Coming To Scranton And McArthur, Ohio!

For those in Scranton, PA and McArthur, OH, I'm coming this week.

If you're around, come say hey. And of course, I'll sign whatever you want including all body parts (though that still has never been offered to me).

This Thursday, April 17
Bestselling author Brad Meltzer will give the first talk of the 2008 Library Lecture Series at the Scranton Cultural Center at 7 p.m. The lecture is open to the public and is free with a library card. An autograph session will follow the lecture, and book club participants will have an opportunity to meet the author at a pre-lecture reception.

This Saturday, April 19
The Herbert Wescoat Memorial Library presents Brad Meltzer, delivering the keynote presentation at Vinton County Middle School. The event is free and open to the public.
For more info, see: http://www.vintoncountypublic.lib.oh.us/Spring%20Arts%20Festival.htm

Audio Man

Have I mentioned how much I love Scott Brick, the dear friend and deep baritone who is the voice of all our audio books? And now, it truly is all, since he's now re-recording The Tenth Justice and Dead Even (giving us full unabridged versions for the first time) just in time for when The Book of Lies is launched in September.

So here's his recent blog post acknowledging what a pain in the ass I am.

BTW, the website itself is scottbrickpresents.com.

Book of Lies. Copyedits done.

Copyedits are officially done and off and in the mail. Managed to sneak in a really good comic reference. Gotta make these things harder than just the Watchmen names in Tenth Justice. So today working on two new projects. One comics, one TV.

Also, see below from today's Washington Post. And people say it was all fiction.

The Washington Post

April 9, 2008 Wednesday
Regional Edition

A Capital City With The Devil in the Details?; These Roads Aren't Paved With Good Intentions

BYLINE: Dan Morse; Washington Post Staff Writer

SECTION: STYLE; Pg. C01

LENGTH: 981 words

Presidential candidate John McCain keeps calling Washington the city of Satan. Turns out he's not alone.

"McCain was right," said David Bay, speaking by phone from Lexington, S.C., where as director of Cutting Edge Ministries he has long asserted that Washington's streets are positioned to usher in Lucifer as "the ultimate master of Government Center."

"You will need to have your maps of Washington, D.C., opened in front of you as we proceed," reads a treatise on the subject posted on Bay's Internet site.

Using Dupont and Logan circles as northern points, Bay instructs, you can trace various interlocking streets to form a demonic pentagram, one that bores directly into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"It must be true, it's on the Internet," Larraine Wolman, a British tourist, said in perfect deadpan while gazing at the White House just before midnight recently.

She agreed to review Bay's map. Could she feel Satan?

No.

Wolman and her three British companions turned to walk back to their quarters at the Mayflower Hotel. This reporter followed, determining what they knew about the place. They knew that former New York governor Eliot Spitzer had stayed there, reportedly with a high-priced call girl. They didn't know how near the hotel is to the center of Bay's pentagram.

"He didn't get in trouble with Satan," Wolman said of Spitzer, as she stood in the Mayflower's lobby. "He got in trouble with his wife."

McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, has regularly called Washington Satan's City over the past 10 years. He did so twice last month, including during a visit to the Atlanta headquarters of Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain whose founder is such a devoted Baptist he keeps the eateries closed on Sundays.

"It's harder and harder trying to do the Lord's work in the city of Satan," McCain said, according to an Associated Press account.

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, said the Satan comments are obviously jokes. Indeed, on the stump, McCain doesn't refer to the District per se, but to the culture of special interests and ethical lapses in Congress he has long railed against.

Satan and Washington go back. After John Wilkes Booth murdered Abraham Lincoln, printers rushed out images of a horned and clawed devil whispering into Booth's ear at Ford's Theatre, according to "Manhunt," a book about the search for Booth.

On Aug. 20, 1949, The Washington Post weighed in, greeting readers with a headline atop the front page: "Priest Frees Mt. Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil's Grip."

The story told of a 14-year-old Prince George's County boy who underwent "between 20 and 30" exorcisms, most of which had him breaking into violent, cursing tantrums and bouts of Latin, a language he had never studied. The article quoted unnamed "Catholic sources."

The case inspired a book that became the 1973 movie "The Exorcist," set in Georgetown, which scared the wits out large swaths of America. The Archdiocese of Washington knows of no officially sanctioned exorcisms since the 1949 Mount Rainier case, said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

The most persistent rumblings about Washington as the devil's workshop seem bound up in history about the city's design and the role of Freemasons in building it. It's a connection explored in the three-hour DVD "Riddles in Stone: The Secret Architecture of Washington, D.C.," which notched a respectable 90th out of 1,363 titles recently in Amazon's general history documentary category.

Among the film's highlights is 1993 footage of Mason Strom Thurmond, then a U.S. senator from South Carolina, cement trowel in hand, marking the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Capitol in a Masonic ceremony. And while Masons served as architects to the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court and Washington Monument, the suggestion their leaders worked with Satan is "absolute nonsense," said Akram Elias, Grand Master of the Masons of D.C.

"It's an old story," Elias added. "They don't come out with anything new."

In the 2007 New York Times bestseller "The Book of Fate," a central character named Nico Hadrian advances the demonic pentagram theory of Washington's street layout and describes the White House as the doorway to Hell itself. Author Brad Meltzer said he designed Hadrian, a crazed killer who shoots his way out of a mental hospital, to be a "walking Internet" of various beliefs about Freemasons, among the "great bogeymen of history." And "The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown, according to his Web site, is at work on a novel that "explores the hidden history of our nation's capital," as "set deep within . . . the enigmatic brotherhood of the Masons."

Other satanic hot spots cited by believers include the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument. The latter was described by Bay, the South Carolina author, as a filthy, phallic and satanic homage to the god Baal.

Unlikely, said an avowed Satanist from Laurel.

He agreed to meet at the Washington Monument recently, strolling up the Mall in a long black robe and passing through a throng of sun-drenched tourists. A government contracting employee, the 37-year-old spoke on the condition that he be identified only by his satanic name (Gwydion Tiamat). Friends' houses have been firebombed, he said, and they're just pagans.

A husband and father and the director of the East Coast office of the Brotherhood of Satan, he said "a couple of thousand" Satanists live in the Washington area. This is a group that is widely misunderstood, he said: Members don't sacrifice cats; they're not out to hurt people; they simply acknowledge that humans are carnal animals and enjoy the freedoms and indulgences that flow from that understanding. "Having a whole Sara Lee strawberry cheesecake, for example," he said.

