Your books don't pull punches, but you don't go overboard either.  I think you've found the perfect balance.  Are there certain lines you won't cross?

I do have lines.  Eventually I've crossed most of them, though I swear it was never planned.  I don't think any good writer goes for graphic violence for the sake of graphic violence.  I think, however, a good writer follows the story and sometimes that can lead you to unexpected places.

Many aspects of writing are just plain hard work.  Touring, for example.  Do you experience times when you don't enjoy being an author?  Can you envision ever doing anything else?

Having written my first novel when I was seventeen, this is all I know and I can't imagine doing anything else.  All these years later, however, I remain a cranky author.  I'm never happy writing, only having written.  So each deadline sends me into a tizzy of gnashing teeth and wringing hands.  Then I finally turn in the novel, just in time for book tour, which as you mention, has its definite ups and downs.  When that's done, it's time to write again.  Now that you mention it, I think I'm happy about two days a year--the day I turn in the book, and the day I come home from tour.  My family is obviously very patient.

Do you try to respond to all fan mail?  Are there some emails or letters you don't respond to?

I do respond to fan mail--I love to hear from readers!  But I don't answer all fan mail.  If you're writing to me while incarcerated, as many of my readers seem to do, please understand I won't reply, and also, while I have your attention, requests for signed nude photos are not the quickest way to a writer's heart.

Truth be told, Lisa, I just don't have the guts to ask!  Besides, I'm a happily married man.  On a serious note, if you could change one thing in the publishing industry as a whole, what would it be and why?

I wish the industry had more patience.  I wish authors were given more time to nurture their novels.  I wish editors were given more time to nurture authors.  And I wish publishers gave both editors and authors more time to build a career.  The industry seems fixated on overnight success and instant gratification.  That kind of book/career can happen, but is tricky to replicate on demand.
 
What single piece of advice do you give to aspiring authors?

Write.  Honestly, that's the best thing you can do, the only thing you can do.  Publishing is out of our control.  Writing should be our focus at all times, while gnashing our teeth and opening the latest Department of Corrections fan mail, of course.

In good cheer, Lisa takes it all in stride.  After all, fans are fans, and she's got millions of them--some of them just happen to be incarcerated!

Lisa's love of writing started in grade school and blossomed from there.  I think all great writers are also avid readers.  From her website interview, Lisa feels the suspense genre chose her.  Growing up, she read Stephen King, John Saul, and V.C. Andrews. Basically, she loves stories that begin with a dark and stormy night and end with a dead body.

Her first book sold twenty years ago, but Lisa didn't become a full-time writer until ten years later, when her first suspense novel The Perfect Husband was published.  "That book ended up launching my career--an overnight success a mere ten years in the making."  

All of Lisa's 23 books are stand alones, but if you want to fully appreciate the character development of key players, it's best to read these six books in this order:

THE PERFECT HUSBAND (introduces Quincy)
THE THIRD VICTIM (Quincy and Rainie meet)
THE NEXT ACCICENT
THE KILLING HOUR (focuses on Quincy's daughter, Kimberly)
GONE
SAY GOODBYE (more Kimberly)

Plan on losing sleep, I did.  Maybe I'll work up the nerve to ask Lisa for a cover blurb someday.  It would be pure gold!

Lisa's also an inspiration and a role model for those trying to break into a difficult and competitive profession.  She's devoted a generous portion of her website, www.lisagardner.com, to aspiring writers.  Her "Tricks of the Trade" page offers a comprehensive look at the craft of writing.  The articles and lectures are top notch.  There's also a terrific interview on her website.  I highly recommend taking a look, but please don't ask Lisa to read a sample of your work in progress.  For a number of reasons, she just can't do it. 

Bottom line:  Lisa's novels keep getting better and better and her fan base is exploding.  She's living proof that good things happen to good people.

"It's not easy, it's not glamorous, but if writing's in your blood, it's something you have to do.  So go do it! Have fun!"

Lisa is currently finishing a sequel to SAY GOODBYE.  The novel doesn't involve the Quincy family, but does bring back Sergeant D.D. Warren from ALONE and HIDE.  Lisa lives in New Hampshire with her wonderful husband who loves auto-racing and black-diamond skiing.  She writes in her loft with two barky shelties guarding her feet, and one hostile, three-legged cat.  Their young daughter has learned to imitate mom's work.  Sometimes it takes Lisa days to find what she typed into the manuscripts!

Andrew Peterson is the author of FIRST TO KILL, the debut in series featuring Nathan McBride, a former marine sniper.  Andrew is currently finishing FORCED TO KILL, which should be available late summer or fall.