Nelson DeMille - Official Website
F.A.Q.
Q: How do I get a book signed by Nelson DeMille?A: Contact his assistant by email for instructions and please type SIGNED BOOK in Subject box. Click here
Q: Why can't I find some of your books in hardcover?
A: All my novels have been published in hardcover, but hardcover editions are only available for about 12-18 months. The hardcovers are no longer printed after the publication of the paperback editions, but if you go to your local bookstore, they will order it for you, if it's still available through the publisher or distributor; that's what bookstores do. Or, go to amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. All my books are continuously available in paperback.
Q: What authors do you read?
A: I tend to read dead authors, so if I like their books, I don't feel tempted or obligated to write to them. Which dead authors? Okay, mostly dead British authors - Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Arthur Conan Doyle, Aldous Huxley, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Eric Ambler, George Orwell, and others too numerous to mention. For dead Americans, I like Hemingway, Steinbeck, Cheever, and Updike. I also like Tom Wolfe, but he's not dead, as of this writing.
Q: How much input did you have with the The General's Daughter movie?
A: Not much. I'm friendly with the producer, Mace Neufeld, and with other people at Paramount who made the movie, and they invited my opinion of the screenplay, which I gave them. But other than that, I had no involvement in the movie, nor did I want any.
Q: Do you think the movie version of The General's Daughter was true to the book?
A: It was more true to the book than a lot of movies. Motion pictures are a different form of entertainment. For one thing, a book can take twenty hours to read, but a movie usually runs an hour and a half. So, the movie has to be more interpretive, more visual, and faster paced.
Q: Any more movies in the works?
A: See my Movies and Soundtracks section.
Q: Did you ever write, or want to write, a screenplay based on one of your novels?
A: I collaborated on a screenplay to Word of Honor. I don't think I'd write another screenplay based on one of my novels, or anyone's novel. It's a difficult and unsatisfying writing process. But I might consider writing an original screenplay based on some ideas I have that would not be good books, but could be good movies.
Q: How do you do the research for your books?
A: There are three ways to do research: reading; interviewing people; going on location. Usually, I begin by reading about a subject until I have enough knowledge to interview people who are in that profession or occupation that I'm writing about - policemen, FBI agents, scientists, forensic people, and so on. Then I go to the locations where my novels are set, such as Moscow (The Charm School), St. Patrick's Cathedral (Cathedral), Ohio (Spencerville), and so forth. Some day, I'd like to set a novel in Tahiti.
Q: How long does it usually take to write a novel?
A: From concept, to outline, to finished product, is about 18-24 months. This includes research, and two to four drafts, plus final editing and proofreading of the galley.
Q: What's next?
A: See my Current Projects section.
