General Chat

Woman Claims To Be Descendant of Jesus Christ (And Gets Huge Book Deal)
Status: Clever marketing scheme
Kathleen McGowan claims to be a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. That belief would make her no different than all the other people in this world suffering from delusions of grandeur, except that she's managed to leverage her extraordinary claim of ancestry into a major book deal. Simon & Schuster will soon be publishing her novel, The Expected One, with a print-run of 250,000 copies. The book is a loose fictionalization of her claim. She wanted to publish it as nonfiction but explains that she couldn't do so because "she couldn't make public the sources she developed while researching and writing her book."

Many might view McGowan's novel and ancestry claim as an extraordinarily brazen Da Vinci Code rip-off. But not so, she says. And she's quite right. I think it's actually a Holy Blood, Holy Grail rip-off (as was the Da Vinci Code itself). And I have to hand it to her that it is a clever way to cash in on the religious thriller mania that Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code have inspired.

As proof of her ancestry, McGowan says that she's had visions of Mary Magdalene. She also claims to have genealogical records passed down through her family during the past two thousand years. But, of course, she's not sharing these documents with anyone.

What I find interesting (though not surprising) are the comments in support of her ancestry claim from the editor-in-chief of Touchstone and her literary agent. Her editor says, "Yes, I believe her. Her passion and her mission are so strong, how can she not be?"

And her agent says, "She spent 20 years of her life researching this subject. You have to give her any benefit of the doubt because she's totally rational. I believe her absolutely. She had total credibility with me from the very beginning."

In other words, her editor and agent seem to be arguing that as long as someone is fanatical enough about what they claim, then they must be right, even if they offer no evidence to support what they're saying. Unfortunately, most of the people in the world probably would agree with this sentiment.

:))))

Do you think 'Goliath was my gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt etc .. Grandad " has a ring to it Sue?

Well I believe that people have been referred to as sheep / flocks , in matters of religion.........perhaps that's what makes some so prone to being gullible ?

Interesting article Sue : ))

*sighs*

Reminds me of the lady who dressed up as a pirate and stood on the roundabout brandishing a cutlass.........

When challenged by the police she said she found the cutlass (sp) on the roundabout.........coincidence that........considering she was dressed as a PIRATE

But she got away with it !!!!!!!

MADNESS what some people would have you believe isn't it !!!!!!! xx

Could be Rose, could be. Please set aside the next 100 years to get all the proof!

Then we'll be 1st cousins 34 times removed...lol

ah bless....we really shouldn't mock the afflicted....apart from you sueM.....its just too easy!!!!!!!!!!!

Or on the other hand, her editor and agent cannot be seen not to believe her claim, they are after all in the business of selling books, and not supporting an author in her delusional theory will result in the failure to sell. They are not supporting the author...they are supporting the possible best-seller, and the money it will bring them. As long as it is sold as fiction, rather than fact, there will be less fall-out from society and the churches...although the latter forgot completely that The DaVinci Code was actually fiction, not even posing as fact.

Aaaw thanks Mamiddau

*note to self - throw stones at house windows next time I am passing*..lol

TW can you imagine the publisher's meeting, all the eye rolling, the $ signs swishing about and all the fingers crossed behind backs!

x

Absolutely Sue....what a golden opportunity for them, produce a not terrible good book, at the same time leaking enough information about the author's intent to cause controversy at the time of release....

Salman Rushdie's book would never have sold as many if the Fatwah (sp) had not been placed on him because of it...so decent sales from controversy.

Who was the guy, Peter somebody, who Thatcher tried to ban from selling his book? There's another one, best seller becaue people wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

Even Dan Brown, whose fiction was never claimed to be anything else, had the churches in a frenzy of heretic hunting, sold and sold and sold...and good luck to him.

This one will go the same way...

Oh SueM - my dadi wouldn't like that....and then he'll blame me!!!

TW - was having a conversation with my hubby the other night (nothing short of a miracle in itself) about the controversy about Da Vinci Code - considering it was fiction - I've read a few of books recently - fiction again - that are "worse" than the DaVinci Code - in terms of "sacriledge" for wont of a better word - and there has been no fuss or furore around them. I don't understand why the Da Vinci Code -which I didn't find as well written or as good a piece of fiction as the others!!!! - was singled out to be soooooo shocking.....

The Holy Blood The Holy Grail is a prime example.......

My friend was brought up a strict Catholic and was told by her mother under no circumstances was she to read it.

But..........she did.......

Forbidden fruit and all that........xx

now then Sue, what's wrong with being someone's 34th cousin?!
I think that's more or less me and Carolyn's relationship to each other lol, we both come down from Willy the Conk (well, I have been given research showing that I do, Carolyn has confirmed her link herself).
however, I can't see how you get from there back to the bible, way too far fetched for me cos it just ain't documented, so you just can't prove it and I do like to be sure!
just fantasy imho.
xxxxx

ps hope yer crutch is bearing up :-)

Thank goodness I don't come from this planet.

Alien xxx

Curtseys to Maz oh Royal one :-))

Crutch bearing up nicely thank you!

You can get any cr*p published if the powers that be think there will be a quick buck in it.

As long as these types of books are regarded as fantasy they make quite good reads.

x

Mammidau, Dan Brown's book sold because it was perhaps marketed in a different way by the publishers...with the intention of controversy to boost sales. Second to that, the film rights were sold fairly quickly, and that is when the book sales really took off.

I've just started reading Kate Mosse's Labyrinth, the critics say 'Dan Brown eat your heart out', so I'm looking forward to it.

Well Im decended from the dinosaurs, I know that as fact cos a white van man called me an ol' dragon the other day, so it must be true ;O)

*gets fire extinguisher*

In my opinion all religion is baloney, so that makes this sarcastic thread moot and I'll play no further part in it

Wrong thread Welshy, we're not talking religion per se on here, but book sales and what makes a controversial fiction based on religion into a best seller. Perhaps you could try reading a little more than the title...

You need to be putting that on Mel's thread...that's the one spouting religion...or baloney as you called it.

I am offended that you think this thread is sarcastic...FGS I could do a lot better if I wanted to!