J. T. Ellison is a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' bestselling American author. She writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, the latter starring

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Homicide Lt. Taylor Jackson and medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens. She also pens the "A Brit in the FBI" series with #1 ''New York Times'' bestselling author

Catherine Coulter Jean Catherine Coulter (born December 26, 1942) is an American author of romantic suspense thrillers and historical romances who currently resides in northern California. Biography Early years Coulter grew up on a horse ranch in Cameron County, ...

. With over a million books in print, Ellison's work has been published in twenty-eight countries and sixteen languages. She is also the co-host of the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning television series, ''A Word on Words'', which airs on

Nashville Public Television WNPT may refer to: *WNPT (TV) WNPT, virtual channel 8 (Very high frequency, VHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 7), is a PBS network affiliate#Member stations, member television station city of license, licensed to Nashville, Te ...

. Ellison is also the founder of Two Tales Press, an independent publishing house, and The Wine Vixen, a wine review website. She lives with her husband in Nashville,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Background

Ellison was born outside of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and moved to rural

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

when she was two, then to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

at the age of fourteen. She graduated from

Randolph-Macon Woman's College Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; � ...

with a double major in Politics and English Creative Writing and a minor in Economics, then received her master's degree from George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. Ellison was a presidential appointee and worked in The

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

and the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

before moving into the private sector to work as a financial analyst and marketing director for several defense and aerospace contractors.

Writing career

When Ellison's college advisor told her that her writing wasn't good enough to be published, Ellison changed her plan to get a

Master's of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

and, instead, went into politics. Eight years later, while living in Nashville, Ellison was recuperating from a back injury when she first read the PREY series by John Sandford and rediscovered her love of storytelling. Ellison began to research her hidden passions:

forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

and crime, and was compelled to begin writing down her stories. To research her books, she has worked with the Metro Nashville Police Department and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, as well as performing autopsies and studying survivalists. Ellison is perhaps best known for her Lt. Taylor Jackson series, which features Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson. Ellison successfully spun-off the series with Jackson's best friend, Medical Examiner Dr. Samantha Owens, as she begins her life in Washington, D.C. In 2012, Ellison teamed up with #1 ''New York Times'' bestselling author

to co-write a new FBI series. The first book, ''The Final Cut'', released in September 2013 and hit every major bestseller list. The series continues with ''The Lost Key,'' ''The End Game,'' ''The Devil's Triangle'' and ''The Sixth Day;'' the newest installment is ''The Last Second''. Ellison published her first standalone novel, ''No One Knows'', a Nashville-based domestic thriller, in 2016 with

Gallery Books Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

. and followed with a second standalone, ''Lie to Me'', in 2017 with MIRA Books. Her third standalone, ''Tear Me Apart'', released in 2018. ''Good Girls Lie'' in 2019, and ''Her Dark Lies'' in 2021. Her latest standalone, ''It's One Of Us,'' is set to release February 28, 2023. She also has co-written with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava on two anthology collaborations: ''Slices of Night'' and ''Storm Season''. Ellison is a co-founder of Killer Year, an interactive society composed of 13 debut crime/mystery/suspense authors whose books were first published in 2007, creating an active online community and teaming authors with mentors from among the most established authors within the genre. The group was dedicated to furthering the writing, publishing and marketing goals of its members and the highly popular community involved readers, reviewers, and publishing professionals. A collection of short stories by the graduating class, including comments and contributions from seasoned vets such as Lee Child and Allison Brennan, was published to acclaim as ''Killer Year: Stories to Die For...From the Hottest New Crime Writers''. Killer Year became the model for the International Thriller Writer
debut author program
which Ellison helped develop. Ellison also was one of the original members of, and a contributor to, the Anthony Award-nominated crime fiction blog
Murderati
which ran from 2006-2012 and is now an archive. She also contributed essays in volumes published by

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

and

International Thriller Writers International Thriller Writers (ITW), was founded October 9, 2004, at Bouchercon XXXV, the "World Mystery and Suspense Conference", in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide h ...

and regularly blogs about the writing business on ''The Tao of JT''. She also writes under the name Andrea Ellison overseas (France and Holland/Belgium) Ellison is an active member of several professional writing organizations, including

and

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by incr ...

. Ellison's books have been published in: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom.

Other ventures

In 2015, Ellison became the co-host of

's premier literary television series ''A Word on Words.'' The show was hosted for more than forty years by journalist and bibliophile

John Seigenthaler John Lawrence Seigenthaler ( ; July 27, 1927 – July 11, 2014) was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights. Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper ''The ...

before his death in 2014. The show features authors who discuss their books, the publishing business, and their personal lives. The rebooted show is filmed on location in Nashville, and appears on-air in two- to three-minute segments. In 2017, the first season of "A Word on Words" won a regional EMMY for Best Interstitial. In 2018, NPT was awarded the NETA Award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association for the show. Ellison is also the founder of Two Tales Press, an independent publishing house featuring Ellison's short stories and novellas. Under the fantasy pen name of Joss Walker, Ellison is working on an urban fantasy series called Jayne Thorne, CIA Librarian. An amateur oenophile, Ellison occasionally posts to The Wine Vixen, a blog dedicated to all things vino. The blog resurrects Ellison's Wine Recommendation of the Week, a staple of her blog posts on Murderati, and features wines for any budget, travelogues, wine zeitgeist, and more.

