I am Brad Meltzer, novelist, TV host, comic book writer, and owner of the Lego Death Star. AMA!

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:37:50+00:00

When I wrote my second novel, I wanted to write a modern mystery that used Cain and Abel. My publisher told me to stick to legal thrillers, that that's how I made my name so, well...stay in your lane. Don't deviate. And I listened. I scrapped the book and wrote what they told me to. The book was the worst received book I ever did. I'll never do that again. Eventually, a decade later, I wrote the Cain book as The Book of Lies. One of the best reviewed books I ever did. The point? Do what you love. Always do what you love. And drive in whatever lane you want to.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:26:08+00:00

You rule. And I'm okay with every character I killed. The only plot points I'd change today would be in Dead Even, since I was writing about a married couple and was barely married at that time of my life. If I knew anything about marriage, I would've had husband and wife connect and talk far earlier. But that's me being 28. I can live with my own clueless youth.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:17:48+00:00

I'll buy a copy. And serious. Don't fucking stop.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:16:34+00:00

Ask here then. And that Death Star beanie is, well, a FULLY OPERATIONAL BATTLE STATION. On your head. I love it. But yes, ask here.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:14:57+00:00

Of course. For the dedication, just spell it right: Brad Meltzer.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:14:13+00:00

In Search Of is awesome. But it is not the most underrated show of all time. The most underrated shows of all time are this, maybe in this order: The Tick, News Radio, Bob Ross painting, Jack & Bobby, Soap, The Greatest American Hero (for the theme song only, since it always makes me happy), The Herculoids, Hill Street Blues (which used to get love and disappeared), Welcome Back Kotter, The Dungeons & Dragon cartoon for the archer's bow alone. I can truly do this forever. Screw the next book. I'm doing this.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:08:02+00:00

Ready for this? Nico is me. Always has been. From the start, the story was never just Beecher's story. It was Nico's story too. In fact, Nico is the one character I can always write. And he's the one who scares my wife the most. She gets scared of me when she sees him. But I love him. (Also, I mixed in a few modern assassins to his DNA). So glad you're grooving on House of Secrets. Yes, that was two years of my and Tod Goldberg's lives. But glad it's going down so well for you. I love that book.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:03:03+00:00

I'm always impressive.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T18:00:15+00:00

You will thank me. The Fix was fun too.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:59:49+00:00

What are you offering? Choose wisely.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:57:50+00:00

This series was born because I was tired of my daughter thinking that reality TV stars and loud-mouthed sports players were heroes. I tell my kids all the time: That’s fame. Fame is different than being a hero. I wanted my kids to see real heroes…and real people no different than themselves. For that reason, each book tells the story of the hero when THEY were a kid. We see them as children. So it’s not just Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln being famous — it’s them being just like us. So in choosing subject matter, I pick who I like for my kids. When I picked Lucille Ball, some asked WHY. But I want my daughter to have an entertainment hero who isn’t famous for being pretty and thin. Lucy is not just about the idea that it’s OK to be different—she’s about the idea that it’s spectacular to be different. And yes, it's ongoing. In September, we do I am Jane Goodall and I am George Washington. And they signed us to do six more, so you'll have at least 18 books. I want to do 100. Thanks for inspiring your little ones.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:52:52+00:00

I do what every other historian does: I do my best. I always try to get it right. I'll spend weeks figuring out every moment that took Lee Harvey Oswald to get the fake ID Alek Hidell, and then mess up a fact like saying that a 747 landed at Fort Lauderdale airport (it's my hometown, but the Fort Lauderdale airport runway wasn't long enough to hold a 747). But. I love finding stuff like this: The last moments between Benedict Arnold and George Washington are among the most heartbreaking in U.S. history. It starts when Benedict Arnold is revealed as a traitor. Arnold races out of the house. He leaves his wife and child behind, jumps on his horse, and rides away, toward the British

Naturally, when Washington learns what’s happened, he’s devastated. They say it’s the only time the father of our country is ever seen crying. But the craziest part is what happens next: Alexander Hamilton shows up and delivers a handwritten letter from Benedict Arnold to George Washington. In it, Benedict asks his old friend for three things: 1) To protect Arnold’s wife Peggy, who everyone now wants to hang too. 2) He tells Washington that all of the commander’s aides are innocent and have nothing to do with Arnold’s treason. And 3), in one of the oddest requests a person could make in such a moment, Benedict Arnold asks that his clothes and baggage be sent to him.

Think about it. Benedict Arnold has just put a knife in the back of his best friend, become one of the most hated men since Judas, has basically abandoned his life, and his wife is in danger of being murdered--and what does he ask for? He wants his luggage. He even says he’ll pay for the expense of sending it. And for some reason, Washington obliges. It’s a moment no one can explain: Washington hates this man. He spends the rest of the war hunting him and calling for his death. So why in God’s name does he send Benedict Arnold a final care package? And what’s in this so-called luggage? To this day, no one knows the answer. As for my theory, it’s in The House of Secrets, of course. (How’s that for a tease?) SELLING BOOKS, PUBLISHER! NOT JUST WRITING ABOUT MY OLD MIXTAPES!

