J.T. Ellison talks to Carol Fitzgerald about the inspiration for her new thriller, IT’S ONE OF US, as well as her personal story that made it her most emotional book to write. She shares when she learned about sperm donors, as well as what sites like 23andMe and Ancestry have meant to those who were born via donors.

Of course, as a thriller writer, she found herself headed down rabbit holes on Discord to do research. She explains why she had her protagonist, Olivia, be a home designer and answers Carol’s burning design question: What is “waterfall marble”? Olivia’s husband, Park, is a ghostwriter, and J.T. points out that his career would be over if he was outed.

J.T. discusses her writing process and what she does to work around hitting walls. She envisioned Julia Whelan as the narrator of the book. In fact, Julia’s voice was running through her head when she wrote, which makes Julia’s narration all the more special. J.T. and Carol also talk about the title and the cover --- and how, after tossing a number around, they knew this was the right one.

Book discussed in this episode:

 IT’S ONE OF US:

https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/its-one-of-us

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Art Credit: Tom Fitzgerald

Edited by Jordan Redd Productions