Come on over and check out my new blog, THE CREATIVE EDGE!

I’ve been working behind the scenes for years on a project I’ve called jokingly Type, Drink, Loathe.

Type, Drink, Loathe has been a part of my lexicon for more than a decade. It is the former title of a writing book that started in my Murderati days. Yes, I’m debating writing a book about writing. About creativity. About the realities of publishing and my journey through the writing life.

Back then, TDL was a flip, cute title that examined the three sections of my writing life: Type = Writing. Drink = Creativity and Spirituality. Loathe = The Business of Publishing. But so much has changed over the past decade. The industry. My work, my approach, my process. My personal life.

And it has such negative connotations—as was pointed out by a smart friend recently. I am not a negative person, at all.

That joking title simply doesn’t fit anymore. Especially Loathe. Primarily because there is nothing I loathe about my job. I have a complicated relationship with social media and marketing, yes, but if I actually loathed it, I wouldn’t do it. Full stop. The rest of it? I kind of love. I enjoy working with my teams to find the best paths to get books out of my head and into your hands. I love being surrounded by the creativity that goes into modern marketing. I love the art, and the audio, and the planning, and the plotting.

And when I say a complicated relationship, it’s mostly because I am an introvert. Letting people in has always been difficult for me. So opening my heart and soul on the internet to people I don’t know intimately? Yes, that’s challenging.

But being challenged is different than loathing something.

For the middle, Drink: My creativity and spirituality are not driven by substances. It was a joke play on a Hemingway ethos—done by 12, drunk by 3—but I don’t know anyone who actually does that outside of vacation. I certainly don’t. Dealing with the after-effects of Long Covid, I barely drink at all anymore. As such, external forces do not drive my gifts, nor the gifts of any writer I know.

The opening moniker, Type, still works, because, obviously, writing is what I spend the majority of my time doing, but without the other facets, the whole thing falls apart.

TDL, though, has been entrenched in my world for so long that the idea of rebranding freaked me out. Then I listened to the awesome interview between Tim Ferris and James Clear. They were discussing how Clear titled his mega-bestseller Atomic Habits. He was going through the process of the usual formula if X then Y, and how deviations with juxtaposed concepts were more his speed. He used a huge favorite of mine, Deep Work by Cal Newport. Atomic Habits. Deep Work.

It came as suddenly as a meteor streaking across a darkened sky.

Galactic Creativity

That would be a super cool title for a book, right?

A few months ago, I was talking to a dear friend, who is my sounding board on all things, about this very project in addition to several others I was contemplating and working on. I was spinning a lot of plates, juggling two pen names in diametrically opposed genres, alongside a new release, a new novel underway, and multiple short stories. We were trying to figure out how I could basically stop time and do everything, which obviously isn’t possible. But she said something that stuck with me.

“Your creativity is galactic.”

I wrote that down. I posted it next to my desk. I thought about it, a lot. I took it as a compliment, even though it was said in a frame of “Slow down. Take a breath. You can’t do everything, nor should you. Your creativity is galactic. But...”

It’s been a great thought to meditate on, and I decided I wanted it front and center. It is both a reminder that I can’t do everything and that nothing is holding me back but me. It defines me in many ways, defines my writing life. I love what I do, and I want to do it with joy and excitement and gratitude. I have a hundred stories to tell, and good storytelling— capturing the essence on the page, turning it into a novel that readers will enjoy—that’s marathon-level work. It isn’t a sprint. It takes regular deep work on a daily basis to accrue the words. Day after day.

What she was telling me is: There’s time. It’s not like the galaxy was created overnight.

But it didn’t feel right as the name of a writing book. A personal ethos, yes. But for the project, I am moving forward with a different title.

THE CREATIVE EDGE

And it’s available now on Substack. I’m going to be working on all aspects of the writing life, non-fiction essays as well as some early look at my fiction—that last will be for paid subscribers only. I’m also doing audio posts for the sight-impaired, so if you’d rather listen, you can do so there.

Fun times, friends! I hope you’ll give it a go!

I’m so excited to share that my new short story, LOUCHE 49, in the Infinity Anthology, edited by Catherine Coulter and published by Suspense Magazine, is available today!

LOUCHE 49 is a thrilling tale of revenge and redemption, following a female assassin—Tempeste Ranier—who goes undercover to investigate her mother’s murder in Paris in the early ‘80s. Inspired by the classic French noir thriller film ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS, the story is a dark and atmospheric exploration of the seedy underbelly of both the City of Lights and Nashville and deep dives into how the actions of our past reverberate in the present.

The prompt — a story with a number in the title — was fun, as this title, LOUCHE 49, quite literally leaped into my mind the moment I saw the description. I’ve learned not to mess with those kinds of intense moments, and I’m excited for you to see what the title really means.

I’m thrilled to have my work included alongside so many talented authors. I mean, just look at this lineup!!!

Thank you to Catherine Coulter for editing, and the team at Suspense Magazine, especially John Raab, for pulling us all together into this incredible opportunity, and of course, to all of you for your support and encouragement. I can’t wait for you to experience the twists and turns of LOUCHE 49, and I hope it will leave you on the edge of your seats until the very end.

This is an ongoing listing of the amazing conversations I’ve been having about IT’S ONE OF US, the reviews, the blurbs from some of the world’s finest authors. I hope you enjoy!

Recognition

• Toronto Star Bestseller List

• Globe and Mail Bestseller List

• ★ Library Journal starred review

• Library Reads February Pick

• Amazon Editors' Pick - Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

• Apple Books’ Best Book of March

• Costco Canada Buyer’s Pick for March 2023

• Walmart Canada Read of the Month March 2023

• Goodreads 2023's Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers

• Paste Magazine: The Most Anticipated Mystery and Thriller Books of 2023

• POPSUGAR: 28 New Mystery Books That'll Have You on the Edge of Your Seat in March

• SheReads: Top Thrillers on Booktok & Bookstagram: February 2023

• CrimeReads: 10 New Books Coming Out This Week

Interviews, Podcasts, and Essays

✏️ Crimereads: Genetics, DNA, and a Difficult Question: Do We Ever Really Have Control of Our Lives? by J.T. Ellison

