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New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for our website while on tour to promote his latest novel, Extreme Measures.

CG: After 10 books, how do you keep the character of Mitch Rapp fresh for returning readers, and yet still accessible to new readers?

VF: It is one of the more difficult things I have to do and I'm not sure I could accomplish it without the aid of my editor who manages to always strike the perfect balance by either striking lines or adding them.

CG: Could you tell our website's readers something of your writing process? Are you an outliner, or do you write as the words come and fit the pieces all together later? Has this process changed since you started writing?

VF: I used to try and outline the entire book and then I found out after the first third or so that better ideas always presented themselves as I dove deeper and deeper into the story. Now I will outline no more than the first 100 pages or so and then start writing. As great ideas for scenes come to me, I jot them down on index cards and arrange them on a bulletin board.

CG: You warned against the rise of Islamic radical fundamentalism in your fiction and have talked about this and some of the other issues in your books at length on television and political commentary programs. How difficult is it to remain topical in an ever-shifting political landscape?

VF: As long as there are Islamic Radical Fundamentalists vowing to destroy America and push Israel into the sea this stuff will remain extremely topical.

CG: You've gone from self-publishing your first novel to becoming a New York Times bestselling author. What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

VF: First and foremost if you have the talent, don't quit! Take a look at how the good writers do it and don't over tell the story. I think a lot of people make this more complicated than it needs to be.

CG: CBS Films has recently optioned the rights to the Mitch Rapp character. In an ideal world, who would you cast to play the role?

VF: I don't have a lot of say in who will play Rapp, and while there are many actors who could pull it off Eric Bana is the one actor who looks the most like the Mitch Rapp I created back in 1995.

CG: Thanks Vince, much appreciated.