Chris Kuzneski - Sign of the Cross

Amazingly, SOTC could’ve been a thousand-page book. My agent urged me to stop my first draft at the 711-page mark, even though I had more than enough research to keep it going. In hindsight, I’m glad he stopped me. Otherwise SOTC would’ve killed half the rain forest. Of course, the sad part in all of this is that I saved some of my best research for the end of my original story line and was never able to squeeze it into the shorter version. Oh well, if SOTC ever gets made into a movie, I can include my research in the bonus material on the DVD.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in the non-traditional history of Christianity, there are many nonfiction books that explore the final years of Christ. The most infamous is Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. Published in 1983, it reveals many theories about the crucifixion of Christ that I chose not to include in my story. Other books that I saw mentioned in my research (but haven’t necessarily read) include: The Templar Revelation by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince; Rosslyn: Guardians of the Secret of the Holy Grail by Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins; Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy.

A complete list of books can be found on my website: www.chriskuzneski.com.

Changing subjects, I’d like to address one final issue. After reading SOTC , several people have asked me to point out which parts of my book are real and which are fiction. Obviously I take that as the ultimate compliment because it suggests I have blended things well enough to create a plausible world. That being said, I have no intention of telling anyone (including my mother) which details are true and which are make-believe. I mean, that’s one of the reasons I chose to become an author. I longed for the opportunity to blur the line between fact and fiction without ever having to explain myself.

In other words, everything you read is the way it really happened in my universe.

Besides, Jonathon Payne won’t tell me anything else. The bastard.