Contemporary Authors

• The Shroud Conspiracy ( novel) Howard Books/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2017

1. The shroud conspiracy : a novel LCCN 2016037587 Type of material Book Personal name Heubusch, John, author. Main title The shroud conspiracy : a novel / John D. Heubusch. Edition First Howard Books hardcover edition. Published/Produced New York : Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2017. Description 402 pages ; 24 cm ISBN 9781501155703 (hardback) CALL NUMBER PS3608.E928 S57 2017 CABIN BRANCH Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE

• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heubusch

  John Heubusch
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  John Dwyer Heubusch (/ˈhaɪ.bʊʃ/ HY-buush) (born 1958) is an American political and private-sector executive, best known for his current work directing the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California, overseeing the legacy of the 40th President of the United States. The Reagan Foundation funds the permanent Reagan Museum and all of the special exhibits that come to the Presidential Library. Heubusch manages an organization approaching $300 million in assets and an annual budget of about $20 million,[1] hosting consistently the largest number of visitors of any presidential museum.[2]

  Heubusch has also served as a Pentagon analyst, a top aide on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Labor, as head of a major national Republican campaign committee, and as an executive with the American Red Cross, Gateway Computers, Avalon Capital and the Waitt Family Foundation.

  Contents [hide]
  1 Early Life, Military Reform Issues and Career through 1994
  2 Executive Director of NRSC, 1995-96
  3 Gateway Computers and Ted Waitt, 1997-2008
  4 Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library, 2009-present
  5 Author
  6 Personal life
  7 References
  Early Life, Military Reform Issues and Career through 1994[edit]
  Heubusch was born in Washington DC, grew up in McLean, Virginia and attended Catholic high school in Northern Virginia,[3] before graduating from Virginia Tech in 1980 with a B.A. in English and political science. He later earned an M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University. Heubusch began his career in 1980 as a research analyst for the Department of the Air Force's Office of Public Affairs, writing speeches and preparing the early-morning newsclips for Pentagon brass and staff.[4]

  He moved to Capitol Hill in 1981, landing a job as a legislative aide to Republican Congressman Denny Smith of Oregon. Eventually, Heubusch was named as Smith's chief of staff, while also serving as a House Budget Committee staffer, with a focus on defense.[5] Rep. Smith, a conservative former fighter pilot, was keen on rooting out Pentagon waste and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of defense equipment and systems. Concerned about the poor quality of weapons testing to ensure combat readiness, Smith was instrumental in creating the Office of Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) in 1983 as part of the Defense Authorization bill. (Heubusch helped craft Smith's amendment.) The idea was to create an independent office within the Defense Department that would act as a testing watchdog; despite some good work, OT&E later became part of the cover-up of poorly designed weapons systems.[6]

  Smith was forced to step up his work on the 133-member Military Reform Caucus (with Heubusch as staff director). Their efforts led to:

  The eventual abandonment of the Sergeant York (DIVAD) air-defense system. Smith's OT&E conducted tests on the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun in 1984 and 1985, after the Congressman had blasted the York and called for a performance review, and the results were abysmal.[7] The director of OT&E reported the DIVAD was "not operationally effective," and shortly thereafter, Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger cancelled the program after only 50 had been built.[8] Heubusch later called DIVAD "one of the lemons of the 1980s."[9]
  The re-armoring and refitting of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle by the Army. This followed the revelation of data in 1985 that, according to Heubusch at the time, showed that weapon impacts ``caused problems with ammunition fires and explosions more serious than what the Army has let on.``[10] In 1986, Heubusch and Smith also protested the Bradley's failure to ford streams without taking on massive amounts of water and sinking; "The Bradley doesn't swim worth a damn and the Army knows it," Heubusch told reporters.[11]
  Investigation of the Aegis air-defense system for US Navy vessels. In 1984, Smith ridiculed Navy testing of the Aegis system, saying it was conducted in secrecy, that the testing was too easy and that it produced inaccurate results. In 1988, a Navy ship in the Persian Gulf using Aegis shot down a 177-foot-long Iranian airliner (because it couldn't distinguish it from a 62-foot-long fighter), and 290 passengers were killed. Heubusch revealed that a General Accounting Office report on Aegis testing, made public in July 1988, confirmed Smith's contention that the Navy "essentially rigged the tests to prove it was easy for the ship to do what they said it would do."[12][13]
  The reliably liberal Washington Monthly magazine looked backed in 1993 at the individuals who had contributed most to cleaning up the Pentagon during the Reagan era. "Many people, including a larger contingent of active-duty officers than might be guessed, played important roles in the military reform movement . . ." 17 men and women are named, among them Gary Hart and journalist James Fallows—and they include Smith and Heubusch.[14]

