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Bestselling Author Nelson DeMille ReadersRoom: Nelson DeMille, welcome to ReadersRoom.com. Thank you for joining us this morning. NelsonDeMille: Thank you for inviting me. ReadersRoom: I would like to start this off by talking about your most recent book, Up Country. Could you tell our readers a bit about how you came to write it? NelsonDeMille: I was an Infantry officer in Vietnam in 1968, and based on that experience, I wrote a novel called Word of Honor in 1985. Then, in 1997, I returned to Vietnam with two other veterans, and decided to write a contemporary novel about Vietnam which became Up Country. ReadersRoom: This novel features the return of Paul Brenner -- who we met in The General's Daughter, investigating a 30-year-old murder and rediscovering the country he'd fought in years before. Did his journey through modern Vietnam parallel yours much?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, it did. In 1997, I spent 22 days in Vietnam visiting old battlefields, base camps, and cities and towns where I'd been in '68.

ReadersRoom: Perhaps the most fascinating character in the novel -- at least to me -- was Colonel Mang. Was he based on a "real" person you met back in '97?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, he was. When I went to visit my old base camp in the Central Highlands, I was met by a Colonel Mang type character, who was very unfriendly and very anti-American, and who questioned why I was there in his country.

ReadersRoom: I can imagine that might have been a rather uncomfortable session! If we could move ahead just a bit, I believe your next novel is due out in the fall of this year and will feature the return of John Corey from Plum Island and The Lion's Game. Can you tell us a bit about that book?

NelsonDeMille: The novel is untitled, but it centers on the TWA 800 crash off the coast of Long Island in July 1996. The book takes place five years later when John Corey gets a clue about what happened to TWA 800 and decides to pursue it.

ReadersRoom: And is John Corey still with the elite Anti-Terrorist Task Force?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, he is. And his partner is his new wife, Kate Mayfield, from The Lion's Game. She is an FBI agent and his boss.

ReadersRoom: Since this is the first novel since the events of 9/11, I am wondering if that event has tempered or changed this character in particular?

NelsonDeMille: The time period of this new book is actually immediately before 9/11, but I don't want to give away the ending, which culminates in the events of 9/11.

ReadersRoom: Nelson, do you find writing about Vietnam to be cathartic?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, I did, but also, it brought back some unpleasant memories. Up Country is my last book about Vietnam.

ReadersRoom: All of your novels are extremely well researched and very detailed. I am wondering how much time you actually spend just on research prior to starting a novel?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, I do a lot of research before and during the writing process. I generally spend up to a year researching before writing, which is why my novels take 18-24 months to complete.

ReadersRoom: If I could return to Up Country for a moment -- will it be made into a movie, and with John Travolta be reprising his role of Paul Brenner?

NelsonDeMille: The movie rights have been sold to Paramount, and Mace Neufeld, who produced The General's Daughter, will produce Up Country. The screenplay is being written, and it is my understanding that John Travolta wants to reprise the role of Paul Brenner.

ReadersRoom: And do you have any plans for another Paul Brenner novel?

NelsonDeMille: No, I do not. But if a successful movie is made from Up Country, I might bring back the character.

ReadersRoom: If we could move to your writing habits, do you work from a detailed outline or synopsis? Or do you just "write the book?"

NelsonDeMille: My earlier novels were written off the top of my head, but my last five novels or so have been written with detailed outlines. Both methods work for me, depending on the storyline.

ReadersRoom: How do you decide which method to use?

NelsonDeMille: The older I get, the more outline I need. I think I'll be using outlines from now on!

ReadersRoom: Since we announced this interview, we've had a lot of questions from our readers. Would you answer a few of those for us?

NelsonDeMille: I'd be happy to.

ReadersRoom:Sheila, Boston, MA: Being a Book-of-the-Month Club editorial judge must be very exciting. What is your favorite aspect of having the position? What is your least favorite?

NelsonDeMille: My favorite aspect is finding books and authors that might not otherwise come to the attention of the majority of readers. My least favorite is having to confine my reviews in the Book-of-the-Month Club catalogue to 300 words.

