Let's start with your new paperback release coming out, STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE.  Please give us a snapshot, and anything that inspired the idea to write it.

 It's a reprint of the hard cover from Tor/Forge and the first in a series featuring female Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong--without question the best received book I've ever done.  I'd always wanted to write about the Texas Rangers, the most famous lawmen in our country's history, who are every bit as tough today as ever.  I also realized that there wasn't a single female action hero out there--plenty in mystery series, but not thrillers mixing it up with the baddest of the bad.  So in creating Caitlin I felt I was filling a glaring void and need.
 
You're very generous with volunteering your time.  You're on the ITW board, and you make major contributions to ThrillerFest each year.  You've helped me with my career.  Why is this so important to you?  Did someone help you early in your writing career?  How do you find the right balance of getting your writing in, touring, promoting, attending conferences, and helping aspiring authors?

Wow, that's a lot of questions!  First off, I feel all people who are successful have an obligation to give back.  Nobody makes it on their own; everyone has help and helping others is a way of paying that back.  But it's easy to help people you like and I don't think there's anything I take more pleasure in.  I wouldn't be a writer today if it wasn't for my college mentor, the great Professor Elmer Blistein, who agreed to sponsor my senior Honors Thesis, which was writing a thriller, when everyone else said it wasn't "academic" enough.  As far as the right balance goes, the key is being able to put aside the blocks of time necessary to write a book from beginning to end.  For me that's six weeks, for the first draft anyway.  It's a matter of budgeting time and setting priorities.
 
You're good friends with David Morrell of the famous Rambo series.  How did that come about?  You've had numerous discussions with David about the role of the "thriller hero."  Are there certain lines you feel thriller heroes shouldn't cross when pursuing their goals (the bad guys.)

 (Laughs)  Now that's a funny story!  David Morrell was one of the writers (along with Stephen King, Clive Cussler and Robert Ludlum) who made me want to write thrillers.  So I'm at the first ThrillerFest in Phoenix, I don't know anybody, and one morning after working out he and I ended up in the hotel gym whirlpool together.  And I realize here I am talking to one of my idols, and he couldn't be more kind or gracious.  No one has done more for our form or genre than David, who's proven that thriller writers can be terrific novelists as well.  Which brings me to your next question.  One of the things I've really explored in both my last two books, THE SEVEN SINS and STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE, is the nature of ambiguity in my heroes.  Both Michael Tiranno and Caitlin Strong have plenty of demons in their closets, defined as much by their flaws as their strengths.  Both will go as far as they have to get what they want.  They don't define any limits for themselves when it comes to preserving their own moral codes, but they pay a steep price for that.
 
I really like Caitlin Strong, a modern day Texas Ranger.  What is like writing a female lead role?  I think you've got her personality perfectly portrayed--I was going to say "you've got her nailed" but that just doesn't sound right!  I'm hoping we'll see more stories with Caitlin? 
 
Well, first and foremost, I was writing a Texas Ranger who just happened to be a woman.  The only criticism I've really gotten about STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE is that she's not female enough.  What does that mean exactly?  Texas Rangers need to be pretty tough hombres rather than men or women.  The thing that makes writing Caitlin fun and easy is she knows who and what she is:  a gunfighter, cut from the same cloth as gunmen from the Old West.  Like all great heroes, she's a loner, but she struggles with that, and that's where her relationship with Cort Wesley Masters and his sons comes in.  They bridge the gap and helps me, and Caitlin herself, define her feminine side.  You will indeed see more of Caitlin, too:  STRONG JUSTICE comes out this June and I've just finished the first draft of STRONG AT THE BREAK.
 
What can you tell us about the new "Jon Land Wing" of the Brown University Library?  Do tell all!

(Laughs again)  Hey, how'd you find out about that? (Sorry Jon, I told Joe Moore I wouldn't tell on him!) It's actually the ITW wing because Brown's famous John Hay Library is in the process of establishing the first dedicated Thriller Collection ever.  I pursued this because part of ITW's mission statement is to promote our genre and give it the recognition it deserves.  After generations being lumped in with mysteries, we're finally building our own identity and this collection can only help further promote our prestige.

Tell us a little about Tom Doherty of Tor/Forge.  Why you are you two such close friends?

My late great agent, Toni Mendez, taught me most of what I know about publishing, part of which is nobody does it the old-fashioned way anymore . . . except Tom Doherty.  His company, Tor/Forge, is one of the true success stories in the industry.  They made money last year when pretty much everyone else went into the tank.  Tom has always been loyal to me, through good times and bad.  He loves my books, especially the Caitlin Strong series, and is as frustrated as I am that I haven't broken out.  But instead of giving up, he just tries harder.  When he needed an author to write the potential New York Times bestseller that became THE SEVEN SINS, he came to me, not one of his already established authors on the list, because he knew I'd do a great job.  That's the kind of faith I'm talking about.  To me, he and his daughter Linda Quinton, who runs the marketing and promotion side, of the company are family.  I'd never even consider changing publishers.
 
