Please welcome our special guest today, the talented J.T. Ellison, author of the amazing Taylor Jackson suspense series from MIRA.

Her new release, SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, was an RT Top Pick! They said: “Ellison’s sixth novel featuring homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson is arguably her best book to date. A tense thrill ride filled with secrets, raw emotion and death, newcomers will love it as much as her longtime fans. After completing this one, you will scream for the next book.”

I met J.T. the same weekend I met our Toni and many other wonderful thriller writers–at the first Thrillerfest, Phoenix 2006. I still think that first conference was the single best conference I’ve been to. Not necessarily the best workshops (though there were some great ones!) or the best location (hot, hot, hot!) and of course some of my favorite people weren’t there (such as most of these gals at MSW — Toni and Deb were there, but I think that’s it!) But it was special because it was new. Fresh. The First. It’s when I was asked to mentor the scarily talented Gregg Olsen (who also has a book coming out next week,) and write my first ever published short story in the KILLER YEAR anthology, edited by Lee Child. But mostly, the writers I met there became some of my closest writer friends, J.T. included.

So I am thrilled to have J.T. with Murder She Writes today!

What would YOU do?
By J.T. Ellison

“So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack.”

Angel — Sara Mclachlan

Such a sad song. But so inspiring, so uplifting. I have strange affinity for this song. According to sources, Sara McLachlan wrote it in response to the heroin overdose of Jonathan Melvoin, from Smashing Pumpkins. He was only thirty-four, another life cut short by addiction. It’s a fitting eulogy for a friend. Oddly, Smashing Pumpkins song Disarm inspired my very first attempt at a novel, so I find the symmetry agreeable, to say the least.

As I was beginning to write SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, I heard Angel. I must have hit repeat fifty times. I knew, immediately, that this was how my main character, Taylor Jackson, was feeling.

In a word, she’s miserable. And misery isn’t a normal state of being for Taylor.

The story was conceived after I heard the song, and those particular lyrics. The words just spoke to me, the tone of the song overwhelmed my senses, and I knew exactly how to begin. The book is set on the idea of a tone. A rather amorphous beginning, but it came together rather quickly.

Taylor starts the book in a very bad place. Over the course of the previous five books, I have put this woman through hell. She’s been forced to kill, forced to defend her reputation. She’s in a relationship with the first man she’s ever truly loved, and it scares her. Her city has in turns held her up and turned against her. Her father figure and second in command is missing, and she’s just killed again, this time a murder suspect who is still a child.

And the man who’s been haunting her every waking moment, haunting her dreams, playing a devious game of cat and mouse with her for over a year, is making his last move on the chess board.

She knows people are going to die. People always do around Taylor. Mostly bad people, but some innocents as well. And she’s just so tired of it. It’s not fair. And when the Pretender decides to start hurting the people she loves, watch out. She won’t stand for it.

But taking life isn’t why she became a cop. She wants to protect life. She’s vowed to save people. Yet she’s killed this kid, and her Pete Fitzgerald has gone missing, her fiancé has been keeping a major secret from her, and she’s feeling completely alone in the world. I knew she’d be in this incredibly somber, reflective place.

So I planned the book around that somber tone. It’s a serious book. It deals with serious issues, issues Taylor never thought she’d have to deal with. But this is her world now. It’s gotten messy, and she must get it cleaned up. And this time, she will stop at nothing—nothing—to make that happen.

Revenge is a tricky subject, especially for someone who has vowed to protect lives, not take them. It can’t be undertaken lightly. You must be willing to sacrifice everything, yourself most of all. It changes a person.

My morally upright white hat has suddenly become a vengeful angel.

So with the release of SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, I invite you into Taylor’s world. And I leave you with this thought.

What would you do if everything you held dear was suddenly in jeopardy?