Personal life

Ellison lives with her husband and twin cats in Nashville.

Reception

* ''The Sixth Day'' debuted at #3 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List and #2 on the list of ''USA TODAY'' Best-Selling Books * ''The Devil's Triangle'' debuted at #1 on the ''Wall Street Journal'' Best-Selling Books list, #2 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List and #2 on the list of ''USA TODAY'' Best-Selling Books * ''The End Game'' reached #5 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List * ''The Lost Key'' climbed to #3 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List and was named one of the Best Thrillers of 2014 by ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' * ''The Final Cut'' reached #3 on the ''New York Times'' Best Sellers List and #3 on the list o
USA TODAY Best-selling Books
* ''No One Knows'' reached #122 on the list of ''USA TODAY'' Best-Selling Books * ''All the Pretty Girls'' reached #87 on the list of ''USA TODAY'' Best-Selling Books * ''Lie to Me'' reached #9 on the ''Toronto Star'' Original Fiction bestseller list, #10 on ''The Globe and Mail'' Hardcover Fiction bestseller list, and #55 on the list of ''USA TODAY'' Best-selling Books

Awards

* SIBA 2017 Southern Book Prize Long List, Thriller nominee (''Field of Graves'' and ''No One Knows'') * 2016 Spring Okra Pick (''Field of Graves'', 2016) * 2016 Winter Okra Pick (''No One Knows'', 2016) * ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original (''The Cold Room'', 2010) * Best Mystery/Thriller Writer by ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

s "Best of Nashville 2008" *

Romantic Times ''Romantic Times'' was an American genre magazine specializing in romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love betwee ...

Reviewer's Choice nominee for Best Suspense/Thriller ** ''A Deeper Darkness'' (2012) ** ''The Final Cut'' (2013) ** ''When Shadows Fall'' (2014) ** ''What Lies Behind'' (2015) ** ''The End Game'' (2015) ** ''The Devil's Triangle'' (2017) *

RITA Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

® Nominee for Best Romantic Suspense (''Where All the Dead Lie'', 2012) *

® Nominee for Best Romantic Suspense (''Field of Graves'', 2017)

Trade Picks

Book of the Month Club

* No One Knows

Indie Next Pick

*A Deeper Darkness

''Publishers Weekly'' Pick of the Week

* A Deeper Darkness * When Shadows Fall

She Reads Book Club Selection

* No One Knows

SIBA Okra Pick

* Field of Graves * No One Knows

Reviews

''Booklist'' starred reviews

* When Shadows Fall * What Lies Behind * The Devil's Triangle

''Publishers Weekly'' starred reviews

* Judas Kiss * The Immortals * When Shadows Fall * The End Game * Field of Graves * Lie to Me * Tear Me Apart * A Thousand Doors * Good Girls Lie * Her Dark Lies

''Library Journal'' starred review

* The Final Cut

''Kirkus Reviews''

* Tear Me Apart * The Lost Key * The End Game * No One Knows

''Romantic Times'' Five Star Gold

* The Sixth Day

''Romantic Times'' Top Pick!

* The Cold Room * So Close to the Hand of Death * Where All the Dead Lie * A Deeper Darkness * Edge of Black * When Shadows Fall * What Lies Behind * The Final Cut * The Lost Key * The End Game * The Devil's Triangle

Interviews

* "Between The Lines: J.T. Ellison.
The Big Thrill
Retrieved March 1, 2021. *"Between The Lines: J.T. Ellison.
The Big Thrill
Retrieved October 18, 2018. *"J.T. Ellison: Interview: September 8, 2017".
Bookreporter.com
'' Retrieved September 29, 2017. * Brown, Josie. "What Lies Behind by J.T. Ellison".
The Big Thrill
'' Retrieved January 20, 2016. * "Meet the Author".
Bookpage
'. Print. Retrieved January 20, 2016. * Cha, Steph. "The Lost Key by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison".
The Big Thrill
'. August 27, 2014. * "Interview: February 27, 2014 - When Shadows Fall".
Book Reporter
'. Retrieved January 20, 2016. * Petit, Zachary. ''"The Power of Pairs"''. Writer's Digest January 2014. Print. * Petit, Zachary. ''"The Power of Pairs Roundtable: Exclusive Outtakes"''
www.writersdigest.com
Retrieved December 25, 2013. * Lamb, Joyce. ''HAPPY EVER AFTER. Interview: Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison, 'The Final Cut. USA TODAY September 17, 2013
www.USAToday.com
Retrieved November 25, 2013. * "Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison: Co-Writing (Potential) Jewel Thieves".
RT Book Reviews
'. September 17, 2013. * Crutcher, Paige. ''"Spotlighting: author J.T. Ellison"''. Nashville Examiner
JTEllison.com
January 21, 2011. * '

