J.T. Ellison
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison
Author of A VERY BAD THING
From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has―and everyone she knows.
A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder.
With a number of hit titles and a highly anticipated movie tie-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood.
Columbia’s death shocks the world and leaves Darian, her daughter and publicist, reeling. The police have nothing to go on―at first. But then details emerge, pointing to the author’s illicit past. Turns out many people had motive to kill Columbia. And with a hungry reporter and frustrated cop on the trail, her secrets won’t stay buried long. But how many lives will they shatter as the truth comes out?
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison
Author I draw inspiration from:
I stop the clocks when Diana Gabaldon has a new release. The intricacies of maintaining a huge historical series over thirty years is beyond inspiring. I've read Outlander too many times to count. The same with Daniel Silva. His Gabriel Allon series blows me away.
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
My back porch during a rainstorm, with the cat in my lap. Second up, by the fire in my living room, with the cat in my lap.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
The second Mrs. de Winter. Gosh I'd like to know her name.
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
When I read Alfred, Lord Tennyson's short poem THE EAGLE, I was very very young, and I understood metaphor for the first time. "He clasps the crag with crooked hands ..." We had eagles and hawks in my backyard. I could see what he meant. That words could be manipulated in such a way to describe both glorious and simple things... that was the moment I knew.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
It just depends on my mood, and what room I'm in. Digital before bed and on trips, hardcover for research, trade paper for fun reading. I like them all!
The last book I read:
I've just finished a novel called A KILLING COLD by Kate Alice Marshall. It was a robust mystery with all sorts great gothic elements. Lots of fun.
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Both. I tend to write on the computer primarily, because my brain moves faster than my handwriting allows, but I keep several notebooks--one for day to day thoughts and planning, one for the book, and love the sensation of pen or pencil moving across excellent paper. I must have a B5 size, though. Anything smaller and it's too cramped, bigger and it doesn't fit into my bag.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Violet Sorrengail, hands down. We both have Ehlers Danlos, and she could teach me to ride dragons. I am in!
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
An architect or a professional golfer.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I like the old-school classic Hollywood look, so Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn would be my favorites. Pants. Loafers. Tailored jackets. Black turtlenecks.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I love Scotland with unbridled passion. It has a wildness to it, the land so completely untamed, that frees my soul.
My signature drink:
I rarely drink, but if I do, it's a fine single-malt Scotch. Oban or Dalmore or Laphroaig, preferably. The rest of the time, I enjoy a lot of tea. English Breakfast, mostly, but the occasional Earl Grey for variety.
Favorite artist:
Mark Rothko is a huge favorite. His rather bleak but fascinating quote from Conversations with Artists graces my epigraph: "I'm interested only in expressing basic human emotions--tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on." This is why I do what I do as well, so it's not surprising that I'm attracted to his color block work.
Number one on my bucket list:
Living overseas for a year. We keep threatening to do it, and one day... a small French château, perhaps, would work. With plenty of room for writer friends to come visit.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thanks so much for having me!
Find more from the author:
www.instagram.com/thrillerchick
www.twitter.com/thrillerchick
www.facebook.com/jtellison14
www.jtellison.com
About J.T. Ellison:
Author Interview - J.T. Ellison
J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. She also writes urban fantasy under the pen name Joss Walker.
With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim and prestigious awards. Her titles have been optioned for television and published in twenty-eight countries.
J.T. lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens, one of whom is a ghost, where she is hard at work on her next novel.
Visit the blog for more.