And in one sense, he mused, while looking toward the Lincoln Memorial and the infinite regions beyond, McCain is right.

"Satan," said Tiamat, "is everywhere."

The Book of...

Lies.

The Book of Lies.

That's the official title of the new novel.

Coming out this September.

I must admit, I'm surprised by the vote. I thought it'd be so much closer. It wasn't at all. Which means something incredibly profound about our culture, but if I stated it, I'd be the kind of intellectual blowhard I so stand again. And for all the people who wrote in and asked: Why're you asking me? Well, let me say it like this: I know I'm not the smartest guy in the room, or the most handsome. I don't care where you work or what your job is, or how much money you make, or what style of shirt/jeans/anything you're wearing. That's just not important, and I'm tired of all the things in this world that make us believe that it is. We are all pathetically ordinary and spectacularly special. All of us. And I ask you because you're far more real that some marketing consultant that studies this crap so much they rob it of all its fun.

And so, The Book of Lies.

A huge thank you for helping me pick another title.

As for what it's about, that's coming soon. And so is comic news. Don't mean to tease, but I promise, real soon. And I'm excited about this one.

Thanks for playing -- and for all the kind notes so many of you wrote.

Stan Lee!

Still counting title votes. Please keep sending them.

And...just got off the phone with Stan Lee. And not about a comic project. Man, he's still The Man. More to come on this one with the next novel...

Vote On The New Title

Here we go... For those new here, welcome to a true tradition. For seven books now, we've voted on the new novel's title. That's right. Democracy.

It's how Addison's Judgment became The Tenth Justice, and how The Fiddler's Three became The Book of Fate.

So.

Screw the primaries. Let's vote on something that really matters. Like imaginary people. And thrillers. And stuff like that.

Just please vote for which title you like best (and try to make up your mind before you see the replies below. Or better yet, send it to me at: bradmeltzer27 at bellsouth dot net). No, it doesn't matter what the book's about. I'll tell you later. Just pick what you'd rather read:

THE BOOK OF TRUTH

or

THE BOOK OF LIES

Okay, that's it. You've made your decision, just send it. Don't overthink it. And thank you thank you thank you for putting up with such nonsense. I keep telling myself that this isn't the way to do this, but if it ain't broke, cliché, cliché, cliché.

First Draft. Done.

Okay, the blood is all over the floor, but the very first draft of the next novel is done. Still a long huge way to go (and they want to publish in September), but I'm excited and spent and can't wait for you to read it.

More details soon. And in a day or two, we need you to vote on the title. Fun! Democratic!

Beta Testing Your Novel

Trying to finish up a draft of the new novel now -- which is why I'm so fascinated with this:

Beta-testing a novel using Amazon's Kindle

via Ars Technica by Nate Anderson | Published: January 09, 2008 - 11:01PM CT

Novelist Daniel Oran was finishing up his second book, Believe, when the Kindle (see our review) launched. Reviewers saw a cool device with some odd quirks, but Oran saw an opportunity to use the device for beta-testing his book. Users don't like to read long works on a screen, nor do they like printing 300 pages (even on the office printer), and print-on-demand made distribution too expensive. But the Kindle's superb screen, high profile launch, and easy distribution methods made it the perfect platform for launching Oran's work-in-progress, so he slapped his book up on Amazon's site for a buck and asked for feedback.

I spoke to Oran today about the project, which he characterizes as a "chance to really have readers help you arrive at something that's most appealing to the audience." In his view, that's not pandering, it's collaboration—and it requires a respect for one's own readers that not all novelists possess.

Though in draft form, the novel is complete and polished. But before finalizing the text, Oran wanted feedback from readers. Did they like the book? Did they have ideas for improving it? If software processes could benefit from iterative development and many eyeballs, then why couldn't novels?

It's an approach that appeals to Oran in part because of his own background in software. He was a team leader at Microsoft in the Windows 95 era, and his name actually appears on the patent for the "Start menu" that's still with us today. He's now a full-time writer (a move which he terms a "career migration").

Believe is loosely based on Oran's pre-Microsoft experiences of working at New York's Bellevue Hospital. It tells the story of a patient with amnesia who stumbles into the ER at Christmas and turns out to have amazing talents. A young doctor works with the man to figure out what's happening to him.

Throwing up content on the Web and asking for feedback isn't new, but Oran argues that the Kindle makes reading large amounts of digitally-distributed text easy enough that beta testing a novel is a real possibility. While he's hoping for plenty of user comments, the book has only been up a few days and has yet to receive any.

When he published his first novel, the thriller Ulterior Motive (involving a Seattle company called, not coincidentally, "Megasoft"), Oran went the traditional publishing route. While enjoyable, the only feedback he received was sales figures. By making the book available on the Kindle and asking for feedback, he hopes to change the "nature of the relationship between writers and readers" and get fan feedback before the novel's text is finalized. (One wishes that George Lucas had adopted the same strategy with his Star Wars prequels.)

This makes the creative process a more collaborative one, and it's a bit at odds with the traditional "artist at a typewriter" method of crafting fiction. Unlike truly collaborative projects like Wikipedia, though, Oran will retain control over the text, incorporating only those suggestions that seem like good ones.

In the end, Oran still plans to publish the traditional way, as publishers are still the only reliable way to get a title carried by bookstores. Kindle is great for the cheap distribution of long-form writing projects (Amazon makes it simple to upload content to the system, and the process is free), but e-book readers are still no substitute for a paperback on a bookstore shelf (and they don't impress your mother nearly as much).

One of the ironies of the whole experiment is that Oran doesn't have a Kindle; in fact, he hasn't even seen one. They've been out of stock at Amazon for some time.

Beta-testing books via Kindle may not turn out to be the future of novels, but it's worked out well so far for Oran (he's donating all proceeds from the beta to charity). The media coverage of his experiment has pushed the title as high as 80 on Amazon's Kindle sales charts—not bad for a beta. Even if the feedback from readers turns out to be unhelpful, the publicity certainly can't hurt.

Reminder: Today. Free Copy Of The Millionaires. Swear.

Just a reminder about the free copy of The Millionaires available now on iTunes or audible.com.

