As we near the end of Minotaur Debut Week, we are joined by not one, but two authors while we dive into the start of a new national park series with LEAVE NO TRACE.
LEAVE NO TRACE, the first book by A.J. Landau in the Michael Walker series explores the National Parks but adds action, suspense, and thrills. A.J. Landau is the pen name of Jeff Ayers, retired public librarian and book reviewer, and Jon Land, author of more than 60 books.
This first book in the series takes place at the Statue of Liberty, where a terrorist attack is the first in a possible series of more attacks.
LEAVE NO TRACE is available for download on Edelweiss and NetGalley. LibraryReads votes due by January 1st.
Where is your local library? How have libraries played a role in your reading life?
Jeff: Libraries have been part of my life since I was a small child. When I was old enough, I started working at my local library, first shelving books and later processing materials. I loved being surrounded by books and have worked in law, corporate, and public libraries for almost four decades. I recently retired from a public library and spent my time working on selecting materials and, later, general reference. I enjoyed recommending great books to others and have always dreamed of having my own books on the library shelves. With my reviewing and writing now, I’m living the dream I had as a kid when a librarian introduced me to The Three Investigators and Ray Bradbury.
Jon: My local library is in my hometown of Barrington, Rhode Island, but the bulk of my experience with libraries was while a student at Brown University in Providence, RI, specifically at the Rockefeller Library, better known as “The Rock.” I was at Brown in the mid to late 70’s, so there was no internet, no Google. So when I needed to research something, big or small, I went to the Rock. I was an English major and began my writing career penning magazine articles. So the Periodicals Room was among my most regular haunts and I became an expert on the microfiche machines—not so much working the wet copy feature, though!
What’s on your TBR right now?
Jeff: My fiction pile includes EXTINCTION by Douglas Preston and THE PUZZLE MASTER by Danielle Trussoni. Nonfiction has GUARDIANS OF THE VALLEY by Dean King and OPPOSABLE THUMBS (a bio of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert) by Matt Singer.
Jon: I tend to base my reading on books I’m working on myself. So right now I’m working on a story that revolves around surviving a boating accident, so I’m reading both Jon Krakauer’s INTO THE WILD and Sebastian Junger’s THE PERFECT STORM. And I remain amazed in awe of the fact that in both cases the authors had to basically reconstruct everything from the beginning based solely on research and secondary sources. In both cases, the primary sources had perished. It’s hard enough to write great narrative nonfiction when you have the subject, or primary source, to interview.
Tell us about your writing process.
Jon Land and I meet on Zoom and discuss what we want to cover in fifty-page bursts. Jon writes a fast rough story draft, and then I edit and add factual details. We tweak the pages back and forth, and once we feel the pages are solid, we move on to the next fifty. We have an overall arc of the story in mind, but this approach gives us room to improvise.
Who’s your favorite character in literature?
Jeff: I was a huge fan of Perry Mason, though the stories are a bit dated now. He would do whatever he could to prove his client’s innocence, and it was always fun having him figure things out just before the reader did. I love mysteries, and as a kid, I liked to alternate between Perry and Joe and Frank Hardy. I wish a publisher would release updated and new stories featuring Perry for a new generation.
Jon: I’m going to go with James Bond because those were the first books, along with movie adaptations starring Sean Connery, that didn’t necessarily make me want to become a writer, but ultimately defined the author I became. I can’t tell you how much books and movie adaptations of the likes of Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and From Russia with Love influenced my creative process.
Can you describe your debut novel in five sentences?
Die Hard in the National Parks. A terrorist incident topples the Statue of Liberty, and Special Agent Michael Walker of the National Park Service works with Gina Delgado of the FBI to uncover the party responsible. A young boy holds the key to the puzzle. Gina and Michael race across the country to stop other attacks on other symbols of America and the Parks. Little do they know that the organization behind the conspiracy has connections in the highest levels of government.
Jeff joins us with a letter to librarians about how libraries have always been essential to his life:
A shy and awkward kid, I was raised by a single mother with limited means but a love for reading. Libraries gave me unfettered access to different worlds and countless adventures and became a second home for me. My dream job was to surround myself with books and share recommendations for great reads. I had an extraordinary career working for a public library in the Pacific Northwest, and my role in the library and writing book reviews for Library Journal, Booklist, The Associated Press, and other sites made my passion for books grow. I also hoped one day to see my books on the library shelf. I have written several books, but LEAVE NO TRACE is the culmination of my dream.
The National Park Service encompasses many sites, from beautiful scenic landscapes to historically important places. Typically when the parks are mentioned in books, they are either nonfiction guides or a mystery that takes place at one location. I always wanted to read a slam-bang thriller with non-stop action across multiple parks – exciting stories in breathtaking settings. I decided to partner with Jon Land, who writes pure adrenaline (think Clive Cussler and Matthew Reilly), and was looking for a new series to invest in. In our first book, Michael Walker of the ISB (the FBI of the National Park Service) uncovers a vast conspiracy to eliminate the National Parks forever. My reader’s advisory: This series will appeal to fans of C.J. Box, Nevada Barr, and Michael Connelly and could also be a recommendation for a National Parks enthusiast looking for a different way to enjoy the parks.
Libraries and librarians made me who I am. One of the things I loved about being a librarian was that I got to live surrounded by stories, learn about new great reads, and share my favorites with eager readers. I am thrilled to be able to share my own stories now, and I hope readers have as much fun reading them as Jon and I had writing them.
Jeff Ayers
LEAVE NO TRACE: A National Parks Thriller by A. J. Landau; 9781250877338; 2/27/24
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