's lover, agent Baldwin, is involved in an operation that brings sadistic revenge home to Nashville; someone is stalking and threatening Taylor; a video of Taylor with a prior lover appears on the Internet; someone is making sex-videos using hidden cameras; and, possibly unrelated, the dead Corinne Wolff and /or her husband have a pornography studio in their basement.

Specializing in contemporary new voices like Alex Kava, Debbie Macomber, Michelle Gagnon, Heather Graham, and Kate Wilhelm, Mira Books promotes itself as the publisher of "the brightest stars in women's fiction." And Ellison's writing does have the qualities that will appeal to lovers of romantic suspense. She is effective at dimming the lights to create plenty of steamy romance between Taylor and Baldwin, yet her writing is never tawdry and will appeal to thriller-readers of either gender.

The multiple subplots don't stop Ellison from weaving a tight and powerful story. Judas Kiss moves at a rapid-fire rate, its four hundred pages rushing like adrenalin through the bloodstream. As the novel comes to a close, nearly all the subplots are neatly tied up. Ellison leaves a few elements unresolved, giving readers something to look forward to in Edge of Black, the fourth book in the series, due out in September 2009.

March 19, 2009

Reading and Watching

Hi there!

Just home from a mini-vacation that afforded me some time to read some excellent debut novels that I must recommend and watch a couple of great movies. It was a lovely week, though scattered with work that I just couldn't get away from. Alas and alack.

Books

WEIGHT OF SILENCE - Heather Gudenkauf

A brilliant, nuanced examination of a small town - Jodi Picoult, eat your heart out. Gudenkauf has a lyrical voice, shifting effortlessly through first person narrative from a variety of characters, including the focus of the novel, a little girl named Callie who is a selective mute. I met Heather a couple of months ago, and she described the book to me thusly: "Two girls go into the woods, and only one comes out. And she can't talk." I can't rave enough about this book - it's just fantastic. It will be published August 1, 2009. I recommend pre-ordering right now!

EVEN - Andrew Grant

Another incredibly well done debut, Grant's main character, David Trevellyan, has been billed as the James Bond of our time. Those are big shoes to fill, and Trevellyan pulls it off - sharp, smart-ass, devious and honorable, he's a new hero for us all. Fans of Lee Child (Grant is his younger brother) will LOVE this book.

THE MASQUE OF THE BLACK TULIP - Lauren Willig

Willig has a delightful series of books that starts with THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE PINK CARNATION. This is the second in the series, and Willig has such a comfortable style that it's easy to fall right in. Here's the jacket description:
"Harvard grad student Eloise Kelly achieved the academic coup of the century when she unmasked the spy who saved England from Napoleon. But now she has a million questions about the Pink Carnation's deadly French nemesis, the Black Tulip. And she's pretty sure that her handsome onagain, off-again crush, Colin Selwick, has the answers somewhere in his archives. But what she discovers in an old codebook is something juicier than she ever imagined."

Movies

Bangkok Dangerous
I'm a big Nicholas Cage fan, and he doesn't disappoint in this wild thriller. I was a bit put off by the ending, it seemed much too convenient, but some great fight scenes.

Charlie Bartlett
Very silly, cute movie about a kid doing anything he can to fit in. Teen angst at it's capitalist best.

Watchmen
Definitely worth the price of admission. I've never read the graphic novel, but loved the character development.

March 09, 2009

Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes....

I thought it might be time for a few changes, so I'm going to start using this space to add in some of my own thoughts, what I'm reading, contest announcements, and the like. I'll post my blogs from Murderati, but I'll also fill in with thoughts and musings as they come. I'm looking into a discussion board so you can have a place to go chat about the books, and will be redesigning the website accordingly. Besides, it's almost time to debut the cover art for EDGE OF BLACK, which means a new look is needed.

What I'm Reading...

I've been devouring the Diana Gabaldon OUTLANDER series as I put the finishing touches on THE IMMORTALS, book five in the Taylor Jackson series. I'm nearly finished with THE FIERY CROSS - full disclosure, I've read these books numerous times, so many that my copy of DRUMS OF AUTUMN completely disintegrated on me, and hubby had to run to the store for a new copy before I completely disintegrated. They are my comfort reads, along with the Harry Potter books and my favorite writer of all time, John Connolly.

What I'm Watching...


The Wire (Season Three) I've been entranced with this show from the beginning, but it lost me a bit during Season Two when they moved to the docks. I was happy to see them get back to Stringer Bell. If you haven't seen THE WIRE, you're missing out.