August 2006

An excerpt from chapter one of “The Book of Fate” by Brad Meltzer
Listen to an excerpt from 'The Book of Fate' mp3

Six minutes from now, one of us would be dead. That was our fate. None of us knew it was coming.
            “Ron, hold up,” I called out, chasing after the middle-aged man in the navy blue suit. As I ran, the smothering Florida heat glued my shirt to my chest. Ignoring me, Ron Boyle darted up the tarmac, passing Air Force One on our right and the 18 cars of the motorcade that idled in a single file line on our left. As deputy chief of staff, he was always in a rush. That's what happens when you work for the most powerful man in the world. I don't say that lightly. Our boss was the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. And when he wanted something, it was my job to get it. Right now, President Leland “The Lion” Manning wanted Boyle to stay calm.
            Some tasks were beyond even me.
            Picking up speed as he wove through the crowd of staffers and press making their ways to their assigned cars, Boyle blew past a shiny black Chevy Suburban packed with Secret Service agents and the ambulance that carried extra pints of the President's blood.
            Earlier today, Boyle was supposed to have a 15 minute sit-down with the President on Air Force One. Because of my scheduling error he was now down to a three-minute drive-by briefing sometime this afternoon. To say he was annoyed would be like calling the Great Depression a bad day at the office.
            “Ron,” I said again, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to apologize. “Just wait, I wanted to…”
            He spun around wildly, slapping my hand out of the way. Thin and pointy-nosed with a thick mustache designed to offset both, Boyle had graying hair, olive skin, and striking brown eyes with a splash of light blue in each iris. As he leaned forward, his cat's eyes glared down at me. “Don't touch me again unless you're shaking my hand,” he threatened as a fleck of spit hit me in the cheek.
            Gritting my teeth, I wiped it away with the back of my hand. Sure, the scheduling hiccup was my fault, but that was no reason to…
            “Now what the hell's so damn important, Wes? Or is this another vital reminder that when we're eating with the President, we need to give you our lunch orders at least an hour in advance?” he added, loud enough that a couple of Secret Service agents turned.
            Any other 23-year-old would have taken a verbal swing. I kept my cool. That's the job of the President's aide, a.k.a. the body person, a.k.a. the butt boy. Get the President what he wants. Keep the machine humming.

Brad Meltzer is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Tenth Justice, Dead Even , The First Counsel, The Millionaires and The Zero Game. He is also one of the co-creators of the TV show, Jack & Bobby—and is the number one selling author of the critically acclaimed comic book, Identity Crisis. His newest comic book, Justice League of America, will be released in July, and his new thriller, The Book of Fate, will be published in September.

Raised in Brooklyn and Miami, Brad is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. The Tenth Justice was his first published work and became an instant New York Times bestseller. Dead Even followed a year later and also hit the New York Times bestseller list, as have all five of his novels.  The First Counsel came next, which was about a White House lawyer dating the President's daughter, then The Millionaires, which was about two brothers who steal money and go on the run. The Zero Game is about two Congressional staffers who are—literally—gambling on Congress. His forthcoming novel, The Book of Fate, is about a young presidential aide, a crazed assassin, and the 200 year-old code created by Thomas Jefferson that ties them together. For authenticity, The Book of Fate was researched with the help of former Presidents Clinton and Bush.

His books have a total of almost six million copies in print, have spent over eight months on the bestseller lists, and have been translated into over a dozen languages, from Hebrew to Bulgarian. In The Tenth Justice, the opening lines are: "Ben Addison was sweating. Like a pig." In the Hebrew translation, it became: "Ben Addison was sweating. Like a horse." We're not sure if it's a kosher thing or what!

Brad has played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's Celebrity and earned credit from Columbia Law School for writing his first book, which became The Tenth Justice. Before all of that, he got 24 rejection letters for his true first novel, which still sits on his shelf, published by Kinko's.