And how could we possibly do this without a true 'voice out' to the master narrator Scott Brick. He's been with us for four novels now and is the only person who I think captures my voice (and makes me sound far tougher and more baritone than I am). As my grandmother said when she first heard him on audio (true story): He sounds handsome.

Here's the post from yesterday...

Okay, we're no Radiohead, but I'm telling you, we've been talking about this for months, and now the publisher is finally doing it. Starting tomorrow, if you go to iTunes or audible.com, you can get a free (really free -- no catch) audio copy of The Millionaires. It's one of my favorite books I've done, and not just because the last hundred pages go into the tunnels under DisneyWorld. So download it free.

Also, just for kicks, you'll see that the rest of the novels are available for only $9.99, which is also kinda insane. But not as insane as FREE!

So go have fun with the free.

Free Copy Of The Millionaires. Swear.

Okay, we're no Radiohead, but I'm telling you, we've been talking about this for months, and now the publisher is finally doing it. Starting tomorrow, if you go to iTunes or audible.com, you can get a free (really free -- no catch) audio copy of The Millionaires. It's one of my favorite books I've done, and not just because the last hundred pages go into the tunnels under DisneyWorld. So download it tomorrow for free.

Also, just for kicks, you'll see that the rest of the novels are available for only $9.99, which is also kinda insane. But not as insane as FREE!

So go tomorrow and have fun with the free.

Brad Back In DC

Okay, are we gonna get a minyan or not? I'm back in the Washington, DC area this Sunday, November 11th for the JCC's Jewish Book Fesitval (details below). I'll be talking about books, comics, and just about anything. So come and nosh.
And as always, happy to sign whatever you want to bring.

See you then.

Sunday, November 11, 11:30 am

JCC of Greater Washington

6125 Montrose Rd.

Rockville, MD 20852

(
Google Map Link)

301-348-3805

Write Your Novel!

Had no idea, but November is National Novel Writing Month. And so, how can I not plug it? I started by saying, "Everyone has one novel in them, so why not take a shot?" I took my shot. The book failed miserably and still sits on my shelf. But I got the bug. So those waiting, take a shot.

More fun here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano and on Wikipedia.

Audio Books

Starting this week, my book publisher is putting The Book of Fate on eMusic.com as an audio book.

All the novels are already on audio CD and tape, but this is their first toe in the water in the battle to compete with iTunes (which is why eMusic is priced so much cheaper), and as The New York Times says, this is only 1 of 15 books they're playing with there.

So if you want a deal, download away...

Florida Event With Dave Barry And Other People I Worship

This is not a traditional book event. It's simply a way to honor one of the best booksellers (and dearest friends) in the country. When my first novel came out, Mitch Kaplan offered to host a signing for me. I owe him forever for that -- and haven't missed an event there since.

Click on invite to enlarge

Comments From Previous Blog

On vacation, so a little light this week, but want to respond to this in response to the Ludlam blog:

Jared Rourke said...

"always just amazed that people don't mind buying books that're written by someone beside the author."

I'm really not trying to be smart here, but this coming from the guy who just finished up a run on the Justice League comic. I can't see much difference between that and someone writing a new "Bourne" book, especially since it appears to have been the author's wish (not particularly for Bourne, but for other books of his). I do think there's a major dishonesty in putting Ludlum's name larger than the actual author's... but what else do you expect?

Full disclosure: I've never read a Robert Ludlum book. But I do enjoy a good Meltzer book, Justice League or not.

Jared, totally fair point. And love you for keeping me honest. So let me clarify: my amazement comes from the people who think they're buying a book written by Ludlum and they're just not. If you love Bourne, buy Bourne. More power to you. Just know you're not really getting a book written by Ludlum (who really was a master).

Also, a huge thanks for all the pro-bald crowd. And especially to those trying something they're afraid of.

Love Your Family

Here're the t-shirt getters (which I know seems utterly silly in light of the bridge collapse in Minnesota). Everyone go home tonight and love your loved ones.

• David Golbitz
  
• John Madigan IV
  
• Marcelo Paradella
  
• Clydene Nee
  
• Trevor Mueller
  
• Matt McFadden
  
• Clayton Murwin
  
• Aaron Curtis
  
• Howie Kaplan
  
• Fred Hudson
  
• Tom O'Hara
  

Free Book Of Fate Shirts

Just found 11 leftover Book of Fate T-shirts -- they're black with the book cover plastered none-so-subtly across the chest -- so if you'll wear it and want one, send me an email with your address and L or XL. Plus your favorite My Little Pony and your favorite cookie. Me like Pinky Pie Pony and Milanos.

First 11 size matches win.

Just wanted to say thanks.

Recreate The Novels

Here we go, our first submission in our "Recreate A Scene" contest. This comes from Brad D, and he says:

"Here are me and my sister-in-law and nephew recreating The Millionaires when Gillian, Oliver and Charlie are running through the sub-basements of Disney (my
niece's favorite work)."

I just wish you all knew how much ego joy I take in this. Send more! Remember, really good prize to the winner...

B

Recreate Brad's Novels

Remember, we'll talk about the end of the Lightning Saga tomorrow. But today...we got such nice response from our recreation of the escape-from-the-Capitol scene of The Zero Game, that we're leaving the next one up to you.

So...re-stage a scene from any of the novels -- Charlie on the run in The Millionaires...Nora making out in The First Counsel -- any scene you want. Make it mundane or funny, but photo away. And when we're done, I'll come up with a really cool prize for the best one. Not something easy like a signed book. Something truly special.

No crap -- think good prize.

B

Colbert...AND Amy Sedaris

The Grand Central launch party was all snazz. And did manage to meet Colbert. Started by asking about comics, then stumbled through thanking him for mentioning The Book of Fate on his show. With each second tick I embarrassed myself more. A full 30 seconds of just fawning. I was 17 again -- talking to the pretty girl and regretting every word that left my lips.

BUT...got to meet Amy Sedaris, who I was told was hysterical in person, and who was honestly one of the funniest people I've ever met. Truly. And I'm a comic snob and don't toss words like that lightly. Made my entire weekend.

Otherwise, saw lots of authors and stole lots of books (AJ Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically -- go AJ).

Thanks to all who came to the DC booth and the Grand Central booths for signings. Made me feel so lucky all over again.

B

Book Expo and The Electric Slide

Off to Book Expo where they're unveiling my publisher's new name (what was Warner is now Grand Central Publishing). My real goal is to corner Colbert at the book party.