🗞 The Big Thrill | Up Close

🗞️ Costco Connection Canada

🗞 BiblioLifestyle Interview

🖥 Bookreporter Talks To... with Carol Fitzgerald

🖥 Friends and Fiction

🖥 Facebook Live with Jayne Ann Krentz

🖥 Ampstigator Podcast with Lauren Lowrey

🖥 The Poisoned Pen: J.T. in conversation with Nick Petrie

🖥 Shelf Indulgence Bookclub

🖥 The Back Room

🖥 Emily Booked Up Instagram Live

🖥 Local on 2 with Larissa Wohl

🖥 Mystery Maven with Sara DiVello

🖥 Killer Women Podcast with Danielle Girard | Authors on the Air

🖥 The Killer Author’s Club

🖥️ Sonica Soares, The Reading Beauty Instagram Live

🎤 Authors on the Air with Allison Brennan (Soundcloud | Anchor)

🎤 Simplified Podcast with Emily Ley: When Your Life Becomes a Thriller Novel (with J.T. Ellison)

🎤 The Inside Flap Podcase: The Trouble With Sperm Donors

🎤 Books are Chic Podcast with Courtney Marzilli

Reviews

• Library Journal: “Ellison spotlights the issue of infertility, based on her own experiences, then adds betrayal, obsession, and familial ties that bind to create a tension-filled story with an intriguing theme. Readers will race through the pages to an end they didn’t see coming.” ⭐️

• Apple: “Long-held secrets become a matter of life and death in J.T. Ellison’s taut, edgy thriller.”

• Bookreporter: “The eerily titled IT’S ONE OF US opens with a scene that will creep out even the staunchest reader…”

• BookTrib: “J.T. Ellison’s scintillating “It’s One of Us” is an early contender for best psychological thriller for 2023.”

  And more…

• The Gloss

• The Real Book Spy

• Chapter 16: Heartbreak and Betrayal

• Novels Alive

• Emily Ley

• Jessica Jones Reads

• Red Carpet Crash

• Jen Ryland

• All About Romance

• Jathan & Heather

• Fireflies & Free Kicks

• A Bookworm’s World

• The Book Review Crew

• Comfy Chair Books

Praise

“A heart-stoppingly tense thriller about the price of secrets and the layers behind every marriage.”
—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of THE IT GIRL

“It’s One of Us brings all the twists, chills, and thrills I expect from the preternaturally gifted Ellison, and it’s also an emotionally resonant read that I can’t wait to recommend to my book club. The secrets snarled in the threads of an unraveling marriage and a heroine who wholly won me over put this one on my keeper shelf—you are going to love it!”
—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of WITH MY LITTLE EYE

“J.T. Ellison has done the impossible in IT’S ONE OF US, by crafting a riveting domestic thriller full of twists and turns, but also heart and emotion. You’ll root for her heroine Olivia Bender every step of the way, as soon as a knock on the door brings shocking news that threatens her marriage and her world. You won’t be able to put this novel down!”
—Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of LOYALTY

“A smart, taut, mind-blowing thriller full of heartbreak and betrayal that moves along at breakneck speed. IT’S ONE OF US is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve always been a fan, but Ellison has outdone herself with this one. Readers will be obsessed!”
—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of LOCAL WOMAN MISSING 

“Without ever once sacrificing narrative grace, J.T. Ellison hits every bumper in her newest novel: IT’S ONE OF US — a husband and wife who are both troubled and troubling, murky medical ethics targeting people desperate for babies, the thicket of surprise families through DNA testing and the murders of two young women, twenty years apart. It might sound like a whirlpool of social-media fodder, but it’s anything but: It’s one of the most compelling psychological suspense stories I’ve read in years.”
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN and THE GOOD SON

"Beautifully written and impossible to put down, master storyteller J.T. Ellison will have you spellbound with this deeply layered psychological thriller. Immersive and propulsive, IT’S ONE OF US, keeps you turning pages with an ending you’ll never see coming. I loved it!”
—Liv Constantine, bestselling author of THE LAST MRS. PARRISH

“IT’S ONE OF US is an emotional and thrilling psychological journey through the shadows of the human heart. Just when you think you know what’s coming, prepare to gasp with each new revelation. Through multiple fascinating points of view, layers of secrets, lies, love and loss are revealed. I did not put this book down until the last unexpected and breathless page. Unpredictable, intense and riveting, J. T. Ellison is at her heart-stopping best.”
—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA

“IT'S ONE OF US sets a stunning new gold standard in psychological suspense. At once an extraordinary, unpredictable, absolutely riveting thriller and a fiercely insightful, emotional journey, this is psychological suspense at its most enthralling and intense.”
—Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author of SLEEP NO MORE

“In IT’S ONE OF US, J.T. Ellison pulls no punches as she expertly explores the intensely complex emotions surrounding infertility, loss, and marriage. Throw in murder, a vivid cast of characters, and shocking secrets, Ellison masterfully mines the human heart in this treasure of a thriller that will keep readers turning the pages long into the night.” 
—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest

“J.T. Ellison is one of my absolute favorite authors and with IT’S ONE OF US, she brings things to a whole other level. Ellison takes her trademark gripping, breathless thriller, adds an incredibly unique premise and delivers a novel that’s also a deeply poignant story about our deepest desire for love, family and happiness. Brimming with tension and raw emotion, it’s the perfect book club pick. I’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time.”
— Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of NEVER COMING HOME

“Secrets and lies abound, relationships are tested, and the twists keep coming. A signature J.T. Ellison thriller told from multiple points of view with an added layer of emotional depth that held me captive until the end. This read is wild, going from 0-60 mph on the first page, and doesn’t stop until the last. I’m pretty good at guessing whodunit. Not this one, which made this book that much more gripping. Ellison outdid herself, a master storyteller. This is a must read, especially the author’s note at the end, which gutted me.”
—Kerry Lonsdale, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & Amazon Charts Bestselling Author of NO MORE WORDS

“J.T. Ellison is one of my favorite authors. I eagerly await everything she writes. And in IT’S ONE OF US she is at the very top of her formidable game. Don’t miss this layered, emotional, and twisting thrill ride.”
—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of SECLUDED CABIN SLEEPS SIX

“The perfect mix of edge-of-your-seat tension, deep emotion, and impeccably developed characters, J.T. Ellison’s latest is a masterclass in storytelling. Secrets and lies, love and loss mix flawlessly to create a novel that touches every single emotion. Fans of Lisa Jewell and Ruth Ware will flock to IT’S ONE OF US, and book clubs won’t be able to stop talking about it. Five dazzling stars.”
—Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times Bestselling author of THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS

"A tense and propulsive thriller, IT’S ONE OF US explores the dark truths of marriage, the lengths we go to hide our deepest secrets and the ways in which they find their way to the light. J.T. Ellison knows how to grab readers and hold them on their edge of their seats to the final pages, and IT’S ONE OF US proves this writer is at the top of her game."
—Danielle Girard, USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller of THE EX

“Raw, layered and full of stunning revelations, IT’S ONE OF US is the most original thriller we’ve read in years. With a richly drawn cast of characters, an emotionally charged plot and a jaw-dropping ending, IT’S ONE OF US should be your next read!”
—Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of How to Save a Life 

J.T. Ellison is at the top of her game with IT’S ONE OF US, an extremely compelling thriller shot through with twists and turns, a strong emotional pulse, and heartfelt exploration of the pressures of marriage and starting a family. Impressive and gripping.
—Gilly Macmillan, internationally bestselling author of THE LONG WEEKEND

IT’S ONE OF US  is here at last!

