Nelson DeMille Thrills a Crowd in Wilton

Written by Leslie Yager
A crowd of about 500 turned out on Tuesday night to hear Nelson DeMille talk about The Quest, a book he first penned 37 years ago.

Though not a best seller at the time, DeMille rewrote the book recently, and it has quickly become a bestseller. 

Set in the jungles of Ethiopia, the novel tells the story of three journalists who encounter a dying priest who tells them a story about the holy grail. This, of course, leads to their quest. Dan Brown, by the way, was still in elementary school when Demille first wrote The Quest in 1973.

"It was a book literally ripped from the headlines when it was written," DeMille said. "But now, 37 years later, it's kind of like a period piece....and I feel confident because I did it at the time it was happening."

DeMille said it took about six months to rewrite The Quest since the research was already done and both the structure and characters existed. 

"Normally, to write a book, it takes me about 12 to 14 months from beginning to end, including research and rewrites," DeMille said before comparing his daily regimen to a friend's who is up at 6:00 a.m. and is finished writing by lunch time.

"I'm mostly a night writer," DeMille Said. "I don't even know who I am in the morning," he added. "I get rolling around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. Also, I write longhand. I don't type. I took typing class in high school because that's where all the girls were...but I write two or three graphs longhand on a legal pad with a pencil and my assistant types it." 

DeMille's fans had many questions about his most famous character, John Corey, who first appeared in the novel Plum Island. 

"Plum Island... I'm about to sign a contract with, even maybe tomorrow, with Sony TV and Lionsgate Productions who are doing Plum Island in six, one-part segments," DeMille said. "They call it a limited series."

DeMille said there was not a cable TV station lined up yet for the mini series, but that Aaron Eckhardt had been named as the actor to play his John Corey character, and that the series would likely end up on TNT, HBO or AMC next summer.

When queried, DeMille named The Gold Coast as his favorite novel.

"That was the easiest novel to write," DeMille said, mentioning that it was basically about his neighbors on the north shore of Long Island. "That got me banned from the country club," he said, with a laugh. "Seriously banned, but they got over it."

DeMille said that when he reads for pleasure his favorite authors include Agatha Christie. "When I read contemporaries, I don't want to be thrown off by those writing in the same vein as me. I was never a great fan of Tom Clancy, though Red October was a great book." 

DeMille described a writers' roundtable he attends once a month on the first Tuesday, though he wouldn't say where. 

"There are these nice ladies, very ladylike. And about five troglodytes around the same table...We don't talk about literature," he said with a laugh. "A little bit, but we mostly we complain about our agents."

The topic returned to DeMille's most famous character, John Corey. 

"We all grew up with the Cold War...I'm not saying I'm sorry the Cold War ended, but I had a career there," he chuckled before getting serious again. "John Corey is what I'm working on now. And he will be involved with the Russians. When is the book coming out? I don't know... When I finish it, maybe this time next year."

The Quest is available as a hardcover and as an e-book. Find DeMille on Facebook, Twitter or via his website.