We thought it would be fun for all of you to get to know our authors better, so we’ve asked them some questions. Here’s our interview with Dan.

What is your favourite book?
That’s a tough one. I’ve read so many over the years so obviously it’s hard to pick just one. I do remember the first time I read Catcher in the Rye and I was so blown away by it. I know it’s cliché to pick that one, but I don’t care. I just love it. Salinger’s style is so intimate and I think that was the first time that a lead character actually seemed real to me. It also has my favourite line ever: “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” Love that line!
Another book that really makes me smile (and one that I must have read at least 20 times) is David Niven’s The Moon’s a Balloon. Aside from the fact that Niven led a truly fascinating and utterly hilarious life, it’s his writing style that really gets me. So breezy and anecdotal. It really makes you wish that you could have been at the parties when Niven himself was recounting these stories in person. I remember reading it for the first time in the Sir Robert Borden High School library and actually laughing out loud. I had never laughed out loud at a book before. It still makes me laugh out loud when I read it today.
Another favourite is Caleb Carr’s The Alienist. Great narrative and I love the fact that it’s a period piece….okay, I know you said one book…

What is the last book you read?
The last book I read was The Film Club by David Gilmour. It was lent to me by a guy I work with because he knows I’m a huge old movie buff and that I would have seen many of the flicks that he talks about. I thought it was great. I was really drawn to the way Gilmour tries to reach his son through the mutual enjoyment of classic movies. Very moving in spots. I can see myself doing the same thing with my daughter, with the very same movies one day…except I’ll probably be talking through them way more than Gilmour did…

What are you currently reading?
I was about to start Jeffery Deaver’s The Sleeping Doll but a friend gave me Here, There and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick. Emerick was the engineer for many Beatles recordings, so naturally I had to read this one (I’m a big Beatles fan). What I’m liking (no, loving) about this book is the fact that Emerick’s anecdotes stick strictly to the construction and recording of the songs…who wrote them, how they were recorded, all the inside information on some of the greatest pop songs ever written. This is the kind of thing that I personally find so interesting…I’ve never been big on the gossipy stuff you usually find in this kind of book. Did you know that “Strawberry Fields Forever” is made up of two different versions recorded at two different tempos and in two different keys? This is exactly what turns my crank. And now I know exactly where the edit is that put both versions together into one masterpiece…Love this stuff…

Did you have a nickname growing up and do you still have it now?
Oh yeah. My brother has been calling me “Dude” for about the last 30 years. Don’t know why, really. He just does. Funny thing…up until about year and a half ago, I had long hair and a beard. My brother called me up one night and said “Dude…put it on channel 8.” I switched the channel and saw Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. His character was a long messy haired and bearded aging hippy type who went by the name of “Dude.” He was dressed in a ratty bathrobe, dirty shorts, and in his hand was a Black Russian. With the exception of the Black Russian (I prefer Scotch) I was staring at my doppelganger.
Damn…I even had the same ugly bathrobe.
The Dude abides…watch the movie…

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kind of music?
Not really… I remember doing homework with the radio on when I was in high school, so I was able to function (reasonably well, that is) with it on in the background without it interrupting me too much, but theses days I tend to write with the TV on in the background. I do find, however, that I like to write early in the morning. It’s odd, because I also compose music and I find it easier to do music late at night. Weird. If I do put music on, it has to be melodic…old Genesis, Supertramp, Pink Floyd…as long as there’s a melody, I’m happy.

Do you write to a routine?
No…I write whenever I can. If I didn’t have a job, I think I would be doing it in the morning though.

What made you decide to set your book during the Second World War?
I’ve always just found period pieces far more interesting than contemporary stories…especially those set during World War 2. Some of my favourite movies - Stalag 17, Kelly’s Heroes, Casablanca - all take place during WW2. I figured that my story, which is about the hunt for the Cathar treasure, would be better suited in this particular historical era because the period would work in its favour. Both Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were fascinated by the occult and religious icons and they believed that if they had any in their possession, they would have been unstoppable. So I thought that this would be the perfect setting for the story. Through my research I discovered that working in the Heritage Bureau (an archaeological unit created by Himmler to hunt for religious icons) at the time, was an individual named Otto Rahn whose passion was Cathar history. By creating a character, Dr. Gerhard Denninger who works with Rahn (who, by the way, was said to have actually found the Holy Grail), I hoped I could infuse a note of believability into the narrative. I also felt that having Denninger look for the treasure during wartime would add to the adventure and suspense of the story.

This book might invite comparison to The Da Vinci Code or The Templar Legacy. What sets this book apart from those?
While all three may take a look at events that unfolded two thousand years ago, that’s where the similarities end. For one thing, The Judas Apocalypse is a period piece, taking place in the forties during the Second World War. For another, Gerhard Denninger really is not what you would call your typical lead character either. He’s an archaeologist in his sixties and he works for the S.S. You’ll notice as well that there isn’t a gorgeous assistant tagging along and there are no secret religious societies dogging him on his way. It really, in my mind, doesn’t follow any kind of typical formula for a story like this and I think that’s what sets it apart from these others.

Did you feel any uneasiness when you were writing the controversial elements of the story?
Not at all. Controversy is what makes stories like this so compelling. I’ve had a number of people who have read the novel tell me that it made them think, or that they are looking at certain events that happened thousands of years ago in a whole new way. Controversy makes people talk so if they are talking about what’s in the book, then maybe that’s a good thing. I’m sure that there are some out there who may become outraged, but I can’t help that. I merely looked at what I discovered and made an interpretation based on the facts as I saw them. Judging by the reaction of those who have read it, I’d say it makes for a highly enjoyable story too.