The germs of this story have been floating around in my brain for over a decade, sparked by one of those tragic-comedic life moments: my husband and I were in the middle of some rather grueling fertility treatments. One fateful day, he was locked alone in a room in the clinic with a magazine and Sweet Home Alabama blasting out of the speakers (not his first choice). That evening, as we laughed at the absurdity of our situation, he told me this had the makings of a novel... but I’m a thriller writer, and fertility is more of a women’s fiction story. I didn’t know how to marry the two until recently. Enter the complicated forensics of sibling DNA, the moral ambiguity of the sperm donation industry, and a killer on the loose, and poof, the story came together.

My protagonist, Olivia Bender, was such a dream character to write. She came to my mind fully formed one day: a sad, lonely woman with sable hair in a cream cable knit sweater and rolled-up chinos, walking barefoot down a chilly beach, having just suffered a miscarriage. I had to know who she was. It turns out, she’s a dynamic architectural designer who owns her own firm, shares her gifts with the community, and is struggling with the same fertility issues my husband and I went through.

And then... twist. That’s what I do, I take the story and turn it into a pretzel.

Olivia is placed in an absolutely untenable position by the circumstances of the novel, and all I could think was: What would I do in this situation? How would I react? I think this book has a great philosophical core of uncertainty that I hope many, many readers will connect with. What would YOU do? How would YOU react? What would be YOUR path forward? Do you agree with how Olivia handles the situation, especially as it spins out of control? And what about the rest of the characters? We hear from all the people affected: The Husband. The Mother. The Daughter. The Brother. The Cops. The Murderer. I love books that force you to examine your own motivations and morality, while exploring the same in the characters, and this one will, for sure.

This story is certainly identifiable as one of mine, from the creepy opening to the high-stakes life and death struggle, the push and pull of a police investigation against the domestic backdrop, characters you want to root for, and characters you’ll love to hate. And of course, the Nashville setting. But I think this story has a different kind of nuance and tackles questions that are much closer to our realities than the more fantastical world of some of my other psychological thrillers. I think readers will see themselves reflected more in these characters than anything I’ve done previously. It’s not a scary, leave the lights on kind of thriller. It’s scary in a different kind of way. It’s quiet and insidious and morally complicated. And, if I’ve done my job correctly, completely addictive.

And there’s no denying this is, at its heart, a story of loss, specifically, the kind of loss that comes from infertility and miscarriage. When you’re in the throes of trying, and not succeeding, to have children, it feels like the world is caving in around your ears. I couldn’t write a book about what it’s like to have children, but I can write with some authenticity about what it’s like to lose them. And even more importantly, to survive those losses. Survive, and thrive. I am hoping to normalize the conversation around infertility and send a clear message that there is life on the other side of these tragedies. A joyful, wonderful, complete life.

I hope you love IT’S ONE OF US! It’s available now wherever you like to buy books, and the audio is read magnificently by the one and only Julia Whelan.

eBook

KINDLE | NOOK | APPLE BOOKS | GOOGLE PLAY | KOBO

Hardcover

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | TARGET | BOOKS-A-MILLION | INDIGO | BOOKSHOP

Audiobook

AUDIBLE | LIBRO.FM | HARLEQUIN AUDIO | KOBO

If you’d like a personalized copy, please check in with Parnassus books, where there are goodies to go along with your order!

And please come see me on tour!

I could not be more excited to share that my short story, THESE COLD STRANGERS, is now available from Amazon Originals! What’s so fun is this is a part of a themed collection called We Could Be Heroes, which digs into what it really means to be a hero. Do you need a cape and the ability to fly? Or is it something deeper, smaller, but no less extraordinary?

The collection features five original short stories written by a couple of folks you might know... Lisa Scottoline, Lisa Unger, Janelle Brown, Victor Methos, and me! They’re all available today—the full collection or as individual stories—and in both digital and audio!

Here’s more about THESE COLD STRANGERS, which is read by Brittany Presley, who beautifully narrated Her Dark Lies, too.

From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a chilling tale about how a reporter’s deep dive into a viral video challenges her preconceived notions of what being a hero really means.

When she recognizes the heroic stranger in a sensationalized news video, Addison Blake plans to use the information to her career’s advantage. That means returning to the hometown she left behind ten years ago, but her ambitions are more important than the ghosts of her past. She’s focused on breaking this story—as long as it doesn’t break her first.

J.T. Ellison’s These Cold Strangers is part of We Could Be Heroes, a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.

Get yours today!

KINDLE | AUDIBLE

And some background for you about this cool program:

Amazon Original Stories is Amazon Publishing’s imprint dedicated to short nonfiction and fiction by bestselling authors and new voices. AOS stories are intended to be read—or listened to—in a single sitting (5,000 to 20,000 words). Each story is available free to Prime members and Kindle Unlimited subscribers, and $1.99 for non-subscribers. Every download includes a free Audible edition as well.

Amazon Original Stories has published stories by Pulitzer and National Book Award winners and international bestsellers, in categories ranging from memoir to suspense to true crime to literary fiction. AOS stories have won the Hugo, Audie, and O. Henry awards and have been nominated for the Edgar, Locus, and Thriller Awards. They have been selected for the Best American anthology series four times and optioned for film and television. An overview of all published titles can be found here.

Welcome to my Annual Review! My year is not complete with giving myself a performance review, examining what went right, what went wrong, how well I lived up to my themes and goals. These reviews have morphed for me, something to do with the pandemic, no doubt, into a more general positive or negative view, examining my level of satisfaction with my performance instead of the nitty gritty quantifiable details that I used to focus on. I’m mellowing in my middle-age, and what used to be important is no longer as vital. It’s interesting to realize and watch this transition through the years. Also, I’ve altered both my approach to new work and my definition of success, and that, too, changes this rumination.

