Jon Land (Author)

[JJEH]

Awhile back I have indicated in another of my threads that I have read a novel written by Jon Land. That novel is "Dead Simple" but I have read it in the German version (called "Manhattan Projekt") back in 2001 when I was in the hospital.

Long story short, I could really connect with the main character Blaine McCracken who is a military guy, saving the world. To be honest, I wanted to be like him.

Back in 2001 I had no clue about social media and heck, I didn't even had a smart phone. So I never thought I would ever talk to the person who wrote that book.

Well, fast forward to 2020... I did. The book crossed my mind again since I was looking for it after the move to TX. So I looked him up and found his website as well as his Twitter.

I did write him an email, a really short one, but just wanted to let him know how much I liked it. I further looked him up on facebook and sent a friend request. He accepted my request and did reply to my email a couple of days after I sent it.

Wow, I feel like a groupie but it's cool because he didn't had to do it. Because of that I ordered the whole series of the McCracken books. Here they are... they even got their own shelf

I like vintage so I ordered the earliest versions I could find. The whole series is 11 books and they range from 1986 to 2013. He even said he might bring McCracken back for another book and I encouraged him to do so. McCracken is like James Bond... they just can't die.

He also said that McCracken is modeled after a number of Green Beret VietNam vets and some of them have been involved in the Phoenix Project. (I have never heard about that and had to look it up. Very interesting!)

If you are into military fiction, about a guy saving the world, this is it. I'll read them in chronological order as time allows and keep my smile because he replied to my email

Jon Land - Home

 

[Texas Star]

As a writer, I think it meant a lot to him to hear from a reader who wasn't writing to critisise.

Although David Lindsey and I were college classmates, we didn't meet until many years later. My then-teen son and I attended a signing of his books, and the author autographed my copies. The shop owner was grumpy, wanting only books sold that day in his store signed.

My son asked if it was easy to write novels for a living.

Lindsey reflected briefly and replied, "No. In fact, it's quite difficult."

I hope you actually meet your favorite authors someday.

I just missed C.J. Box, but did talk on the phone, and I knew Peter Capstick slightly. And many gun scribes, but we're talking novelists and general interest authors here.

 

[Onomea]

I'll concur with T-Star in that I, too, find authors often — not always, of course — willing to respond to readers writing to say that they enjoyed their work. I find this true of essay/article writers as well as authors of books.

I remember my dad being pleased back in the early '70s when Barbara Tuchman responded with a nice post card to his note expressing his admiration for her 1962 Pulitzer Prize winning The Guns of August.

Only takes a minute or two to write a note, and I think like anyone else the authors like to hear that readers enjoyed their work. And its fun for the reader to hear back.

 

[JJEH]

I just missed C.J. Box, but did talk on the phone, and I knew Peter Capstick slightly. And many gun scribes, but we're talking novelists and general interest authors here.

Please feel free to elaborate if you like, perhaps even start a new thread?!

I'm currently reading "The Last Ivory Hunter" and I love it.