Quatrain by Medler, John - HTML preview

About the Author

John Medler is a trial lawyer and author. He lives with his wife and six children in St. Louis, MO. This is his first published novel. If you want to connect with John online, contact him on Facebook at:

http://facebook.com/john.medler

Author Notes

Of course, I need to first thank Nostradamus. No matter whether you believe he was a true prophet or a snake-oil selling con-man, the fact remains that we still talk about his works over 500 years later, and not many men can say that.

I would also like to thank Peter Lemesurier, for his excellent scholarly reference texts on Nostradamus, including The Nostradamus Encyclopedia. Much of the information from Chapter 3, Debate, comes from information in Peter’s books. It was also Peter’s idea that Nostradamus might brag about successfully predicting that there would be no great flood in the year 1524. Peter pointed out in his books that the same conjunction of stars and planets occurred in Libra in 1186, yet nothing of importance occurred. Knowing that Nostradamus believed one could predict future events by looking to similar alignments of stars and planets in prior times in history, Peter suggested that it would have been natural for Nostradamus to research whether in prior history there had ever been a conjunction of the heavenly bodies similar to that which existed in 1524. Peter also pointed out that many of Nostradamus’ prophecies appear to be copied or taken from other contemporary and ancient works, and Peter does an excellent job listing Nostradamus’ unreferenced bibliography. I relied on much of Peter’s research as reference material for Nostradamus “confession” of plagiarism. Many readers may want to learn which parts of the book concerning Nostradamus and Scaliger are true and which are the product of my overactive imagination. If you want to know any of the “real facts” about Nostradamus, Peter’s books are the place to start. Peter also has excellent translations of all existing Nostradamus quatrains, some of which I used in this novel.

I would also like to thank my high school French teacher, Beryl Lemon, for assisting me with all the French translations in the book. Many times, I called upon her to be not only a translator, but also a poet, and for that I am very grateful. It is amazing how much French I have forgotten since high school!

I would also like to thank my high school classmate Jerry McCabe for all the excellent illustrations in the book. His work is inspirational.

I would also like to thank Mike Hart, the father of a friend of mine, who is a retired Delta pilot. He made sure I didn’t say “press the green button” when referring to the piloting of a 747.

I would also like to thank my son Cody, who is fifteen and never stops rapping and riding his longboard (if you want to see one of his raps, go to www.youtube.com and type in “Medler Christmas Card 2009”); and my fourteen-year old daughter Natasha, who brings her guitar with her everywhere she goes, is always bored, but makes friends with everyone she meets. They were my inspiration for Zach and Zoey. While I am thanking kids, I would like to thank my other four children, Ryan, a junior at UCLA; Kevin, a freshman at Loyola of New Orleans; and Sabrina and Wendi, my two babies. They keep me forever young.

And first and last, I need to thank my perfect wife Tammy, whom I met when I was fifteen, and whom I have never stopped loving in 32 years. Without her, I would be dust.