Otherwise, the only thing getting me excited is the legal battle over the Electric Slide. All you Bar-Mitzvah bands owe this man!

B

'Electric Slide' creator backs down from DMCA claim

Posted by Daniel Terdiman

The man who claims to have created the famed Electric Slide has backed down from a legal claim against an engineer who posted a YouTube video of people doing the dance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced.

The EFF had represented the engineer, Kyle Machulia, in a lawsuit against the dance's creator, Richard Silver. But on Tuesday, the EFF said Silver had backed down from his claim and his general "online video takedown campaign" and agreed to allow anyone noncommercial use of the dance.

In February, Silver filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice with YouTube demanding that the service remove a video in which the dance briefly appears.

"Mr. Silver's misuse of the DMCA interfered with our client's free speech rights," EFF staff attorney Corynne McSherry said in a press release. "New technologies have opened multiple avenues for artists and their audiences to create, share and comment on new works. We cannot let absurd copyright claims squash this extraordinary growth."

Under the terms of the settlement, Silver agreed to license the dance under a Creative Commons license. That means anyone will be able to perform, reproduce, display or distribute recordings of the Electric Slide for noncommercial use in any medium.

For his part, Machulis said he was excited for what the settlement means for general use of content--like videos of people dancing in public places.

"This is a huge win for open-source licenses as well as line dance enthusiasts and hapless nerds with video cameras," Machulis said. "It's as much a win for Creative Commons as it is for me, as this is a much more understandable platform to talk to people about intellectual property and licensing on than the usual software claims that come up."

The video is now back online as a result of the settlement.

Zero Game is...Alive!

Last week, the winner of my personal tour through the Capitol was...er...with me in the Capitol. So, to commemorate, here's a reenactment of the scene from The Zero Game where Harris darts through the curator's office and is almost stopped by a handsome member of the curator's staff. That's me playing Harris...and dear friend Scott Strong playing the role of the handsome curator staffer (which is a stretch since he works in the curator's office as a staffer).

My favorite is the one where he's taking it on the chin. Let's see Shakespeare do THAT!

B

How To Get Your Book Published

Forget all the emails about the novels -- THIS is probably the most asked question I get: how do I get my book published? And so, here's my response to a friend's questions. Hope they help. And no matter what, when it does get picked up, send me an invite to the book signing.

B

---

1) I already know an agent- he's sort of a family friend. He works exclusively with children's literature. I know he wouldn't be a good person for my novel, since it is clearly NOT children's lit or young adult lit. Is it OK to ask him if he knows any other agents, in this case in the field of romantic fiction? Or is it VERY unprofessional to ask one agent about another?

B: I'm not worried about unprofessional -- I just worry he'll say, "Oh, I'll do it" and then you're ... AWKward. :) Use my trick: go to the hardcover books of authors you like, check their Acknowledgments, and THAT'S how you find good agents.

2) Can you send cover letters explaining the novel to different agents at the same time? Or should you wait until you get rejected to send out another cover letter? What if more then one agent wants to work with you? (That last question is in my WILDEST dreams)

I sent all at once (ten agents max, just in case your letter needs work, so you don't use everyone up at once).

3) What if you get an agent and they can't find a publisher for your book, do you still have to pay them? Do all agents get a cut of the money if you get published?

You should only sign with someone who gets paid only if they sell it (though some ask you to pay minor mail fees, etc, which is fine).

4) What is the turnaround time between sending cover letters out and getting some sort of response? When should I give up on the person and move on. I'm assuming if I never hear from them, that they think my novel will never sell and since they can't say anything nice, they won't
say anything at all.

Usually 6 weeks or so. But when you think about calling them, remember: there's a fine line between enthusiasm and desperation.

The Writing Process:

1) You said on your page that it takes about a year to a year and a half to write a novel.

Is that writing it EVERY day? Doesn't life ever get in the way? Do you ever get annoyed with the characters and just need a break from them?

I write M-F, only these days.

On my first book, I wrote M-TH (8 - 11pm), took off Friday, and wrote
Saturdays and Sundays for 5 hours.

Of course you need a break in the week. Otherwise you'll go nuts.

2) You also said you write a first draft and then you rewrite it.

Besides your wife and Noah, do you show your writing to anyone else?

Is too much feedback a bad thing? So far I've had about four people read bits and pieces of my novel--- the feedback has been good, but I'm worried people just might be being nice to me. Do you ever feel like that?

Of course. When a draft is done, and you've reworked it to a point, show it to 5 friends (who you think won't lie to you). You'll get 5 different opinions, but at the end of the day, you'll start to see the overlap. You can't -- and shouldn't -- listen to everyone. But listen to your gut. You'll know which comments are right. Also, you want it to get to a point where your friends say, "Wow -- I'm really digging it." If they're just saying, "Yeah, it's kinda okay" keep working on it.

3) Does your agent give you pointers about your novel before they start to submit to publishers? Do publishers give you pointers or 'YOU MUST CHANGE THIS OR NO ONE WILL EVER BUY IT!' comments? How perfect does the novel have to be for an agent or a publisher to even look at it?

Yes. And yes. But it's always up to you as to which comments you want to address. One editor once wrote in the margin: "I'm so bored right now, I wanna put a gun in my mouth." Really. And it just has to be good.

4) How LONG should it be? I know that is sort of a loaded question.

But my novel is about 280 MS Word pages (single spaced), which would make it about 560 in novel format. Should I keep it long and let the publisher or agent tell me what to cut or should I just start hacking away at it?

I've written 300, 400, 500. The best rule of writing: there are no rules. If it's good, it's good.

Most important, good luck!

Brad Goes To The Lincoln Bedroom

Broadcasting from the White House. Just went to the Lincoln and Queen's bedrooms. Saw the secret passage/hidden door I wrote about in The First Counsel. Was so happy to see I got that part right.

And got lots of little Presidential chocolates.

I love America.

B

Masonic Reviews

Just got a new review from a Freemason publication. The wild and sad part is the belief that they think they can't get press, but can only get it for the spooky stuff.

