Daily Tao ☯ 6.28.17

“After the writer’s death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.”

— Day One Inspirations

Interesting creative day today. Reworked a scene that’s been bothering me in the manuscript, then dealt with a lingering annoyance. I’ve had a To Do on my Wunderlist for a few months called “Create a mental inventory.” I don’t know why lunch today became the moment to tackle this, but tackle it I did. You see, I’ve been offloading ideas as they happen into my Day One journal, but I’d neglected to mark any of them in a specific (read searchable) way. Well, now they are. Thirteen solid, doable, interesting story ideas, all coded and tagged so I can pull them up at a moment’s notice. And offloaded, and backed up, and printed out.

Maybe it was the malware attack that launched yesterday, maybe it was some weird premonition that my computer might freak out, but I knew I needed to do this immediately. I feel much, much better now. (Hello, OCD.)

I used to write these ideas down in a notebook, but with the advent of Day One, which syncs across all my devices, being able to access this anywhere is too cool, and so it became my go to for story creation. 

I blog in it, too. I actually have entries dating back to 2004. You know what that first post is? My first major rejection, by a leading NY editor, on the book that 12 years later was published as FIELD OF GRAVES. (Awww… admittedly, poor kid J.T. was pretty well crushed that day.) 

It’s kind of nice to be able to look back and see this, and know that things were soon to change. It took another year, but things did pick up. And here we are now, a career underway, more ideas than I have time to write. Pretty cool.

I have to admit, though, when I opened Day One to do today’s blog, I was a bit shocked to see the weird quote at the beginning of the blog. It’s true, absolutely. These daily entires,my daily devotions, whether I share them online or keep them private, really are a love letter, left behind. 

On that note, sweet dreams — and be sure to come by the blog tomorrow for some fun news!

10.23.16 - Sunday Smatterings

Hello, my lovelies. How are you today? I hope you're having a lovely Sunday, sitting out on the porch with something nice to sip and something nice to read. I've been enjoying some cooler porch weather here in Tennessee. I relish the days when I step into a crisp morning instead of a muggy cloud (blech!). The ThrillerKittens are loving it, too—I couldn't keep them inside even I wanted to; it'd be like... well, herding cats!

I know, I know—you come for the links, but you stay for the jokes!

Anyway...

 

Here's what happened on the Internets this week:

Is there a better feeling than browsing a beautiful bookstore? Hardly. At lease one of these bookstores in Buzzfeed's 19 most beautiful bookstores in America is sure to appear on your next road trip itinerary. 

"Unlike books, tablets do not offer an opportunity to display taste or refinement. Books will never go out of fashion." This article from Aeon is a lovely defense of print, and gives a history of books as a status symbol.

Is social media toxic to writing? In a word, YES.

Looking for a Halloween costume? Take a page out of Scout Finch's book.

Y'all know I'm a sucker for notebooks and journals. Here are 11 journals that readers will love using to record their TBR lists.

Last call for this Romantic Suspense 50-book/Kindle Fire sweepstakes! There are some good ones in here, y'all—don't miss out!

OK, stop what you're doing right now and read "I used to be a human being" an article from writer Andrew Sullivan. I'm serious—go do it. And I challenge you to read the entire thing without picking up your phone. A nugget of goodness here:

 This new epidemic of distraction is our civilization’s specific weakness. And its threat is not so much to our minds, even as they shape-shift under the pressure. The threat is to our souls. At this rate, if the noise does not relent, we might even forget we have any.

It's so good stuff, I promise you. You'll thank yourself later.

 

And closer to home:

If you haven't grabbed a copy of my newest book, THE FIRST DECADE, now's the time! (psst: it's only $4.99 on ebook!)

And if you're been saving your pennies and waiting for the NO ONE KNOWS paperback, it's up for pre-order! 

That's it for today, y'all. Don't get into trouble, snack on candy corn, and we'll talk again soon!

xoxo,
J.T.

1.21.14

Breaking radio silence to say - it's been a happy day. Had news this morning that WHEN SHADOWS FALL is a Romantic Times Top Pick for March! I am giddy! Thank you, Romantic Times!

Here's the takeaway... 

Ellison excels at imaginative and terrifying plots, and this thriller is a fine example that sucks readers in at the beginning and spits them out at the end, emotionally drained. The latest Samantha Owens installment is a complex story with interwoven mysteries and a frightening conspiracy. Villains range from just greedy to truly evil.

Just a reminder, there's a Goodreads Giveaway for an ARC of this book that ends January 31. Enter, and don't forget to add WHEN SHADOWS FALL to your To Read list. 

Back to the real world for me. 3000 today, 3000 yesterday. THE LOST KEY is rolling, rolling, rolling...

1.17.14

1800 today, and it's time to take a break and see what's what in terms of what's done and what still need to happen in the story. Having this great outline we developed is a true blessing, but now I need to compare what's on the page to what's in my head and match the two together. And then I've have a clear path to the end, and I think - think! - I will be there at this time next week. I can see the end, but so much still needs to happen, so we'll see. 

Off to Manchester in the morning for their annual Writer's Day - will be signing from 10-1, then it's back home to dive in again. I normally would never agree to do events during deadline, but someone (ahem) thought she'd be all done by Christmas and only editing at this stage, so said someone blew it is.

It is time to disappear into the story, though, so if I'm largely absent for the next few weeks, that's why.

Sweet dreams!

1.16.14

Well, despite my best attempts, I seem to be toying with the idea of catching Randy's flu. After a quick run out this morning, I settled in with orange juice and tea and tissues, and found my brain was all full of cotton. I managed a few hundred words, edited everything I wrote yesterday, fought for an hour with a recalcitrant scene, then gave it up as a bad job and switched over to business stuff for SHADOWS, because there wasn't any creative juice in the brain. No Nyquil for me tonight; it makes me quite stupid the next day.

Off to do some book research in the form of Casino Royale and to down some Jewish penicillin of my own. I refuse to get sick. Positive thinking, right?

Sweet dreams.