PHOTO: G.W. BROWN; RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN'S BOOKS

What's in a Page: Dan Brown writes at 4 in the morning, and more secrets of his trade

Seija Rankin

7 October 2020

Dan Brown is making a bit of a change. The author, who has become world-famous for novels like The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons (and their Tom Hanks-starring big-screen adaptations), is trying his hand at children's literature. Wild Symphony is a picture book that includes a musical accompaniment — Brown worked with a composer to pair classical music with the tome — but that doesn't mean he's pivoting to kid's books forever. Brown is currently at work on another Robert Langdon saga. To celebrate Wild Symphony (and take a break from all things Langdon), he participated in EW's author questionnaire to let us all in on his process.

 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What is the first thing — ever — that you remember writing?

DAN BROWN: When I was 5 years old, I dictated a story to my mother, who transcribed it for me. We did a print run of one copy and bound it in cardboard. I titled the book The Giraffe, The Pig, and the Pants on Fire. (A thriller, obviously.)

What is the last book that made you cry?

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein.

Which book is at the top of your current to-read list?

The Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot.

Where do you write?

Every morning at 4 a.m., I go to the far end of my house to a small writing room that has no phone, no internet, and no distractions.

Which book made you a forever reader?

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle.

What is a snack you couldn't write without?

Is coffee a snack?

If you could change one thing about any of your books, what would it be?

In Angels & Demons, I wish Langdon had thought twice before jumping out of a helicopter with only a strip of fabric to slow his fall.

What is your favorite part of Wild Symphony?

The secret codes hidden on every page — as a kid, I would have loved them.

What was your biggest challenge in creating Wild Symphony?

Combining poetry, classical music, and morality tales in a coherent way.

Write a movie poster tagline for your book:

Life is a symphony — GO WILD!

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown / Digest read

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown / Digest read

Inferno by Dan Brown / Digested read

Dan Brown's new novel 'Inferno' coming this spring

Pop Culture of My Life / Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown was haunted by Jaws

Origin by Dan Brown / Digested read

What's in a Page: Dan Brown writes at 4 in the morning, and more secrets of his trade

ENTERTAIMENT

Origin by Dan Brown – digested read

‘Why,’ enquired Professor Robert Langdon enquiringly, ‘have we got to page 100 and nothing has happened?’

Inferno by Dan Brown / Digested read

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown / Digest read

John Crace
Sun 8 Oct 2017 

E

dmond Kirsch, the world’s richest man and its greatest futurist, took the train up to the monastery in Catalonia, Spain, Europe, wearing Barker ostrich shoes. There he was going to meet Bishop Valdespino, Rabbi Koves and Islamic scholar al-Fadl.

PHOTO: DOUBLEDAY

Pop Culture of My Life: Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown was haunted by Jaws

Plus, how Brown — whose latest book 'Origin' is on shelves now — was convinced to binge 'Breaking Bad'

By Isabella Biedenharn 

 

Published on October 6, 2017

A version of this story originally appears in the Oct. 13, 2017 issue of Entertainment Weekly. 

Thriller author Dan Brown — whose latest blockbuster, Origin, just hit stores — talks about his love for Cinema Paradiso, Sidney Sheldon, and Donna on Suits.

My favorite book as a child

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I loved the science in it and the geeky kid heroes.

An illicit book I read in secret as a kid

That would be Jaws. The opening where the woman is skinny-dipping and gets eaten, right at the beginning…there was “a nub of bone and tattered flesh” or some such phrase that I have never forgotten.

A book that really cemented me as a writer

The Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon. I had read only the classics in prep school and college, and I was on vacation when I found a copy of Doomsday Conspiracy on the dock and read it. I thought, “Oh my God. That was fun.” I didn’t know that there was adult thriller fiction. I didn’t know! I was like, “I’m pretty sure I could do something like that.”

The classics I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never read

The Scarlet Letter. David Copperfield. How long do you have? [Laughs] Moby-Dick.

The most breathtaking piece of art to see in person

This will sound very cliché, but I’m going to answer the Mona Lisa, because of its size, which is startling to people. It’s small. And because it is so famous and so reproduced, it’s one of the only pieces of art in the world that everybody’s seen. Even if you’ve never been to The Louvre, you’ve just seen it. It’s everywhere. So for me, it’s like a pilgrimage to stand in the space, and to be within the presence of where Leonardo’s brush touched wood. Everyone who goes there has a reaction. It is either “deeply moved” or “…that’s it?” It’s not a piece of art you can ignore.