B

The Northern Light,v.38, No. 1 - The Book of Fate review

"To the author's credit,,,he qualifies his use of the Masonic fraternity in the plot and refers positively to our craft. The book contains 510 pages and was interesting enough for me to read it in three days...I found it to be stimulating, holding my attention from chapter to chapter, and causing me to read longer than I had planned...Isn't it remarkable that non-Masons are creating a greater interest in us than we have been able to create in ourselves with all our effort? If you are interested in reading gripping thrillers, you should be interested in reading The Book of Fate."

IGN Interview

Some of this I've answered before, but much of the interview is a real nice look at my writing thought process. And the IGN guys are first class.

B

http://comics.ign.com/articles/783/783746p1.html

The Past, Present and Future of the JLA

Brad Meltzer chats about DC and his novel, The Book of Fate.

by Dan Phillips

April 26, 2007 - Not many writers can claim to have a best-selling novel and a top-ten comic book series out at the same time, but writer Brad Meltzer has both. With his best-selling novel Book of Fate hitting bookstores in paperback form this week and Justice League of America continuing to sell like crazy, Meltzer is enjoying huge success in both literary forms.

Much to most comic fans' delight, this month marked the beginning of the JLA/JSA crossover, "The Lightning Saga." Alongside Justice Society writer Geoff Johns, Meltzer is weaving a thrilling tale that includes not only both of DC's flagship superhero teams, but the 31st Century Legion of Superheroes as well. We sat down with Brad to talk about the Book of Fate, the Justice League of America, the JLA/JSA crossover, and his past comic book work, which includes the successful Identity Crisis and Green Arrow: Archer's Quest.

IGN Comics: Your latest novel, Book of Fate, comes out in paperback this week. Can you tell us a little about the book's premise?

Brad Meltzer: The Book of Fate has a very simple plot: The President's aide watches his friend die right in front of his eyes, and then eight years later finds out his dead friend is actually alive and on the run. Trying to figure out what happened takes him back to these buried secrets in Freemason history and a 200-year-old code invented by Thomas Jefferson, and he has to figure out if this is all coincidence or is it fate. And of course, I managed to sneak in as many comic references in the book as I could.

IGN Comics: What gave you the initial idea to write the book? Are you a conspiracy theorist at heart?

Meltzer: I think every thriller writer is paranoid - that's why you're a thriller writer, so I definitely think I have that in me. This book came about in the most surreal way ever. Former President Bush wrote me a letter one day saying he liked my novel The Millionaires, and asked if I would sign a copy for him. I don't care what your politics are, if you're a former President, I'll send you a free book. So I sent him a free book, but then I started thinking - how much free time does this guy have on his hands if he's actually writing me a letter?

I was just obsessed with the idea of these former Presidents - because we all know the West Wing, we've all seen it - and the idea of what happens when you leave office? What happens when you know for a fact that you've peaked in your life, and everything else is downhill? What happens when you're the most powerful man in the world one day, and the next day you suddenly have to stop at red lights like the rest of us? I was just obsessed with that.

So I wrote him back and of course signed the book for him, and I asked him if I could come see what his life was like. He was nice enough to say yes, so I spent nearly a week in Houston with the Bushes and then went up to Bill Clinton's office in Harlem. All the details you see in Book of Fate are based on all the things I saw there. They're pulled from reality.

IGN Comics: So other than those experiences, how much research went into the book? You mentioned that the Freemasons play a role...

Meltzer: Well honestly, I love the Freemason stuff, but I think the publisher - either rightly or wrongly - sees it in their own way, and it becomes a marketing ploy whether I like it or not, because they know people are interested in it.

I think people who read the book will see that [the Freemasons] plays a small but vital role. I mean, you can write tons of books on the Freemasons if you just want to accept every conspiracy theory out there, and there are people out there who will tell you that the Freemasons are responsible for everything from taking over the world to stealing your car right there - which they are. [laughs] But there are only a few things that can be proven about them. For instance, you can prove who was a Freemason, and that alone is fascinating. I didn't know what Freemasonry was, and then someone sent me a list of all the powerful Freemasons in the world, and it was a list that included everyone from George Washington to Winston Churchill to John Wayne to Mark Twain to Harry Houdini. Eight signers of the Declaration of Independence, nine signers of the US Constitution, and 15 Presidents were all Freemasons. Now we've had 43 Presidents; if 15 of them were all part of the same secret club, you better believe I want to know about this club. So I really tried to limit the conspiracies and leave it more to the facts, because I'm far more interested in that than the whack job theories that are out there.

IGN Comics: One of the strongest and most recognizable aspects of your comics work is your use of multiple perspective narration, a fairly common device in novels but one we don't really see too often in comics, at least to the extent you were able to do in Identity Crisis and now Justice League of America. Has it been at all difficult to apply the technique or device to your comic book writing?

Meltzer: I'm one of those people who really try not to pull the thread on the sweater to figure how it all happened, because I'm worried the sweater will just evaporate. But I'm a firm believer in trying something new.

When I started writing novels, I remember my editor telling me that if you do point of view, you have to stay in that point of view no matter what. As a 24 year old kid, I figured those were the rules and that's it, I can't change it. And then I wrote my second novel, and I said - well why can't I write from two perspectives, because I wont be constantly changing perspectives, it'll just be a two perspective story? He said ok, but I can't change perspectives mid-scene, and if I write in third person, I have to stay in third person. Then when I wrote the First Council, whether it was a matter of feeling older or more confident (although I'm always terrified of writing), I certainly felt that I wanted to try something different. So I said, why not take third person and first person and mix it, and you know what? The world didn't end that night, and I realized the first rule of writing - as clichéd as it sounds - is there are no rules.

I've tried to do something different in every book, not so I could say "look at me, I'm different," but only because, as a writer, I don't want to get bored. If I have to write the same book in the same way every single time, then I'm just going to be some hack who's churning it out book after book. Again, I think we all like to pretend we know the way the craft works and all start from this great place, but I didn't. I stumbled my way there, and it's taken me a decade to get there. But I feel like what I've found now is my voice. I realized I like multiple perspectives. Why? Because it becomes complex. You get to see everything from different perspectives, and it's not just a Roshamon effect, you actually get to see everything from different perspectives, and the same instance becomes twenty different instances, just because it's seen through different eyes.

To go back to that line in Identity Crisis - "people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear." That was one of the essential points I wanted to get across, because that's obviously the moral dilemma the league's going through in that book, but it was all derived from the fact that they're all looking at the same instance differently. So it's nothing more than, to me, the way I can bring the fullest emotional experience to any situation. That's where I'm going to get the emotional resonance from.

