Have you already found a publisher? That was the question that my friends started asking when I came back from my third trip to France with more books and even more fascinating stories. I would tell them that I was not ready yet, that a publisher would mean a deadline and someone interfering with my writing. Closer to the truth: I had no idea of how to go about finding a publisher, could not really imagine that this passion could actually result in a real book, being sold in real bookshops!

Then, in November of 2002, another chance meeting changed my life. On a Saturday afternoon in my small home town of Soest, about 20 minutes away from Amsterdam - I went to the local bookshop to buy a book with the intriguing title: 'Was Jesus Caesar?'.

After ten years of comparative linguistic research the Italian linguist and philosopher Francesco Carotta states that Jesus was actually Julius Caesar; to find out more about this challenging book: www.carotta.de. Then a chance meeting occurred as incredible as being at Montgey at the exact same time Pierre was working in the corner of the garden where I had parked my car. Francesco, his translator Tommie Hendriks and publishers Perry Pierik and Martin Ros entered the shop at the same time I did… I had obviously missed the announcement of their visit in the local paper, but now, in retrospect, I am convinced that nothing happens purely by chance…

Having bought the book I asked Francesco to sign it, telling him of our mutual interest in a subject that was related to religion but not written from that perspective. He asked his publishers to join the conversation and, to cut a long story short: a few weeks later I signed my publishing contract !