Purchase
Treason online
now!
Zondervan
Books-a-Million
Amazon Books
Borders
Wal-Mart

Ask for Treason
by Don Brown in
your local
bookstores!

Related Links
Zondervan
Publishing
Home of the U.S.
Navy Judge
Advocate
General's Corps
A Closer Look
©2005 All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced without express permission from the author.
Technical Questions/Comments on Site -- Email the Webmaster
DON BROWN       
       BOOKS
Don Brown, a former US Navy JAG Officer, is author of Zondervan’s
riveting Navy Justice Series, chronicling the exploits of JAG
Officers Zack Brewer and Diane Colcernian. Having spent five years
on active duty, including a stint in the Pentagon, and having
completed the nonresident course in International Law at the U.S.
Naval War College, Don brings his experiences to bear in penning
novels about Navy JAG, weaving romance, suspense, terrorism and
faith around the high drama of military courts-martial.

Here are a few of the questions that he often hears.

Q: What is a JAG officer?

A: A JAG Officer is a commissioned officer serving on active duty in
the US Military who serves as an attorney. JAG Officers operate in
the military justice system as prosecutors and defense counsel.
Others work in legal assistance, preparing wills and powers of
attorney for Navy personnel. Still others work in the field of
international law, both on ships at sea, in oveseas posts, and in
Washington. In the Navy, JAG officers hold the lowest rank of
ensign, all the way up to the highest rank of Rear Admiral.

Q: I’m a big fan of the show JAG. Is that really what it’s like to be in
the JAG Corps?

A: Sometimes. They get some basic concepts right. The uniforms
are right on mark. But at other times, JAG is more Hollywood than
reality. For example JAG headquarters are not located in Falls
Church, Virginia. And most JAG officers don’t really fly F-14 Tomcats
like Commander Harm. Still, the show does a great job of illustrating
some of the issues that Navy JAG officers face.

Q: What about the movie, A Few Good Men, with Jack Nicholson,
Demi Moore and Tom Cruise? Is that realistic?

A: A Few Good Men, especially the dramatic court-martial scenes, is
very close to being on mark. I’d say it’s about 85% accurate. The
movie is based on an actual trial that took place in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, more than ten years ago.

Q: I’m thinking about going to Law School. What would be the
professional advantages of going into the JAG Corps?

A: The JAG Corps, particularly the Navy JAG Corps, provides the
best opportunity for extensive trial experience with felony-level
cases right out of law school.

Q: Your first novel, Treason, contains several powerful court-
martial scenes. How realistic are these scenes?

A: Very realistic. Although Treason is a work of fiction, I’ve written
the court-martial scenes with a view toward giving the reader a
sense of being present in the midst of high-stakes courtroom
drama involving national security.

Q: I understand Treason is the first of a multi-book series?

A: That’s true. The series, being published by Zondervan, is called
the Navy Justice Series. The second novel, Hostage, was released
in November of 2005. The third , DEFIANCE was released in 2007.

Q: Tell me about Zack Brewer and Diane Colcernian.

A: Lieutenants Zack Brewer and Diane Colcernian are sharp, good-
looking U.S Navy JAG Officers who are the main characters in
Treason. They are fierce rivals from their days at the Naval Justice
School in Newport Rhode Island, where Diane was class
valedictorian. Zack, on the other hand, was a happy-go-lucky naval
officer who could care less about class rank.

But he has a great, natural flair for trial advocacy. When he whips
Diane in the finals of the Naval Justice School Trial Advocacy
Competition, her hatred for him grows. She can’t fathom losing to
the likes of Zack Brewer. After justice school, they are both
transferred to San Diego, were they clash like lions in a pit over a
high-profile rape case that he is prosecuting and she is defending.
Later, they are both assigned as co-prosecutors in the trial of three
Islamic Chaplains accused of Treason.

