Gentle Readers:

It is news, news and more news this month — one heck of a way to start 2015. Generally I ease into a year with an imminent deadline, doing a retrospective of my prior year in my Annual Review, and that’s it.

Well, to start the year, I am on deadline, and I have some major book news to share, plus a book cover release. So here we go.

Many of you will recall me discussing my “secret project.” I can finally make a very exciting announcement — the secret project is a standalone novel entitled NO ONE KNOWS and it’s going to release next year. Here are the deets from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Fiction: Thriller
NYT bestselling author JT Ellison’s first standalone novel, NO ONE KNOWS, a suburban thriller pitched in the vein of Gillian Flynn and Harlan Coben, to Abby Zidle at Gallery, for publication in Spring 2016, by Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

This book was four years in the making, something I worked on between deadlines and many late nights. It was in the revision stage when Catherine hired me to write the Nicholas Drummond novels, so it went on the back burner until earlier this year. Gallery showed interest right away, and I couldn’t be more excited that this book of my heart will finally see the light of day. You’ll hear much more about it in the upcoming months and here’s a blog post that details the whole process.

And if that’s not enough, I have a cover reveal for you too! WHAT LIES BEHIND is the new Samantha Owens novel, and will be in stores May 26, 2015. Is this not a stunning, beautiful cover? I am in love.

Critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author J. T. Ellison delivers another riveting novel featuring the incomparable Dr. Samantha Owens.

Waking to sirens in the night is hardly unusual for Samantha Owens. No longer a medical examiner, she doesn’t lose sleep over them, but a routine police investigation in her neighborhood has her curious. When her homicide detective friend, Darren Fletcher, invites her to look over the evidence, she jumps at the chance and immediately realizes the crime scene has been staged. What seems to be a clear case of murder/suicide—a crime of passion—is anything but. The discovery of toxic substances in hidden vials indicates that something much more sinister is at play...

As Fletch and Sam try to understand what and who they are dealing with, they are summoned to a meeting at the State Department. High-level officials are interested in what they know and seem to be keeping secrets of their own. It’s up to Sam and Fletch to uncover what lies behind the deception as the threat of bioterrorism is exposed, and her boyfriend, Xander Whitfield, may be in the line of fire.

Unsure who to trust, Sam and Fletch find themselves up against very powerful people at every stage in the investigation. No one is who they appear to be and with every minute that passes, the danger escalates. It’s Sam’s most complex case yet and the terrifying reality is beyond anything she could have imagined.

I’m so proud of this book — Sam really comes into her own in her new role with the FBI, and is truly recovering from her grief. And there’s a darker note within... the specter of an Ebola-esque terror attack. In the strange way of life imitating art, I started writing the novel well before the Ebola epidemic in Africa came to our shores. I talked about the crazy process of writing an extremely topical book here.

And if you’re interested, here is my 2014 Annual Review. I wrote more fiction last year than ever before, and failed at all my goals of cutting back. Alas. But good news for you, right?

Events

My 2015 calendar is full of book releases — 7 in all between new releases and re-releases — and I’ll be at SOKY Bookfest in April, Thrillerfest in July, and most likely Bouchercon in October. So check the events page for current info!

Get Thee to a Bookstore

So my Annual Review says I read 55 books. I’ve set a goal of 70 again this year, and have already finished a couple this month. I have to give a shout out to STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel. This book was utter and complete brilliance. I loved it. I put it down so many times to just absorb the words and ideas. Especially after writing both about survivalists and about an hemorrhagic viruses, it was very cool to see another’s imaginings of what might happen post-epidemic.

And I’m reading:

UGLIES ‐ Scott Westerfeld
THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP ‐ Marie Kondo
DARK WATERS ‐ Chris Goff
SMALL VICTORIES ‐ Anne Lamott
DEAD NO MORE ‐ L.R. Nicolello

If you’re on Goodreads, friend me, and follow along. I’m always interested in what you’re reading, too!

January Contest

The January contest is live now: enter to win a copy of Jeff Abbott’s awesome INSIDE MAN, and a $10 online book store gift card to Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million OR iBooks (winner’s choice).

Enter here to win.

January Recipe — Braised Chicken (Thighs) & Herb-y Mushrooms
(Click here for printable PDF)*

Full confession time now — this recipe is really supposed to be made with chicken thighs. But I have this really weird thing about bones in my food — I can’t even look at them. So you brave souls who aren’t totally bizarre about your food, make this with chicken thighs. The rest, you stick with me and the lovely, simple boneless chicken breast. And we give our thanks to my lovely new assistant, Amy, who offered this from her own recipe book. Thank you, Amy!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts or thighs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add chicken and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side
• Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate, setting it aside.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet.
• Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5-6 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in wine, chicken stock, thyme, basil, and oregano. Return chicken to the pan.
• Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 35 minutes.
  
  Delish, right? I recently got a new Dutch oven and this is the inaugural dish.

I’ll see you in March, hopefully with news that the new Drummond novel, CHECKMATE, is finished! Do stop by my Facebook page and join the fun. And keep reading!

xoxo,

*You can see all of my previous recipes and download them here.