IGN Comics: Do you ever struggle to capture the various characters' voices, and did whether or not you wanted to or could capture a character's voice come into play when assembling your JLA lineup?

Meltzer: It's definitely a question of preparation. I'd be a moron if I just started and assumed I knew everyone's voice and just started writing whatever the story's going to be. I really had to break down and keep notebooks full of details about the characters, things you'll never see in the novels or comics, but details that I need to know. I'm figuring out people's voices, figuring out who they are, and I may just write a back-story or back history about them.

A character like Hawkgirl I just could not crack in my head because I couldn't figure out who she was. For all the time, even since Kendra has been around, I just couldn't find a voice for her. She was basically just a female character who has wings. But I kept thinking about the character, and I fell in love with the idea that maybe this broad has a death wish. Maybe she does subconsciously want to kill herself because she really wants to be her original self again. Suddenly that character became far more interesting than anything else I could work on, and now I had a voice for her. Now I had a new tone for her, a new cockiness to her that for me cracked open the character.

I'll say there were characters who didn't make the League, not because I didn't like them, but because I don't think I write to their strengths. There were characters that were too internal. I'll admit that some of them I have found voices for, but some of them I never will. I don't think you should include anyone because all the readers out there want you to, because then your writing for approval and writing to be liked, and that to me is one of the most dangerous trends that is happening in comics right now.

IGN Comics: How did you decide to make Black Canary the leader of the team?

Meltzer: It's funny, I - again, that came from as I was walking through the plot. I didn't plan on it when I originally thought about it in a global sense and pitched the whole league to DC, but as I started thinking about the characters and watching who was making what move.

I tend to write the general big arc in my head so I know where I'm going, and then the details I kind of break down arc by arc as I get to them - and as I started looking at the "Tornado's Path", I just kept coming back to this thing that, you know, the whole point of it was to show that the Big 3 are the center of the universe but they're also not the center of the universe. When I looked at those scenes when they're not the center of the universe, it wasn't Hal Jordan who was jumping to the front. It was partly because of the dynamic that was playing out between Hal and Roy, but it just was very clear to me that there was someone who was the bigger anchor than any of those other characters.

It's like the Supreme Court definition of pornography: you know it when you see it. I just knew it when I saw it - this was Dinah's time. I just felt it. She has a strength that's anchoring the League at this moment. Maybe it's because she feels ties with all of these characters, or maybe it's because Roy is there and she feels a little more maternal and protective, but whatever it is, she just felt like the right person to put in charge.

IGN Comics: Speaking of Roy, you first explored the character and his relationship with Ollie in Archer's Quest, and their relationship has certainly played a big role in your first JLA arc. Have you always wanted to give Roy a more prominent role in the DCU?

Meltzer: When I wrote Archer's Quest six years ago, my plan was to have Roy in the Justice League. It's in there. You can look at it. There's a line in there where Roy asks Ollie, "Are you gonna join the League now that you're back to life," and Ollie looks at Roy and says, "Why don't you join? You're the same age I was when they asked me to join." Then there's a silent panel of Roy's face. That was my seed right there. I put it out there. At that point in time I never knew if I was going to write another comic again or if anyone would like what I was writing, so I was putting it out there hoping that someone might grab on to it and run with it. I had no idea that six years later, I'd get to do it myself. But my plan all along was - why is this character stuck in this adolescent limbo?

IGN Comics: The only character that didn't join the League through a trial by fire is Geo-Force, so I'm curious why you decided to make him join this way?

Meltzer: Well he didn't join. [laughs] You said it in your question. He may be in the last spread on JLA/JSA, but he's not officially a member yet. He's not in the League, which is why he isn't in the picture in issue #7. He may be soon, but not yet.

IGN Comics: Moving on to the crossover - how and when did the idea to do a JLA/JSA crossover come about?

Meltzer: I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment, but the truth is, Geoff and I have been talking about this since I've known him. Not in direct ways, like "Hey let's do this together," but more along the lines of "This is our fanboy dream come true." When I first met him and he was stuck at my house during a hurricane in Baltimore, he was stranded, so he started reading the scripts to Identity Crisis as I finished them. I remember talking about our favorite Justice League and JSA stories, and we always came back to those great old crossovers.

The most beautiful things in life are the things that you don't plan and you don't try to do because you hope people will like them or like you, or because you want to make money and be successful, they're the things you do because you love them. This was one of the ones where it wasn't DC saying "Hey, take the two re-launched books and do a crossover." DC did not even know we were doing it until we went to them and said we wanted to do a crossover. They said great, and now they get to put out there that they're having this great crossover, which we appreciate, but it really came about when we said, hey you're doing this book, I'm doing this book - we should do a crossover. It really did come from those best of places.

IGN Comics: So when did you figure out that you wanted the Legion of Superheroes to come into play in this story?

Meltzer: That was early. To show you how far back it goes, if you look at the first image that we put out there of the Justice League, The Karate Kid is in there. I remember when I asked Ed [Benes] to put him in, I said, "Do I want to put this out there, or will they start guessing it too quickly?" I figured you'd have to be a really good guesser to get that one, so we put it out there.

This was over a year ago when I was still waiting for approval on the team, and we already knew it'd be cool to do it with the Legion. We really wanted to do an homage to Seven Soldiers for a new era. That to me is the ultimate JLA/JSA team-up, even better than issues #21 and #22. Geoff and I are both huge Legion fans, so this was our way in. Again, this is cliché in any comic book interview today, but you know the saying - if you get to play with the toys, you might as well play with the good ones.

IGN Comics: The Legion has undergone a ton of reboots and relaunches, more so than most properties. How did you and Geoff decide which version of the Legion to use?

Meltzer: Geoff and I just have a very similar eye for what we like in geekdom. I just can't say it better than that. We're similar in age, same generation, so we read and grew up on the same comics, and the same stories affected us in the same way. So when it came to which version of the Legion we were picking, it was literally like - this one? Yeah! That was it. We knew it in a heartbeat. I don't even know who said it, because we were so in sync.

I think people are going to be surprised next issue when they're able to see the new explanation of the Legion, and I think it'll all make more sense. I'm someone who doesn't like writing about the old stories. Everyone calls everything a retcon, and I don't even like the word because I think it acknowledges that you can just ignore things. As much change as I've been lucky enough to make on certain parts of the DCU that I've worked on, the one thing I've tried to do is pull in as many of those old stories as I can and bring them back into continuity, as opposed to just looking at them and saying "those are cute coloring books, but we don't need them anymore."

