Tonight, tomorrow: Brad Meltzer in town

I'm going to the one at Borders which is close to my house if anyone wants to meet up. For the record, many years ago I worked at the National Archives. Mike

Brad Meltzer
The Inner Circle

January 12, 2011 7:30 PM

Baileys Crossroads - Borders
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041

There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living. So says Beecher White, a young archivist who spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government.

January 13 at 7 pm, at Politics and Prose.

Brad's site

Jan 12, 13: Brad Meltzer at Borders, Politics and Prose

Brad Meltzer
The Inner Circle

January 12, 2011 7:30 PM

Baileys Crossroads - Borders
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041

There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living. So says Beecher White, a young archivist who spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government.

January 13 at 7 pm, at Politics and Prose.

Brad's site

John Wilkes Booth's contested identity?

Brad Meltzer's Decoded, with my friend Jan Herman being interviewed, is on this topic tonight - 10 pm on the History Channel:

Booth descendants agree to brother's body ID tests

By Edward Colimore

Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 23, 2010

Jan 13: Brad Meltzer at Politics and Prose

January 13 at 7 pm, Brad Meltzer will be at Politics and Prose.

http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/brad-meltzer-inner-circle

 

 

Brad Meltzer, former local comics writer, interviewed on his new tv show Decoded

Brad Meltzer, a former local comics writer, answered some of my questions on his new tv show Decoded. First, here's some information about him from the press release for the show.

 

Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Fate and six other novels. His first non-fiction work Heroes For My Son, a collection of historical heroes, recently hit the New York Times bestseller list. Meltzer is also author of the critically acclaimed comic books Identity Crisis and Justice League of America and is the first author to ever reach the #1 spot on both the New York Times and the Diamond comic book bestseller lists simultaneously. Meltzer's books have spent over eleven months on bestseller lists, and have been translated into over 25 languages.

  
Best-selling author Brad Meltzer loves a good mystery. A history enthusiast known for his immaculate research, he has studied and written about some of America's most revered institutions and documents. But sometimes he uncovers unverifiable stories that keep him awake at night. Is there another hidden message buried in the Statue of Liberty? What happened to the White House cornerstone that's been missing for two centuries?  Could it be true that John Wilkes Booth lived for 40 years after his presumed death under an assumed identity? 

In the new 10-part series BRAD MELTZER'S DECODED, premiering on Thursday, December 2 at 10 p.m. on HISTORY®, Meltzer scours secret clues, symbols and conspiracy theories to unravel some of society's most provocative enigmas. And the deeper he digs into the past, the more we learn about our future. 
 
Together with a team of experts – Buddy Levy, a professor and journalist who assumes there is always more than meets the eye; Christine McKinley, a mechanical engineer who believes only what she can prove; and Scott Rolle, a trial lawyer who is skeptical by nature – Meltzer hunts for answers to questions that have perplexed us for centuries yet have never been fully investigated.
 
The premiere episode rolls out with "The White House" as the team gets to the bottom – literally – of a mystery concerning the cornerstones of our democracy.  Laid by the ultra secretive Freemasons, this landmark piece of stone vanished. The search for the cornerstone has been on for over 200 years, everyone from Harry Truman to Barbara Bush have looked for it. Is it a coincidence…or is there a secret conspiracy tied to these stones and the buildings they were meant to support?

 

ComicsDC: Brad, to provide a figleaf of cover for this appearing on ComicsDC - you used to live in suburban Maryland, and you still write comics, correct?

 

Brad Meltzer: Of course.

 

 ComicsDC: How did the idea for the tv show come about?

 

Brad Meltzer: One of the heads of HISTORY read my novel The Book of Fate, which dealt with Freemasons and the secret codes that Thomas Jefferson used when he was President -- and then said, "We should do a show like this."  And y'know what that is?  That's dumb luck by me.

 

 ComicsDC: How did the topics get picked?

 

Brad Meltzer: I keep a book (now books) of every idea I've had over the years -- some stupid and dumb and not fleshed out -- and some that'll feed characters and comic books and anything else.  And there were just tons of historical details that I'd love to know the answers to, but just couldn't use in the books.  So really, I'm stealing from my future novels.

 

ComicsDC: How much research do you personally do or supervise?

 

Brad Meltzer: For the novels, I do all the research myself.  But for the show, HISTORY said, you give us the mysteries and we'll give you the research team to solve it.  The problem is, I still couldn't help myself and sometimes found myself digging as well.

 

ComicsDC: Which is your favorite show?

 

Brad Meltzer: Of Decoded?  I love this first one airing tonight -- about the first piece of the White House.  That was the very first idea I suggested, and it really set up a good model for the show.  Sure, we're not digging it up from below the White House -- but we do answer questions like, is it hollow?  And what's inside?  As for surprises, the John Wilkes Booth one is the one that kept me awake.

 

ComicsDC: Navy medical historian Jan Herman is a friend of mine - I've known him for 20 years - and he hasn't convinced me yet that Lincoln's murderer John Wilkes Booth may have escaped, as one of your shows examines. Did any of the shows change your mind about an historical 'truth'?

 

Brad Meltzer: I hear you.  And I started the Booth show thinking the exact same thing.  But wait till you see Booth's family telling their side of the story.  It's like "Who is Donna Troy?"  Will mess you up good.

 

ComicsDC: Is the show going to continue? If so, do you know what other topics you'd like to look into?

 

Brad Meltzer: It depends if we get more viewers than my last try at television -- Jack & Bobby.  There, our ratings were 14.  Not a 14 share.  Fourteen people.  Total.

 

ComicsDC: Is it really possible to solve a mystery for a tv show?