From J.T. one commenter will win a CD of the So Close soundtrack, including Angel, or a signed audiobook — their choice. And I’m giving away a copy of the first Taylor Jackson book (which I read, loved, and blurbed) ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. So if you haven’t read her, you need to comment and wish her well and hope you win this terrific story! (J.T. is traveling this morning, but will be back this afternoon.)

I’m gonna list the items currently sitting on my kitchen counter:

Three boxes of Kleenex.

Two packages of cough drops.

A bottle of Excedrin.

A package of Mucinex.

A bottle of antibiotics.

A bottle of prescription cough syrup.

Can you tell I’m feeling in tip top shape? NOT.

I’ve been sick as a dog since last week. Hacking up a lung, dealing with a headache I can’t get rid of, and a runny/stuffy nose. I’ve been lucky so far this is the first serious bout of sickness I’ve had this season, and I’m hoping when my little antibiotic friends start doing their job curing the bronchitis AND sinus infection I was diagnosed with today, I will actually be in tip top shape for Romantic Times Conference in Los Angeles next week.

So, I’m a teeny bit whiny because I can’t take a week off to be sick when I’m under deadline crunch and I’ve been working while coughing like a six pack a day smoker. I’m feverish which means I should not shop online because I had a package arrive today that I do not remember ordering.

A few people have tossed out “home” remedies to speed up the healing process. My fave so far is the one with warm booze, lemon and honey.

But I’m open to suggestions — what gets you through a bout of this oh-so-fun seasonal plague? And as you’re laying there under Grandma’s wedding ring quilt feeling crappy, what is your ultimate comfort read that always makes you feel better? (Mine is NAKED IN DEATH and SUGAR DADDY)

I’ll offer up a box of Kleenex — or a $15 online gift card — to some lucky person this week, who hopefully doesn’t have this nasty stuff…

Yes, my friends, this is a Release Day Commercial.  Not that I don’t have something brilliant, witty, informative, inspiring, and earth-shattering to say.  I do, and I will…next time.  The day a new book comes out is reserved for celebrating, for promoting, for hyperventilating.   I am proud and pleased to announce that Shiver of Fear hits bookstores today!  (To be fair, the BN.com preorders evidently got theirs more than a week ago, but this is the official release day.)  I’m so excited about this book, which takes readers back to the fledgling security and investigation family firm known as the Guardian Angelinos.  

Shiver of Fear is the story of Devyn Hewitt Sterling, a woman saddled with multiple last names, yet very little in the way of family.  Adopted as an infant by a chilly “Brahmin” blueblood Boston family and reminded her entire life that she really wasn’t “one of them,” Devyn has come to believe she is the sum parts of her DNA.  Her husband perpetuates that notion, refusing to give her the one thing she wants most — a child — until she can clear up the little matter of whose blood runs in her veins.  So she gets that information…and the news is not good.  Her biological father is a an FBI fugitive who has resided on the Most Wanted list for a long time.  Foolishly, she shares that information with her husband, and he ends up dead in the first few pages of Edge of Sight.  (He had it comin’, as they say.)

After her husband’s murder is solved, Devyn decides she must find her birth mother and tell her that her secret may or may not have been shared.  She feels she owes the woman that much information…and secretly hopes that meeting her can eliminate the emptiness in her life and the doubt she carries about the worth of her own bloodline. With some cryptic clues and one nefarious warning, Devyn heads to Belfast,  where she believes she’ll find her mother. 

Hot on her heels is Marc Rossi, former FBI agent and employee #3 (well, #4 if you count Uncle Nino) at his cousins’ new security firm.  Marc is hired as a consultant to the  FBI with a simple task:  find Devyn Sterling and get her out of Belfast.  They Angelinos are not told why…it’s a need to know assignment.  Hungry for work and anxious to get back in the investigative game, Marc accepts the job on the FBI’s terms and goes on what he expects will be a simple mission.  

