Today we welcome Steve Berry to our blog. Steve Berry’s new novel The Columbus Affair (out May 15, 2012) is sure to be a delight. In honor of National Library Week we share with you this special Q&A.
I loved when Steve talks about the writing of his novel The Alexandria Link and the reasons he would like to visit The Library of Alexandria.
“The ancient one is long gone. But the modern incarnation is something incredible. I dealt with all of the myth, legend, and facts of this incredible place.”
Steve Berry Q&A
RH LIBRARY: First memory of being in a library?
STEVE BERRY: Maybe 8 years old, in parochial school. The library was a converted classroom, small, with few books, but what a wondrous place.
RH LIBRARY: What was the best book you remember checking out of the library and loving?
STEVE BERRY: Those Hardy Boy mysteries that I first discovered as a child. I can recall going back for the next one. It was a marvelous. Magical. Like finding treasure. Those books ignited my interest in reading. The Twisted Claw, one of the Hardy Boy adventures, was the beginning of my love of international suspense thrillers. I still have a copy of that book in my office, where I write everyday.
RH LIBRARY: Why are libraries important?
STEVE BERRY: They are the repositories of humankind’s knowledge, ideas, and imagination. The only places on earth where all of our thoughts and creations are centralized, catalogued, and preserved for everyone to enjoy.
RH LIBRARY: Do you have a favorite library?
STEVE BERRY: The Library of Alexandria. Of course, the ancient one is long gone. But the modern incarnation is something incredible. I dealt with all of the myth, legend, and facts of this incredible place in The Alexandria Link, a novel I wrote several years ago.
RH LIBRARY: Do you have a favorite librarian?
STEVE BERRY: Not really. I’ve been in so many around the world and, I have to say, everyone has always been so helpful. It seems a trait common to the industry, no matter where the library may be located.
RH LIBRARY: In all the libraries you’ve been in what event did you attend in a library that you recall loving?
STEVE BERRY: No one event comes to mind as extra special. I’ve attended so many. I served as chairman of the library board in Camden County, Georgia for six years and can recall many interesting and fascinating programs. As a published writer, I have appeared at quite a few library functions. As part of my History Matters foundation, we help raise money for libraries around the country.
RH LIBRARY: If you were a character in a book who would you be?
STEVE BERRY: I already am. Cotton Malone, my recurring hero in 7 novels, is based on me. When I created him I decided it was easier to just use me. Most of his personality and flaws are mine. The heroics are solely his.
RH LIBRARY: Is there anything you’d like to share with librarians about your current book?
STEVE BERRY: The Columbus Affair, which releases May 15, 2012, is my first stand alone in 7 years. It’s an intriguing tale dealing with one of the most mysterious men in all of history — Christopher Columbus — who we know next to nothing about. I came across a great secret about Columbus, which forms the basis of the novel. Check it out. I think you’ll find it interesting.
~~*~~ Request a Digital RC from Edelweiss here.
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