SAN FRANCISCO - s4story -- Author Toni Bird Jones wins a sixth national award for her novel The Measure of Ella, a finely crafted tale of one women's fight for survival and justice. Jones draws on her own experience as a licensed captain living in the Caribbean to tell a harrowing story set in a world of sailors, nomads, and misfits hooked on adventure and tempted by the easy money from an occasional and often dangerous drug run.

Fate stole her dream. Pure grit got it back.

"Ella faced south toward the sound of the approaching boat and slipped her hand into her pocket, gripping the cold metal of the gun, trying to suppress the panic running through her and anxiously scanning the pitch-black sea."

Sea-faring chef Ella Morgan is an honest woman — until her life falls apart. When her dream of owning a restaurant is shattered by the death of her father and loss of her inheritance, she is suddenly alone in the world. Desperate for money, she signs on as crew for a one-time drug run, only to find herself fighting for her life in an underworld ruled by violent men.

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Set in the Caribbean, The Measure of Ella is a fast-paced story of love, murder, high-seas action, and the consequences of pursuing a dream at all costs. Like Girl on the Train, it unwinds with gripping suspense. With its brave, strong, complex female protagonist at the helm of a high seas adventure, the novel is entirely unique.

"A treacherous journey across sea and soul as a young woman fights for her future within the deadly drug trafficking underworld of the Caribbean. Jones writes like an old pro in her debut novel, a taut, smart, and riveting thriller."   —Dirk Cussler

Awards:  Kindle Book, Mystery/Suspense; Clive Cussler Adventure Writer's Grandmaster; Chanticleer International Clue Award, Suspense/Thriller; Independent Press; NYC Big Book, and Reader's Favorite Silver Award.

Contact:  Toni Bird Jones
tonibjones@comcast.net
https://www.tonibjones.com
415-747-4414