  In 1989, Heubusch left Capitol Hill to work for Elizabeth Dole, named as Secretary of Labor under new President George H.W. Bush.[15] Heubusch became Dole's Chief of Staff.[16] When Dole left Transportation to head the American Red Cross in 1991, Heubusch moved with her and became vice president of communications.[17]

  Executive Director of NRSC, 1995-96[edit]
  Following the Republican landslide of 1994, Senator Alfonse D'Amato was named head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), one of the four permanent GOP campaign operations in Washington, responsible for maintaining the new GOP majority. Instead of the parochial practice (common then and now) of naming one of his own staffers to manage the sprawling 200-person operation, D'Amato and his chief strategist, Arthur Finkelstein, sought to professionalize the committee's operations. After an intensive search process, they named Heubusch as Executive Director.[18] Other key hires included Jo Anne B. Barnhart as Political Director, and Gordon Hensley as Communications Director.[19] (Barnhart was a long-time aide and campaigner for Sen. William Roth, and later served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration.)

  They had a tough act to follow — Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas had just piloted Republicans to a 7-seat gain and recaptured control of the Senate. The Bob Packwood sex-harassment scandal led to a costly special election, lost narrowly by GOP candidate Gordon Smith.[20] The NRSC faced several challenges beyond their control, many emanating from the two dominant Republicans of 1995–96, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 gave Bill Clinton an opportunity to marginalize his opponents, and slowed the momentum of the reform-minded Republican Congress. By late 1995, unrelenting Democratic and press attacks, and his own missteps, had turned Gingrich into a pariah through much of the country (2-to-1 unfav-fav ratio in surveys);[21] meanwhile, Dole was running for President, and allowing ambition to overshadow his Senate work. In mid-1996, Dole resigned from the Senate to campaign full-time, but by then he was behind Clinton to stay, and eventually polled less than 41% nationwide.

  D'Amato remained personally devoted to Bob Dole. Heubusch and the NRSC team urged Republican Senate candidates to carve out their own individual profiles on issues. The NRSC paid particular attention to blunting the wave of millionaire political unknowns (e.g., Tom Bruggere in Oregon, Mark Warner in Virginia, Elliott Close in South Carolina) recruited that year by the Democrats.[22] It also shored up many endangered incumbents, including Bob Smith (New Hampshire), John Warner (Virginia), 75-year-old Jesse Helms and 94-year-old Strom Thurmond.[23]

  Heubusch was also quick to exploit a June 1996 ruling by the US Supreme Court in a Colorado case, that allowed political parties to spend unlimited sums in campaigns, as long as the spending remained independent of candidates.[24] Heubusch immediately set up an independent arm of the NRSC to coordinate such expenditures.[25] There was aggressive independent spending in 14 Senate races "and we won nine of them," Heubusch later told the Washington Post.[26]

  On Election Night, as Clinton defeated Dole by nearly 9 points and Gingrich's House Republicans lost a net 8 seats, Republicans won open Democratic seats in Alabama, Arkansas and Nebraska, while a GOP incumbent lost South Dakota. In a poor year for most Republicans, the NRSC under Heubusch had gained a net 2 seats, for a postwar GOP record total of 55 (and narrowly missed another gain in the Cleland-Millner race in Georgia). Heubusch, Barnhart and Hensley were later singled out by Roll Call newspaper in 1996 as among national "Politics' Fabulous Fifty."[27]

  Gateway Computers and Ted Waitt, 1997-2008[edit]
  In 1997, Heubusch was hired by Gateway Computers, the upstart South Dakota-based electronics manufacturer, as vice president for governmental affairs, creating and heading their DC office.[28] He was a registered lobbyist from 1997 to 1999,[29] and on Gateway's behalf was a leading proponent of a ban on taxes on internet purchases. When President Bill Clinton endorsed such a moratorium in February 1998, Heubusch said: "We're looking at a wave of tremendous growth in the next 10 years no matter what legislation passes, because it's such a convenient way for someone to conduct business . . . If legislation like this doesn't pass, it will simply add to confusion for the consumer."[30]

