So on their return home, his wife insisted Thor spend two hours of uninterrupted time each day to make his dream come true. "Once that cat was out of the bag, my pride prevented me from running away anymore from what I wanted to do with my life."

Now in the midst of a highly successful career, Thor points to some crucial disciplines he has employed to get there.

"To be a productive writer you have to have an iron will. I have a goal of 2500 words per day which is about five single-spaced pages.  As soon as the quota is hit, I get to go do something else, but during a typical day I am normally at my desk the entire time."

Another professor Thor had at USC, Stanley Ralph-Ross, taught him never to end the day at the end of a chapter.  "If that's where I am, I begin the next chapter and try to get a couple of sentences into it.  This way I'm not worried about where I should go next, I am already there.  When I arrive at my desk the next day, the wheels are already spinning and I'm excited about where my thriller is going."

And Thor is passionate about feeling his books as he writes.  "If I'm not completely on edge and excited by what I'm writing, why should I expect my readers to be?  When someone reads one of my thrillers, they are giving me one of the most precious commodities they have - their time.  That's something they can never get back, so I see it as my #1 obligation to give them the most intense ride I am capable of.  I want their palms sweating, their heart beating, the telephone ringer turned off, and all responsibilities all but ignored because they can't put down my book."

That excitement has resulted in Thor's popular series character, Scot Harvath, and in a freshness from book to book.

"I like to reveal a bit more about Harvath in every novel.  He is a Navy SEAL who gets recruited to the Secret Service to help bolster the White House's counter and anti-terrorism capabilities and soon becomes the President's favorite go-to-guy for difficult, off-the-books operations.

"I like to put Harvath in situations I know will be challenging and uncomfortable for him.  I like him to be forced to use his brain as much as his brawn to get out of situations and overcome obstacles.  I strive to keep him interesting and to use who he is and what he does to reveal fascinating pieces of information to my readers.

"At the end of the day, my readers are some of the brightest people out there and I continually strive to raise the bar of my writing to keep them engrossed and entertained and to keep challenging myself.  I always begin a new novel by saying, 'This is going to be very exciting.  How do we go further than with the last book?'"

When it comes to advice for new writers, Thor does not hesitate. "To be a great writer you have to be a great reader. Know what is out there in your genre. Why are other people so well-reviewed?  What do their readers love about their plots, settings, and characters?  What books on the art of writing can help you take yours to the next level?"

He also knows what "rule" not to follow. "The worst piece of writing advice you will ever hear is 'write what you know.' If that were actually true, we wouldn't have a J.K. Rowling, a Ray Bradbury.  I tell people - write what you love to read.  That's where your passion is and that's where you'll find your success as an author."

Look for Brad Thor's latest, The Last Patriot, in bookstores now.

Contributing editor James Scott Bell is the author of the Buchanan series including Try Dying and Try Darkness., and Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure (Writers Digest Books)