IGN Comics: Will we be seeing any major villains, or will this be more of a mystery surrounding why these seven Legionnaires are stranded in the present?

Meltzer: Oh, you'll see some villains. Well you already saw one in the first issue, but certainly what [the Legion members] are doing here is the biggest part of the story.

IGN Comics: Were there any character interactions that you really enjoyed writing?

Meltzer: My favorite character to write, which surprised me, was Powergirl. This has absolutely been the best collaborative process I've ever been a part of. As a novelist, I'm not good with collaboration. I do my own thing, my editor keeps me in line, and I get to steer my own ship. Then suddenly in something like this, in comics, it's a full collaboration. You know, it's absolutely 50/50 artist and writer. And this time, we've got two writers in there. So we kind of had the JLA and JSA draft, where we got to kind of say - who do you want? Neither of us were going to take all the good ones and just walk away, so with dumb smiles on our face, we kind of said, who do you want? I remember Geoff definitely wanted Superman and Black Lightning, and I wanted to write Powergirl and wanted a crack at Hawkman. You want what you can't have, so that's what it came down to. But writing Powergirl for me was just a great deal of fun. Mr. Terrific was also a fun character to write, because I just like those real cerebral characters.

IGN Comics: The crossover wraps up in issue #10, so what do you have planned for your last two issues?

Meltzer: Issue #11 is the most experimental piece of writing that I've ever undertaken. We went out at got Gene Ha to do it, because I think he's one of the people who pushes the medium and the craft more than just about anybody out there. It may be the single story that I'm most proud of, because it takes so many chances. We're either going to fall on our face, or not, but I'm glad we took the chance. The last issue kind of gives you the bow on the package and gives you the big picture, and you get to pull out a little. Then we do our parade wave and say goodbye.

IGN Comics: Do you have any plans for future comics work? Any characters or series you'd really love to write?

Meltzer: The truth is, if you asked me what my favorites are, there'd be the JLA, the JSA, and the Legion.

IGN Comics: So you've already tackled all three...

Meltzer: I'm very fortunate for that. I still love the Titans. I still love the X-Men. I mean, there are characters I like, but my dream has always been to write the Justice League. That's the one thing I wanted to do, and in my head, if I came back to comics, I would write the Justice League again. I would love to do that again.

I'm by no means done, it's purely a function of just having to get back before my publisher kills me. In truth, I probably should have signed up for four issues or six issues and done it like I did Identity Crisis and Archer's Quest, but I felt like I just didn't want to do that to the reader. If they were going to sign on, then I needed to commit as well. So I took on the thirteen issues, and four of them are double issues, so it wound up becoming this immensely bigger project than I ever intended, which is never a complaint in any way.

IGN Comics: One of the things that's recognizable in both your and Geoff's work is your love and respect for the characters really comes through. We asked Geoff this question when we interviewed him, and we'd love to hear your answer, too: What is it about the DC Universe that you find so appealing?

Meltzer: People always say the DC Universe is full of archetypes and Marvel is full of flawed human beings. I think in broad strokes, all those overstatements can be true, but for me, any superhero story is about an ideal. That's all its about.

Anyone who loves comics, whether they admit it to themselves or not - and I include myself in this group - has an issue with self-esteem, an issue with right and wrong, and very strong opinion on where those right and wrong lines fall. I want to believe that there's someone out there that will do good when everyone else is doing bad. I want to believe that someone will have my back, no matter what it costs them personally. I want to believe that people will do good through their own self sacrifice. I want to believe that this world exists. That can easily get lost in the popular press as, "Look, he likes superheroes!" But anyone who reads comics knows that the stories are far bigger than putting on a mask and running around with underwear outside of your tights, and that's why I think the popular culture today is obsessed with this fantasy.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Spider-Man and comic book movies - whether it's 300 or Ghost Rider, or whether it's good or it's bad - are doing so well right now. I think you always get the heroes that the time requires. I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you look at when Superman was created, right before he was created, Tarzan and Flash Gordon were the most popular comic strips. At the time of the Depression, strips that took people to a different time and place were big, because it took people away from this miserable time and place in our country's history and took them to Mars, the 25th Century, or the Jungle, or wherever. And then Hitler and World War II looked like they were encroaching on our shore, and here comes a character named Superman to save us all. That's not a coincidence.

After 9/11, it's no coincidence to me that Spider-Man did the numbers it did at the box office, and it's no coincidence to me that all the other superhero movies followed, because the world again became a very scary place, and people wanted someone to save them. I do believe that in history, you don't get the heroes you want, you get the heroes you need. I want to believe that these characters exist. I've wanted to believe that for the past 36 years of my life. I'll never apologize for that, and that's what has always appealed to me about any fictional universe.

IGN Comics: Thanks, Brad!

Meltzer: Thank you!

Podcast

Here's the woodballon podcast with me and the amazing John Siuntres. It starts with Book of Fate, then eventually does some great chat about JLA/JSA. Enjoy...

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Book Of Fate And Paperback Misprints

Newsarama has posted an interview about the paperback and I just saw the new copies of the paperbacks, and thanks to a printing error, they forgot to include my author photo and bio in the back of the books. So instead, when you open the back, you get...wait for it...Identity Crisis. Really.

Bastards. I told them I wanted ME as Superman. Not just Superman.

Also, fun below...thanks to Dan Washere:

http://danwashere.greatnow.com/justicemeltzer.jpg

http://danwashere.greatnow.com/JLAmeltzercute.jpg

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Paperback Hits Today PLUS Barbara Bush!

Here's the email that's going out later today. If you didn't get it, it's because we don't have your email address and therefore can't send you a frisbee and a pony like we send all the other good children. So if you like ponies, and hate evil, you can send us your email address here:

http://www.bradmeltzer.com/mailing.php

And on with the news:

Is there a new book out? I wish -- but I'm way too slow for that (darn research and character development). But today, The Book of Fate comes out in paperback (Smaller! Cheaper! Teenier font!) and if I didn't tell my family and friends about it, then my Uncle Richie would give me major headache since he still refuses to pay full price for the hardback. No joke. And I even put his name in this one.