  By 2000, Heubusch had left Washington for Gateway's new headquarters in San Diego, and became Chief of Staff, answering directly to company founder Ted Waitt.,[31] and later (in addition to Chief of Staff) vice president for strategy. One of the biggest challenges came when Waitt and Heubusch left the day-to-day management of Gateway for a single year, and in that time (calendar year 2001) the company had a loss of $1 billion, as sales fell 37% to $6.1 billion.[32] Gateway struggled after the dot-com bust and tried several strategies to return to profitability, including withdrawal from international markets, reduction in the number of retail stores and most significantly, entering the consumer electronics business. However, none of these efforts was particularly successful from a financial standpoint, and Gateway continued to suffer major losses as well as market share in the PC business.[33] By April 1, 2004, Gateway had announced that it would shut down its 188 remaining Gateway Country Stores. In March 2004, with the purchase of eMachines, Gateway management again changed, and Heubusch left his day to day executive duties to become assistant to the Chairman (Waitt) [34]

  After this change, more of Heubusch's time was occupied managing the Gateway founder's charitable and investment arms, including the Avalon Capital Group, the Waitt Institute, and the Waitt Family Foundation. His foundation work in particular bore several fruits, including:

  Funding the purchase, authentication and restoration, with the National Geographic Society, of the Gnostic Gospel of Judas[35]
  Also with the National Geographic Society, executing the most extensive mapping project of the history of human migration, using DNA genome research[36]
  Organizing and funding the most thorough search to date for the lost airplane and remains of legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart, involving an unprecedented sweep throughout the South Pacific.[37]
  During Heubusch's management, the Waitt Foundation became the single largest supporting organization of the National Geographic Society.[38]

  During his Gateway sojourn, Heubusch kept his hand in Republican politics, serving as an adviser to Elizabeth Dole's brief campaign for President in 1999,[39] on the National Finance Committee in 2007 for John McCain's presidential campaign,[40] and on the Republican National Committee's Victory 2008 Finance Committee.[41]

  Heubusch left Waitt at the end of 2007 to served briefly as CEO of Brahma Holdings, a start-up that allowed major insurance carriers to reduce their payouts for medical procedures dramatically by detecting fraud in big highly complicated cases.[42] But his time there would be brief.

  Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library, 2009-present[edit]
  In March 2009, Heubusch was selected by Mrs. Reagan, chairman Fred Ryan and the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute to serve as its Executive Director.[43] In an interview immediately thereafter, he announced that the Reagan Foundation is “about to rescue the cause of Reaganism from the jaws of Obamaism.” He called the Reagan name the “most important Republican brand” in decades and one that has to be defended as the memory of the former president fades. “One key goal is for me to make that name, Reagan, relevant in the modern sense.” Another is to answer critics who are attempting to attack the Reagan brand. “We want to be the ones who answer the question: What would Reagan do?”[44]

  The Reagan Foundation board announced plans to help raise a $100-million endowment, centered on a celebration of the centennial of Reagan’s birthday in 2011. This would include $10 million to renovate the Library itself (in Simi Valley, California, to tell the expanding Reagan story. “This is necessary because in the over 20 years since President Reagan left office, scholars, historians, and public-policy officials have now had a chance to reflect on the contributions he made to this world, and the praise has only grown,” said Heubusch. The facility “needs to reflect what history is revealing.”[45]

  The kickoff event was a 20th-anniversary celebration and conference on the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.[46] Obama created the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, to celebrate the late President's centenary in 2011, but the bill provided no funding -- “which is the way Ronald Reagan would have had it,” Heubusch insisted, as he plumbed hard for private donations.[47] The gifts started to roll in—e.g., the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation announced a $12.75-million gift to help fund new state-of-the art interactive gallery displays at the Museum to exemplify the important role President Reagan had on the world and in people's lives,[48] and another $15 million for the Museum and to fund 200 college scholarships from General Electric (for which Reagan worked nearly a decade as spokesman).[49]

