The Kiss of Death: A Lower Room Conspiracy

A Note from the Author: The writing of this story began in the form of a script for a stage play. In my mind's eye, the setting was the actual room beneath the biblical Upper Room. The Bible says nothing about this room or its purpose, though historians and archaeologists do debate the accuracy of the building's present location, along with its various possible representations. Setting the debate aside, there had to be a Lower Room. What did it consist of? Were people gathering there when Jesus and his disciples dined above on Maundy Thursday for their last supper together before the crucifixion? If so, who were they? What else might've occurred in that room on other occasions? Is this where Judas conspired with the authorities, receiving the kiss of death as his signal? These and a host of other questions began to flood my imagination. I began writing, letting the story creatively unfold, not knowing where it was going to take me. At first, I saw the various characters on stage in biblical period costume. Everything would take place in this Lower Room, with Dr. Luke to one side, narrating. You would never see the Upper Room, or what unfolded there, except through the imaginative mind's eye. The focus would be on how those in the Lower Room were observing it, some negatively, others positively, paralleling a typical church congregation, in my thinking. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. (William Shakespeare) A curious thing began to occur. I started to see these characters, contemporarily, rather than historically. Before I knew it, there was a merging of the past with the present. It began to take on a different feel. I had a historical stage play and a modern semi-fictional novel duking it out with each other. Who was going to win? Read on. What they're saying? "Eye-'blinkingly' bold, head-'shakingly' offensive, heart-'turningly' redemptive. " –Stephen Court "A novel approach—poetic, prophetic, and freshly presented, taking the reader down a road not yet traveled." –James Knaggs "A jaw-dropper with a surprise on every page. Outside-the-box thinking at its imaginative best!" –Art Johnstone "Edgy, irreverent, sharp, and astute. Safe to say, you have never read a book by a Salvation Army officer like this. The end is a bombshell that took me off guard and caught me unawares. Man, I didn't see that coming." –Richard Munn "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." –Mark Twain ENJOY!