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Noel Hynd

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, The United States

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Literature & Fiction, Horror

Member Since

November 2008

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I've been a published novelist for longer than I care to admit, since 1976. I'm frequently asked, however, how I first got published. It's an interesting story and involved both Robert Ludlum and James Baldwin, even though neither of them knew it --- or me --- at the time.

My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.

The boo I've been a published novelist for longer than I care to admit, since 1976. I'm frequently asked, however, how I first got published. It's an interesting story and involved both Robert Ludlum and James Baldwin, even though neither of them knew it --- or me --- at the time.

My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.

The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."

The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.

That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.

My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.

Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.

That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.

Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve ...more

Combine Editions
Noel Hynd’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 22,561 ratings · 1,189 reviews · 74 distinct works • Similar authors

	Flowers from Berlin 4.25 avg rating — 2,706 ratings — published 1985 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Return to Berlin: A Spy Story 4.49 avg rating — 1,774 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Truman's Spy: A Cold War Spy Thriller (Truman's Spy Series Book 1) 4.29 avg rating — 1,521 ratings — published 1990 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Judgment in Berlin: A Spy Story 4.49 avg rating — 1,313 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Conspiracy in Kiev (The Russian Trilogy #1) 3.60 avg rating — 1,571 ratings — published 2008 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ghosts 3.97 avg rating — 1,353 ratings — published 1993 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Midnight in Madrid 3.52 avg rating — 1,449 ratings — published 2009 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eisenhower's Spy 4.34 avg rating — 987 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Betrayal In Berlin: A Spy Story 4.38 avg rating — 893 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Enemy Within - A novel of the U.S. Secret Service by Noel Hynd (Goodreads Author), Patrick LoBrutto (Editor) 3.99 avg rating — 734 ratings — published 2006 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Noel Hynd…

Series by Noel Hynd

Flowers from Berlin (4 books)
by

Noel Hynd (Goodreads Author)

4.38 avg rating — 6,686 ratings

Alexandra LaDuca (6 books)
by

Noel Hynd (Goodreads Author)

3.76 avg rating — 4,990 ratings

The Russian Trilogy (3 books)
by

Noel Hynd (Goodreads Author)

3.68 avg rating — 3,879 ratings

The Cuban Trilogy (3 books)
by

Noel Hynd (Goodreads Author)

4.06 avg rating — 1,111 ratings

Noel is Currently Reading

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Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy

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Nov 20, 2018 01:15AM

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The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games, #1)

by Genevieve Jack (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 24, 2018 12:57PM

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Femme et le Pantin, La (French Edition)

by Pierre Louÿs

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Sep 24, 2018 12:55PM

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Noel Hynd is now following Marcelino Truong Author of Such a Lovely Little War: Saigon 1961-63
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Quotes by Noel Hynd (?)

“Each new generation, he thought, fails to learn from the one before.”
― Noel Hynd, Flowers from Berlin

3 likes

“You know,” said Grover, “the only thing worse than a smart-assed lawyer is a dumb-assed lawyer.”
― Noel Hynd, The Sandler Inquiry

2 likes

“suggested elegance, as if the Romans didn’t have enough on their own. Yet”
― Noel Hynd, Conspiracy in Kiev

1 likes

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Noel’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-15) post a comment »

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message 15: by D.A.

May 25, 2009 01:30PM

Hello,

My new book The 9 Ghosts of Samen's Bane is available now at amazon.com. I hope you have a great holiday.

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reply | flag

message 14: by E.A.

Jan 19, 2009 06:44AM

Noel, great story about your beginnings. Thanks for the friendship

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message 13: by Saleh

Jan 09, 2009 08:23PM

Hi.What We Talk About When We Talk About Love?PLZ Answer The Question In My Profile.

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message 12: by Beth

Jan 01, 2009 02:23PM

Hi Noel,
Thanks for befriending this fellow mystery/suspense author and have a happy new year!

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message 11: by Linda

Dec 30, 2008 06:05PM

Hi Noel, thanks for being my friend =D

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message 10: by Ilyn

Dec 30, 2008 01:02AM

Hello Noel,

How are you? Thank you for being my friend. Congratulations and more Good Fortune on your books. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2009!

Please visit these groups when you have a chance: “Happy & Brainy Group” and “To the Glory of Man”. Have a marvelous holiday season. Warmest regards.

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message 9: by Bradley

Dec 23, 2008 01:25PM

Thank you for adding me as a friend! =)

http://www.cardshark.com/content/view...

Dreamsbane of Tamalor by Bradley James Simpson

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message 8: by Maria

Dec 20, 2008 10:43PM

Dear Noel,

It would be my honorto be as your friend.
Thanks for adding me.

Merry Christmas!

Cheeers,
Maria

P.S.: I will try the first book of yours, ASAP. It seems near to my taste.

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message 7: by Jeannie

Dec 19, 2008 02:04PM