Gary Val Tenuta Interview

For the 2012 enthusiast, Gary Val Tenuta's best selling thriller, The Ezekiel Code, is sure to please Mayan prophecy expectations - with a biblical twist.  Gary has agreed to share a bit about his book and his experience writing it here with us!

Thank you, Gary, for taking the time to share your story with us.  Can you tell us what The Ezekiel Code is about?

The Ezekiel Code is a novel in which the date of December 21, 2012 (the end of the ancient Mayan calendar) plays an essential role. In popular culture there are two points of view concerning this phenomenon. One is the "doomsday scenario" in which our planet is destroyed by devastating geological events. The other is that 2012 is the opening of a window of unprecedented opportunity for mankind to experience the next leap in human evolution and expanded consciousness. In The Ezekiel Code an obscure prophecy is discovered which supports the latter of the two views. But it also predicts an event slated to occur prior to 2012 which, if left unchecked, would surely annihilate the planet and thus prevent humankind from entering into this new golden age of enlightenment.

The two main protagonists are Zeke Banyon and Angela Martin. Banyon is a seminary school drop out, now running a homeless shelter in Seattle's old waterfront district and Angela is an attractive young widow recently hired as Banyon's assistant. Together, they stumble onto a strange sort of code involving words and numbers. Their attempt to figure it out eventually leads them down the proverbial rabbit hole into a world of secret societies, rogue Jesuit priests, New World Order conspiracy, ancient prophecy, alternative explanations of Biblical events, sacred geometry, metaphysics, synchronicity-gone-wild, good guys, bad guys, mystery, murder and general high strangeness.
Their quest turns up a rumor about a lost scroll penned by the prophet, Ezekiel, thousands of years ago. The code holds the key to the location of the scroll and ultimately to an unexpected and most extraordinary object buried at the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean. This object must be located and activated in order to save the planet from impending doom. The bad guys are never too far behind and their evil agenda is more dangerous than even they realize.

By the time Banyon and Angela work their way through the twists and turns of this bizarre journey they finally figure out what needs to be done and how to do it. But now they're up against the clock and a showdown with the bad guys threatens the entire project as the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Thus, the tag line: "2012 is coming... Or is it?"

What inspired you to write Ezekiel Code?

Strange as it may seem to people who know me as a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast of alternative realities, esoteric concepts, ancient mysteries and the paranormal, there was a time in my life, many years ago, when I actually taught Sunday school classes in a Lutheran church. One night while preparing a lesson I happened to notice something in the book of Ezekiel that forever changed my perception of many of the stories in the Bible.

The prophet, Ezekiel, had several encounters with an object - a vehicle, if you will - that came down from the sky. He referred to this object in words such as “the glory of the Lord”. To him, this was the presence of God. However, his detailed descriptions of this object, and his interactions with its occupants, suddenly struck me as similar to modern-day descriptions of UFOs and what today we think of as alien abductions. It occurred to me that Ezekiel was describing this object with the only words that he had at his command in those ancient days. His idea of high-tech was a donkey pulling a cart. When reading Ezekiel's descriptions through modern eyes it was easy to see he could very well have been describing a nuts-and-bolts, high-tech interplanetary or interdimensional craft of some sort.

Fast forward some 30 years to when I was sitting with my friend, Julie, in an all-night diner. Our conversation turned to UFOs and I was reminded of Ezekiel. I mentioned to Julie that the idea of Ezekiel encountering a UFO would make an intriguing basis for a movie. The more I thought about it the more I like the idea but, with no connections to anyone in the film industry, I knew it would be next to impossible to pitch the idea to anyone that mattered. Then I thought, hey, why don't I use the idea in a novel? As I mentioned earlier, the story focuses on a “lost scroll”, penned by Ezekiel, in which he describes yet another encounter with a UFO and a prophetic vision in which the number 144 had some profound significance for the future of mankind.

What do you hope readers to come away with when reading The Ezekiel Code?

Banyon and Angela's quest to solve the mystery they're confronted with is, in a sense, a reflection of my own journey of discovery as I've pursued a variety of esoteric subjects and unusual phenomena over the course of many years. My hope has always been that readers would come away feeling like they, too, have just been on a journey of discovery along with the two main characters.

But I'll be honest and caution folks that The Ezekiel Code isn't everyone's cup of tea. People either really like it or really don't. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. The reviews range from comments like...
"I think it is a thinly veiled attempt to convert people to numerology and paranoid thinking."
"It's so farfetched that I couldn't even finish the book.

"You really have to be a conspiracy fanatic with a tin-foil hat to like this book."

...to comments like:
"The Ezekiel Code is one of those rare books, that once you read it, you will never see the world in quite the same way - a mark of excellence in storytelling. It changes you because it opens a portal to so many fascinating concepts that it will keep you thinking and wondering about what it presents long after you've read it."

"The incredible coincidences involving the English alphabet and the resulting synchronicity with the rest of the universe is so well put together, you'll begin to wonder: is it really coincidence?"

"It is a thrill of a ride right from the beginning with suspense, love, murder, mayhem and just enough doomsday, alien and quantum theory thrown in to keep you guessing what will happen, what did happen and could any of this actually be real?"

What surprised you most in researching for this book?

I can't think of anything that really surprised me. I was so familiar with most of the concepts and subject matter that come up in the book that my research was mostly just refresher and fact-checking.

Who or what encouraged you to become a writer?

All through high school and college my teachers and professors encouraged me to pursue writing.

Are you currently working on any other projects?

Yes, I'm very close to finishing my next novel, "Ash: Return Of The Beast". It's an occult crime thriller founded on a little known factoid about Aleister Crowley, the infamous, early-20th century occultist that the British press once headlined as "The Wickedest Man In The World". The exciting video trailer for the book can be seen here:
http://www.ezekielcode.com/ashteaser.html

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I love hanging out in used-book stores and also rummaging around in second-hand stores searching for unusual little items just waiting to be discovered in some dusty, dark corner. I'm also a book cover designer (http://www.bookcoversandvideos.webs.com/) and that often keeps me busy.

The Ezekiel Code went from self-published to best seller. Can you share how the book came to be so successful?

The book is still an independently published work but, yes, it has achieved "best seller" status on amazon.com in the categories of "Occult" and "Religious Fiction". It was doing quite well when it was only available in paperback but it really took off when I made a Kindle edition available.

Any final word for our readers?

Yes, thank you. The official website for The Ezekiel Code is http://www.ezekielcode.com/. The video trailers are there and I should mention that the site features a "BookBuzzr" widget that, with just a click, allows you to read the first 12 chapters, immediately, right there on your screen, for free. I'd also like to thank you, Theresa, for inviting me to do this interview and I wish you much success with your book, "Effigy". I can't wait to read it!

Aw, thanks Gary!  And we look forward to reading more works from you in the future!


Look for The Ezekiel Code at Amazon here-
http://www.amazon.com/Ezekiel-Code-Gary-Val-Tenuta/dp/1432706500/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286307921&sr=1-1


Or, as Gary mentioned, you can learn even more about The Ezekiel Code at http://www.ezekielcode.com/.