Best-selling author Nelson DeMille died on Tuesday after battling Stage 4 esophageal cancer, his daughter and eldest son announced. He was 81. The prolific writer was known for his suspense, crime, and action books, including Plum Island, The Charm School, and The General’s Daughter, which was made into a 1999 movie starring John Travolta. “He really went out his way to help other writers that he believed in,” the novelist’s son Alex DeMille said. “He had a grace about him, I guess a down to earth quality despite his success.” Prior to his writing career, DeMille earned a Bronze Star for his Army service in Vietnam. He went on to write 23 novels, 17 of which were bestsellers, and wrote all of his manuscripts by hand, using pencils and legal pads. DeMille’s first major novel, By the Rivers of Babylon, was published in 1978. According to Alex, he and his father penned two books together and were working on a third. DeMille, whose wife, Sandra, died in 2018, is survived by three children, Alex, Lauren, and James.