Show Daily: Interview with Nelson DeMille
Tries Factual Fiction
by Michael Archer -- Publishers Weekly, 6/10/2004
Nelson DeMille’s web site announces, “I’m going to bring back the hero detective
John Corey of Plum Island and Lion’s Game.... I know I cannot
write this book fast enough for all the loyal Corey enthusiasts, but they’ll be
glad to know I have begun the arduous task of immortalizing my favorite
character.”
In November, DeMille fulfills his promise when Warner Books (booths 2312,
2412) releases Night Fall. The book follows Corey as he delves into the
mystery of the TWA crash off Long Island in July 1996. The story opens five
years later, at a memorial service. The case is closed, the government having
concluded that the crash was due to a mechanical failure, but Corey thinks
there’s more involved and decides to look into it. The idea for the novel came
to the Long Island resident after talking with several witnesses and agents who
worked on the actual event.
“There were 200 witnesses who saw a streak
of light coming from the ocean and blowing the plane up. I’ve spoken with some
of them, and they’re very believable witnesses,” says DeMille. And Corey, who in
Lion’s Gate worked for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, was the perfect
character to put on the case.
“There are still people willing to talk. At least the civilians have no problem with it, although one did say he didn’t want to get involved with it again, even in fiction form. As for the FBI and the government, the case is closed and it’s not going to come up again unless new evidence comes to life, which is what this book is about.”
Although DeMille has had many bestselling books, several of which have been made into movies or optioned, Night Fall is a unique venture and has added significance. “It’s the first time, to this extent, I’ve intermingled history with fiction,” he explains. “When I was writing it, I felt, without sounding pretentious, that I was writing something important, as opposed to a made-up story with people and their angst.”
The book spans the period from July 2001 to the morning of September 11, 2001. “We all know what’s going to happen, but the people in the book don’t. That made it interesting for me and, I hope, for the reader. John Corey only knows what he knows and the reader should be screaming at the pages at some point, ‘Don’t you know what’s going to happen?’ ”
DeMille signs Night Fall today at table 10, 1–2 p.m.
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