So with those caveats as a guide, let’s do this.

Looking Back on 2022, The Year of Choice

I had two overarching goals that I publicly claimed for 2022.

• I want to write more.

• I want to spend less time on things that take me away from that goal.

So how did I do?

Actually, not too bad. I stayed home, skipped all the conferences, and spent the year filling the pipeline. I typed The End on 9 projects that were in various stages of completion. I started 2 that will be wrapped in 2023. I planned 17 more possible projects, across three pen names. Trust me, I certainly won’t write all of these. I just spent an afternoon dumping all my cogent and half-baked ideas into a single file, and that’s the number that emerged. As for the third pen name—I have some stories that don’t fit with my hard-hitting thrillers or my urban fantasy, (romance, speculative fiction) so they slot into a special place. I seriously doubt they will ever happen, but I need to acknowledge them.

This creative mind dump is such a good exercise, and I encourage all creatives to do it at least once a year. The goal is simple:  get every idea in play into a single place. It’s similar to my outlining method, really—plopping every thought, scene, piece of dialogue, and character description into a document before I start a book. Offloading helps me think more clearly.

But I closed the year feeling dissatisfied with my performance. I focused, yes, and got a lot written, a lot finished. But I made several decisions that bit me in the butt and learned a couple of very hard lessons, which makes looking back on this year more frustrating than I’d like. Both personally and creatively, my value structure has changed, and my work needs to reflect that. This is something I’m very excited to explore in 2023 and beyond.

Now, here’s something funny for you. Drafting this review, I was surprised to see my annual word spreadsheet was a bit anemic. As much as I wrote, as much as I finished, the word count was among my lowest in years.

Guess what? I was missing an entire project. A *big* project. So my crappy word count suddenly leaped by over 30,000, I was a little happier with my year-end results. I started to dig deeper and realized my book count was off, too. I’d read twice as many books as I recorded.

Feeling a bit better, I updated my spreadsheets and then had to give this all a lot more thought. First, I’ve put less value on tracking this year, which on the whole, I think is healthy. But no matter what I do, my satisfaction with my work is tied to output. I didn’t hit my goal, but I didn’t fall as short as I thought I did. There was an unreasonable amount of relief in this realization, so clearly I have more work to do on myself to stop attaching so much importance to the data. Speaking of…

NITTY GRITTY: AKA NERDOLOGY

2022 Total Words: 295,896
Fiction Total: 178,300
Non-Fiction Total: 117,596*
Fiction Percentage: 65%
Books Read: 81
Creative Projects as J.T. Ellison: 7
Creative Projects as Joss Walker: 5

*(Excludes Email and Trello, which total 210,000)

Major Projects Worked On:

JT Novels:

IT’S ONE OF US (2023 Standalone)
THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT (Taylor Jackson #9)
#LEGACY (2024 Standalone)

JT Short Stories:

These Cold Strangers
X House
Louche 49

Joss Walker Novels:

MASTER OF SHADOWS (Jayne #2)
THE KEEPER OF FLAMES (Jayne #3)
DISCOVERY OF MAGIC (Jayne Bundle)

Joss Walker Short Stories:

A Betrayal of Magic
Guardians of Silence

Some other cool things:

• A WORD ON WORDS was renewed for Season 8, and Season 7 was nominated for an EMMY

• TOMB OF THE QUEEN won the Silver Falchion for Best Fantasy at Killer Nashville

• IT’S ONE OF US got a starred Library Journal and some astounding blurbs

• Appeared on Cal Newport’s podcast, and interviewed some astounding authors myself

Some not cool things:

• Jameson’s illness continues

• We got COVID—twice!

• I have some long-term heart issues post-vaccine and COVID

• No genuine time off after April, and no social media sabbaticals

But all in all, 2022 was a decent year. Frustrating on many levels, but we’re healthy again, safe, sheltered, and loved, which is really all that matters in the end. R.L. and I are having an awful lot of fun with the Jayne books and stories, I’m totally locked in on the psychological standalones, I’m very pleased with IT’S ONE OF US, and my creative spirit is feeling satisfied, and ready for the next steps.

The Year Ahead: 2023, The Year of Ritual

With perpetual changes to my publishing schedule, changes in the industry, the pandemic shifts, and changes to my personal ethos, I’ve lost many of my daily, monthly, and annual rituals over the past few years. This year, I intend to reclaim the valuable rituals that helped me build my career and kept me laser-focused over the past decade. This includes daily goals, project-specific deadlines, and a reinvigorated creative flow. I have plans, people. So many plans. I also have a new bellwether: will it matter in five years? If the answer is no, I ain’t doing it. There is great freedom in this question. You should ask yourself the same.

The “first word you see” tests abound this time of year, and the one I took on New Year’s Day gave me these three words:

Transformation
Abundance
Confidence

These are exactly the values I want to focus on in 2023. I’d decided on Ritual as my annual word in early December, when we’d canceled our annual holiday party. I just didn’t have the energy to host a shindig of that proportion. But as we got closer to the holidays, I realized that having something important to us to look forward to has to take precedence. This party is our annual ritual, and we had to respect that. (It was epic, by the way.)

That got me thinking about all the things we’ve given up these past few years, the ways our day-to-day and month-to-month lives have altered, shifted, changed, and not always for the better. Boom, Ritual was born.

But ritual is more than daily habits and parties and social media sabbaticals. It’s about travel, togetherness, unplugging completely, and respecting breaks. It is about reclaiming my time, reclaiming my space, reclaiming my creativity, and doing what’s right for me and my little family. It’s about saying “No, thank you” often and with great joy and zero guilt. It is about the transformation that comes from expectation, the abundance that comes from daily work, and the confidence that comes with being older and wiser, knowing that rituals are vital to a happy, healthy life.

I have a lot I want to accomplish in 2023. My top line goals: read 80 books, write 200,000 words, publish a bunch of great stories, tape another season of A Word on Words, stay focused on what matters, and get back on my bike. All while staying healthy, getting plenty of rest and exercise and sunshine and time off, and taking care of my people. All achievable, I think.

In the first quarter, I’m planning to finish drafting the new standalone, taking the Jayne series wide (meaning the books and stories will be available wherever you buy books instead of just at Amazon), editing Jayne #3, plotting Jayne #4 and some stories with R.L, and gearing up for the release of IT’S ONE OF US. I will be on tour for IOOU, too, so be on the lookout for the dates in my newsletter and on the website.