ReadersRoom: Chris, Raleigh, NC: How did University Games incorporate your story The Mystery at Thorn Mansion into a puzzle? It is such a great idea, have you thought of having a The Mystery at Thorn Mansion interactive dinner? (Boxed instructions for home dinner parties!)

NelsonDeMille: I think what University Games did was very clever -- giving most of the story without the ending, which can only be discovered by assembling the jigsaw puzzle. I haven't thought about an interactive dinner, but it's a great idea, Chris.

ReadersRoom: Abby, Ashland, VA: I read that Hemingway is one of your favorite authors. If you were going on a trip and could take only ONE Hemingway book/story with you, what would that one book be?

NelsonDeMille: Good question, Abby. I think I was most moved by For Whom the Bell Tolls.

ReadersRoom: Carl Ward, Hope, AK: The General's Daughter was such a success, soon Up Country will find its way to the theaters also. Do you enjoy seeing your work/books in such a huge medium?

NelsonDeMille: The only experience I've had with a feature film was The General's Daughter, and I was happy with the adaptation. Word of Honor was a recent TNT-TV movie, and again, I was happy with the outcome. Most novelists don't have as good an experience with Hollywood.

ReadersRoom: And our last reader question: Jose, from Brooklyn: How did you become involved in Metropolis Found? How much has the book made for the New York Public Libraries? (By the way, thank you for being part of a such a worthwhile project).

NelsonDeMille: It was my honor to be part of the Metropolis Found fundraising for the New York Public Libraries. I have no idea how much money the book has made yet. I urge everyone to buy a copy of this collection of literary anecdotes by great authors about New York City.

ReadersRoom: Thank you for answering those. Last month, we chatted with an author named Amy Gutman for our "Introducing..." feature, and she credited you with helping launch her career. I have since learned that you have helped many aspiring authors. Is this your way of "giving back," or do you simply like to get behind authors whose work you like?

NelsonDeMille: A little of both. I began writing in 1975, and although I never had an author mentor, I had many editors who took a personal interest in my career. I find some satisfaction in helping new authors who are talented, like Amy Gutman.

ReadersRoom: One thing our readers who are also writers like to know about is our featured author's writing schedule and work habits. Could you tell us a bit about how you write?

NelsonDeMille: I'm not a morning person, so I start writing about noon and can write late into the night. I don't type so I write longhand with #1 pencils on yellow legal pads. I drink lots of coffee, which stimulates the imagination (that's my secret), and too many cigarettes.

ReadersRoom: You wrote the 702-page Up Country longhand? I have to ask -- doesn't your wrist get tired?

NelsonDeMille: After 25 years of handwritten manuscripts, I've developed hand and wrist muscles I didn't know I had. Massages once or twice a week help.

ReadersRoom: Have you ever attempted to type, or do you find this method to work so well you never tried it?

NelsonDeMille: I really believe that writing by hand is the best way to write creatively -- brain to hand without the typewriter in between. I've tried dictating into a machine, but that doesn't work. I'm too set in my ways to change my M.O.

ReadersRoom: And why mess with success?

NelsonDeMille: Precisely.

ReadersRoom: If you weren't an author, what do you think you would be doing?

NelsonDeMille: My passion as a younger man was architecture, and I still dabble in amateur architecture. In fact, I'm building a new home now, and enjoying the process.

ReadersRoom: Did you design it yourself?

NelsonDeMille: Yes, but I was smart enough to have the help of a real architect. It's an English Tudor, FYI.

ReadersRoom: Okay, before we wrap this up, what is next for Nelson DeMille?

NelsonDeMille: I'm completing the TWA 800 book, which Warner Books is scheduled to publish in September. Your readers can get updates on the writing, public appearances, movie updates, photos, etc., on my well regarded website, www.nelsondemille.net.

ReadersRoom: And finally, is there anything you would like to say to your millions of fans who might read this interview at ReadersRoom.com?

NelsonDeMille: Thank you for your loyalty throughout the years, your snail mails and e-mails, and for all your support. I hope to see many of you on my national book publicity tour in September.

ReadersRoom: Nelson DeMille, thank you for spending this time with us today, and much continued success!

NelsonDeMille: Thank you Rob and Natalie and Laura and ReadersRoom.com readers for interesting questions and for the opportunity to reach so many readers.




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