LONGINUS

2011-09-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

        I'm often asked if Longinus, The Roman Centurion and protagonist of my first novel, "LONGINUS: Book I Of The Merlin Factor" was an actual person. The best way to answer that is to say that I personally believe he was.

      He is referred to once in the New Testament -- although not by name -- in the "Gospel Of John". He is referred to again -- this time by name -- in one of the so-called Lost Books of the Bible, "The Gospel Of Nicodemus" which was formerly called "Acts Of Pontius Pilate". In the "Gospel Of John" he is referred to as a Roman soldier who pierced the Lord's side with his spear. In "The Gospel Of Nicodemus" he is cited as a Roman Centurion who pierced the side of The Christ while the latter hanged from the cross. These biblical references to Longinus the man compelled me to start digging deeper and what I found was not only interesting but a bit annoying as well.

     The accounts I discovered about the historical figure of Longinus -- and mind you, they were all of ancient origins -- were enough to convince me that someone named Longinus, a Roman Centurion at that, did indeed exist at the time of The Christ and was probably in some way involved with the Crucifixion. That was the interesting part. The somewhat annoying part was the fact that every account I found was radically different from the next! One account had Longinus being cursed for the act of stabbing The Christ. His curse was to walk the earth forever, never to die, until the earth was eventually consumed -- as a side note, this account also gave rise to the first tales of what are known today as Vampires. Another account had Longinus becoming a Christian and healing the sick and preaching the Word. Yet, another had him leaving the Roman military and trying to lead a normal life. According to this account, he was unable to lead a normal life because of the fact that he was constantly being harassed about the now famous spear and its alleged magic powers (after stabbing The Christ, the spear was believed to have suddenly been endowed with Otherworldly Powers). Still another account had Longinus escaping from the Roman military and disappearing up into Gaul (France) for many years. There were more accounts, but I think you see my point.

     There were two things that each of the accounts did have in common, however, two points of agreement; 1) The fact that there was a man, a Roman Centurion, named Longinus who pierced The Christ's side with his spear, and 2) that this man met his demise in Antioch, having been crucified upside down. My novel, "LONGINUS: Book I Of The Merlin Factor" is somewhat of a conglomeration of several of these accounts.

     The other interesting thing that some of the accounts shared was the portrayal of Longinus as just an ordinary man, a Roman military man to be sure, but a private man who wanted nothing more than to live his life in peace and have the basic things that any of us even in this modern age would desire. Obviously, I'm not talking about the internet or big-screen TV's or the like. I'm speaking of the basics of a nice home, abundance of food, clothing, perhaps even a family. Indeed, much of the information I uncovered during my research showed me that though times change, technology changes, the essence of the human condition does not change. Basically, humans of today desire the same essentials as folks that lived two-thousand years ago. This was especially brought to light when I came across a letter from a mother to her son, a soldier on the front lines. In the letter, she asked if he'd received the woolen socks she'd sent to him, emotionally expressing concern that she didn't think he was warm enough where he was. This was not a letter from a mother here in America to her son in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan or some other volatile region. This was a Roman mother writing to her son who was a Roman soldier stationed near Hadrian's Wall in Old Britain around 140 C.E. -- or 140 A.D., if you prefer. The basic human condition does not change. I tried to capture this universality of the human condition in Longinus and the supporting characters. I mentioned in my last Posting that I get a lot of comments from readers which state that they see themselves in these characters even though the characters are a couple-of-thousand years old. Perhaps what they're really sensing is that part of us that makes us human regardless of the time period. It also reveals that, on a very real level, we are all connected.

      Next time; more on the supporting characters and the Druids.

Beginnings.

2011-08-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

My third novel has just been released. "MASOUD: Book III of The Merlin Factor" takes place during the time of the 3rd Crusades led by King Richard I against the Muslims led by Salah al-Din (Salah ad-Din).

With it have come a lot similar questions and comments that had also accompanied my other two books in this series of historical fiction. These questions and comments range from expressing fascination with the range of characters portrayed in the stories and the time period they are set in, and to the fact that various readers see themselves in the characters (something most were surprised to discover because of the time period), to the underlying philosophical, Ancient Wisdom/New Thought subtext that runs through each story. I'm also often asked about the origins of the Merlin Factor series (and asked, what is The Merlin Factor? by those who haven't read the books) and its pertinence to the world today. In an effort to address some of these questions, comments and inquiries, and after much arm-twisting from various people (not really, but...), I thought it best to start a blog about my books and writings in general, which include various screenplays and film projects I'm working on as well. So, without further delay...

"LONGINUS: Book I of The Merlin Factor" was my first novel. It's about the Roman Centurion Gaius Cassius Longinus, who was assigned to guard the crucified Jesus while he hung from the cross. While doing so, Longinus reached out with his spear and for unknown reasons, stabbed the Christ in the side of the chest. In short, my book follows Longinus' harrowing life from that moment on as factions on all sides attempted to steal away the Spear of Longinus which was purported to have Otherworldly powers after stabbing the Christ. So, why Longinus? How did I pick this alleged historical figure above any other? The only way I can truly answer that is to say that he picked me. Let me back up just a bit and I'll explain.

I had already started writing the book long before it took a turn and became a story about the Roman Centurion. In fact, when I began writing The Merlin Factor trilogy it wasn't a trilogy at all but simply one book about an individual becoming fully awake, so to speak, and living up to his fullest potential.

I thought a long time about what symbolized that concept; awakening to one's inner potential, and arrived at one conclusion. I had always been fascinated by the concept of the Wizard, particularly in Western legends and mythology. The Wizard of Celtic and Druidic lore was what I identified with most. The Wizard, to me, didn't represent one who wielded so-called magic so much as he represented unlimited potential. And, of course, the most famous of these Druidic Wizards -- and arguably one of the last -- was Merlin of King Arthur's court (interestingly, as a side note, Merlin wasn't a name. It was a title, a level of achievement and study within the ranks of the ancient Druids). Thus, Merlin came to symbolize infinite potential and The Merlin Factor is that within each of us that represents this infinite potential or possibility. In other words, you might say that each of us possess an inner Merlin.

Hence, when I first started writing the book it was simply called, "The Merlin Factor" and was set in modern times. However, I soon realized that this wasn't working; my protagonist wasn't compelling enough and the story didn't have the epic quality I was seeking. I had the thought that perhaps the protagonist needed to be a figure from history, maybe from biblical times and one that was obscure. Then one day, I was working on a film set. We were shooting in an old Catholic church. As anyone who has ever been inside an older Catholic church knows, the artwork on the walls can be wonderful, stunning and prolific. I was admiring one large bas relief in particular. It depicted the Crucifixion scene in all of its heart-wrenching goriness; women in crumpled fits of weeping at the cross' base, other mournful onlookers, a Christ in horrific agony, etc, all frozen in the profound moment. Then, there in the middle of this scene I saw him; a Roman Centurion with his spear's blade penetrating the side of the hanging Christ. The image spoke to me in a way that nothing else had and I found myself asking; who was this Roman? Had he actually existed? If so, what became of him? And so on. I began to research him, discovering several different accounts of his life. The more I dug, the more fascinated by the figure I became. It reached a point where it almost felt as though he was guiding me in my research. In short, I knew Longinus was to be the main character of the book. The title then became "LONGINUS: Book I of The Merlin Factor" which changed the whole course of the story I was telling. And, with that change came the realization that The Merlin Factor would not be told in just one story.

Next up; more on Longinus, the guy from history, the surrounding characters in my book(s) and musings on the human condition of that time and now.

The Merlin Factor & Beyond

LONGINUS

Beginnings.