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Author Steve Berry Rob Holden: Steve Berry, welcome to ReadersRoom.com. It is a pleasure to have you with us today. STEVE BERRY: Great to be here. This is my first visit to a chat room. Rob Holden: I would like to start this out by chatting about your latest novel The Third Secret. Can you tell our readers a bit about that? STEVE BERRY: It involves three children that the Virgin Mary appeared to in July 1917. She gave them three secrets. Two of which were told to the world fairly quickly, the third was sealed in the Vatican, read only by popes, until May 2000. That's when John Paul II told the world. Now a Cardinal who schemes to be pope knows there is more to that secret and what he knows will change everything. Rob Holden: Much of the story itself takes place in the Vatican, with the Pope as a central character. Can you tell us a bit about the research you needed to do to make the Vatican scenes so realistic? STEVE BERRY: I visited Rome, so I had a first hand look. But there are many sources on the Vatican, too many actually. The trick was to cull through them and find the ones with the best information. Not all that hard. I'd much rather have too much than too little, which was the case with my first novel, The Amber Room. Rob Holden: While the novel is quite richly peopled, the central character is a unique Monsignor named Colin Michener. Can you tell our readers a bit about him, and where you came up with him? STEVE BERRY: Colin is a conflicted soul. He wonders why his feelings cannot be reconciled with his faith, and that conflict causes him to question his faith. I made him a product of the Irish birthing centers because I wanted readers to know about them. I named him after James Michener, my favorite writer, as a tribute. He has a Georgia connection since all my protagonists possess one. He's thrown into something extraordinary by Pope Clement and he rises to the occasion and deals with it. I like Colin and would like to re-visit him someday. Rob Holden: Which brings me to Pope Clement XV. Given the recent passing of John Paul II, Clement seems an extraordinarily accurate character. Can you tell our readers a bit about him? STEVE BERRY: That's true. Clement is a product of the Curia, in his late 70s, elected after a quick conclave, following a long pontificate. Just like Benedict. But I wrote The Third Secret in 1999. It was rejected by 18 publishers and sat in a drawer until 2003 when it was bought by Ballantine. I made educated guesses back then that turned out to be right. Clement, of course, is different from Benedict in many fundamental ways, but their struggles are similar.

Rochelle Krich: A little bit of prescience...

Rob Holden: Could you tell us just a bit of what you think the differences are?

STEVE BERRY: Clement is much more of a progressive. Benedict is a traditionalist. So they have some philosophical differences. But, otherwise, they are remarkably similar.

Rochelle Krich: Steve, regarding The Third Secret and the background, how much is fact, how much is fiction? And how does the reader know to distinguish between the two?

STEVE BERRY: All three secrets are accurately told in the book. I, of course, tweak the third one a bit, which is clear from the story. In the back of the book is a Writer's Note that tells the reader where the line between fact and fiction was drawn.

Rob Holden: The Third Secret was just released in June, and is available now?

STEVE BERRY: Yes, it's in stores everywhere in hardback. My first two novels, The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy are in paperback in stores.

Rob Holden: I would like to move back a book to The Romanov Prophecy, now available in paperback. Could you tell our readers a bit about that?

STEVE BERRY: It deals with what happened to two of Nicholas II's children, whose remains have never been found. It's a modern day thriller about restoring the Tsar to power in Russia that involves Rasputin, Faberge, and Romanovs.

Rochelle Krich: And Anastasia?

STEVE BERRY: Yes, she'd involved too, though there is some debate as to whether she or her sister Maria are the missing daughter. All agree the son Alexis was missing from the grave found in 1991.

Rob Holden: Like The Third Secret, the novel takes place in the present, and yet has very strong links with the past. Which, for you, is the easier to write, and why? The present or the past?

STEVE BERRY: Both are tough for me to write. They both demand good pacing, accuracy, and brevity.

Rob Holden: Steve, since we announced this chat, we have had some questions from our readers. Would you answer a few of those for us now?

STEVE BERRY: Sure.

Rob Holden: Carl P: Mr. Berry, I was wondering how much of what you presented in The Romanov Prophecy was historical, and how much was made up -- regarding the Romanov family.

STEVE BERRY: Nearly all that recounted about the family was accurate. I tweaked only the prophecy and a litte on the timing. That is all detailed in the Writer's Note at the back of that book. But I would say 95% of what you'rereading is from historical accounts.

