Archive for category: Nelson DeMille Newsletters

Well, the world did not end on December 21, but the Mayans in the Yucatan were overrun with goofy tourists who arrived for the big day to find Mayans selling T-shirts that said, “I Survived The End Of The World.”

I’m happy to report that my latest novel, The Panther, is now in its Fifth printing. I am most grateful to everyone who has bought The Panther for themselves and for holiday gifts. The Internal Revenue Service, too, is grateful and we all know that our tax money is put to good use.

On another subject, I have a new short story called Rendezvous that was just released as a Kindle Single, which is a short story e-book. I think you’ll like Rendezvous, based loosely on my experiences in Vietnam. You can’t go too far wrong for a buck-ninety-nine. Also, see my Kindle Single titled The Book Case.

Also, try my short story titled
Death Benefits in e-book or audiobook; it’s part of the anthology titled
The Rich and the Dead. This is the story that I mentioned in a previous Newsletter and it’s about an author who plots to murder his agent. This story is also based on my personal experience. Just kidding.

I mentioned in my last Newsletter that I’d say something about my work in progress, but it’s not in progress, so I’ll hold off on that. But let me know if you’d like to see another John Corey novel, or a book featuring one of my other characters, or maybe a book with a totally new character. Shoot me an e-mail with your thoughts. Thanks.

Thanks, too, to all my readers who have e-mailed me through my website. I wish I could reply personally, but I’ve read over two thousand e-mails and they’re still coming in. Glad you all enjoyed The Panther — except for a few people who took offense at John Corey making fun of New Jersey, Kentucky, and Alabama. Not to mention making fun of just about everybody and everything. I don’t share Detective Corey’s views on most subjects, and I’ve spoken to him about his wisecracks, but he persists in his political incorrectness. He’s afraid that if I make him tone it down, he’ll become as dull and one dimensional as some other action/adventure heroes who will go unnamed here. He may be right.

My good friend, Linda Stasi, a staff writer for the New York Post, has a new novel coming out on January 22, titled The Sixth Station. I’ve read it and it’s terrific — gripping, suspenseful, and controversial. Pre-order it now, or look for it at your local bookstore on the 22nd. A really great read.

In conclusion, I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and productive New Year. And thanks to the Mayan Historical Society who just sent me a new five-thousand-year calendar. FYI, this is Year One. Here we go again.

March comes in like a lion and goes out like The Lion’s Game. Order now. And don’t forget the sequel, The Lion. And the latest, The Panther.

I was honored to be the subject of a cover story in the Long Island Pulse, for their March edition. Check it out. The cover photo shows me smoking a cigarette, which as I explained to my health insurance provider and my life insurance agent, is only a prop. Writers once had a bad reputation for drinking and smoking, but now they eat macrobiotic food, exercise, and meditate…” which might explain some of the crap that’s out there. Did that come out right?

Anyway, I’m on a roll with magazine covers, and the April edition of American Legion magazine will have me front and center. I’m not sure what photo they’re using for the cover, but I hope it’s the one where I’m on the treadmill eating an organic apple. But I digress. I was truly honored to be interviewed by the American Legion magazine, not only for my writing accomplishments, but also because of my military service. More on this in the April Newsletter.

On the movie front, Aaron Eckhart as John Corey in Plum Island has moved another step closer to reality. More on this as it develops. I don’t want to jinx it.

More exciting news: Many years ago, I wrote a paperback originally titled The Quest. It’s about a search for the Holy Grail, and it preceded The Da Vinci Code and the subsequent slew of religious thrillers by about thirty years. Well, I decided to resurrect The Quest and I’m rewriting it. It will be published on September 17 by Center Street. You can pre -order it now. We don’t have cover art yet, but I’m thinking of Da Vinci’s Last Supper, showing Judas smoking a cigarette. Maybe French fries on his plate. Bad guy.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all my Irish friends — and everyone is Irish on March 17 — a happy St. Patrick’s Day. And let me also take this opportunity to suggest a book that captures the spirit and joy of that day: Cathedral, by me. It’s about the Irish Republican Army taking over St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York during the parade on Fifth Avenue. So, maybe it doesn’t exactly capture the spirit and joy of the day, but it’s a good read. It’s a perfect St. Patrick’s Day gift. Order now.

And finally, because Passover and Easter come early this year, let me now wish everyone of both faiths a joyous and blessed holiday. And keep in mind that there are more things that bind us together than divide us. Jesus, remember, was in Jerusalem for the Passover, and the Last Supper was a Seder meal. Judas got stuck with the bill, and well…you know the rest.

So, happy St. Pat’s, happy Passover and Easter, and happy spring.

Sorry I haven’t done a Newsletter in a few months, but I’m working long hours to complete The Quest, which will be published September 17.

Meanwhile, you’ve probably heard a lot in the news about the TWA 800 crash. There’s a new TV documentary on this crash airing on EPIX-Cable TV on July 17, which presents the theory that the cause of this crash was not a mechanical malfunction, but perhaps something else. Those familiar with my book, Night Fall, will recall that my hero, John Corey, and his wife Kate Mayfield, came to the same conclusion.

My publisher has decided to offer Night Fall as an eBook for $2.99 for a limited time, so if you haven’t read Night Fall or would like to read it again at this promotional price, this is a good time to do it and see if my novel and the documentary share the same theories.