''. Oprah Winfrey Network. September 17, 2010

Selected bibliography

Standalone Novels

* ''No One Knows'' (2016) * ''Lie to Me'' (2017) * ''Tear Me Apart'' (2018) *''Good Girls Lie'' (2019) *''Her Dark Lies'' (2021)

A Brit in the FBI series (with
Catherine Coulter Jean Catherine Coulter (born December 26, 1942) is an American author of romantic suspense thrillers and historical romances who currently resides in northern California. Biography Early years Coulter grew up on a horse ranch in Cameron County, ...
)

* ''The Final Cut'' (2013) introduces Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Nicholas Drummond. Features Special Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich from Coulter's bestselling FBI series * ''The Lost Key'' (2014) * ''The End Game'' (2015) * ''The Devil's Triangle'' (2017) * ''The Sixth Day'' (2018) *''The Last Second'' (2019)

Dr. Samantha Owens series

* ''A Deeper Darkness'' (2012) medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens was a secondary character in Ellison's Lieutenant Taylor Jackson series * ''Edge of Black'' (2012) * ''When Shadows Fall'' (2014) * ''What Lies Behind'' (2015)

Lieutenant Taylor Jackson series

* ''Field of Graves'' (2016), a prequel, introduces Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson * ''All The Pretty Girls'' (2007) * ''14'' (2008) * ''Judas Kiss'' (2009) * ''The Cold Room'' (2010) * ''The Immortals'' (2010) * ''So Close the Hand of Death'' (2011) * ''Where All the Dead Lie'' (2011)

Short stories

Featuring Lieutenant Taylor Jackson

* "Blood Sugar Baby" in ''Slices of Night-a 3 part novella'' (2011) (with

Erica Spindler Erica Spindler (born 1957) is a ''New York Times'' Best-Selling author, who specializes in romantic thrillers. Personal life Spindler was raised in Rockford, Illinois. She lives with her husband, an advertisement executive, and their two s ...

and

Alex Kava Alex Kava (born Sharon M. Kava on June 7, 1960, in Silver Creek, Nebraska) is an American author of psychological suspense novels. Biography Growing up in the country outside of Silver Creek, Nebraska, Sharon Kava fantasized about becoming a ...

) * "Whiteout" in ''Storm Season-One Sensational Storm, 3 Terrifying Killers'' (2012) (with

and

)

Other

*''A Thousand Doors: An Anthology of Many Lives'' (2018, Two Tales Press) *''Dead Ends: Stories from the Gothic South'' (2017, Two Tales Press) * ''The First Decade: A Short Story Collection'' (2016, Two Tales Press) * "Prodigal Me" in ''Killer Year: Stories to Die For'' (January 2008),

Lee Child James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher'' novel series. The books follow the adventures of a former American ...

, ed. (Minotaur Press) * "X" in ''Demolition Magazine'' (2007) and ''Nashville Lifestyles'' (February 2009) * "Chimera" in ''Surreal South '09'' (2009), Laura Benedict and Pinckney Benedict, ed. (Press 53) * "Killing Carol Ann" in ''First Thrills'' (2010), ''Lee Child, ed.'' (Tor) * ''Sweet Little Lies'' (2010), an anthology of short stories by J.T. Ellison * "Gray Lady, Lady Gray" in ''Surreal South '11'' (October 2011), Laura Benedict and Pinckney Benedict, ed. (Press 53) * "Where’d You Get That Red Dress?" in ''Flashing in the Gutters'' (2007), (inspired by

James McMurtry James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962, in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American rock and folk rock/americana singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, and occasional actor (''Daisy Miller'', ''Lonesome Dove'', and narrator of ''Ghost Town: 24 Hours i ...

) * "The Number of Man" in ''Thriller 3: Love is Murder'' (2012),

Sandra Brown Sandra Lynn Brown, née ''Cox'' (born March 12, 1948) is an American bestselling author of romantic novels and thriller suspense novels. Brown has also published works under the pen names of Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, and Erin St. Claire. Ea ...

, ed. (Mira Books) * "The Omen Days" (2015, Two Tales Press)

Non-fiction

* "The Charm School: An Appreciation of Nelson DeMille's Groundbreaking Novel" ''in'' ''THRILLERS: 100 Must Reads'' (July 2010), David Morrell and Hank Wagner, ed. * "What is Evil?" in ''WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE: Vampire Hunters and Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil'' (August 2010), Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman, ed.

References

External links

* * * Petit, Zachary. "The Power of Pairs Roundtable: Exclusive Outtakes"
www.writersdigest.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, J. T. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American thriller writers American mystery novelists Novelists from Colorado American women novelists Writers from Orlando, Florida Randolph College alumni The Graduate School of Political Management alumni 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Women mystery writers Women thriller writers Novelists from Florida