You could argue that a hi-resolution photograph of the Mona Lisa gives you a better sense of what it is than standing behind a pile-on and looking through bulletproof glass. But being in the presence of a great work of art? It’s amazing. You walk into the Grand Gallery — it has its own room now — and there’s a hush. It’s like, there’s a reverence in front of the artifact. How’s that for a long-winded, artsy answer?

The fictional group of friends I’ve always felt I belong with

Frank and Joe Hardy. I wouldn’t mind being Frank, Joe, and Dan Hardy. I identify with Frank and Joe more than I do with Thomas Hardy. [Laughs]

My literary crush

J.K. Rowling. Just for everything she’s done to inspire kids to read — and she’s just such a class act.

The last TV show I binged

Breaking Bad. I was in Anguilla and ran into a literary agent on the beach, a pretty famous agent. We got talking, and she said, “Hey, have you seen Breaking Bad?” I said, “I’m not crazy about tumbleweeds or crystal meth or the Southwest. It’s not my thing.” She said, “Watch the first five minutes. The writing is so good, you would appreciate it.” So I said, “Fine.” I watched the first five minutes…and seven days later I got to the end.

A book people might be surprised to learn I loved

You know, this is kind of geeky but I love Shakespeare. People are shocked when I say, “Hey, Much Ado About Nothing is one of the funniest books ever written.” And I’ve been an English teacher — I’ve actually taught that book as humor, the wordplay, the double entendre, this biting sarcasm. I’d say that would have to be the one that people go, “Really? You like Shakespeare? We had a much lower opinion of you!”

A book I consider grossly overrated

I did teach The Sound and The Fury, and that’s another book I really don’t care for. I have tried. I just find this idea of an inconsistent and unreliable narrator very annoying. Am I going to get in trouble for saying Faulkner is overrated?

My all-time favorite movie

Cinema Paradiso. I grew up in a small town, and I just see myself in that character, the little kid who’s captivated by the world of cinema. I have this image of him looking through a tiny hole, looking out at this other world.

My guilty-pleasure TV show

Suits. I think it’s cleverly written — it’s wholly unrealistic in a really entertaining and respectable way. The characters are beautiful, the sets are beautiful, and it’s got a lot of heart. And who doesn’t love Donna? You can’t watch Suits without having a crush on Donna.

The literary place where I’d like to live

The fictional world that Dr. Seuss created in Happy Birthday to You! with giant marshmallow cushions you can sleep on, and where all the animals are your friends.

The fictional character I’d want by my side in a zombie apocalypse

Indiana Jones. He’s got a great sense of humor and really good luck. He gets out of everything somehow. And I’ve always wanted to know how to use a whip. I haven’t read Fifty Shades, so I have no idea.

The TV show I think doesn’t get its due

Let’s see, there was a show called Boss which I thought was brilliantly written and fantastic and it died. Kelsey Grammer plays the mayor of Chicago who has a debilitating mental disease. So he’s governing a city as he’s slowly going insane. It’s a great set-up and a great cast. Everyone I’ve recommended it to has loved it and said, “Why did that end? It was so good!” And then there are some shows where you’re like, “Why is that still going?”

A recent book I wish I had written

I just read a book called The Believing Brain, which is about why humans believe all the crazy stuff we believe, from superstition to religion to fake news. How is it that a species as intelligent as we are can believe so much stuff that is just so clearly false? And that’s something that I write about a lot in my books, and that book really put it together in a way that I was impressed with.

The last book that made me laugh out loud

Clearly I need to read funnier books. All I read is research books, and when I laugh it’s usually for the wrong reasons, like, “That’s ridiculous!”

The first album I bought with my own money

That would have to be The Beach Boys, Endless Summer:A two-record set that I saved up for. I still love the Beach Boys. In fact, that was the first concert I ever went to. I was in 8th grade, my mom went with me, and it was in Phoenix, Arizona where my dad was on sabbatical. There was a lot of marijuana in the air and my mother was horrified. I, of course, had no idea what it was.

They didn’t sound like the record — that’s all I remembered. I was disappointed. It was so loud and static-y, and I just wanted it to sound like the record. I didn’t go to another concert for years after that because it was a disappointment.

The song that always makes me feel better

“Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. It is just unbridled happiness! It is not shy in any way. It’s just saying, “I’m as happy as I get,” and for some reason that always makes me happy. “Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill always makes me cry, though.

What I’m reading now

I’m about to read American War by Omar El Akkad. I love fiction that feels relevant to the world, and this book really sounds to me like it’s going to be exactly that. I’m excited to read it.

The three people I’d invite to my dream dinner party

Antoni Gaudí, Charles Darwin, and Cardinal Bertone. It would be interesting. I would stand in the other room making drinks, I think, and just listen quietly.