So...if you missed the hardback, or want to buy someone a really cheap (but thoughtful and generous) present, boy, is this one for you.

It's got a main character that may be my favorite I've ever written, former Presidents, and Freemasons.

To buy it, here's the link:

http://www.bradmeltzer.com/fate_buy.php

And if you want to see the new covers on all the other books (with lots of little men looking mysterious as they run nowhere in particular), they're here: http://www.bradmeltzer.com/blog.html.

And of course, thanks again -- especially those who were so amazing and bought the hardback those first days (not you, Uncle Rich). That means more than I can ever possibly express.

Finally, for those who missed it, we've put my interview with Barbara Bush (yes THAT Barbara Bush, not the one you went to high school with) down below...

Cori and I are sending lots of love your way.

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ON THE RELEASE OF THE BOOK OF FATE, BRAD WAS INTERVIEWED BY BARBARA BUSH FOR POP CANDY (http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/) (which we love -- hi Whitney!)

Barbara Bush: What're the top three albums that are on your iPod?

Brad Meltzer: I’m looking right now for what I played last…Guero by Beck, About A Boy by Badly Drawn Boy, and the new Chili Peppers double-disc. But I need to know -- can you tell me what's on yours?

BB: In all honesty Brad, I don’t know if I can narrow it down, Andrew Lloyd Webber is a favorite but I absolutely love any kind of show tunes -- you play a Broadway musical, and I’m going to be tapping my toes. On that note, music is considered art -- What's the worst piece of art you and your wife ever purchased?"

Brad: Something tells me my answer will be a lot less expensive than yours. But at the Broward County Fair, I once bought a picture of David Hasselhoff sorta painted on a mirror -- the whole thing framed in what could only be described as plastic wood. I thought it was cool because it had the Knight Rider car in the background. Don’t ask. I was thirteen.

BB: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. While reading your website--

Brad: Wait, you read my website? Don't you have staff for that? Or like, the Pentagon?

BB: I have an iPod and a Blackberry. I know how to go to websites, Brad.

Brad: My mother's going to be mad at me for asking you that.

BB: I’m sure she will understand. Now, while reading your website, I saw that you received 24 rejection letters on your first novel, which still hasn't been published to this day. Do you draw any inspiration from that rejection?

Brad: Every single day I sit down to write, I think about those rejections. I had twenty-four people tell me to give it up. Does that make them wrong, and me right? Of course not. All it means is life is subjective. All you need is one person to say yes. So every day, I think about those letters. It puts it in perspective. It reminds me to never take this job for granted. And it tells me to never let anyone tell you No.

BB: Great attitude Brad, I might just send friends to you for advice now. What was your favorite book as a child?

Brad: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. What about yours?

BB: My favorite book to read to my children when they were being raised was Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McClosky.

Brad: See that's the thing. Mine is solely because my mom read it to me. Just sitting in her lap. That book makes me feel young and safe to this day. Plus, I love the illustrations. I was at a wedding where Eric Carle was a guest, and I had to fight everything within me to not go over and ask him to sketch something on a cocktail napkin for me.

BB: You should've asked.

Brad: Yeah...he wouldn't have said no to you.

BB: [Laughs] And where's your favorite place to escape?

Brad: The week before my wedding, my best friends rented a boat for two hours. We were still in school -- we had no money, no jobs…but for two hours, in Key West, we had this boat. The Captain had a radio that somehow -- magically -- I’m telling you, it played all your old favorite songs, and we just sat on that boat and drifted around. That was an escape.

BB: Final question: I know the answer to this one, but what details did you steal from the Office of George Bush and put in your new novel?

Brad: Ahh, you saw the advance copy, didn’t you? I didn’t know if it got there yet. Well…when I came to Houston -- and when I went up to Harlem to the Office of Bill Clinton – you both had the coolest offices around. You have to know that -- personally, I don’t have pictures of me and the Pope on my walls. But when I was looking for things to describe it the novel, I picked lots of the cool details, and of course, my favorite desk item of all time: that bronzed casting of Abraham’s Lincoln fist. C’mon, you have Lincoln’s fist. That beats my Kermit the Frog paperweight any day.

Cover 5

And here's the finale -- the new cover for The Zero Game, which was written and edited just as I started Identity Crisis. It was my first post-9/11 book, and made crawling in the underground tunnels below the US Capitol even spookier. Also, I got to see my wife working in the Capitol firsthand. We all ask our loved ones, "How was your day?" We never get the whole answer. But I got to see it. I got to see her do what she loved. She went to work every day to make the world a better place. That's a big idea. Making the world a better place. My love for her outweighs all my pessimism about government.

Next week, we'll announce some more goodies...

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PS and the doves on the cover, we asked for as much John Woo as possible.

Cover 4

Okay, we're officially rounding third (even I'm getting sick of this nonsense). So here's the new redone cover of The Millionaires, starring the main character named Oliver -- which got me my Green Arrow offer and started my comic work. For that alone, I owe this book big.

Plus, when the FBI busted a money launderer a few years back, this was the book (which is about how to hide money from the government) they found on his desk. It's better than when the New York Times called one of my novels, "like going to the dentist."

And yes, Karate Kid would've wiped the floor with Batman. That's why brains beat brawn (unless the brawn is so big, it would just...crush you. Then brawn wins).

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Cover 3

Less than a week until The Book of Fate hits paperback, so here's the new cover to The First Counsel. This was the book where I first realized my addiction to research. Plus, writing about a sexy President's daughter getting into trouble...these were my twenties dreams come true. Of all the characters, Nora is still my favorite, most complex woman I've ever written.

Also, JLA/JSA arrives today, I just got more Gene Ha inks for issue 11, and wait till you hear who we got for the final cover on issue 12. Five more fun months to go...

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Cover 2

In honor of The Book of Fate (in paperback a week from today), here's the second redesigned/rebranded/reimagined new cover. Dead Even was the hardest book of all the ones I've written. I struggled with it -- like I was fighting the book itself.

I'm proud of the result -- and oddly, women seem to take to this one for some reason -- but it was a tough one for me (I think because I plotted it all in one sitting rather than doing 50 to 100 pages at a time). But I probably learned the most from it.

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New Cover 1

We're almost there -- one week till The Book of Fate comes out in paperback (April 24th), so here's the first look at the brand new covers for all the other titles. We'll do one a day all this week, starting with the first -- <