The Mighty Johns

Overview

Author Details

Author Details

Meltzer, Brad

Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Fate, as well as the bestsellers The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires and The Zero Game. He is also one of the co-creators of the TV show, Jack & Bobby—and is the number one selling author of the critically acclaimed comic books, Identity Crisis and Justice League of America. His newest comic book, DC Universe, will be released in August, and his new thriller, The Book of Lies, will be published in September.

Raised in Brooklyn and Miami, Brad is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. The Tenth Justice was his first published work and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Dead Even followed a year later and also hit the New York Times bestseller list, as have all six of his novels. The First Counsel came next, which was about a White House lawyer dating the President's daughter, then The Millionaires, which was about two brothers who steal money and go on the run. The Zero Game is about two Congressional staffers who are—literally—gambling on Congress. The Book of Fate, is about a young presidential aide, a crazed assassin, and the 200 year-old code created by Thomas Jefferson that ties them together. For authenticity, The Book of Fate was researched with the help of former Presidents Clinton and Bush. His newest book, The Book of Lies, is about the missing murder weapon that Cain used to kill Abel, as well as the unsolved murder of Superman creator Jerry Siegel's father. Brad is one of the only people to interview Jerry Siegel's family about the murder.

His books have spent over nine months on the bestseller lists, and have been translated into over 25 languages, from Hebrew to Bulgarian. In The Tenth Justice, the opening lines are: "Ben Addison was sweating. Like a pig." In the Hebrew translation, it became: "Ben Addison was sweating. Like a horse." We're not sure if it's a kosher thing or what!

Brad has played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's Celebrity and earned credit from Columbia Law School for writing his first book, which became The Tenth Justice. Before all of that, he got 24 rejection letters for his true first novel, which still sits on his shelf, published by Kinko's.

Brad currently lives in Florida with his wife, who's also an attorney.

Baldacci, David

David Baldacci was born in Virginia, in 1960, where he currently resides. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. Baldacci practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., as both a trial and corporate attorney.

David Baldacci has published seventeen novels: Absolute Power, Total Control, The Winner, The Simple Truth, Saving Faith, Wish You Well, Last Man Standing, The Christmas Train, Split Second, Hour Game, The Camel Club, The Collectors, Simple Genius, Stone Cold, and The Whole Truth; and in his young adult series, Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! and Freddy and the French Fries: The Adventures of Silas Finklebean. He has also published a novella for the Dutch entitled Office Hours, written for Holland's Year 2000 "Month of the Thriller." Baldacci authored a short story, "The Mighty Johns," as part of a mystery anthology published in 2002.

His works have been in numerous worldwide magazines, newspapers, journals, and publications. Baldacci has authored seven original screenplays. His books have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries. All of his books have been national and international bestsellers. Over 60 million copies of Mr. Baldacci's books are in print worldwide.

Castle Rock entertainment made Absolute Power (Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing, 1996) into a major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman. The novel Absolute Power won Britain's W. H. Smith's Thumping Good Read award for fiction in 1997, and was nominated for a literary award in Italy. Absolute Power was selected for People Magazine's "Page Turner of the Week." Absolute Power won the 1996 Gold Medal Award for Best Mystery/Thriller from the Southern Writers Guild.

The paperback version of Total Control (Warner/Grand Central, 1996) was a best-selling favorite of the traveling public for over a year. Total Control won the 1997 Gold Medal Award for Best Mystery/Thriller from the Southern Writers Guild.

The Winner's (Warner/Grand Central, 1997) sales topped those of Baldacci's first two novels, no doubt aided by revealing in the novel how to fix the lottery and win a hundred million dollars! The Winner received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, its highest rating.

The Simple Truth (Warner/Grand Central, 1998) was the first of Baldacci's novels in which part of the plot was based upon an actual event. President Clinton selected The Simple Truth as his favorite novel of 1999.

Saving Faith (Warner/Grand Central, 1999) is a novel about how Washington really works, and it reached number one on both the New York Times Bestseller List and the Publisher's Weekly national bestseller list. Saving Faith was selected for People Magazine's "Page Turner of the Week."

Wish You Well (Warner/Grand Central, 2000) is strongly linked to Baldacci's maternal family history. In researching for this book, he spent countless hours talking with his mother, who spent her first seventeen years on the "high rock" and learning its lifelong lessons. Wish You Well received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly and was selected as the inaugural book for All America Reads, a national reading program.

Last Man Standing (Warner/Grand Central, 2001) is an explosive psychological thriller about Web London, a member of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, who is desperate to find answers for secret terrors and relief from unbearable guilt. Last Man Standing reached number one on the New York Times Bestseller List.

The Christmas Train (Warner/Grand Central, 2002) is filled with memorable characters who have packed their bags for a holiday adventure and shows how we do get second chances to fulfill our deepest hopes and dreams during the season of miracles. The Christmas Train has quickly become a holiday classic.

Split Second (Warner/Grand Central, 2003) is a compelling, fast-paced political thriller that gives readers an inside look at the work of the Secret Service as it strives to protect America's leaders. As their worlds close in upon them, former agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell team up to seek answer to events that, at first glance, seem to be unrelated disasters. Split Second became a New York Times bestseller on its first day of publication.

Hour Game (Warner/Grand Central, 2004) teams Sean King and Michelle Maxwell from Split Second in a race to prove a man’s innocence in a domestic burglary. They quickly find themselves caught in a chain of murders that once again rocks the quiet hills of Wrightsburg, Virginia. At every turn, King and Maxwell find themselves trying to put the pieces together as the killer is plays the murderous "hour game."

In The Camel Club (Warner/Grand Central, 2005), Baldacci goes beyond the traditional boundaries of fiction, painting a frighteningly vivid portrait of a world that could be our own very soon, and the few people who have a chance to stop the last war the world may ever fight.