What do you enjoy the most about being an author?  And conversely, what is the most troublesome part of being an author?

More great questions!  I love the freedom and lifestyle.  I love the process, I love seeing the product on the racks, in the front of Barnes and Noble on the famed "octagon."  My frustration is in never reaching the New York Times bestseller list, the holy grail of our industry.  In a way, though, that's a good thing since it keeps me hungry and motivates me to write better and better books.

All of your books are stand alone stories, but you have several series characters.  If you had to pick just 6 of your books, which would they be?  And in what order should folks read them?

You're really challenging me now, but here goes:

STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE--In my mind, the most complete book I've ever done as far as characters, story, and structure go.

THE SEVEN SINS--The book that resurrected my career after a four-year absence from publishing.  Big, glitzy, and over the top with a terrific hero for these times. 

A WALK IN THE DARKNESS--The best in my Ben Kamal/Danielle Barnea series.  My take on THE DA VINCI CODE material maybe ten years ahead of Dan Brown.

THE EIGHTH TRUMPET--The best example of my previous incarnation as a paperback original high-action writer.  Wildly imaginative.

THE OMEGA COMMAND--The first in my Blaine McCracken series and the beginning of me really figuring out who I was as a writer.

THE LUCIFER DIRECTIVE--My second published book and the first one where I figured out the process and really began to enjoy it.
 
And enjoy it he has, to the tune of 28 books.  Jon's also contributed a short story, Killing Time, to ITW's THRILLER 2.  Killing Time was just selected for inclusion in Otto Penzler's BEST MYSTERY STORIES OF 2010 collection, one of only twenty stories making the list.

Including foreign sales, Jon has over seven million books in print.  If you stacked them like pancakes, the pile would extend into earth orbit, nearly 140 miles high! 
 
Jon's first publishing credit, THE DOOMSDAY SPIRAL, was released from Zebra Books in 1983.  It took his agent over a year to place it, with Zebra being the 13th or 14th publisher to take a look.  Rejection is never easy, but Jon persevered, kept a positive attitude, worked hard, and was rewarded with a sale.  It's the advice he still offers today.  "Never give up."  Good writing gets noticed.  It may not happen overnight, so hang in there for the long haul. 

What does Jon like to do when he isn't writing?  One of the pastimes he mentioned we simply can't get into here!  Think about a jail scene from BLAZING SADDLES.  But when he isn't writing, or ah... recreating, he finds time to work out everyday.  Jon believes staying in top physical shape is vital to good creative thought.  In the same vein, Jon practiced Aikido for twenty years and became a 4th degree black belt, but gave it up when his instructor died.  So don't mess with Jon or his friends unless you like reconstructive oral surgery!  On a serious note, he loves reading and watching movies, both silver screen and made for television.

I asked for Jon's take on audio books.  "I like to read books, not listen to them.  Just not my thing."  I'm going to work on that--see if I can't get Jon on the path to audio enlightenment and righteousness.  Personally, I love audio books.  I can't be all wrong, Stephen King loves them too! 

The authors who continue to inspire Jon are:  David Morrell, Lee Child, Stephen Hunter and James Lee Burke.  "I like them because they're all terrific novelists as well as storytellers.  David invented, and continues to reinvent, our genre.  Lee created the most iconic series character of our time (Jack Reacher).  Steve has made a career out of writing phenomenal action scenes and has recreated the "gunfighter" mentality in his heroes.  And Burke is flat out the best writer out there today."

Jon isn't too shabby himself.  He's been recently hailed as "the greatest thriller writer alive today" by Bookviews and called "a creative genius" by Romantic Times.  Seventeen of his twenty-two books have been national bestsellers.  He's been printed in fifty different countries, in six different languages.  He's received praise from Vince Flynn, Lee Child, David Morrell, and too many others to mention here.  If you like fast paced stories with engaging characters, Jon's your man.    

Jon is currently in the process of creating a new website www.jonland.net which should be up soon. 

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Jon Land graduated from Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude.  He continues his association with Brown as an alumni advisor to the Greek System, vice-president of the Brown Football Association and president of the Brown Faculty Club.  He bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research, as well as a twenty-year career in the martial arts.  He is an associate member of the Unites States Special Forces, volunteers frequently in schools to help young people learn to enjoy the process of writing and serves as Vice-President of Marketing for the International Thriller Writers (ITW).  He currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

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.