J.T. Ellison Wins Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel at Killer Nashville

As Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” For bestselling novelist J.T. Ellison, that adage proved quite true Saturday when Killer Nashville awarded her the Silver Falchion Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel for her novel, Tomb of the Queen, written under the nom de plume Joss Walker.

Ellison (author of the thrillers Her Dark Lies, Good Girls Lie, and co-author of the Brit in the FBI series with Catherine Coulter) is primarily known to her longtime fans as one of the rising stars in suspense fiction. But last year she and Alisha Klapheke took a gamble and wrote their first full-length novel featuring CIA Librarian Jayne Thorne.

The story centers around a quiet librarian who unwittingly discovers a book which grants her access to a whole other dimension. Suddenly, Jayne finds herself hunted by a terrorist group and going undercover with a secret branch of the CIA.

Readers on Amazon call the novel a “must read” (Andra-homeschool mom), saying it is “very interesting and exciting” (john criddle) and “reads like a spy thriller” (Granny G). Meanwhile, author Laura Benedict simply warns, “Hold on tight, you urban fantasy fans, because once you open Tomb of the Queen, the action doesn’t stop until the last thrilling page.”

Like most authors who venture into new territory, however, Ellison didn’t always know if the series would work for fans. When Ellison posted about her win on Instagram, she said her husband Randy had urged her to “surge forward when everyone else said not to.”

“As I said in my acceptance last night,” Ellison writes, “if you want something badly but those around you are discouraging you from following that dream… don’t listen. Trust your gut! You never know what might happen.” We’re certainly glad Ellison listened to her instincts and her hubby’s sage advice.