October Newsletter

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As most of you know by now, my father passed away on September 17th after a nine-month battle with esophageal cancer. Just writing those words is difficult, because it is still so hard for me to believe. How could someone so full of life and spirit be gone?

But he is gone, and the outpouring of grief and condolences, as well as affectionate stories and appreciation for his lifetime of work are all a testament to the incredible life he lived.

The above photo was taken in his office as we were signing galleys of Blood Lines. I never knew how much I’d cherish the memories of sitting at that table signing books alongside him. It was rote and repetitive, unlike the writing of the book itself, but it was time we were together, side by side, inscribing our names on our joint project. I realize now more than I did then just how special that was. I guess that’s how grief works. It tells you after the fact what truly mattered.

I feel strange promoting anything at a time like this, but I do need to acknowledge that the trade paperback of Blood Lines goes on sale tomorrow. If my dad were here, he might crack a joke about how you can express your condolences by buying the book again.

Perhaps most importantly, this edition includes sample chapters of what will be our final collaboration together—the next Brodie & Taylor adventure, entitled THE TIN MEN. I’m proud of the book, and I know he was too. I’ll follow up with more info about it in another newsletter.

Rest in peace to my father, a man who lived his life with vigor, faced its end with courage and as much of his trademark humor as he could muster, and who has left behind an incredible legacy of great storytelling, kindness, generosity, and love.

From the Family of Nelson DeMille

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Hi all,

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our father’s passing yesterday after a nine month battle with cancer. True to form, he faced his illness with courage, grace, and good humor. He was the kind of person who filled a room with his presence. His warmth, generosity and kindness touched everyone who knew him, and will leave as much of a lasting legacy as his novels. We grieve, but we also celebrate a life lived to its fullest. We love you Dad, and you will be with us always.

Lauren, Alex & James

RIP Nelson DeMille
August 23, 1943 – September 17, 2024

Blood Lines Coming Soon

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Blood Lines is coming out in just a few weeks and I can’t wait to share it with readers! To preorder the book, and to read the first two chapters right now, click here.

Also, the dates and locations for our publicity tour are now listed here. We are unfortunately only able to do a fairly limited tour this time around, but if we’re coming to a location near you we hope to see you there!

The Deserter Now in Paperback

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Well, the contentious election is (mostly) behind us, and a once-in-a-century global pandemic still rages. This is a challenging time for the country and the world, but I hope that everyone can manage to have a happy, restful, and safe holiday season.

Some book news:

First, the mass-market paperback edition of The Deserter is now available. I love the new cover design that Simon and Schuster has created for it, and I am excited for the opportunity to reach an even larger audience. I got my hands on a copy, and it feels like the perfect book to crack open while lounging on the beach. If you’re not at the beach in December, it also makes a particularly chunky stocking stuffer. You can pick up your copy here. And if you’re interested in gifting a hardcover copy, Barnes & Noble is still offering specially-bound signed editions.

In other news, I am currently hard at work on the sequel to The Deserter, which will see CID Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor team back up on a new case. They are sent to Berlin to investigate the murder of a fellow CID Agent whose body is found in a neighborhood heavily populated by recent Arab refugees. Was this an act of terrorism? What was the murdered agent doing in Berlin? Can Brodie and Taylor trust the American Embassy officials and German law enforcement officers they must work alongside? Needless to say, all is not what it seems.

The book will be a stand-alone title, while also continuing the larger narrative threads introduced in The Deserter. I am very excited about how it is shaping up, and eager to share it with you all. We don’t have a pub date yet, though I can say with confidence that it will come out after my father’s next solo effort––a John Corey book entitled The Maze which will be published in 2021.

That’s all the news for now. I hope everyone stays safe, healthy, and mostly sane. Here’s to a better New Year ahead ––

Welcome

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Welcome to my new website! Here is where I will post regular updates and musings. The Deserter will be debuting at BookExpo in NYC at the end of May, so I will post some updates and reactions during and/or after the event. In the meantime, a little background on the book and how this collaboration came to be —

When my father first approached me about co-writing a novel with him, I wasn’t sure if I was up to the task. He is a bestselling author with a unique voice and a large and well-deserved following, and I wanted to make sure that if I took this on I would have something to add to the collaboration. He assured me it would be easy, which I knew was a lie, and that it would be rewarding, which I am happy to discover was true. I was afforded the opportunity to both flex my creative muscle and learn a few things from a master of the craft. I checked my ego at the door, and was in turn rewarded with a lot of trust.

By the time I was approached about collaborating, my father had already landed on the concept of two Army CID agents, Warrant Officers Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, pursuing an Army deserter, Kyle Mercer, loosely based on Bowe Bergdahl. I suggested we promote our deserter to a Special Forces captain—as opposed to a hapless private—and that we take the action to Venezuela.

Caracas, Venezuela

Why Venezuela? For one, I have always had a perverse fascination with authoritarian leaders and their attendant cults of personality, and Hugo Chávez seemed to embody the interesting contradictions of so many authoritarians, at once menacing and buffoonish. Chávez is dead, but his legacy and his memory still hold a spell over Venezuela that rivals that of their national hero, Simón Bolívar. Venezuela is currently in a struggle for its very survival, and what side of that struggle you are on depends a lot on your opinion of the beefy guy in the red beret whose image is plastered all over the country.

I also picked Venezuela because it is dangerous, and therefore it is interesting. Part of a storyteller’s job is to build a dynamic world, and to put dynamic people in it, and to throw everything you can at those people and hope they rise to the challenge—or fail in an interesting way. Sending our heroes to Caracas seemed like a perfect way to screw up their day and see how—and if—they made it out alive.

When I told friends and acquaintances about this collaboration, one of the most common reactions I would get was about how difficult it must be to work with your parent. I didn’t find that. Maybe it’s because I grew up around the business, and admiring my father’s creativity and work ethic, and with a certain reverence for storytelling that led me onto my own career path in filmmaking. We approached this project from a place of mutual respect, and I knew to defer to his instincts when differences came up. It’s been an honor and a privilege to circle back to the creative form that first got me interested in narrative storytelling, and to collaborate with the man who first inspired me and showed me the way.