J. T. Ellison

Ellison was born outside of Orlando, Florida and moved to rural Colorado when she was two, then to Washington, D.C. at the age of fourteen. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College 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 and the U.S. Department of Commerce before moving into the private sector to work as a financial analyst and marketing director for several defense and aerospace contractors.[4]

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 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.[5]

Ellison began to research her hidden passions: forensics 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, as well as performing autopsies and studying survivalists.[6]

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.[7] In 2012, Ellison teamed up with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter 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. [8] Ellison published her first standalone novel, No One Knows, a Nashville-based domestic thriller, in 2016 with Gallery Books.[9] 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. [10]

She also has co-written with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava on two anthology collaborations: Slices of Night and Storm Season.[11]

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 Writers 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 and International Thriller Writers 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)[12]

Ellison is an active member of several professional writing organizations, including International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.

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.

In 2015, Ellison became the co-host of Nashville Public Television's premier literary television series A Word on Words. The show was hosted for more than forty years by journalist and bibliophile John Seigenthaler before his death in 2014.[13] 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.[14] In 2018, NPT was awarded the NETA Award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association for the show.[15]

Ellison is also the founder of Two Tales Press,[16] 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.[17]

An amateur oenophile, Ellison occasionally posts to The Wine Vixen,[18] 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.

Ellison lives with her husband and twin cats in Nashville.[19]

• The Sixth Day debuted at #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers List[20] and #2 on the list of USA TODAY Best-Selling Books[21]
• The Devil's Triangle debuted at #1 on the Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Books list,[22] #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List[23] and #2 on the list of USA TODAY Best-Selling Books[24]
• The End Game reached #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers List[25]
• The Lost Key climbed to #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers List[26] and was named one of the Best Thrillers of 2014 by Library Journal[27]
• The Final Cut reached #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers List[28] and #3 on the list of USA TODAY Best-selling Books[29]
• No One Knows reached #122 on the list of USA TODAY Best-Selling Books[30]
• All the Pretty Girls reached #87 on the list of USA TODAY Best-Selling Books[31]
• Lie to Me reached #9 on the Toronto Star Original Fiction bestseller list,[32] #10 on The Globe and Mail Hardcover Fiction bestseller list,[33] and #55 on the list of USA TODAY Best-selling Books[34]

• "Between The Lines: J.T. Ellison." The Big Thrill.[85] Retrieved March 1, 2021.
• "Between The Lines: J.T. Ellison." The Big Thrill.[86] 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 Archived 2015-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. 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.
• "LIFE IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE". Oprah Winfrey Network. September 17, 2010. www.Oprah.com

• Official website
• www.facebook.com/jtellison14
• Petit, Zachary. "The Power of Pairs Roundtable: Exclusive Outtakes". www.writersdigest.com