The press calls it the Court-Martial of the Century and the chaplains
are defended by internationally-acclaimed defense attorney Wells
Levinson of Los Angeles. Zack and Diane must find a way to bury
their friction, or better yet, channel it against a common enemy. If
not, they will be buried themselves on national television by
Levinson.

Q: That sounds a little like David vs. Goliath.

A: In a sense that’s fair to say. Brewer and Colcernian, at the end of
the day, face insurmountable odds and must rely on all their faith
and all their abilities for the task before them. Of course, David won
his battle with Goliath. It may not be all that simple for Brewer and
Colcernian.

Q: How do you pronounce Colcernian?

A: The name’s Italian. She pronounces it like this. “Kol-
ser-nee-un.” Accent on the second syllable, please. She doesn’t
like it when you mispronounce her name. And trust me. You don’t
want her on your bad side.

Q: What’s Hostage about?

A: Hostage is the next book in the Navy Justice Series, scheduled
for release in November, 2005. I can’t reveal all my secrets, but the
first chapter of Hostage is included at the back of Treason. Anyway,
here’s a hint. I’m a big Carolina basketball fan, and the first chapter
of Hostage opens up with Brewer and Colcernian attending a
Carolina-Duke game in the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels,
of course, are leading the dreaded Blue Devils by a sizable margin
at halftime, and then – Danger!

Q: Have you enjoyed writing this series?

A: Yes, very much.

Q: What’s been the most fun part about it?

A: Getting to manipulate the score of the Carolina-Duke game. Ha!
No seriously, writing for me is a catharsis, a source of great
relaxation. As a writer, you find yourself living with your characters,
and living through them. I’m not as bad about this as I used to be,
but when I was working on my first novel, Destiny, I’d come home at
night and say to my wife, “you won’t believe what Walter – my first
book’s protagonist – did today.” Then I’d remind myself that Walter
is a figment of my imagination. Or is he? Anyway, it was kind of scary
in a way. I’m not that bad anymore. But I still get writers high
whenever I write.

Q: When and where do you write?

A: I’m not too creative after six o’clock in the evenings. So I typically
read in the evenings and write in the mornings. Usually, I’ll write for
an hour of two either at the Waffle House, McDonalds, or Chick-fil-a.
Sometimes, depending on my schedule, I’ll take my laptop and write
on my lunch hour. I’m writing right now at Good Ole Days café, a 50s
motif restaurant with good food and Elvis blaring from the jukebox.

Q: The storyline for Treason has radical Islamic terrorists infiltrating
the Navy, masquerading as Navy chaplains. Is this a realistic
scenario?

A: Yes. Because the Chaplain Corps must by law embrace Islamic
clerics, and because it is difficult to root out deep-seeded radical
Islamic beliefs from moderates who may mean no harm, the
scenario is very realistic. In fact, in October of 2003, NBC News
correspondent Lisa Myers reported that the consultant who helped
the Pentagon develop the military’s Muslim Chaplain Program, a
man who served as a Pentagon consultant for ten years, was
accused of providing “financial support to Hamas” and “financial
support to fronts for al-Qaida.” NBC news reported that this
individual was indicted.

Q: What works of fiction have you enjoyed recently?

A: I enjoy historical fiction and thrillers, with perhaps a tinge of
romance interspersed from time-to-time. Some of the books that I’
ve enjoyed in the last couple of years and would recommend
inclutimde Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn; A Ship Possessed, by
Alton Gansky; The Corps Series, by W.E.B. Griffin; The Shofar Blew,
by Francine Rivers; The Trial, by Robert Whitlow; The Left Behind
Series, by LaHaye and Jenkins, and Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy.
Purchase Treason
and Hostage online
now!  
Zondervan
Books-a-Million
Amazon Books
Wal-Mart


Related Links
Zondervan Publishing
Home of the U.S. Navy
Judge Advocate
General's Corps
The Navy Justice Series   
Volume: 2
The Navy Justice Series   
Volume: 1

The Navy Justice Series   
Volume: 3
Frequently asked questions