Interview with Award-Winning Author, David S. Brody regarding his new release, Powdered Gold

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I’m excited and honored to introduce you to David S. Brody and his latest release, Powdered Gold. I’ve written about Brody before, and I read three of his books over Christmas break while recovering from surgery. I’m happy to say Powdered Gold: Templars and the Ark of the Covenant kept me as entertained as his two former books in the series, Cabal of the Westford Knight and Thief on the Cross.

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From his website:

“David S. Brody is a Boston Globe bestselling fiction writer. He served as a Director of the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) and is an expert on the subject of pre-Columbian exploration of America. A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown Law School, he resides in Westford, Massachusetts with his wife, potter and novelist Kimberly Scott, and their two daughters. In his spare time he coaches youth sports and Special Olympics, skis, and plays on adult ice hockey and softball teams.”

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I exchanged several of emails with David while reading his books, explaining that I was fascinated with his study of the Templars in North America. I learned tons reading his books. He was very patient with my questions and that impressed me a lot.

Description of Powdered Gold from Amazon’s site:

Cameron Thorne and Amanda Spencer continue their investigation of ancient artifacts which reveal the true, secret history of North America.

Cam and Amanda don’t for a second believe the Ark of the Covenant is hidden in a cave in the Arizona desert. But when a militant survivalist leads them to a radioactive replica of the Ark, filled with a mysterious white powder, they begin to wonder if legends of Templar Knights visiting the American Southwest on a secret mission might be true. What is this strange white powder? And is it the key to understanding the true power of both Moses and the sacred Ark of the Covenant?

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Now for the interview:

[Disclaimer: David S. Brody writes for the secular market and his books may be offensive to some readers of the Christian or Jewish faith. The thing to remember is that these are works of fiction with fictional characters.]

Your characters believe, in your words, that “ancient Jews” and “Christianized Jews” came to Arizona around 800 AD. Do you believe that as well? Why or why not?

My characters find artifacts in Arizona which leads them to this conclusion.  On their face, this is the story the artifacts tell (they contain a narrative, written alternately in Hebrew and Latin, carved into them—the narrative uses various dates circa AD 800).  The artifacts have been analyzed by forensic geologist Scott Wolter, who believes they are authentic.  So it is certainly possible that some group of peoples who spoke Latin and Hebrew found their way to the American southwest many centuries ago.

Karla’s Note: I could not find free use images of these artifacts, but you can see them on David’s website.

I like including dogs in my stories and I noticed that you do, too. Do you have a dog or cat?  

I do have a dog and I grew up with cats.  (SPOILER ALERT:  If I could have one “do-over” in “Cabal of the Westford Knight,” it would be that I don’t let the villains kill the dog!)

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One of Karla’s furry editors, Jake.

How did you get the idea to use Survivalists in Powdered Gold?

There was nothing in particular that prompted me to include a survivalist character in the story, other than I think the survivalist community is a fascinating and colorful subculture of our country.

Your books deny any supernatural explanation for miracles in the Bible. Is this your worldview? Do you only believe in those things that you can explain, touch, see?

I’m not sure that’s a fair summary of my books.  In my books, particularly Thief on the Cross my characters explore and debate the tension and seeming contradictions between “faith” versus “reason.”  I do think many of the so-called “miracles” in the Bible can be explained by historical events.

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Do you personally believe that Ark of the Covenant is really just a radioactive power source?

The Ark of the Covenant is a fascinating object.  In addition to carrying the Ten Commandments, it knocks down walls, fells enemies, emits electric-like charges, causes facial burns and even gives the Philistines, enemies of the Israelites, hemorrhoids after the Philistines capture the Ark in battle (after suffering for a few months, the Philistines returned the Ark to the Israelites—see 1 Samuel 5 and 6.)  I believe the Ark contained, or itself was, some kind of power source.

Are you a fan of the TV show, Ancient Aliens?

I’ve never watched it.

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Karla: “I have to admit I’m surprised Brody hasn’t watched it. I think he’d get a good chuckle.”

Do you believe Moses was a huckster as your characters describe him?

Honestly, I struggled over the use of the word “huckster” in the book since Moses is such a revered figure.  But it is the conclusion the characters in the book would have reached based on the evidence in front of them, so I kept it.  Somehow Moses was able to convince the Israelites to follow him into the desert for 40 years based solely on his claim that he had been instructed by God to do so.  That’s a tough sell, no matter what the circumstances.  Then we start to analyze some of Moses’s behavior—he had the golden calf melted down and the gold somehow dissolved and laced into the water, which he forced the Israelites to drink.  What strange behavior, unless he somehow knew the dissolved gold would serve to make the Israelites more malleable and willing to follow his instructions, like some kind of drug.

