Finally, some real news about THE SOLOMON KEY. According to the publisher, quoted in today's Wall Street Journal, the release date has been set -- but it is a secret. Which is progress! There was no release date at all before. There's no new news about the content of the book (or any confirmation of the title), but the thrust still seems to be that the book will be set in Washington, D.C. and focus on those wacky Freemason Founding Fathers.
I brought out my SOLOMON KEY pre-book/meta-book in 2005 (!)
"The Solomon Key" and Beyond: DIGITAL FORTESS, ANGELS & DEMONS, DECEPTION POINT, THE DA VINCI CODE, and more ... and I have to say it has stood the test of time quite well. It has already made a pretty healthy profit, and among my forty titles in print ranks sixth in lifetime revenue per month.
The content is still sound because book is far less speculative than most efforts in the pre-book genre. I cover Brown's entire oeuvre, and I include a detailed analysis of Dan Brown's work habits and narrative strategies, but I didn't think it wise to go on speculative excursions into the occult and Freemasonry before seeing the published books. I stick closely to what Brown and his publishers have actually said about the book. Judge for yourself if you like my approach: take a look at the Table of Contents in Search Inside the Book mode.
I've gotten better at covers since I published this book, but I'm reasonably satisfied with the dominant cover image: Kryptos in the CIA courtyard is still a pretty darned cool piece of Washington architecture, and it's neat to look at and learn about. I would probably use a different font for the title type. Although the cover colors look clunky, they are keyed off the colors used inTHE DA VINCI CODE, so I don't think there was a principled basis for a better choice.
I will update this book when THE SOLOMON KEY finally comes out, but I am not sure exactly what mechanism I will use -- I may update this edition, or I may issue a separate thinner paperback. Either way, I will provide a PDF softcopy to previous purchasers, as stated in the book. (Simply send me proof of purchase using the email address in the book).
I will update this post as publication nears. Until then, enjoy the anticipation!
Cordially,
Fred Zimmerman
Publisher, Nimble Books LLC
