Exclusive Interview

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of twentytwo novels. His books have been translated into 41 languages with over 25,000,000 copies in 52 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists. Somewhere in the world, every thirty seconds, one of his novels is sold.

History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. To date, 3,500 students have attended those workshops with over $1.5 million dollars raised.

Q: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN WRITING THRILLERS?

I adhere to the philosophy never, ever write what you know. Instead, write what you love. If what you know and what you love are the same thing, great. But if not, always write what you love. I loved action, history, secrets, conspiracies, and international settings. So that’s what I started writing, and still do.

Q: WHAT IS IT ABOUT HISTORY THAT IS SO FASCINATING?

It’s the little known things that really grab my attention. Those nuggets from history that are forgotten, real and significant. But those nuggets have to remain relevant today. They must still matter, since I write modern day thrillers. The hard part is finding those nuggets. And there’s a catch. I stay about two years ahead of the reader, so I need to pick subjects that folks will find interesting in the future. So far, I’ve chosen wisely.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME COMMON THEMES THAT ALL OF YOUR BOOKS SHARE?

As I mentioned, my books are centered around action, history, secrets, and conspiracies. There are 17 Cotton Malone books and each one in the series is ‘the same, but different.’ The same in that they have those four elements, but different in that each concerns a different nugget from the past, a different time period from history, and different antagonists with unique motivations. The same is also true for my 5 stand alone novels.

Q: TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE COMING OUT SOON, THE LAST KINGDOM.

It’s an exciting tale that deals with one of my favorite places in the world --- Bavaria. It also concerns one of my favorite historical personalities – King Ludwig II. We’ve all seen the image of Neuschwanstein, first visited by Walt Disney in the 1930s and ultimately used as the inspiration behind Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland. That magical place was imagined and created by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886 and mysteriously drowned three days later. Ludwig was eccentric to the point of madness, and history records that in the years before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom, one separate, apart, and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat to and rule as he wished. But a question remains. Did he succeed in finding it?

Q: WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS PORTRAYED IN THIS NEW NOVEL?

This is a Cotton Malone story. He’s a retired Justice Department operative who now owns a rare bookshop in Copenhagen. After many months or

Malone’s protégé, Luke Daniels, who works for the Magellan Billet, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels has also managed to gain the trust of Stefan, the prince of Bavaria, a frustrated second son intent on eliminating his brother, the duke, and restoring the Wittelsbach monarchy, only now with him as king. Everything hinges on a 19th century deed which proves that Ludwig’s long-rumored search for a new kingdom bore fruit --legal title to land that Germany, China, and the United States all now want, only for vastly different reasons. So it’s a race across Bavaria for clues hidden within Ludwig’s three fairytale castles, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee, with Malone and Daniels battle an ever-growing list of deadly adversaries who will stop at nothing to find the last kingdom.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO ASPIRING WRITERS IN YOUR GENRE?

Work hard and create the best story possible. There’s no substitute for a good story. Then produce a solid manuscript. A writer’s job is to learn their craft, then practice it --- every day.

countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists. Somewhere in the world, every thirty seconds, a Steve Berry book is sold.

History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have crossed the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners, and their popular writers’ workshops. To date, 3,500 students have attended those workshops, with over $1.5 million dollars raised.

Steve’s devotion to historic preservation was recognized by the American Library Association, which named Steve its spokesperson for National Preservation Week. Among his other honors are the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award; the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award given by Poets & Writers; the Anne Frank Human Writes Award; and the Silver Bullet, bestowed by International Thriller Writers for his philanthropic work. He has been chosen both the Florida and Georgia Writer of the Year. He’s also an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board. In 2010, a NPR survey named The Templar Legacy one of the top 100 thrillers ever written.

About Steve Berry

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of sixteen Cotton Malone adventures, five standalone thrillers, and several works of short fiction. His books have been translated into 41 languages with 25,000,000 copies in 52

Steve was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers—a group of nearly 6,000 thriller writers from around the world—and served three years as its co-president.