Nothing about Devyn Sterling is simple, however.  She’s not what he expects, and she’s not at all compliant to his wishes.  Okay, she is compliant…but that comes later.  Very soon after locating her, it’s clear that Devyn has stepped into a hornet’s nest of trouble, that multiple people want her to disappear (possibly forever), and that her birth mother may be involved in something dangerous and illegal.  Which would mean both of her biological parents are wanted criminals. 

Devyn won’t leave until she’s found her mother, who she believes to be in danger, and Marc, a natural protector and skilled investigator, doesn’t really consider not helping her.  Although his experience with mixing women and work is dark and troubled — he has his own ex-wife to prove it — he finds Devyn irresistible.  Marc is everything Devyn ever wanted in a man, but believes she can’t have.  If only she can uncover the truth about her mother, perhaps she can be free to give and get what she needs most: love. 

Most of the story is set in Northern Ireland, and I must do official shout out to Jessica Odell, daughter of our loyal MSW community member and fellow romantic suspense author, Terry Odell.  Jess was an invaluable source for me, since she lives in the book’s primary Belfast setting. Thank you, Jessica!   But there’s plenty of time stateside with the entire Angelino team, especially Vivi Angelino, who is hard at work investigating the facts and assisting Marc and Devyn with information and updates.  Vivi goes head to head with the client, FBI agent Colton Lang, and I gotta say, my keyboard was smokin’ when those two were on the page together.

And the good news is: the Guardian Angelinos are back…to back.  In just four short and spring-like weeks, Face of Danger, will be released!  Vivi and Lang have their own blistering romantic adventure and that book is one of my all-time favorites. 

Let’s celebrate with a $25 gift certificate to any online bookseller!  That way the winner can order RITA nominated (Yay!!) Edge of Sight, a brand new Shiver of Fear, and also preorder Face of Danger in either print or ebook — whatever format you’re reading these days.  Leave a comment (anything…even a little swoon over my man candy up there)and you’re entered!  Winner announced this weekend, as always!

On this cool Monday morning, I find myself facing the tasks of finishing a story, finding a new story idea, and wrapping up a synopsis in progress–all by the end of the week. I also have a workshop to finishing pulling together and shopping/packing for RT, so I’ll make this post short and offer one commenter a $10 gift certificate for Amazon.

First: HUGE congratulations to Roxanne St. Claire (Edge of Sight) and Allison Brennan (Love Me to Death) for their 2011 RITA nominations in the Romantic Suspense category! Way to go!!

Second: Operation Auction is up and running, with items being posted in three batches. Batch #2 went up today and the final batch will go up tomorrow.

All proceeds go to benefit Fatin, a beloved member of the romance community. My first auction item is up: a signed ARC of Seven Years to Sin.

stores.ebay.com/OperationAuction2011/

Last: I have the cover art for A Touch of Crimson, which is the paranormal romance series I talked about here at MSW a little over a year ago. I love it madly! (click the image to see a larger size) The artist, Tony Mauro, was a request of mine and I’m so happy the art department was able/willing to commission him and that he was available/willing to do it.

An ARC of A Touch of Crimson should go up with Operation Auction‘s Batch #3 tomorrow!

What are your plans for the week? And what are you reading now? I just started Taste Me by Tamara Hogan and I’m looking forward to getting further into it.

Happy Monday!

It’s a stormy Saturday here in Alabama! This week’s wonderful winners are:

The winner of the $15.00 Starbucks gift card from Jen is comment #19, DEE! Congrats Dee! Email Jen at Jenapodaca@aol.com with your mailing address and she’ll get the card out to you.

The winner fo the $10.00 gift card to the online bookstore of her choice is commenter #29, Chelsea B. Congratulations! Contact Deb at debraewebb@aol.com!

Maureen, commenter #38, is the winner of the Amazon gift card. Please contact sophie@sophielittlefield so she can send it to you.

Congratulations to Laura Griffin’s winner, who won a $10 gift card to Starbucks and a signed copy of her latest release, UNFORGIVABLE! Chele (commenter  #14) please email laura@lauragriffin.com with your mailing address.