J.T.’s Comments (group member since Oct 17, 2014)

J.T.’s comments from the Ask Catherine Coulter & J.T. Ellison group.

Melanie wrote: "But she does it so well!"

Oh yes. In cashmere and motorcycle boots!

Debbie, no, unfortunately. I have my last event of the year next week in San Diego, then it's nose to the grindstone and holidays. So maybe one day soon in 2015!

I know. Taylor is such a shameless hussy!

This has been a lovely day chatting with you all. Thank you so much for coming, and thank you, Ami for managing things so beautifully. Feel free to send more questions if there's something we didn't cover! Be well, all!

Gillian wrote: "J.T. wrote: "Gillian wrote: "Catherine,I love all your FBI books and Brit in FBI. Just wondering who does your fact finding in England. It threw me when you mentioned Lady Wentworth in The Lost Key..."

No worries, Gillian. Sorry Lady Wentworth threw you. No offense taken!

Paula wrote: "Like the White Rabbit, I'm late, but happy to see the group yet open. I've read the questions and all I would have asked, has been, so I say, please keep writing, may your muse never fail.

I ha..."

Paula, thanks for the blessings!

Stacy wrote: "Love all CD's books. Have read both FBI series and Sherbrooke series. One of few authors I buy in hardback and reread many times. Please keep them coming. One question is Mike and Nicholas going to..."

Stacy, who knows??? (wink) And I love CC's books too. She's amazing, isn't she?

Tracy wrote: "After talking with both of you I was so excited about reading the final cut and then the lost key that I had to put them at the top of my to be read list. I'm starting The final cut tonight.....Tha..."

Thank you, Tracy! I hope you keep enjoying the books! Let us know...

Cece wrote: "Hello ladies. First of all I loved the Lost Key. I am intrigued by the way you weave the story to include Nicolas's family members. Do you find it difficult to marry the story lines together when t..."

Hi Cece - thank you for that! You'd be amazed at how easy it is to keep the threads together. It's just part of the storyteller's mystique, I guess. Catherine developed all the character of Nicholas's family and they have such great personalities and are so much fun to work with. Plus, great writing software that allows for easy sight lines on whose chapter is whose.

Gillian wrote: "Catherine,I love all your FBI books and Brit in FBI. Just wondering who does your fact finding in England. It threw me when you mentioned Lady Wentworth in The Lost Key---- she of Crabbet Park, my ..."

Gillian, Catherine has a master's degree in early 19th century European history. She doesn't have to do research - all this brilliant anglophilia is at her fingertips. It's is awe inspiring! Me, I have Downton Abbey. ; ) And Debrett's.

Just a brief heads up - my parents are flying in and I have to run to the airport to get them. So I'll be gone for a couple of hours, but will hop back in as soon as I get back! Keep these excellent questions coming!

Anna wrote: "How did you determine to use the historical aspect in The Lost Key? Did you have to do a lot of research before writing the book? It threw me off initially when I started the book. I loved the bo..."

Lots and lots and lots of research for me. WWI isn't as popular a topic as WW2, so I really had to dig to find the right research. But it was so much fun! And oddly enough, the story just lent itself to the historical aspect. Will they all? I don't know, probably not. But that was perfect for the storyline.

Teresa wrote: "How do you know when the book is finished? Do you have a set number of pages? I personally would love them to keep going. I don't want them to end."

Teresa, that's an excellent question. The flip answer is it's over when it's over. Writers do have an uncanny sense for timing and pace, so it's easy to see the end coming, and we know it's time to wrap up all the loose threads. That said, the book I just finished, I couldn't get it to end. Every day for a week I sat down thinking this was it, and it never managed to happen. It did, finally, but it was very late in the game when the end revealed itself. As Catherine said, we're pantsers, which means we write by the seat of our pants rather than extensively outlining.

Paula wrote: "I find it fascinating that you're both Harry Potter fans (Go Gryffindor!) yet both of you write in the gritty here and now. Is your recreational reading always completely removed from your genre,..."

Paula, I read a little bit of everything. Love good YA, epic fantasy, historicals, crime fiction. I'm currently reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, and loving it!

Gail wrote: "Did either of you find it difficult to work with a co-author? Also, how did you decide who would write what?"

Gail, it's both harder and easier than writing alone. The thing is, two writers will never come up with the same story. So we communicate, a lot, to make sure we're on the same page. But it's fabulous to have two brains working on a lot, because we can really twist it up.

Debbie wrote: "HI Ladies, wow it's so great to be able to chat with you.
My question is:
The Nicholas Drummond novels are so smooth I really can't tell that there are two voices telling the tales.
How do you mana..."

Debbie, it's interesting, CC and I are very much on the same wave length. We're both Type A, which helps, we both take our work seriously, there's no ennui about getting the pages done daily, and we share a love of cats, football and Harry Potter. It's a match made in heaven, really.

Jenn wrote: "Hi, how did you decide to write this series together? I love the fact that it bounces off the Savich and Sherlock series and integrates them at times in both series."

Catherine had a brilliant idea for a new series featuring Nicholas Drummond, and didn't have the time to write it, so it was suggested she try a co-writer. I was lucky enough to be the one she picked, and here we are!

Debby wrote: "Please tell me more books will be coming! I have fallen in love with Nicholas & Mike but I do love Savich and Sherlock being involved. I ask if there are more books planned."

Hi Debby, yes, there will be more books. We're working on the new Nicholas and Mike book right now. And of course S&S make an appearance.

Darlene wrote: "Can you talk a bit about your writing process, please? Also, how do you make your characters so multifaceted?"

Darlene - the characters, well, they're just like people, with problems and dreams and hopes and aspirations and job issues - they're just fighting crime. So basically, they're just like us! And the process - we communicate daily on the story, plot it all out, then I work on the pages, filling Catherine in as we go. She edits them, I edit that, she edits it again and we're done!

Patti wrote: "What made you gals decide to collaborate and how did you decide who was responsible for what character?"

Patti, we work on them jointly, but Catherine handles Savich and Sherlock, since she knows them so intimately. It's funny how characters speak to you.