Let's Do Lunch! Interview with J.T. Ellison

I am very excited to have my lovely friend and fellow Bodacious MusicCity Wordsmith J.T. Ellison as my first guest author interview for Let's Do Lunch. I met J.T. about two years ago by way of another of our writers' group members and our local chapter of Sisters in Crime (Middle Tennessee). It didn't take J.T. and I long to discover that we are apparently twins separated at birth (well, by two years)! Where we differ most (though not exclusively) is in our writing styles - she does thrillers whereas I do lighter romantic suspense.

Today we're going to talk about her writing, her agent, her blog, and a few various and sundry random things, because, well, that's what my blog is all about.

JB: Give us a little "backstory" of your own - what made you decide to write a novel and what was the plot of your first try?

JT: I've always wanted to write a book, but I figured I'd do a political thriller. But when we moved to Nashville I discovered crime fiction. I'd been reading John Sandford and was so intrigued by his main character, Lucas Davenport. Sandford made Lucas come alive – I could see his flinty blue eyes and rakish scar. The description of his smile never reaching his eyes stayed with me. I decided I wanted to try writing a crime novel.

I was driving downtown when the plot for my first book, Mortal Trust, hit me. Taylor popped into my mind as a character name. Originally, she was called Bethany Taylor, and everyone called her Taylor. (I realized halfway though the manuscript that her name was actually Taylor Jackson. It worked better.) Taylor is the youngest homicide lieutenant in Metro Nashville Homicide, and a female to boot. She is from a wealthy background, but has eschewed her privileged life to serve her fellow Nashvillians. It's a source of consternation for her parents, but she's happier being a cop.

The story of Mortal Trust is straight up serial killer. A young man, very disturbed, is preying on Vanderbilt co-eds. He's killing them left and right. Because Nashville doesn't have a huge history of serial killers, I thought bringing an FBI profiler in would be fun. Dr. John Baldwin comes to Nashville to help with the case, and falls in love with Taylor. I mean really, who wouldn't? She's a gorgeous, tall blonde who carries a gun. How exciting is that?

I toyed with the idea of killing Taylor several times, allowing Baldwin to become my franchise character. In the original manuscript, she's badly hurt and the book ends with the insinuation that she has died. It seems to be a recurring theme with poor Taylor. She's always getting into some kind of mortal danger.

I chose to use real law enforcement as my characters instead of amateurs because I could more easily justify the level of violence. Your everyday PI or amateur detective doesn't get to strap on a weapon, doesn't live with the edge of mayhem that a real law enforcement professional does. It's more fun for me that way.

JB: And more fun for us! (And personally I'm glad you let Taylor live. She's one tough chick and I like her a lot.)

What is your ideal writing atmosphere? Do you listen to music (if so, what type) or must you have peace and quiet? Who/what inspires you?

JT: I have to have everything in its place, all my files organized and at my fingertips. I guess I've got a little OCD.

Every book seems to have its own theme song, as do each of my characters. The first book was inspired by Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique. Especially during the rough parts, the killing and rapes, I'd blast the music to get in the mood. Berlioz always spooks me, it's great atmospheric work. The second book, CROSSED, had some Berlioz, and Joaquin Rodrigo's Conceirto de Aranjuez. The music is the basis for the score to Raiders of the Lost Ark, a swelling 12-string guitar laced piece that's truly inspiring. ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS was a slave to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3. My newest, 14, seems to be inspired by Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, but it's in its early days yet. I might toss in some Wagner to top it all off. Truly stirring. I also listen to my iPod list of alternative and rock. For some reason, every time I hear Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) something good happens. Maybe I should cue that up now…

JB: Your agent is currently "shopping" a full-length thriller for you, but you've received an Honorable Mention from Writer's Digest for a short fiction piece, you're a contributor to Flashing in the Gutters, and you're having a short story published in Demolition Magazine's Spring 2006 "Females of Noir" issue. What inspired you to write short fiction?

