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Books by
Brad Meltzer
The First Counsel
The Millionaires
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Brad Meltzer
 Bio
Fast Facts
Website
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Becoming a novelist was not one of Brad Meltzer's lifelong ambitions; he arrived at this profession by chance after his job at a magazine didn't work out. He had no idea what to do with his life, but resolved to write a novel --- a good choice at the time, considering how much he enjoyed writing.
His first book, The Tenth Justice, became an instant New York Times bestseller and subsequent efforts --- Dead Even, The First Counsel and The Millionaires --- were just as successful. Meltzer's legal thrillers are fast-paced, tension-filled and exhaustively researched.
His writing also has appeared in USA Weekend, London's Sunday Times and Details magazine, and has been translated into over a dozen languages. He has been featured on the Today Show, and in major publications including Time, USA Today, Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly.
Meltzer's latest novel, The Zero Game, focuses on two Capitol Hill staffers involved in a lethal game and the 16-year-old Senate page determined to redeem them. To celebrate its release, AuthorsOnTheWeb has chosen Brad Meltzer as our Author of the Month. Readers can learn more about Meltzer's life and works through fast facts and biographical information, as well as links to his website, bibliography, interviews and book reviews.
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Fast Facts
- There's no question about it --- Brad Meltzer is a comic book fanatic. Far from being a mere childhood obsession, comic books have had a major influence on his writing career. In fact, a typical chapter from one of his novels reads like a 22-page comic in terms of pacing. Says Meltzer, "I'm from the philosophy of: if you read comics, say it loud and say it proud."
- Meltzer believes that research is the key to writing effective novels because fiction is at its best when it has "one foot in reality." Therefore, he always makes sure to go out into the real world and see places for himself.
- The authors who have had the greatest impact on Meltzer's career are Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller and Garth Ennis.
- Meltzer enjoys reading graphic novels but will not read within the legal thriller genre while writing. He wants his ideas to be fresh and original, and this is the only way to ensure that the voice in his books is strictly his own.
- In addition to his bestselling novels, Meltzer has written speeches for President Clinton's national service program and played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's 1998 film Celebrity, starring Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis and Joe Mantegna.
- Meltzer is married to his high school sweetheart and has written a terrific essay about what this is like that can be found here.
- Some of the charities that Meltzer supports have been worked into his novels. They include Big Brothers/Big Sisters (from Dead Even), The Arc (from The First Counsel) and the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation (from The First Counsel).
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Bio
 Brad Meltzer was born in 1970 and raised in both Brooklyn and Miami. He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. Meltzer's ambition to be a full-time writer didn't develop until after he graduated from college. He accepted an offer to work at Games magazine, only to learn upon moving to Boston that the gentleman who ran the publication had left leaving him without his dream job. At that point Meltzer knew he had to think seriously about his future. So he resolved to do something that most people only think about doing --- write a novel.
Meltzer's initial effort was a book titled Fraternity, about friendship on a college campus. Although it received 24 rejection letters from publishers, he refused to quit. His determination to succeed in the business resulted in The Tenth Justice (1997). In this, his first published work, a clerk for one of the Supreme Court's most respected justices inadvertently reveals the confidential outcome of an upcoming Court decision, and one of the parties to the case makes millions. The Tenth Justice became an instant New York Times bestseller, and the release of additional legal thrillers from Meltzer soon followed.
His second book, Dead Even (1998), revolves around two lawyers --- a husband and wife --- who oppose one another in a criminal case. However, they have each been told that their spouse will die unless they win the case. Next came The First Counsel in 2001, about a young White House lawyer who begins dating the President's daughter --- but they soon become entangled in a secret agenda involving murder and betrayal. 2002 saw the release of Meltzer's fourth novel, The Millionaires, which explores the world of private banking. Two brothers who work in a bank take 3 million dollars from an abandoned account, but they soon discover that they have entered into a nightmare in which their very lives are at stake. With such intriguing plots, it should come as no surprise that Dead Even, The First Counsel and The Millionaires all appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.
Meltzer's latest book is The Zero Game, in which two senior staffers to well-respected congressmen become involved in a clandestine game known as the Zero Game. It starts out to be good fun, but they soon realize that this "game" is far more sinister than they ever imagined --- and that they are about to be its next victims.
In addition to creating edge-of-your-seat legal thrillers, Meltzer has another passion that is perhaps stronger: reading comic books. In 2002 he followed film director Kevin Smith and took over the writing duties on DC Comics' Green Arrow from issues 16 to 21. He was considered to be a dark horse candidate for the job, but was chosen thanks to the enormous success of his novels and his unabashed love of comics.
Meltzer and his wife Cori support a number of organizations that strive to change the world one person at a time. They include Big Brothers/Big Sisters; the American Cancer Society; the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation; the Arc, which cares for people with mental retardation and their families; and City Year, which challenges its young volunteers to improve the world on a daily basis.
Meltzer currently lives in Maryland with Cori, who also is an attorney.
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