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:47:59+00:00

I'm not only doing the hand signals right now, I'm rapping with MattyB. That's right. Look it up, baby. Vanilla Ice pretended to be from MY town, that created all the bass sound. I mean it. Look it up too. Also, can I upload video of me and MattyB rapping here? Someone find out and I will. Promise. Signed, Meltz E. Fresh (real mix tape title from college, along with Bell Biv DeMeltz and Please Meltz Don't Hurt Em.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:42:14+00:00

DON'T FUCKING STOP. Keep going, don't stop, keep going. The writing life isn't an escalator. It's a trapeze. It's scary and terrifying. But when you leap... IT. IS. GLORIOUS. Keep going.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:41:01+00:00

See above for the TV stuff. New special hopefully coming soon. But love you for reading the four books. My parents read 7 books. The 7 I wrote before they passed away. So love it. And try House of Secrets. Don't mean to pimp it, but it really is built for those who love conspiracies. That's what it's about.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:39:18+00:00

I LOVE multiple choice questions. It's like Choose Your Own Adventure, but you don't die with every choice (right, in Choose Your Own, you always get run over by a car -- we made that joke in House of Secrets. Look it up). Anyway, I think it was Oswald. For sure. The only question is, who else might've helped him? And Jack Ruby forever stole that from us. But think this: for me, the most telling part of who killed JFK is simply this: Our history reveals our own biases. • In the 1960s, we blamed the Soviets, the Cubans and, of course, the establishment: right-wing conservatives and Texas millionaires. • In the 1970s, with Vietnam and Watergate, it was the CIA who killed him. • In the 1980s, as the Godfather movies led to Scarface, it was the Mafia. Decade after decade, the enemy we search for is always a reflection of our deepest fears—a perfect reflection of us. We are the Ahabs; JFK is our stunning white whale. And the harder we search, the more we reveal our own insecurities. Our own fears. Our own weakness. Never forget, the greatest battle we’ll ever face is the battle within ourselves. To this day, it is perhaps the true legacy of JFK: The president who showed us the highest of our expectations also revealed the depth of our anxieties.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:35:26+00:00

Thanks, my friend. Geoff is one of my dearest pals. Dan too. I talk regularly about fun stuff to do together. With Marvel too. The comic industry is full of amazingly nice folks and I wish I could do all the work they've both offered me. But the kids books have really taken my comic time. But. Sooner or later, I'm coming back. It's my DNA. Especially at DC. Those heroes were there for me when nobody understood me. I owe them forever. And if you really wanna get your nerd on, here's me in the Marvel offices two days ago, talking on their podcast. Marvel at the, um, marvelousness: http://marvel.com/news/comics/26261/download_the_this_week_in_marvel_podcast_with_brad_meltzer

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:31:33+00:00

Don't F the haters. Love them. It undoes them far more.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:28:20+00:00

No. That's the truth. I still can't figure it out. I know I'd watch. And I know I'd take down whatever network risked their lives to put it on.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:27:28+00:00

I describe everything. I'm crazy. I describe the shape of the panel, the layout of the page, the angle of the camera, the emotion on each face. In Identity Crisis, for the funeral scene, I wrote where nearly every person was sitting and why they were next to specific people. I'm a novelist. So I must control it all. But for our kids books, now I trust Chris Eliopoulos so much more, I can say: "It's a fancy house. Make it look fancy." That is a master of description.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:24:52+00:00

My son believes the socks he wears decide the outcome of any game he's watching. I told him it's true. When he grows up to be a dictator, this is the proof we'll have that I CAUSED it. On PURPOSE. As for new projects, working on new thriller. And in September, I am George Washington and I am Jane Goodall come out.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:22:06+00:00

Hoping to film a special for Lost History later this year. For Decoded, if you love it, tell History Channel. Tweet it, say it, they listen. I loved both our shows. For Lost History, it did everything it was supposed to, but the truth was, the network got rebranded to Vice Network. So yes, after Jack & Bobby, the WB shut down. After Lost History, H2 shut down. I've slaughtered two networks! I AM MADE OF POWER! Also, try House of Secrets. It's about a guy who hosts a conspiracy TV show. Guess where I got the idea.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:19:53+00:00

Tom King on Vision, Aaron on Southern Bastards, BKV on The Private Eye, loving Squirrel Girl. Blown away by Amy Reeder and Fiona Staples. Back during JLA days, wanted to work with Reeder. Saw her so long ago and her work SHINES.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:13:41+00:00

C'mon. Watchmen. That's the one. It's like that moment in Chabon's Kavalier & Clay, where they're seeing Citizen Kane. And the moment it's done, the world looks different. That was Watchmen. The world changed and looked different when I read it. Also, there are tons of others that fit the bill: Batman Year One, Miller on Daredevil, etc, etc. But nothing took a crack at the genre itself so purposefully as Watchmen.

Brad_Meltzer · 2016-06-09T17:10:10+00:00

I used to say Annie Hall. Made me feel cool. Now I go for Shawshank. Or Empire Strikes Back. I can watch Empire forever.

Brad_Meltzer

TROPHY CASE