AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BRAD MELTZER
Brad Meltzer is the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inner Circle , The Book of Fate , and nine other bestselling thrillers including The Tenth Justice , The First Counsel , The Millionaires , and The President ’ s Shadow . His newest book is The Escape Artist , out March 6 .
In addition to his fiction , Brad is one of the only authors to ever have books on the bestseller list for Non-Fiction ( History Decoded ), Advice ( Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter ), Children ’ s Books ( I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln ) and even comic books ( Justice League of America ), for which he won the prestigious Eisner Award .
He is also the host of Brad Meltzer ’ s Lost History on H2 and Brad Meltzer ’ s Decoded on the History Channel . The Hollywood Reporter recently put him on their list of Hollywood ’ s 25 Most Powerful Authors . Now , on with our discussion :
Please lay out your latest thriller , The Escape Artist for us . What makes this book so different from what readers are used to from you ?
The Escape Artist opens with Nola Brown . Nola is dead . The government says she ’ s dead . And her body is brought to Zig , who helps put to rest the bodies of those who die on the government ’ s top-secret missions . Zig knows Nola since she was little . She was friends with his daughter and remembers a campfire accident where Nola lost the top
INTERVIEWS
part of her ear . But as Zig examines this body , he sees that her ear is intact . Confused , he runs fingerprints . This isn ’ t Nola . And as he opens up the body , he finds a note inside : “ Nola , you were right . Keep running .” That ’ s the end of chapter 1 .
You mentioned in the forward of The Escape Artist that this book helped you realize the difference between being alive and actually living . What did you mean by that ?
I believe the most authentic story you will ever tell is your own story . And in every book , that ’ s all I ’ m ever doing : telling my own story . Over time , I ’ ve realized that : 1 ) my life takes on new hardships and 2 ) I ’ m more honest with myself and my readers . And over the past few years , that was my own crisis : realizing that there ’ s a difference between being alive and actually living . Zig and Nola came out of my own need to explore it . It ’ s why good novels and great characters are the best therapy of all .
What prompted you to use the theme of magicians in this book ?
The opening page of the book says :
In 1898 , John Elbert Wilkie , a friend of Harry Houdini , was put in charge of the United States Secret Service . Wilkie was a fan of Houdini and did his own tricks himself .
It is the only time in history that a magician was in control of the Secret Service . How could I not use that ? I became obsessed . And weaving old Houdini lore into a modern story was just the best .
In The Escape Artist , the names Rose Mackenberg , Clifford Eddy Jr ., and Amadeo Vacca are all associated with Harry Houdini and via records , had shown up as dying every few years since their actual death over fifty years prior . Is that a true story , or one you invented ?
They are all real people . And what it says in the book , about what they secretly did for Houdini , that ’ s real too . But they only died once . I think . As for the rest , it ’ s so amazing , right ?
Six years ago ( and I believe , again , just recently ) you went on a USO trip to entertain our troops in the Middle East . What was that like ? interviews
Humbling . Years ago , I went to the Middle East with the USO , then a few months back , I took another trip to entertain our troops . And that ’ s where I first learned about Dover and the morticians who take care of those who are on top-secret missions for the government . In their building , as you see in the book , they make sure our most honorable soldiers are shown the dignity and respect they deserve . In addition , the people there know details about hidden missions that almost no one in the world will ever hear about . Dover is a place full of mysteries … and surprises … and more secrets than you can imagine . As someone who writes thrillers , it was the perfect setting for a mystery . Plus , in today ’ s world , we need real heroes . The people here are the real deal .
You host Brad Metzler ’ s Lost History on H2 that enlists America ’ s help in finding lost and stolen historical artifacts . What are some of the most prominent artifacts recovered from doing that show ?
I don ’ t think we ’ ll ever top finding the missing 9 / 11 flag from Ground Zero . That was our very first episode and four days after it aired , a man walked into a fire station in Everett , Washington and said , “ I saw the show Lost History and I need to bring this back .” We were blown away . We spent a year working with scientists and former FBI members . Today , the flag is on display at the 9 / 11 Museum in New York . Go see it . It ’ s proof heroes still exist .
You host Brad Metzler ’ s Lost History on H2 that enlists America ’ s help in finding lost and stolen historical artifacts . What are some of the most prominent artifacts recovered from doing that show ?
JFK . Nothing beats it for amazing craziness . We ’ re still reading the released records . I also loved DB Cooper . And our episode on the Lincoln Assassination . A guy contacted me through my website and said , “ I represent John Wilkes Booth ’ s family , as a lawyer , and we have proof that Booth actually escaped . They got the wrong guy . So you want to hear the story ?” Yes . I wanted to hear that story . When the universe starts whispering to you like that , you pay attention .
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TOPShelf magazine APRIL2018