Archive for year: 2016

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

I’m not a big fan of fowl, so my wife bought me a beef Wellington for Thanksgiving. We had about twenty people for dinner and four of them were from Denmark, though I’m not sure how they got there. They sort of understood the holiday, including my explanation of why the head of the household ate beef Wellington while everyone else ate turkey. I can’t remember what I said, but the Danes thought it was a wonderful tradition. Me too. Next year, rib eye.

In my last Newsletter I announced that the John Corey series had been optioned by Sony-TV, and that ABC-TV would air the pilot episode. I also asked my Newsletter readers to suggest an actor to play the role of John Corey. Holy mackerel! I got hundreds of suggestions and they were all over the board, including Robert Taylor and Brad Dexter, who are not available because they’re dead.

Anyway, here is the list, in alphabetical order, that all of you have come up with – most of these names were chosen multiple times: Ben Affleck, Michael Angarano, Alec Baldwin, Eric Bana, Jonathan Banks, Josh Brolin, Gerard Butler, Jim Caviezel, Don Cheadle, Morris Chestnut, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Costner, Bryan Cranston, Clayne Crawford, John Cusack, Tim Daly, Matt Damon, Eric Dane, Brian Dennehy, Johnny Depp, Brad Dexter (deceased), Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeffrey Donovan, Robert Downey Jr., David Duchovny, Josh Duhamel, Scott Eastwood, Aaron Eckhart, Nathan Fillion, Harrison Ford, Matthew Fox, Jon Hamm, David Harbour, Liam Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Denis Leary, Rob Lowe, Josh Lucas, Gabriel Macht, Matthew McConaughey, Bruce McGill, Jake McLaughlin, Christopher Meloni, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, David Morse, Edward Norton, Chris Noth, Alex O’Loughlin, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, Tom Selleck, Gary Sinise, Wesley Snipes, James Spader, Sullivan Stapleton, Jason Stratham, Robert Taylor (deceased), Billy Bob Thornton, John Travolta, Donnie Wahlberg, Patrick Warburton, Michael Weatherly, Titus Welliver, Bruce Willis, and Dean Winters.

The most chosen names were: Alec Baldwin, Jim Caviezel, Aaron Eckhart, John Travolta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Weatherly, and Bruce Willis.

Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis have both told me that they like the Corey character, and Aaron Eckhart once expressed an interest. This is not my decision to make, but if it was, I’d go with a guy who created the character – someone who knows what makes John Corey tick. Right?

But seriously. Baldwin, Eckhart and Willis are my three top choices, and I thank you all for your good suggestions which I’ve passed on to those involved with the production. Hopefully, by January or February, the right John Corey will be found, and I’ll announce the name here.

Meanwhile, I’d like to ask you all for your suggestions about who should play the female lead. I’m not sure how the Corey series will develop in regard to John Corey’s female partner, so I can’t say that she will be Kate Mayfield, his FBI agent wife who appears in most of the Corey novels. But in general, who do you think would be a tough, but sexy and smart lady to stand up to John Corey and keep him focused and out of trouble? This is a more difficult task than picking Corey, and I’d be interested in your thoughts. Thanks.

In my last Newsletter, I said I’d list a few of my favorite books of 2016. Well, I realized if I did that, I’d probably forget some books written by friends and colleagues, and they’d hold a grudge against me for the rest of their lives. Not that authors are petty, narcissistic, egotistical, thin-skinned, and insecure, but if they were, they’d flip out if I didn’t mention their wonderful books. So to avoid any unpleasantness from my author friends, I’ll just say that I love everything any of them wrote in 2016. Great stuff. Can’t wait for your next.

As for my own books, it’s totally your choice if you want to buy them as holiday gifts. They’re great books, but I would understand if you’d rather give someone, say, a fruitcake instead of a DeMille novel. Fruitcakes are good, and healthy – if you don’t eat them. And who does? It’s the thought that counts anyway. If you give a fruitcake to someone, they know what you think of them. A DeMille novel might send a message to the recipient that you think they’re intelligent. And you don’t always want to do that. Right? Your choice.

Anyway, if you do give one of my novels as a gift, I hereby give permission for you to autograph my name. You can copy my signature below. Who’s gonna know? Say something nice.

And finally, my best wishes to you for a merry and magical Christmas, a happy and healthy Hanukkah, and a New Year filled with joy, love, prosperity, and peace on Earth.

See you next year.