I note that I am not the first to wonder about Moses, as Sigmund Freud in 1937 wrote a book entitled “Moses and Monotheism” in which Freud theorized that Moses may have been an Egyptian pharaoh.

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What main message are you trying to convey in this book?

I think the main thing I would like readers to take away from my novels is an understanding that there is a lot of evidence that explorers came to North America before Columbus.  If so, what were their motivations, why were they here?  I believe that religion, not surprisingly, often was a key motivating factor.

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Do you have any questions for Brody? Leave your comments and questions below!

Comments 19

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  1. Karla, thanks for an interesting interview with Mr. Brody. I appreciate your sensitivity in wanting to put a disclaimer lest someone possibly be offended, but it probably was not necessary. After all, by the time a person is old enough to explore literary blogs, that person is old enough to realize not everyone in the world agrees on everything. As a Christian, I certainly don’t expect everyone to think like me, or to value things that I esteem.

    But in that regard, thank you, too, Mr. Brody, that you hesitated at all to use the word huckster. Although I personally am not privileged to have any Jewish ancestry (that I know of), and I don’t believe Moses was a huckster of any sort, I’m not offended in the least if characters in a work of fiction think so. Why shouldn’t fictional characters mirror the conclusions of real-life people?

    Thanks again to both of you for the blog interview! Interesting topics!

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      Would that more readers would understand FICTION means FICTION! 🙂 By the way, I was trolling your site today and your new book looks intriguing. I can’t wait to read it. My Dad really enjoyed your Gunner’s Run! I gave it to him for Christmas a few years ago.

  2. The Ark of the Covenant is one of those objects that catches and holds our imagination, and it’s interesting to study what the Bible has to say about it. There’s no wonder why great books (and movies, LoL) are written about it.

    As far as explorers before Columbus…I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

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      Oh, I’m more than convinced there were Europeans and Asians here long before Columbus. It’s hubris to think otherwise. A study of the Melungeons themselves shows us there was plenty of travel and exploration going on in them thar hills! Thanks for stopping by, Patty!

  3. Thanks for brining these fascinating stories to our attention, Karla. Of course there are all kinds of radioactive things out there in the desert. 🙂 That’s the great thing about fiction – authors can make up all sorts of things, and it’s up to the readers to appreciate the cleverness planted therein.

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      If you like Indiana Jones-type stories, Tamera, you’d like it. I loved it! I love stories that teach me something and also stretch me intellectually and philosophically. These books did that for sure. Testing my belief only makes it stronger!

  4. Wonderful interview. I, for one, am a huge fan of Ancient Aliens for the sheer entertainment value. I enjoy seeing these locations around the world and listening to their theories. Color me skeptical, but I still watch!

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      Oh, me too, Tom, I love Ancient Aliens–but way too many re-runs. I guess it’s hard to come up with new material when every other word is “perhaps” or “maybe.” But I love it because I get a good laugh every single time! Still, they do have a few mysteries on there that fascinate me. Especially the gold airplane artifact from South America. Whoa! What IS that! Can’t wait until heaven when we can see more clearly! (1 Cor. 4:18).

  5. Intriguing interview! Loved the Egyptian-style artwork on the book. Moses’ Egyptian connection is not surprising – he was raised in Pharaoh’s household. But I also noted Brody’s use of the word “tension” regarding faith and reason. Yes! Tension explains a great deal and is so spot-on where faith and love and grace are concerned. There is a divine tension that we just don’t quite understand. And oh, how it keeps things humming.

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      You are spot on in this comment, Davalynn. It keeps our stories humming and life itself! I love the book cover, too. I love all the book covers! Thanks for stopping by and commenting today.

  6. Hi All. Karla invited me on to respond to your posts. First of all, many thanks to Karla for being so gracious and open-minded! I realized some of the themes in my books can seem heretical and I appreciate all of you understanding that this is fiction, designed (as Lisa suggests) to make us think and explore. And hopefully there is “some cleverness planted therein.”

    Best to all,
    Dave Brody

    P.S. To Davalynn, I very much appreciated your comment about the artwork. We were having trouble coming up with the right image for the cover so my wife, who has some artistic ability, finally decided to take out her paint brushes and paint something appropriate. She was pleased to see your comment.

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  7. Great interview, Tom and Karla! Thank you for your gentle disclaimers,
    Karla. I realize in the world of fiction writing, we won’t always agree with
    the characters written about.

    Tom, your books sound very unique. I will have to check them out. Thanks
    for sharing on Karla’s blog!

  8. I’m coming in late to the party. I have just discovered David Brody’s books and look forward to reading them. I am wondering. Is David Brody related to Fawn or is it Faun Brody who wrote “No Man Knows my History” about Joseph Smith?

    Marvin Smith

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