 

Brad Meltzer: Especially with historical shows, the biggest barrier is simply that so much of the physical evidence is gone or unavailable.  When Lee Harvey Oswald was dead, theories started that it wasn't him in the grave.  So they dug him up and proved it was.  If you want to solve the Booth mystery, dig up the grave.  For now, the government still won't allow it.  But when you watch our Lewis episode, the ballistic evidence and the other details we find definitely add a huge piece to the puzzle.  

 

ComicsDC: Your next book is about secrets in a museum or archives - can you tell us anything about that?

 

Brad Meltzer: The Inner Circle comes out 1/11/11 and for that one, I got help with the research from a former President of the United States.  So I'm now gearing up that release.

 

ComicsDC: What is your favorite museum or archives? 

 

Brad Meltzer: The National Archives.  No question.  It's the attic of the US Government.  Library of Congress is a close second.

 

ComicsDC: And bringing it all back home, do you have any plans to write another comic book? How about adapting your existing works to graphic novels?

  

Brad Meltzer: Love to write more comics.  Without question, comics still have had the biggest influence on my writing.  More than film.  More than novels.  More than anything.  They're still the best.

 

Brad Meltzer geeks out

Brad Meltzer, the formerly local comics writer, forever outs himself in "Why ‘Superman vs Muhammad Ali’ is still the greatest"

Comic book writers at Borders

Orson Scott Card
Pathfinder

November 23, 2010 7:30 PM

Baileys Crossroads - Borders
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041

A powerful secret. A dangerous path. Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg's strange talent for seeing the paths of people's pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him--secrets about Rigg's own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.

Brad Meltzer
The Inner Circle

January 12, 2011 7:30 PM

Baileys Crossroads - Borders
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041

There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living. So says Beecher White, a young archivist who spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government.

Brad Meltzer speaks with Brian Vaughn

Brad's left our fair city for Florida's charms, but he's still into comics:

DEUS EX MACHINA: Meltzer Interviews BKV Part 1
by Jeffrey Renaud
Comic Book Resources, August 9th, 2010

Brad Meltzer pictures

Brad Meltzer and the infamous Buffy #34 sex issue.

I got a few shots of Brad Meltzer's booksigning a few days ago. He's a darn amusing speaker and you can hear most of what he said at this signing on his appearance earlier that day at Elliot in the Morning.

Brad Meltzer on Comic Book Resources

Meltzer Shares "Heroes for My Son"
by Jeffrey Renaud
Comic Book Resources May 13 2010

and NPR

In 'Heroes' From The Past, Lessons For A Son
NPR Book Notes May 11, 2010

Brad Meltzer on DC 101

I missed the radio show Elliot in the Morning on DC101 today, but many in the crowd at Borders had heard it. Thanks to the miracle of technology, you can too -

EITMonline (Elliot In The Morning)'s Photos #90, May 13 2010.

There's 3 links to mp3 files in the description... Awww, heck, here it is, but go friend Elliot on Facebook anyway:


"... I still love that moment. That pure, beautiful moment where you get to think about your newborn child and every door and every possibility is just waiting there, perfectly open... It’s a moment where there are no limits or detours or any of the restrictions that reality eventually brings. And it was in that moment of unbridled love and pure naïveté that this book was born." "Humble novelist" and "bestselling Little League coach" BRAD MELTZER joined us in the studio this morning to talk about his first non-fiction book, 'Heroes For My Son,' as well as his upcoming TV show, his next novel ('The Inner Circle'), and his sex-fueled run on Dark Horse Comics' Season Eight of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." Listen here: http://bit.ly/bib7rI (Part 1), http://bit.ly/bSrE9p (Part 2), http://bit.ly/bXLYaP (Part 3) BTW: If you would like to meet Brad, he will be appearing tonight at Borders - Bailey's Crossroads (Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia) at 7:30 p.m. For more details, click here: http://bit.ly/arqyDF

Brad Meltzer, former area comics geek, on his new book

Brad Meltzer Explains How 'Heroes For My Son' Broke His Boy's Heart
by Rick Marshall
MTV's Splash Page blog May 12 2010

This Week: Comic Books' Brad Meltzer on His Real Heroes

Posted by Mike Rhode on May. 12, 2010 at 10:06 am

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/05/12/this-week-comic-books-brad-meltzer-on-his-real-heroes/#more-23574

Brad Meltzer in town this week

The comic book writer is signing his new book, Heroes for My Son. I'll be going to the Bailey's Crossroad's one.

Bethesda, MD
Wednesday, May 12 — 7:00 pm
Barnes & Noble
4801 Bethesda Avenue

Fairfax, VA
Thursday, May 13 — 7:30 pm
Borders – Bailey’s Crossing
5871 Crossroads Center Way

Former DC area comics writer Meltzer slagged by peers

Lindelof, Oswalt, other celebs gleefully trash author Brad Meltzer, USA Today's Pop Candy blog April 1 2010 - and for his birthday no less!

May 12: Brad Meltzer @ Barnes & Noble

Colin Solan comes through again to tell us about a local reading -

Brad Meltzer (Justice League of America, Identity Crisis) signs his new book Heroes for My Son on May 12, 2010 at 7:00 PM.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
4801 Bethesda Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
301-986-1761 

Former local guy Brad Meltzer interview

Radiation Interrogation: Brad Meltzer
Blogs Atomic Fallout
Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Brad Meltzer writes Buffy

Former local writer Brad Meltzer is writing the Buffy comic book - Brad Meltzer Leaps Into the Buffyverse, by Jeffrey Renaud, Staff Writer, November 18th, 2009.

Brad Meltzer, former local writer, interviewed

Although Brad's gone onto hotter climes, we've got a fond spot in our hearts for him, even after the rotten things he did to Sue Dibney. See "Meltzer Talks "Book of Lies" & "Buffy"," by Jeffrey Renaud, Staff Writer, Wed, June 3rd, 2009.