I hope to have a full Newsletter out for August when I’m finished with The Quest.

Have a great summer

This is my second Newsletter for August, so we’ll call this August Newsletter II.

As I said in my August Newsletter I, I finished my latest novel, The Quest, which will be published September 17, by Center Street. While I was writing day and night, I didn’t have time to look at my website email, but my assistant just printed out my emails going back to March and put them on my desk. Holy mackerel! There are over a thousand letters! I finally finished reading them all and I want to thank everyone (well, almost everyone) who wrote.

Many of those letter writers felt compelled to correct three factual errors I made in The Panther:

1) Dover Air Force Base is in Delaware, not Maryland.
2) Silver Spring, Maryland is not Silver Springs.
3) Ben’s Kosher Deli (or any kosher deli) would not serve cream cheese, or any dairy product, if they also serve meat.

I’ve been getting letters correcting these errors since The Panther was published in October, 2012, and I’m up to about five hundred letters by now. So I get it. Really. But thanks for letting me know.

I can blame the copy editor for the first two errors, but I’ll take the rap. As for the kosher deli mistake, I’ve eaten in enough kosher establishments to have known this, but I was hungry for a bagel and cream cheese when I wrote that scene, so that might explain my mental lapse.

I’ve corrected these three factual errors in the trade paperback edition of The Panther which was published on August 6. Buy a copy and see the corrections.

Other corrections had to do with grammar, but in every case the grammar referred to was in dialogue. My characters are not all Harvard grads, and they speak the way most people speak, which is not always grammatical. I assure you, the author knows the difference between who and whom, but my characters sometimes do not.

In any case, I want to thank everyone who wrote, not only about The Panther, but also about my other books. Many of the letters were quite moving, especially the ones about Word of Honor and Up Country, my two Vietnam novels, and also about Night Fall which deals with the TWA 800 crash. I wish I could reply to everyone individually but that’s not possible, so please accept this Newsletter as a reply and as a thank you for taking the time to write.

Just to remind everyone, the first two chapters of The Quest are available by clicking here, and I’d like to hear from you after you’ve read them. The story begins with a Catholic priest from Silver Spring, Maryland, recently arrived from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, sitting in his prison cell eating a bagel with nothing on it. There is a knock on his cell door and he asks, “Whom is there?” Or should he have said, “Who is there?” Read The Quest and email me your comments and corrections for the paperback edition.

Enjoy the waning days of summer.

My latest novel, The Quest, was published on September 17 and debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list at #2. Number 1 was The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks, my stable mate at Grand Central Publishing. Congratulations, Nick.

The Quest is available in hardcover through your favorite bookstore, or your online retailer. It is also available as an eBook and audio download. The unabridged audio CD will be available on November 5. The audio is read by Scott Brick who is the narrator for all my John Corey books, and Scott does a great job of bringing the story alive for those who can’t or won’t read. Let Scott read it for you.

For those who do read, you can read the first two chapters of The Quest for free by clicking here. You can read the rest of the book by buying it.

Some good news: Plum Island, the first John Corey novel, will be a cable TV series in 2014. Ron Bass, one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood, will develop the script, and Aaron Eckhart is still interested in playing the role of John Corey. My role is to accept the check, say “thank you,” and get to the bank. More details as they become available.

I’ve been on a five-week publicity trip to promote The Quest, and I’ve done lots of radio, TV, print interviews, and book signings. This is the part of being an author that I really love. Really. Well, sometimes.

I am of the belief that authors should be read and not seen. But over the years, I’ve come to realize that it’s good to get out and meet the people who read my books. If you’re one of those people, thanks for coming to the event and thanks for your kind comments. If you took pictures, email them to me here with a caption. Thanks.

At one of the events, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, I was presented with a commission signed by the governor of Kentucky, making me an honorary Kentucky Colonel. Thank you, Governor Steven L. Beshear and to the staff at the Warren County Public Library for arranging this very special honor. As I said at the presentation, “I left the army as a lieutenant, and now I’m a colonel.” When one is made an honorary Kentucky Colonel, one is obliged to drink a bit of Kentucky bourbon at the presentation, which I was happy to do.

Thanks, too, to the many veterans and active-duty military personnel who showed up at all my book signings. Welcome home and thanks for your service.

At one of my signings, at Books & Books in Miami, two guys from my platoon in Vietnam showed up which was wonderful. I introduced these men to the crowd and they got a big round of applause. Thanks for coming, guys.

Now that my publicity tour is almost finished, I can get back to writing. My next novel sees the return of John Corey and his wife Kate Mayfield, who continue to do battle against the forces of evil. That’s right, they’re taking on the United States Congress. Just kidding.

On a more serious note, I want to mention the recent deaths of three literary giants: Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy, and Elmore Leonard. I knew Vince best of all, and I’ll miss our email exchanges and our radio chats. My condolences to their families.

On a happier note, I just attended my son Alex’s wedding. His bride, Dagmar, like Alex is in the film business and I wish them both a lifelong love story.

My good pal Jeanine Pirro has written a second book in the Dani Fox series, titled, Clever Fox. Jeanine’s debut novel, Sly Fox was a great read and Clever Fox is even greater. Read the Foxes. You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks again to everyone who bought The Quest and to everyone who came to my signings. There are a few more scheduled events in the New York area, and you can check them out by clicking here. Hope to see you there.