Dan Brown Discusses 'The Secret of Secrets,' His Writing Process, and Personal Quirks

The World of Dan Brown's Thrillers

• 💡 Dan Brown's novels, including his latest "The Secret of Secrets," are characterized by mysteries, codes, religious rites, and scientific formulas.
• 🎯 His most famous work, "The Da Vinci Code," achieved massive global success, translated into 56 languages with over 250 million copies in print.

Exploring 'The Secret of Secrets'

• 🔑 The new thriller delves into big topics like the bloodline of Jesus Christ, artificial intelligence, and world populations, with a central theme of human consciousness.
• 🧠 Brown aimed to turn the ethereal concept of consciousness into a fast-paced thriller, a significant writing challenge.
• 🔍 The story features familiar elements like Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, a new love interest scientist Catherine Solomon, and a magical setting in Prague, incorporating elements of Jewish mysticism like the golem.

The Author's Research and Philosophy

• 🔬 Brown insists that every detail in his books is based on real research, citing experiments proving precognition as an example of information he wants readers to learn.
• 📚 He believes thrillers can be educational, aiming for readers to discover fascinating information organically within the narrative.
• 🎶 Originally aspiring to be a singer-songwriter, Brown turned to writing after his music career did not take off.

Writing Process and Challenges

• 🛠️ Brown describes his writing process as building a framework or scaffolding for information, emphasizing the need to know the ending of a thriller before starting.
• ✍️ He admits to writing extensively, with a significant portion of his work (e.g., 800,000 words out of 1 million for a 200,000-word novel) being cut.
• 🎭 Brown acknowledges that his distinctive style elicits strong reactions, with readers either loving or hating his work, and that criticism, despite his success, can still be hurtful.
• 🚀 The first printing of "The Secret of Secrets" is 1.5 million copies, reflecting the significant anticipation for his work.