Rob Holden: Jane L: I LOVED The Amber Room. I was wondering if you traveled to all the locations in the book. You brought them to life so vividly!

STEVE BERRY: I did go to all of those, so that may explain the imagery. I enjoy traveling and seeing new places. Sparks the imagination.

Rob Holden: Jim K. I am wondering, having read The Romanov Prophecy, what YOU think of Anastasia. Was she, or wasn't she?

STEVE BERRY: Was she or wasn't she what?

Rob Holden: I think Jim was asking whether you think she was or wasn't who she claimed to be.

STEVE BERRY: You must be referring to one of the imposters, Anna Anderson. She's mentioned in the book and treated with kindness since all relate she was a gracious lady. Unfortunately, though she believed herself Anastasia, she was not a Romanov. DNA proved that.

Rob Holden: And our last reader Question: Paul W. Mr. Berry, I read that you are a trail lawyer. Is there a legal thriller anywhere down the road coming from you?

STEVE BERRY: Not that I can see. I live one of those everyday, so I have no desire to write about them. I like secrets, history, conspiracy, and international settings, so that's what I'll be writing about until at least 2009, when my contract expires. But, hopefully, Ballantine will keep me around.

Rochelle Krich: Steve, do readers or reviewers compare your novels to Dan Brown's? Has the Da Vinci Code's popularity brought historical fiction larger numbers of readers?

STEVE BERRY: Yes, I am constantly compared, which is fine. That book brought the genre back to life and gave people like me a chance to be published. So God bless Dan Brown and Doubleday.

Rob Holden: I would like to follow up on the last reader's question. Do you find it difficult to find time to write while still maintaining a career as an attorney?

STEVE BERRY: I write in the mornings from 6:30 to 9 so it doesn't really interfere. I do it before the legal day gets going. Tough on me, but it's the price you pay.

Rochelle Krich: Steve, what kind of response do you get from Catholic readers and clergy?

STEVE BERRY: It has been mixed, mainly positive, but a few you're-damned-to-hell messages. Hopefully, everyone remembers IT'S A NOVEL. It's not real. But if it gets a reader thinking, then super.

Rob Holden: All of your novels seem to be very accurately researched. Which do you enjoy the most -- the research or the writing -- and why?

STEVE BERRY: Both are tough and tedious, so it's hard to say I enjoy either. They're necessary in order to produce the story and equally important. I spend about 6 months researching and 12 months writing.

Rob Holden: I know you have been touring extensively in support of The Third Secret. Is there somewhere our readers can go to see where you will be?

STEVE BERRY: I'm all done, except for a few appearances in Jacksonville in July. You can find those at www.steveberry.org

Rob Holden: So, what is next -- writing wise -- for Steve Berry?

STEVE BERRY: The next book is called The Templar Legacy and is a modern day thriller that involves the Knights Templar and a mysterious village in southern France that has long had a great mystery associated with it. Comes in May 2006.

Rob Holden: Interesting -- and so it is another modern day suspense with links to the past?

STEVE BERRY: That's right. All of my books will have that. More will come in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Rob Holden: So readers may expect one a year from you. Tell me, contracted that far out -- and not writing a "series", do you know what the next four will be already?

STEVE BERRY: Actually, the next four will be a series. The hero from next year's book will return in the three that follow --- and so will some of the bad guys. Ought to be fun.

Rob Holden: Steve, before we wrap this up, I will ask you a question that we have asked every lawyer turned writer -- over 12 thus far. Why do you think so many in the legal profession are drawn to careers as novelists?

STEVE BERRY: Lots of stories to tell. The practice of law puts you at the epicenter of problems and emotions. So it's natural lawyers want to tell those stories. I, on the other hand, write to escape all that. So my stories are a bit different. My lawyers are all doing non-lawyerly things, which is fine by me.

Rob Holden: Finally Steve, is there anything you will like to say to your fans who might read this chat at ReadersRoom.com?

STEVE BERRY: Just check out all three books and drop me an e-mail and tell me what you think about them. I can be reached through www.steveberry.org.

Rob Holden: Steve Berry -- thanks for joining us here today, and best of luck with The Third Secret, and all your future endeavors!

STEVE BERRY: Thanks for having me.




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