The second quarter will be quieter, with a family trip to the homeland and quick trip to NYC for Thrillerfest. And more writing, naturally. There may be a secret project or two that crop up around this time, and of course, we’ll need to talk about Taylor!

Quarters 3 and 4 are quieter still, with nothing but writing and editing planned, plus a business trip with the hubby. I’ve front loaded the year on purpose, because I absolutely loved how not having engagements in 2022 gave me so much freedom to create. Here’s to more of that!

This is all wonderful for me. But what about you? You, my friends, are about to be bombarded with the abundance of last year’s theme: Choice! I chose to stay home and write, and now you get those stories. Looking at my release schedule, where 2022 was a desert, 2023 is a lush frangipani-laden garden of delights. Here is what I currently have on the schedule:

J.T.

• These Cold Strangers - Amazon Originals: We Could Be Heroes Collection (February 7, 2023)

• HER DARK LIES mass market paperback (February 21, 2023)

• IT'S ONE OF US hardcover (February 21, 2023)

• THE WOLVES COME AT NIGHT (Taylor Jackson #9) (Spring)

• Louche 49 - Infinity: A Suspense Magazine Anthology (March 21, 2023)

• X House - In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology (September 12, 2023)

Joss

• Guardians of Fury (Guardians Volume 2) (May 23, 2023)

• THE KEEPER OF FLAMES (Jayne #3) (June 27, 2023)

• THE PROPHESY OF WIND (Jayne #4) (October 24, 2023)

Think that might hold you for a while???

Yep. 2023 is gonna be a big year! Here’s wishing the best for us all. 🤠

For the past several years, I’ve been doing annual reviews of my life and work, based on the format from Chris Guillebeau’s wonderful Annual Review on his blog, The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris’s system is exceptionally detailed, more so than I really need, but the gist is there. It’s a great system for those of us who are self-employed and want to do an assessment of our work for the year. Here’s the link to the actual post. Go on over there and take a read. I’ll wait. 

And if you're interested, here are the links to my previous annual reviews for 2009 (Too Damn Much), 2010 (Evolution), 2011 (Depth), 2012 (Simplicity), 2013 (Pencil), 2014 (Making Do), 2015 (No), 2016, (Lent), 2017 (Flow), 2018 (Joy), 2019 (Enough), 2020 (Content) and 2021 (Choice).

’Twas the night before…well, Saturday, because it’s Friday evening as I write this. I’m cuddled with the cats in front of the fire; it is genuinely chilly here in Nashvegas. The trees are lit, there is a holiday radio station on the TV (playing The Waitresses, naturally) and I’m going through my ToDo lists making sure everything has been covered before I bid 2022 a fond farewell.

It’s strange how this time of year makes us all flip out. I can’t help feeling compelled to get everything wrapped up, no loose ends or unfinished projects. This year, I am determined to take some time off, and not be worrying about work so I can enjoy the holidays. I have books to read, and cookies to make, and family to enjoy. Its time to put away the Type A personality and chill.

We started early with a quick trip to see bestie Paige and the godbabies in Georgia, which was so deeply soul-nourishing that I am still glowing. Also, Paige’s book launch at Hills and Hamlet was incredible. They have signed copies. You should buy one.

There are a few other things I wanted to share to wrap the year with a tidy bow.

On A WORD ON WORDS this week, I sat down with Gal Beckerman to discuss his fascinating book THE QUIET BEFORE.

If you get the newsletter, you already know about this, but if not, I was delighted to have an extensive, wide-ranging interview with my friend Cal Newport about the realities of becoming a thriller writer.

I made a new friend recently who shares my love of examining the deep life, albeit on her own terms. Lauren Lowrey has a very cool podcast called Amstigator, and her last show of the year discusses the vital nature of allowing ourselves to be fallow over the winter in order to build stronger roots for our creativity. I loved this idea, which is, of course, analogous to the seasonality discussions Cal has been sharing. It seems more and more of us are seeing the value in slowing down instead of grinding it out day after day.

Here’s a quick look at what I’m reading this month, in addition to Paige’s awesome THE LOST WITCH.

And on the Joss side of things, there’s a new short story out today called A BETRAYAL OF MAGIC that you can read for free if you sign up for the newsletter, or grab it on Kindle. A major goal for 2023 - I am taking Jayne’s world wide, so you’ll be able to buy/read from any store you like.

And lo, this brings me to a wonderful moment in time. I am closed for business until January 3!

Mr. E, the kitties, and I wish you a safe, healthy, peaceful, and joyous holiday season. See you in 2023!

A WORD ON WORDS interview with Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of THE IT GIRL

The first episode of the season introduces my fabulous new co-host, investigative journalist and novelist (and all-around great guy) Jeremy Finley! (You might learn a little about me along the way, too.) We have a stellar lineup this season, featuring some of your faves and some incredible debuts, and everything in between. Our producer Suzy and the rest of the crew has done an outstanding job with all the formats. There’s a little something for everyone now!

➡️ Click here to watch the show ⬅️

We’re so excited to hear what you think about this new format! Personally, I am thrilled you get a longer visit with our guests so you can hear more about their work, their ethos, and their lives as writers. Can’t wait for you to watch!

Stop by www.awordonwords.org to see our past episodes.

And keep reading!

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together--or break each other apart . . .

And here’s a mini-interview about IT’S ONE OF US at Crime by the Book, so you can get a bit of the story behind the story.

I can’t wait for you to read this book. Stay tuned for all sorts of giveaways, special treats, and more. But in the meantime, might I suggest that you pre-order?? 🤠

PREORDER Now!

eBook

KINDLE
NOOK
APPLE BOOKS
GOOGLE PLAY
KOBO

Hardcover

AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
TARGET
BOOKS-A-MILLION
INDIGO

Audiobook

AUDIBLE
LIBRO.FM
HARLEQUIN AUDIO
KOBO

The Taylor Jackson series cover re-issue continues with THE IMMORTALS! What do you think?

GET YOUR COPY!

KINDLE
NOOK
APPLE BOOKS
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

Thunder booms. Lightning flashes. the rain pummels the windows. But inside, you are safe, warm, womblike in the library. The fire crackles, candles flicker, the sconces on the wall glow gently. A clock ticks, and the susurrus of a pen scratching on paper lulls you into an almost hypnotic state. In this place, you can enter a flow state that allows your mind to genuinely focus on your tasks. 

ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, is a relatively new phenomenon. And, from my quick bit of research, it doesn’t work the same way for each person. That makes total sense to me--what I find lovely and relaxing in person (cozy interiors with snow or thunderstorms outside) might cause someone else great distress. The whispering ASMRs meant to comfort make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. There are thousands of ASMR rooms to choose from, to each their own.

I bring this up only because I’ve been doing work with my life coach recently focusing on rewiring myself to let go of internal blocks and accept the flow state, and I’ve combined it with my favorite ASMR rooms this week to great success. Here are a few of my favorite ASMR feeds if you want to give it a try yourself. Just be warned, it truly is hypnotic, and you might just create something magnificent!

Royal Library

Writing Library

Thunderstorm at Hogwarts

Everything from My Ambience especially Crackling Fireplace

I think you’re going to love working with some of these in the background. Let go and let it flow! Onward…

Links 🔗

I’m up this week on A WORD ON WORDS interviewing Patti Callahan about her new book ONCE UPON A WARDROBE. I rarely get a chance to interview close friends on the show, and Patti and I have a tendency to finish one another’s sentences, which made for a fun, intimate conversation. 

An interesting piece about the influx of AI in the audiobook sector. What do you think?

Scott Young talks about goal setting and the science of achievement.

Susan DeFreitas spent a year reading Ursula LeGuin novels, and it blew her mind.

Another Worlde story, but with a nice look at all kinds of word puzzles.

The February Newsletter went out this week, with some fun news…

Reads 📚

A good reading week in between the Olympics coverage. Finished THE WIFE STALKER (5 stars for creativity), moved on to Jennifer Armentrout’s FROM BLOOD AND ASH, dabbled a bit in SWAN DIVE by Georgina Pazcoguin, and made good progress on a galley from thriller author Adam Hamby. 

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥️ I hope you’ve had a great weekend with a wonderful book!

Happy Sunday. I hope you’re safe and warm with a good book close by.

I had a conversation with a writer friend recently that I thought salient to this week’s note. This author is highly motivated and extremely creative. She regularly juggles multitudes of projects—quite successfully, I might add—writes quickly, is used to immersion into the worlds she creates. She was having an off day and was resisting the urge to beat herself up over the lack of productivity. Hyper-productive authors don’t do well with moments like this. I know that for a fact, because I too have these days when I can’t seem to move the chains no matter what I try. The words just aren’t there. Those days are rough, and it’s very easy to fall into the I am screwing everything up when you don’t hit your goals. Here is my response:

“Paradoxically, I think this is what makes us great creators. It's the same emotional diligence that keeps us coming back to the page and trying to create, even when there are bad days. It's tied to our self-discipline. So if you reframe it like that, it might help. Also, look into Cal Newport’s new ideas about slow productivity. It deemphasizes the micro in favor of the macro. I had a crap day Thursday, but looked back and realized I'd written 25,000 already for the month. (Last year I only wrote 140K, so this is a BIG leap forward for me) You'll be okay. You have a ton of projects you're juggling, and brains sometimes need a little rest from the incessant adrenaline spikes we give them.”

I stand by this advice for her, and for you. Those artists who suffer from extreme emotional frustration when they can’t produce are the same ones who, over time, accrete an impressive body of work.

Slow productivity is a real thing and is especially appropriate to writers. Very few of us can toss off 100,000 words in a month. It takes time to write a book. I’ve always equated writing novels to an ant eating an elephant. It takes thousands of small bites every day, day after day after day, to consume the whole thing. 

The next time you’re feeling frustrated that you need to lie fallow for a day or two, keep the faith. It’s just your brain recovering from the adrenal strikes. Over time, you’ll see that one or two bad days don’t matter at all.

And with that in mind, onward! 

Links 🔗

Season 7 of our literary television show A WORD ON WORDS begins airing this week, and a huge Nashville welcome to my new co-host, the divine Alka Joshi, who digs deep into Jessamine Chan’s THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS!!! #keepreading

Publishing has been plagued by a scammer, and he’s finally been unmasked: The Talented Mr. Bernardini

My life coach has some advice for you: Savoring! 3 Ways to Squeeze More Sweetness out of Life

I’m sharing because it’s cool but also I call dibs: The Woman Who Can See 100 Million Colors

Who wants to be the master of their domain?

Some superb editing advice…

Reads 📚

I had a momentary reading block earlier this week trying to conquer the paradox of choice that is my To Be Read pile. I finally settled on Sarah Pinborough’s amazing BEHIND HER EYES, and also watched the adaptation on Netflix, which was stellar, and Liv Constantine’s excellent THE WIFE STALKER, which helped me jump right into the proposal for my next book. Thanks, ladies, for the great books!

What are you reading this weekend?

I saw this week Barnes & Noble is trying something new, and it made me very happy and terribly nostalgic. Happy, because offering a discount on pre-orders is a really great way to get people buying books. Nostalgic, because when I went to the website and saw the Coming Soon lists, broken out by weeks, I was immediately thrown back to my own bookstore experiences. I worked for a time at Waldenbooks, right before Randy and I moved to Tennessee. I swear I took the job partly so I could see when the new books by authors I loved were releasing. 

These were the days before pervasive internet: authors’ websites, social media, and email newsletters. The newsletters from authors were snail mailed in print, and the libraries and bookstores and review columns were the only way a layperson you could find out who had a book coming, and when.  It made me feel special to know well ahead of time that the new Diana Gabaldon would release on December 30, and to use the box of alphabet letters to spell that out on the board behind the register. Ah. I do sometimes miss my time working in a bookstore. Though I do not miss the pop-up holiday calendar kiosk in the mall, nor injuring my shoulder falling off the tall rolling ladder, which is what ultimatly ended my career there. If ya can’t haul boxes, ya can’t work in a bookstore.

I applaud Barnes for this new effort to get books into the hands of readers at a lower cost, and the format they’re using to do so. There’s a ton of bargains out there, from a ton of amazing authors. Pre-orders are incredibly vital to a book’s trajectory, so go grab some of these beauties. A few I’d recommend to get you started:

David Bell, Jennifer Hillier, John Grisham, Kellye Garrett, E. Lockhart, Karen M. McManus, Ruth Ware, John Sandford, Lisa Scottoline, Paige Crutcher, Emily Henry, Ashley Herring Blake, Sarah J Maas, Mark Greaney, Tracy Deonn.... Oh, my gosh, there are too many to count. I’ll stop now : )

And with books on our brains…onward!

Links 🔗

A helpful exercise: How to quiet your mind by doing a brain dump

Julia Cameron on the best ways to get creative indoors.

Reckoning With Joan Didion, the Archpriestess of Cool.