In The Collectors (Warner/Grand Central, 2006), Baldacci weaves a brilliant, white-knuckle tale of suspense in which every collectors is searching for one missing prize... the one to die for.

Simple Genius (Warner/Grand Central, 2007) brings back the dynamic team of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell from Split Second and Hour Game. While investigating a dead body found in Babbage Town -- a think-tank and high tech research facility just across the York River from the CIA Training Facility in Camp Peary, Virginia -- King & Maxwell find themselves thrown into the midst of a worldwide race to control information, and at any cost -- even murder.

Stone Cold (Warner/Grand Central, 2007) brings back the unusual group of sleuths, the Camel Club, for another mystery involving Jerry Bagger, Annabelle Conroy, Alex Ford, and a deadly assassin whose identity, like Oliver Stone's, remains veiled in mystery.

The Whole Truth (Grand Central, 2008) represents David's first international thriller, one that presents the all-too-real world of perception management into the forefront of global defense contractor activities.

Freddy and the French Fries: Fries Alive! (Little, Brown & Company, 2005) and Freddy and the French Fries: The Adventures of Silas Finklebean (Little, Brown & Company, 2006) are titles in Baldacci's series for young readers. Find out more about Freddy at his Web site, FreddyandtheFrenchFries.com.

David Baldacci's books have been publicly discussed and/or read by everyone from Howard Stern and Don Imus to Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, from George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton to Charlie Rose and Larry King.

Baldacci has made many television and radio appearances and has been featured in numerous national and international publications

David contributes to, and is involved in, several philanthropic efforts. His greatest efforts are currently dedicated to his family's own Wish You Well Foundation. The Wish You Well Foundation, established by Michelle and David Baldacci, supports family literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. Recently the Wish You Well Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch "Feeding Body & Mind". Through Feeding Body & Mind, hundreds of thousands of new and used books have been collected and distributed through area food banks, helping feed both body and mind. For more information, visit WishYouWellFoundation.org and FeedingBodyandMind.com or call 703-476-6032.

David Baldacci serves as a national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and participates in numerous charities, including the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, the American Cancer Society, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He sits on the boards of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Virginia Commonwealth University. Baldacci also holds various honorary chairs.

Perry, Anne

"I was born in Blackheath, London England in October 1938. At that time my name was Juliet Hulme, but after the tragedies and errors of my childhood about which I have already said all there is to say, I took my stepfather's name of Perry, and Anne Perry is not a pen name but my legal and only name.

I have been asked questions occassionally about the film, 'Heavenly Creatures', but I cannot answer them. Neither I nor my family and friends knew anything about it until the day before it was released, and I have preferred not to see it, or comment on the accuracy or otherwise of anypart of it. I am very grateful to that vast majority of generous people who allow me to move on and leave that grief behind.

I spent my earliest years moving around a bit during and immediately after the war. At aged six I was severely ill, so much so that the doctor told my mother he would be back in the morning to sign my death certificate.

However I had a lot more illness, and at eight I was sent to the Bahamas to live with a family who fostered me, and thus saved my life. After the Bahamas they moved to a private island off the coast of New Zealand, where I lived a Swiss Family Robinson style of independence. We did a lot of fishing, building, boating ect.

By the time I was ten, I had missed three years schooling. Fortunately my mother had taught me to read and write by the time I was four, so I always loved books, and was able to catch up.

However at thirteen I became ill again and was off school from then on. So that may be of some encouragement to those who had missed much formal education. In many areas it is possible to catch up, even to do well, especially if you have parents who encourage you, which I certainly did have.

Although I had various jobs there was never anything I seriously wished to do except write. It was my father who was responsible for encouraging me to write my ideas down. However, I was in my twenties before I started putting together the first semblance of a book, I was living in the county of Northumberland, in a small town called Hexham, not far from Hadrian's wall, when I started writing the first draft of Tathea. When I did finally begin that book in earnest, just a few years ago, I was able to use the original manuscript for reference.

It took many years before my first book was accepted for publication, by which time I was in my late thirties. During those years I had various jobs in order to earn an income: clerical, retail selling, fashion, air stewardess, ship and shore stewardess, limousine dispatcher and insurance underwriter.

I began writing mysteries set in Victorian London on a suggestion from my stepfather as to who Jack the Ripper might have been. I found that I was totally absorbed by what happens to people under pressure of investigation, how old relationships and trusts are eroded, and new ones formed. The Cater Street Hangman, the first to be accepted for publication and came out in 1979. I don't know how many books I wrote before that. I do remember how thrilled I was when I finally had one in print!

I began the 'Monk' series in order to explore a different , darker character, and to raise questions about responsibility, particularly that of a person for acts he cannot remember. How much of a person's identity is bound up in memory? All our reactions, decisions, etc. spring from what we know, have experienced. We are in so may ways the sum of all we have been!

I lived in Southern California for five years - and loved it, then returned to England when my stepfather became seriously ill.

I have continued with the Victorian mysteries because I have come to love both the characters and the period. I like the contrast between glamour and squalor, the endless variety in the capital of Empire, largest post in the world, with men and goods for every quarter of the earth, and the immense energy of optimism.

I have loved the whole series because it is in a way the end of history and the beginning of the modern world, a time in Eurpoe of unprecedented challange and change, a test of who we are, and who we wish to be.

I have lots of ideas ahead, but I am not ready to spek about them yet. My publisher has to be the first to know. But I shall continue the Pitts, Monks, and Christmas novellas as long as anyone is still interested in reading them.

Tathea and Come Armageddon are entire in themselves, and reflect more than anything else I have written, my religious and philosophical beliefs, and there for I care about them in a unique way. They have caused people to ask if I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - yes, I am, and have been for about forty years."