JT: One of our esteemed critique group writers, Del Tinsley, the Queen of Shorts, kept telling me I needed to try my hand at some short fiction. I fought her off as long as I could, but when we (the BMWs) decided to group enter a local short story contest I gave in. I was surprised at how fun it was. Another contest opportunity arose (the Writer's Digest Genre Short Fiction Contest) and I decided what the heck, I'll try another. The story is strange, and I really enjoyed playing with it. Suddenly, it gets an Honorable Mention and I went, wait a minute. Maybe I need to take this a little more seriously. I have a very active dream life, and I've always tucked the ideas away to be used as future books. They make much better short stories. I wrote the piece for Demolition and realized how much fun a scary little story could be. I'm addicted now. I try to get a piece of flash fiction done every couple of weeks, and I'm working on some longer shorts to submit to the magazines.

The shorts allow me to stretch into areas that my books don't or won't go. They seem to have an element of fantasy and horror about them, which is strange because I don't read that kind of stuff. Even scary movies are off limits to me. I get frightened too easily. I'm a walking oxymoron, I know.

JB: I've mentioned your blog several times on Let's Do Lunch. Please tell us about Murderati and how it came to be.

JT: Murderati is the brainchild of Agatha nominated writer Pari Noskin Taichert, author of the Sasha Solomon series (THE CLOVIS INCIDENT and THE BELEN HITCH). She contacted me last November and said she was considering starting a marketing blog with multiple authors. I welcomed the opportunity -- I'm the only unpublished writer of the group, and obviously exposure is important, whether you're published or not. Pari recruited the group and we started planning out what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it.

We went through the typical process. Coming up with a name was the first priority. I must say -- with several highly capable and creative people, we had many excellent names to choose from. In the end, though, MURDERATI was number one. It embodies everything we stand for -- a combination of glitterati, literati, technorati, and, of course, murder. It's a highly original name for an eclectic group of writers. I think it fits us to a tee.

Once we had a name, the rest was easy. The logo and site were built, days and themes chosen, and a launch date picked. We did a little promotion behind the scenes, but went live with a big splash on April 3. None of us has looked back.

It's important to remember that launching a blog isn't an easy task. We have the built in advantage of seven people, all of whom write different kinds of books, are published from small to large houses, and have different fan bases. We all hang out in different areas on the web, and can draw different readers to the blog. Diversity is a must, even if you're a lone blogger.

JB: Good point. Okay, we're going to switch gears a little bit and I'm going to ask you some "just for fun", random kind of questions. First, name your "World's Most Perfect Drink(s)".

JT: A truly fine bottle of red wine – preferably from Tuscany or the La Mancha region of Spain. Though Australia is making quite a name for itself. And you can never turn down a really good margarita.

JB: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

JT: I'm a big reader, but during the summer, I'm addicted to the links. I've been a golfer all my life, not that my game reflects that often enough. I find golf a true relaxant, and a great diviner of personality. I'm also a big television buff. I love all the crime shows, plus Alias, ER, and 24, but my favorite of the season is My Name Is Earl. You've just got to be paying attention to catch it all.

JB: What adjectives best describe you?

JT: That's actually such a difficult question. I don't quite know how to answer it. I'm shy but outgoing, quiet but bawdy, loyal and true. I sound like a dog. I'd like to think I have a sense of humor – I get a charge out of making people laugh. You know me, what would you say?

JB: [chuckle] I wouldn't say "bawdy" – I might use "buoyant" instead.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and share a little of yourself with us, J.T.

Be sure to check out J.T.'s first published short story, "X", in Demolition Magazine's Spring 2006 issue, along with those of her fellow "Females of Noir" (Jennifer Jordan, Sandra Ruttan, Aliya Whiteley, Kim Harrington, Patricia Abbott, and Sarah Weinman).

J.T. Ellison is a 1991 graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College with degrees in English and Politics, and received her Master's Degree in Political Management from The George Washington University in 1994. Her first short story, PRODIGAL ME, won an Honorable Mention in the 2006 Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards.