I am so excited to have Jon Land here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight.
Thanks John and PR by the Book for allowing me to join your Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn Blog Tour!
Please take it away, John!
The next adventure of The Seven Sins' Michael "The Tyrant" Tiranno,
Jon Land's Black Scorpion is a pulse pounding action-thriller as he
takes on a worldwide human trafficking cabal.
Five years have passed since Michael Tiranno saved the city of Las Vegas
from a terrorist attack. And now a new enemy has surfaced in Eastern
Europe in the form of an all-powerful organization called Black
Scorpion. Once a victim of human trafficking himself, the shadowy
group's crazed leader, Vladimir Dracu, has become the mastermind behind
the scourge's infestation on a global scale. And now he's set his sights
on Michael Tiranno for reasons birthed in a painful secret past that
have scarred both men.
Already facing a myriad of problems, Michael once more must rise to the
challenge of confronting an all-powerful enemy who is exploiting and
ravaging innocents all across the globe and has set nothing less than
all of America as its new victim. Black Scorpion has also taken the
woman Michael loves hostage:?Scarlett Swan, a beautiful archaeologist
who was following the dangerous trail of the origins of the ancient
relic that both defines and empowers Michael, a discovery that could
change history and the perception of mankind's very origins.
With the deck and the odds stacked against him, Michael must come to
learn and embrace his true destiny in becoming the Tyrant reborn as a
dark knight to triumph over ultimate evil and stop the sting of Black
Scorpion from undermining all of the United States and plunging Las
Vegas into chaos and anarchy.
Excerpt
Part One
BEFORE
ONE
Northern Israel, 950 BC
“They come, oh great King.”
Solomon, weary and weak from going so long without rest, leaned heavily
on the shoulder of his son as he emerged from inside his goat- hair
tent. Already he and his private guard had fought off two ambushes.
Bandits appeared to be to blame, but Solomon sus-
pected otherwise given their weaponry, skill, and the fact that they hadn’t fl ed when confronted.
Now his heart pounded with anticipation, but also with fear, in the
night’s heat. He was so close now, so close to fulfilling the destiny
shaped by his father, the great King David. And that reality filled him
with the awesome scope of the responsibility before him, along with the
price of failure.
He could not fail. The fate of his kingdom was at stake.
Solomon cast his gaze down the road to see a single wagon kicking up a
dust cloud in its wake. Traveling under cover of darkness greatly
lessened the threat of a raid by bandits and, in any event, at first
sight the wagon seemed to be carrying nothing more than a farmer’s crops
being taken to the open market in Jerusalem.
Solomon peeled back his beggar’s hood to reveal long locks of shiny
brown hair and finely etched features that looked chiseled onto his
face. He’d just nodded off, dreaming of Jerusalem, imagining the
lanterns lighting the city twinkling in the night, when the captain of
his private guard alerted him to the wagon’s coming.
Solomon eased his hand from the shoulder of his fifteen-year-old son
Rehoboam as the wagon drew closer, so the boy wouldn’t feel him stiffen.
“Keep a keen eye, my son, for our enemies are everywhere.”
“Father?” the boy said, sliding a hand to the knife Solomon had
presented him on the occasion of his bar mitzvah. He was small for his
age and a bit frail. But, as heir to the kingdom of Israel, he needed to
be part of such a vital mission, no matter how perilous.
“They would seek to destroy this symbol of our people and the foundation
of our future. With our temple complete, we have safe refuge for it at
last.”
The Temple of Solomon had taken nearly eight years to build, requiring
men and materials the likes of which had never been seen before in the
known world. A staggering two hundred thousand workers had ultimately
played a part in its construction, milled from vast quantities of local
stone and imported cedar wood. It was a sprawling, palatial structure,
perhaps the greatest ever erected— and with good reason, since it would
be housing the vast stores of priceless treasures amassed by the Jewish
people through time. What Solomon had kept secret from all but his most
trusted cadre was the construction of a special chamber within the
temple called Kodesh Hakodashim, or Holy of Holies. This would house the
ark of the covenant, containing the remains of the stone tablets that
held the actual Ten Commandments, along with the contents carried in the
rear of the simple farmer’s wagon approaching now.
It drew close enough to reveal the snorting of the horses and pounding
of their hooves atop the roadbed that was dry and cracking from the long
drought Solomon took for God’s impatience. And, as if to reinforce that
belief, he felt the first trickle of raindrops and took this as a good
omen, until thunder rumbled in the distance and it became something much
different.
A warning.
A Q&A with Jon Land, author of Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn
1. Can you tell us a bit about Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn? I
think it’s the most ambitious book I’ve ever done in terms of
character, emotion and story. I say that not only because of its
epic-like structure, but mostly because I’ve never written a book before
that challenges its characters in so many ways. It challenges them
with truth and the reality of their own natures contrasted against their
fates, testing especially Michael Tiranno’s capacity to exceed his own
limitations. He has become a classical, almost mythic hero in terms of
the losses he suffers and stunning revelations about his own fate he
must accept. All the while confronting a villain just as powerful as he
is with whom he unknowingly shares an indelible bond. Great villains,
they say, make great heroes and that’s truly the case here as Michael
confronts an all-powerful criminal organization with a plot to do
incredible harm to the country and world in the offing. To stop them,
Michael must become a different man than he is when the book starts out,
he must evolve, literally, into something more and accepting that fate
comes to define both him as a hero and the story as a whole.
2. This book takes place 5 years after Book One. As a writer, what was it like to make that time jump?
It wasn’t as hard as it seems because I started with the premise that in
those five years, Michael hasn’t changed very much. He’s still pretty
much the same man we left at the end of The Seven Sins, a tyrant
consumed by his desire to expand his empire and holdings. The whole
essence of Black Scorpion is watching him evolve into something entirely
different—still a tyrant, yes, but a tyrant for good. A superhero
without a mask or cape. We watch his view of his entire place in the
world change, forced upon him by the shattering truths and tragedy he
encounters along the way. And in that respect his quest changes from
the pursuit of riches and power to self-fulfillment and
self-actualization.
3. What is your favorite character trait about Michael Tiranno?
That’s the perfect follow-up to the last question, because the answer
lies in the essence of his character in both books as defined by
witnessing the murder of his parents as a young boy. He knows what it’s
like to feel weak, powerless and vulnerable. And now, above everything
else, Michael Tiranno’s character is defined by his obsession for
standing up for those who can’ t stand up for themselves. Bullies
aren’t confined to the schoolyard and he won’t tolerate them under any
circumstances. He’s spent his life trying to find the security he lost
that day his parents were murdered and once there he uses the power that
comes with it to defend those who need him the most.
4. I’ve read that Tiranno is based on the character’s owner,
Fabrizio Boccardi. How do you work with him to develop each story?
It’s an extremely close relationship since we basically sweat every
single plot development, every single scene—hell, every single line! It
can be extremely frustrating at times because I’m used to working alone
in a box without interference or micromanaging. Quite frankly, I don’t
enjoy the process at all, but have to admit twice now it’s resulted in
far better books than I could have written on my own. Fabrizio isn’t a
writer or a storyteller and he doesn’t grasp all the intricacies of
structure. But he has wonderful instincts that are right more often
than not and form the perfect complement to my experience and talents.
Look, Michael Tiranno is his baby. He turned him over to me to build
but he could never be expected to let him go altogether. Ultimately, I
think we work so well together because our passion is balanced by our
willingness to compromise toward telling the best story we possibly can.
It may drive me crazy at times, but the ends justify the means.
5. Without giving too much away — what was your favorite scene or chapter to write in Black Scorpion?
Oh, wow, what a great question! And the answer occurred to me
immediately: the scene on the farm where Michael was born where he
meets the book’s villain Vladirmir Dracu, head of the sinister
organization Black Scorpion, for the first time. It’s a turning point
not only in this book, but in Michael’s entire life—his journey, his
quest. A shattering revelation that comes on the heels of an equally
shattering discovery about his own past. What this book does more than
any other I’ve ever written is challenge its hero by taking him to the
absolute brink. Force him to rethink everything there is so he has to
evolve in order to deal with all he’s being confronted by. The only way
he can survive is to remake himself into something entirely different
than how he started out.