Cal Newport says it’s time to embrace slow productivity. I agree.

Ruth Reichl has a new substack, and I am so here for it.

Are you Wordle-addicted yet?

Reads 📚

A couple of big releases the past few weeks - THE OVERNIGHT GUEST by Heather Gudenkauf and ONE STEP TOO FAR by Lisa Gardner, for starters. Wowza! I finished WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD, read half of BOX 88, jumped to END GAME. I’m all over the place...

Did you see the chilling new cover for THE COLD ROOM? I LOVE it!

What are you reading this weekend?

Next up in the Taylor Jackson series cover re-issue is THE COLD ROOM! What do you think?

GET YOUR COPY!

KINDLE
NOOK
APPLE BOOKS
KOBO
GOOGLE PLAY

Happy Sunday! Yes, you’re seeing that right. The Friday blog wasn’t ready in time, so I pulled it, and thought I’d send it in the regular Sunday spot. Do you prefer Sunday mornings for these missives? Friday will always be my business day, it just works better, but I’ve discovered that if I’m to post a blog in a timely manner on Friday, I have to start thinking about it Wednesday and write it Thursday and guess what? That sort of defeats the purpose of business Fridays…

I’ve had crazy dreams this week, all of which were lucid. Crazy enough I’ve been considering sending one or two into This Jungian Life. I don’t know that I enjoy the dreams where, amid the action, I’m saying to myself, oh, you must remember this, it’s a great story; this is a new series concept; oh wow, this could be a super cool movie...

I am a visual person—a visual learner, thinker, writer. My characters’ conversations play out as small movie reels in my head. It’s not too much of a leap to understand that translates to my subconscious, too. It’s an architecture thing—the way the stories build, word by word, is clear as the noon sun to me. 

You’d think my brain would be overflowing with ideas when it comes to design. But when I try to envision a look, a placement, a color scheme, there’s nothing—black space. I am an architect, not a designer. A builder, not a guilder. They are two very different disciplines. Complementary, by necessity, but different. 

This inability to design traverses my entire landscape. I am a not-so-great photographer.  Drawing anything more complicated than a box, an arrow, or a piece of holly is simply beyond me. Friends kindly lend their expertise when it comes to styling bookshelves and furniture placement.

So when we get to designing artwork on books, you can imagine how challenging that is for me. I have a hard time conceptualizing what a cover should look like, so I rely on a cadre of highly talented artists to guide me. I need them to crawl inside my brain and tease out what I’m trying to explain, which can be challenging for everyone. I know what works the moment I see it, but explaining how to get there is not my forte. What I do know is what I don’t like. Which, I suppose, is a talent of sorts, too. 

Regardless, all this to say, Rachel and I have spent a couple of days this week with our fantastic artist working on the cover for MASTER OF SHADOWS. It is gorgeous. I can’t wait to share.

Also, it’s been a decent writing week. I’m now deep into the third act on this Taylor book, though I hit a wall Thursday and ended up having to have a conversation about the plot with my friend Jayne Ann Krentz (her new book, LIGHTNING IN A MIRROR, released this week, you should grab it!) Some fun action is happening, and while I don’t quite see the end, in the next couple of weeks, I’m hoping I’ll be unfolding my lucky Harvard T-shirt for the last day stretch. Wish me luck!

Onward!

Links 🔗

(Yes, you read that right, too.) Here are some stories I dug this week:

Inside a Dying Japanese Town Obsessed With Aliens 

Colleen Hoover Did It Her Way

Finding Joy Through Art at the End of the World in ‘Station Eleven’

Our Kinder, Gentler, Nobody-Moves-Out Divorce

Reads 📚

I’m deep into WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD now and finished an incredible book coming out in late summer called COMPLICIT. And a TBR shoutout: I also have THE PERFECT FAMILY by Robyn Harding in the queue. 

What are you reading this weekend?

So yours truly went down a rabbit hole this morning listening to some music with the lyrics playing on the screen. I never write to songs with lyrics, but I was doing a Joss Walker newsletter and needed to reference the wonderful Garbage song “I”m Only Happy When It Rains” and the next thing I knew, I was hitting forward on a mixed soundtrack looking for lyrics of songs I adored. I know there are plenty of programs that do this, I just hadn’t seen it before. It’s quite handy if you, like me, tend to screw up lyrics. I’m the WORST. (Though I will give mad props to an old boyfriend who thought Tin Roof, Rusted in the B-52s classic “Love Shack" was Henry! Rest. Still makes me laugh.)

I listened to the fabulous “Bohemian Like You” by the Dandy Warhols, and then of course decided to try “Bohemian Rhapsody” which has many lines I never get right. I mean, I had no idea that A - it was Bismillah, nor that B - Bismilliah means “In the name of God” in Arabic. So. A rabbit hole in which I learned something. Winning.

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?

Bismillah! No, we will not let you go

(Let him go!)

Bismillah! We will not let you go

(Let him go!)

Anyway. That brings me to titles. Soooo many of my titles have their roots in song lyrics. That’s always been my go-to resource to title my projects. Get inspired by a song, write down a lyric, twist it around, and boom goes the dynamite. 

I do believe we’ve settled on a title for the 2023 standalone, and I love it, so yay, and interestingly, it is NOT a lyric. at all. It was actually a lament. I’ll be able to share it soon. Double yay.

But now I am now toying with two titles for the new Taylor book. I love them both. My agent loves them both. One is a play on a lyric from Les Miserables, and one is the working title I’ve had for this book from day one. They are both good. So don’t be surprised if I end up polling y’all to see what you think.

I wrote a lot this week. I had my all is lost, I need to put this book away, I will never finish, it’s terrible moment Wednesday night, and lo, yesterday I got to blow something up, and I was telling Mr. E, and boom—I saw what I needed to do. Fingers crossed it works. And since I’m on deadline for this Taylor book, it’s time for me to get back to the day job and move on to her world for the rest of the day.  

Friday Reads 📚

From my teetering TBR comes a highly anticipated read from Andrea Bartz, whose last novel I experienced, THE HERD, blew me away. I loved this cover, too. Vibrant and sassy. Have you read this one yet?

This year’s annual review will look very different from years past. I’ve made several changes to my systems, and I’ve let go of many metrics that used to be important to me in favor of a broader sense of satisfaction with my output for the year. I’ve spent a lot of time over the holidays being very honest with myself about the things I put value on and the things I don’t. And while there is an annual review written in which I go very deep into my specifics for the year, the things that worked and didn’t, the numbers, the nitty-gritty of what I accomplished, what went right and what went wrong, and what I plan to do in 2022, I’ve decided those details aren’t vital to this particular post anymore. The specifics aren’t what you come for, anyway, I suspect. 