ENTERTAIMENT

 

PHOTO: DAN COURTER

Dan Brown's new novel 'Inferno' coming this spring

By Stephan Lee 

 

Published on January 15, 2013 

Antiquity meets modern-day mystery once again in Dan Brown’s upcoming novel Inferno. Doubleday announced this morning that the Da Vinci Code and Lost Symbol author’s next novel, coming May 14, will feature Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon’s return. The action will take place in Italy, and at the heart of the mystery will stand the literary classic Dante’s Inferno.

“Although I studied Dante’s Inferno as a student, it wasn’t until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante’s work on the modern world,” said Brown in a press release. “With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm… a landscape of codes, symbols, and more than a few secret passageways.”

Inferno will get a first printing of four million copies in the U.S. and Canada.

ENTERTAINMENT

Inferno by Dan Brown – digested read

John Crace reduces the bestselling novelist's new historical-conspiracy potboiler to a more manageable 600 words

John Crace
Sun 19 May ‘13 14.00 BST

/High above the city upon which the giants once roamed ... Giotto, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Vettriano ... My gift is Inferno ... And with that I, the brilliant billionnaire geneticist Bertand Zobrist, jump …/

Robert Langdon's mind was a vale of darkness. His eidetic memory had failed him. "You've been shot," a woman said. He looked up to see a lissome figure with gentle brown eyes that held a profundity of experience rarely encountered in someone of her age. "I'm Sienna Brooks. A doctor. We have to get you out of here. Someone is trying to kill you."

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown / Digest read

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Bantam, £18.99

Title The Lost Symbol

Author Dan Brown

Publisher Bantam

Price £18.99

John Crace
Tue 22 Sep ‘09 00.05 BST

Mwahahahaha. A stream of mysterious italics appeared across the page as the 6ft 6in initiate admired his tattooed physique in the solitary confines of the Freemason Hall. Soon the Secrets of the Universe would be his.

Six years had passed since his discovery of Mary Magdalene under a pyramid in the Louvre and Robert Langdon, world famous professor of symbology at Harvard University, had at last been invited by Peter Solomon, his mentor and the world's richest benefactor, to lecture at the Smithsonian in Washington. He doffed his coat as he entered the building. Then a scream, as a severed hand appeared on the floor.

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown / Digest read

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

This article is more than 19 years old

Mon 9 Aug 2004 12.41 BST

Tankado died with the three good fingers of his shrivelled hand pointing heavenward.

Susan Fletcher was woken by the phone. It was David. "I've got to postpone," he said. "Something's come up." The phone rang again. It was Strathmore, deputy head of the NSA. "Something's come up," he said. "Come in."

Few people have heard of the NSA. Fewer still have heard of TRANSLTR, the world's most powerful computer, buried deep underground in NSA headquarters. It can decipher any code.

"It's bad, Susan," he said. "Our ex-employee Tankado has created an algorithmal code TRANSLTR can't decipher. He has a partner called NDAKOTA who has the pass code. That's where you come in. I need you to trace his untraceable email address."

David was having a bad day. He hadn't told Susan that Strathmore had sent him to Spain to get the code from Tankado's ring. Now Tankado was dead, the businessman and the prostitute who had taken the ring were dead, the American punk who had bought the ring off the prostitute was dead, and the assassin was after him. Worse still, the ring was a red herring: there was no code.

Greg Hales entered the NSA inner sanctum. Susan thought he might be NDAKOTA. "It's not right we should be able to spy on ordinary Americans," he said.

"TRANSLTR has already saved America from two terrorist attacks," she replied.

"Then how come we couldn't stop 9/11?"

"Because this book was published in the US in 1998 and it's only getting an outing in the UK to cash in on The Da Vinci Code."

Susan's superfast decryption programme suggested Tankado and NDAKOTA had the same email. Of course, she thought, they're anagrams of one another. She looked up to see Greg Hales kill a security officer.

Strathmore was starting to panic. He would have to tell Susan. "It's not an algorithmal code," he said. "It's a worm. I was trying to add a mutation that would allow us to read every secret in the world. But I've failed and now all America's secrets are going to be available online unless we get this code."

Susan and Strathmore cornered Hales. "It's Strathmore," yelled Hales. "He killed the security officer." But no one believed him and he died a nasty death.

Strathmore loved Susan. He had no regrets about telling the assassin to kill David.

Susan read Strathmore's pager. David was dead and Strathmore was bad. He died a horrible death, too. She called the NSA head. "We've got two minutes to save the world," she said. "The code must be a prime number." She stared at images of Tankado's three fingers.

"Saved with only seconds to spare," said the NSA head.

The phone rang. It was David. "I'm alive. Marry me."

THE GUARDIAN