6. Did you have to do any special research to write this book?
Yes, a ton. It’s always that way with thrillers that involve as much
cutting edge technology as this one does. But so much of it is
speculative, based not on what exists now but will eventually, that I’m
essentially forced to go back to school on subjects I had very little
knowledge of to start out. And not just pertaining to the villain’s
world-threatening plot either. I had to figure out how to construct
Black Scorpion’s lair inside a mountain, needed to concoct a away for a
commando team to access from beneath a manmade lake in the climax. It’s
all very James Bond-like and, as with Bond, with every challenge comes
up a wonderful opportunity to do something no one’s ever done before.
7. What do you hope fans take away from or feel when reading this book?
Oh man, that’s another great question!
Wow, it was easy in the first book, The Seven Sins, because that one
mostly followed the ultimate rags-to-riches story, so I wanted people to
come away believing anything was possible. In Black Scorpion, the
moral dilemmas and the morality itself is more complicated. Of course,
first and foremost I want them to come away feeling they weren’t just
entertained, but spirited away into the fabric of the story. But I want
them to take away from that what makes a man a hero. That a man’s fate
isn’t always his to define, as personified in Michael’s case by the
mystical relic medallion that’s the one possession he has left from his
family. It’s both his talisman and his curse, as it has been for other
men of great power who’ve possessed it through history. And while that
medallion might fuel Michael’s quest, ultimately that quest is about
saving a woman he loves and preserving the world he has built he now
wants to share with her. So as broad and ambitious as this book is,
like all great stories, it’s ultimately very simple.
8. What is your favorite piece of feedback you have gotten about Michael Tiranno?
(Laughs) That’s an easy one: “He’s an asshole, but I like him!” Of
course, that’s from the first book. The feedback on the Michael Tiranno
of Black Scorpion so far is that he represents the light confronting
the ultimate forces of darkness. That’s exactly what I was striving
for, in both cases, so I couldn’t be more happy.
9. Can you tell us if there is a Book Three in the works?
Hey, here’s a short answer for a change: No, not yet. But there’s a
whole bunch of happening in film and comic books. Stay tuned, as they
say!
10. Tell us where we can find your book and more information about you.
To use the cliché, accurate in this case, wherever books are sold or is
most convenient for you. As for me, you can find me on the Web at
jonlandbooks.com or follow me on Twitter @jondland. I promise to keep
you entertained there too!
Jon Land is the bestselling author over 25 novels. He graduated from
Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude and
continues his association with Brown as an alumni advisor.
Jon often bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research
as well as a twenty-five year career in martial arts. He is an
associate member of the US Special Forces and frequently volunteers in
schools to help young people learn to enjoy the process of writing.
Jon is the Vice-President of marketing of the International Thriller
Writers (ITW) and is often asked to speak on topics regarding writing
and research.
In addition to writing suspense/thrillers John is also a screenwriter with his first film credit coming in 2005.
Jon works with many industry professionals and has garnered the respect
and friendship of many author-colleagues. He loves storytelling in all
its forms.
John currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island and loves hearing from his readers and aspiring writers.
Jon Land is the bestselling author over 25 novels. He graduated from
Brown University in 1979 Phi Beta Kappa and Magna cum Laude and
continues his association with Brown as an alumni advisor. Jon often
bases his novels and scripts on extensive travel and research as well as
a twenty-five year career in martial arts. He is an associate member
of the US Special Forces and frequently volunteers in schools to help
young people learn to enjoy the process of writing.
Jon is the Vice-President of marketing of the International Thriller
Writers (ITW) and is often asked to speak on topics regarding writing
and research.
In addition to writing suspense/thrillers John is also a screenwriter with his first film credit coming in 2005.
Jon works with many industry professionals and has garnered the respect
and friendship of many author-colleagues. He loves storytelling in all
its forms.
John currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island and loves hearing from his readers and aspiring writers.