So here’s the topline takeaway. Because of a thousand reasons and more, I had a lower-than-usual word count year, and I’m resolved to increase that number next year. I did read a lot, though not nearly enough books of my choosing. I swapped out most of my day-to-day business email for Trello, stepping away from the hyperactive hive mind workflow into a better project management system, so it’s impossible to measure that aspect of non-fiction. That falls into the “metrics I no longer track” category. I didn’t achieve all I set out to, but I did finish 11 out of the 14 projects I’d planned. Not perfect, but not terrible, either.

Looking back on 2021 - The Year of Content (and Content)

It’s been a long time coming, but the level of contentment I feel in both my life and my career is off the charts. The work I’ve done over the past several years to revamp my world has paid off. Now it’s time to focus on new work, letting the words flow instead of trying to force them, walking away when the work is done. My approach to the Year of Content is four-fold: Reading for enjoyment, exercising for wellness, living with humility, and creating with intention, as the world slowly returns to its normal axis. 

So how did I do?

You know the saying, “Man plans, God laughs?” That sums up my goal setting and achievement for 2021. The written content was slimmer than usual, my focus was shot, the distractions were enormous. Almost insurmountable. This is my lowest word count year since 2009, when I started tracking my annual numbers. Physical resistance was very high after the great ankle incident, and trust me when I say painkillers, four months of twice-weekly rehab, and creativity do not mix. But I managed to get the standalone edited and sent off during that awful time, then buckled down in the Fall and wrote half of a new Taylor novel. I also published 6 titles, both new and reprints, from Two Tales.

The year had many positive moments. Launching the Joss Walker brand. Meeting and subsequently working with R.L. Perez. Hiring the wonderful folks of Aurora Publicity to help with the back-end of the business. Finishing what I believe is one of my best pieces of work to date, a profoundly emotional and exciting thriller. Getting Two Tales established and learning the indie publishing world. Discovering the joys of a stormy ASMR room to help me focus. Creating a regular and sustained exercise habit. Getting off social media and back into my own head.

Though I didn’t write as much as I wanted, I wrote/co-wrote enough to release three new novels over the next 13 months, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Nitty Gritty: AKA Nerdology

2021 Total Words: 251,267
Fiction Total: 145,000
Non-Fiction Total: 106,267
Fiction Percentage: 58%
Books Read: 91
Creative Projects as J.T. Ellison: 6
Creative Projects as Joss Walker: 4

The Year Ahead:  2022, The Year of Choice

I approached my creative planning differently this year, as well. While I’m doing all the usuals: breaking my projects out in a quarterly plan, scheduling my deadlines, etc., I’m keeping the specifics internal this year. But I will share my two overarching, non-negotiable goals for the year that supersede everything else.

• I want to write more. 

• I want to spend less time on things that take me away from that goal.

I’ve done a deep dive into what choice means to me, creatively and personally. This year’s choices must be in service to the two goals I stated above. On the front-end, looking ahead, this feels a bit selfish, but that’s what will have to happen to achieve what I need to going forward, both this year and into the next decade of my career. I have a LOT of things I want to write for you, both as J.T. and as Joss, and that means outside of A WORD ON WORDS and the new “Behind the Pen” series I’m doing with Jayne Ann Krentz for Poisoned Pen Bookstore, I’m going to be saying no to other things that come at me this year. And I’m going to try very hard not to create internal distractions—pursuing projects that aren’t necessarily in line with these goals. 

I’m very much looking forward to this non-creative sabbatical. I’m sticking with my Fridays-only social media, which feels like a great compromise (and hey, I like talking with people online!), and the remainder of the week will be focused on the deep work creative time I need to get the word counts up and the projects into your hands faster. We’ll see how it goes!

I’d love to hear what your plans are for 2022!

For the past several years, I’ve been doing annual reviews of my life and work, based on the format from Chris Guillebeau’s wonderful Annual Review on his blog, The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris’s system is exceptionally detailed, more so than I really need, but the gist is there. It’s a great system for those of us who are self-employed and want to do an assessment of our work for the year. Here’s the link to the actual post. Go on over there and take a read. I’ll wait. 

And if you're interested, here are the links to my previous annual reviews for 2009 (Too Damn Much), 2010 (Evolution), 2011 (Depth), 2012 (Simplicity), 2013 (Pencil), 2014 (Making Do), 2015 (No), 2016, (Lent), 2017 (Flow), 2018 (Joy), 2019 (Enough), and 2020 (Content).

Welcome to the last Friday of 2021, and the last day of this odd, squirrelly year. I hope your holidays have been enjoyable. I know too many of you have gotten sick—I do hope you’re healthy and hale now and have a bunch of new books to read! I received a number of titles that I can’t wait to dive into. 2022 is going to be a wonderful reading year, I can already tell.

And since this is the last day of the year, it’s resolution time! If you’re anything like me, you’re starting to think about what changes you want to make going forward. Last week, I saw this lovely nugget on Instagram, and it’s a perfect way to approach the new year. 

Fifteen minutes of anything won’t necessarily change your life.  

Fifteen minutes a day of [[insert your goal here]], day after day, will.

Want to write a book? Read more books? Start a yoga practice? Learn a language, an instrument, a skill? Fifteen minutes. That’s all you need. If you do it regularly, the accretion of that small effort will show results. 

I’m working on my annual review, and I’m focusing on the idea of slow productivity. What you do during your workday matters, without question. But in my particular field—writing novels—day-to-day doesn’t always look that impressive. But if you put in the time, you end up with a substantial finished project, so when you look back over the year you’ve just had, you can see how those 15-minute increments can add up. 

This year, I’m committing to this practice, if only out of curiosity about what 15 minutes a day accrues for me in 2022. Join me!

📚Friday Reads

I just finished the last of my holiday reads—THE HOLIDAY SWAP by Maggie Knox. I loved it. Elevated romance; intelligent, capable, appealing leads in identical twins Cass and Charlie; adorable, swoon-worthy love interests; and a setting straight out of a holiday movie. Plus, baked goods. I’m about to start making my own sourdough, and I learned some excellent lessons throughout. IE: do NOT use iced sugar instead of flour to feed your starter. 😂

Now I’m to a reread of Cal Newport’s DEEP WORK to gear up for 2022. What are you reading this exciting weekend?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!