I was very touched by the hundreds of emails I’ve received from my Newsletter readers in the last six or seven months asking if I was still alive. Yes, I am, but I haven’t sent out a Newsletter since January. Why? Because I’ve been working hard on my new novel, and I don’t multitask very well. But I’m taking a brief break from my writing so I can get this Newsletter out to everyone to announce that I have a newly-redesigned website which is launching…Ta-da! Today!

We’ve worked hard on this new website and I think it’s terrific – easy on the eyes, and easy on the brain. The website was designed by a few 25-year-olds, so I know it’s hip, smart, trendy and sexy. Please check it out now. Or after you’ve read the rest of this Newsletter, and let me know what you think.

And to launch the redesign of my site, we’re having a contest! No skills necessary. One random winner will be picked from anyone who is signed up for my Newsletter . What is the prize? A complete DeMille collection in trade paperback – 19 books! (worth about $350). Plus 2 bonus items! All autographed, making them invaluable. So please share this Newsletter with as many family and friends as you can. Good luck!

And now a commercial message: On Tuesday, September 27, the mass market paperback edition of my most recent novel, Radiant Angel , will be released, and you can pre-order it now. Radiant Angel is still available in hardcover, trade paperback, audio and eBook. So if you’re a good multitasker, you can listen to the audio while you read one of the print editions, then switch to the eBook when you go to bed. I do this all the time. The important thing for you is to buy Radiant Angel in some format so I can pay my website designers. Thank you.

I’ve explained in past Newsletters that Radiant Angel is titled A Quiet End for the British edition. A number of readers have inadvertently bought both editions through online retailers, or picked up a copy of A Quiet End in the U.K. or in a Commonwealth country, thinking it was a new DeMille book, only to discover it was Radiant Angel . Well, sorry if that happened to you, and hopefully you can get a refund. There was no trickery intended here; foreign publishers sometimes re-title an American book for cultural or marketing reasons, which is out of my control. I, myself, preferred A Quiet End , which was my original title, but my American publisher… Well, it’s a long story.

I want to take this opportunity to suggest an excellent non-fiction book for you to read. The title is American Crime Fiction (published by Palgrave Macmillan) and the subtitle is A Cultural History of Nobrow Literature as Art . The author is Peter Swirski, a very respected professor of literature at the University of Alberta, Canada. Here’s what the flap copy says: “Peter Swirski looks at American crime fiction as an artform that expresses and reflects the social and aesthetic values of its authors and readers. As such he documents the manifold ways in which such authorship and readership are a matter of informed literary choice and not of cultural brainwashing or declining literary standards. Asking, in effect, a series of questions about the nature of genre fiction as art, successive chapters look at American crime writers whose careers throw light on the hazards and rewards of nobrow traffic between popular forms and highbrow aesthetics: Dashiell Hammett, John Grisham, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, Ed McBain, Nelson DeMille, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.”

Well, I’m very happy to be in the company of such literary giants. Note, too, that except for me and Grisham, every other author mentioned is dead. Maybe this is how the greatly exaggerated rumor of my death got started.

Now on to movie news: In past Newsletters I’ve reported that SONY-TV was interested in Plum Island and the whole John Corey series. And now they have made me an offer I can’t refuse. When I get more details, I’ll share those with you.

On another film project, my son Alex, who is a screenwriter, has finished his feature film script based on my novel, Spencerville . I think it’s a great adaptation of the book, and my agent has sent the screenplay out to Hollywood producers for their consideration. Hopefully we will have a deal before the end of the year. Ben Affleck was originally interested in Spencerville years ago and we’re going to get the new screenplay to him if we can find him. If you know where Ben is, tell him we’re looking for him. His people can talk to my people.

And in conclusion, my new novel, which is set in Key West, Florida and Cuba, is tentatively scheduled to be published in Spring 2017. I’m introducing a new character named Daniel “Mac” MacCormick who is sort of a younger and slightly less crazy John Corey. Mac is an army vet who served in Afghanistan, was wounded, and is now a charter fishing boat owner in Key West. He’s approached by three Cuban Americans from Miami who want to charter his boat – but it’s not deep sea fishing that they’re interested in. I’ll put the first chapter of this book on my website, probably in January. Meanwhile, I need a title for this book – maybe A Quiet End . No. That could get confusing.

So that’s my catch-up Newsletter, and proof that I’m still alive. Thanks again for all your emails and snail mails which I do read and enjoy. Keep ‘em coming so I know you’re alive and well.

Hope you had a great summer. Now, please check out my newly-redesigned website .