Toni Bird Jones

Adventure-Thrillers and Women with Grit —  Toni Bird Jones spent years diving in the Northwest’s Georgia Straits before moving to South Florida to pursue a life on the water. Over ten years in the sailing community of the Caribbean and South Florida, she refinished and delivered boats to the Lesser Antilles, Bahamas and the Eastern Seaboard. She received her U.S. Coast Guard OPUV Captain’s License in Puerto Rico while based in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. Today, she and her husband sail the San Francisco Bay on their Erickson 29 Hai Lien.

A novelist and short story writer in adventure-thriller and literary genres, Jones studied Creative Writing at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Arizona, Tucson. Her stories address moral questions of the human dilemma and are often set in the Caribbean. The Measure of Ella is her first novel.

The Measure of Ella

WINNER: Clive Cussler Grand Master Award
The islands frightened her with their uncivilized rawness. They looked like a place where anything could happen, a godforsaken outcrop at the end of the world. 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 Caribbean drug run, only to find herself fighting for her life in an underworld ruled by violent men. Set in the Caribbean, The Measure of Ella is a dramatic story of love, murder, high-seas action, and the consequences of pursuing a dream at all costs. Like Patrick O’Brien’s novels, including Master and Commander, The Measure of Ella captures the breathtaking and perilous world of blue-water sailing. Like Girl on the Train, it unwinds with gripping suspense from a woman’s point of view. With its brave, strong, complex female protagonist at the helm of a high seas adventure, the novel is entirely unique.

“A page-turning thriller set in the murky underworld of the Caribbean. The sailing life is beautifully rendered. A must for all who wish to enter an exciting new environment for an adventure.” — Michael Chapman, cinematographer, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull

“Toni Jones is a true storyteller, weaving a tension-filled tale of Ella, a savvy sailor who risks crewing on a drug run to fund her dream. Set in the islands of the Caribbean and South Florida, it’s a high-stakes adventure of crime, love and deception that puts her moral code to the test against a cast of dangerous characters.” — Nina Schuyler, author, The Translator, The Painting