  The frenzied fundraising and activities led one writer to suggest that "Ronald Reagan is fast becoming the Elvis of the political world."[50] By February 2011, the goal Heubusch had set two years earlier was achieved -- $100 million raised.[51]

  The centennial’s theme, agreed on by foundation officials and a bipartisan commission created by Congress, is “Ronald Reagan: Inspired Freedom, Changed the World”- a reference not just to his presiding over the end of the Cold War, Heubusch said, but also to “freedom from high taxes, high federal spending and useless regulations . . . It’s relevant in today’s debate, as people try to divine a way out of the economic mess we’re in.”[52]

  The Reagan Library is the most attended of the 14 presidential libraries—in 2011,[53] and surpassed only once in 2014 by the then-new George W. Bush Museum in Dallas.[54]

  One event needed adjusting—a planned May 2011 presidential debate sponsored by the Reagan Foundation had to be postponed until September, Heubusch announced. "Although there will be a long and impressive list of Republican candidates who eventually take the field, too few have made the commitment thus far for a debate to be worthwhile in early May."[55]

  In his years as Reagan Foundation chief, Heubusch has become a readily available spokesman on all Reagan matters, such as when a vial of the late President's blood was publicly auctioned in 2012,[56] or when the former First Lady suffered broken ribs in a fall that same year.[57] In 2015, Heubusch and Ed Meese, who served as Counselor to the President (1981–1985) and Attorney General (1985–1988), penned a joint op-ed to detail numerous inaccuracies in Killing Reagan, a best-selling book by Bill O'Reilly, saying, "We believe that Killing Reagan does a real disservice to our 40th president and to history itself."[58]

  Today, the Reagan Foundation has nearly $274 million in assets, and an additional $125 million in the form of legacy gifts.[59]

  Author[edit]
  In March 2017, Simon & Schuster (through its Howard imprint) published Heubusch's debut novel, The Shroud Conspiracy, a religious thriller concerning the turmoil after a forensic anthropologist discovers the Shroud of Turin - believed by many Christians to have been the burial cloth of Jesus Christ - is real. ”Evil forces intend to use DNA from traces of blood in the fabric to clone Jesus and bring on a Second Coming of their own design,” as the Washington Times described the plot.[60]

  NewsMax's Jane Blakemore called it "a pulse-pounding yarn" that "Heubusch pulls off with a poise that belies his status as a first-time novelist,".[61] Steve Forbes, writing in Forbes, called it "a spectacular thriller."[62] Publishers Weekly noted "Heubusch’s thought-provoking conceit" and "interesting premise," but criticized his "dense exposition and clunky characterization." [63]

  Simon & Schuster has announced plans to publish a sequel in 2018.[64]

  Personal life[edit]
  Heubusch and his wife, Marcella, live in the San Fernando Valley with their two children.[65] Heubusch has a son, Brock, by his first marriage to Miriam MacPherson of San Diego, CA.[66]

• Simon & Schuster - http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/John-Heubusch/2114054817

  John Heubusch
  In a career that has spanned philanthropy, politics, public service, and the Fortune 500, John Heubusch served as the first president of the Waitt Institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to historic discovery and scientific exploration. Cited often by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, Heubusch has also been a contributing writer for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, and other leading publications. He is presently the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles and is the author of The Shroud Conspiracy and The Second Coming.

• John Heubusch Home Page - http://johnheubusch.com/about-john/

  ABOUT JOHN HEUBUSCH
  Prior to his role as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Mr. Heubusch’s career has spanned philanthropy, politics, public service, and the C-Suite of a Fortune 500. He served as the COO of Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly owned private investment company with over $1 billion in assets and diverse interests in technology, energy, finance and entertainment. While at Avalon Capital, he also served as President of The Waitt Family Foundation where he oversaw the organization’s charitable programs. Before joining Avalon, Mr. Heubusch was the Chief Administrative Officer of Gateway, Inc., the Fortune 500 computer icon, responsible for managing its Strategy, Human Resources, Facilities, Legal and Government Relations departments.
  John Heubusch also served as the first President of the Waitt Institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to historical discovery and scientific exploration. The Waitt Institute was founded and funded by Ted Waitt, the co-founder and marketing genius behind Gateway Computers.
  In 2007, working with Waitt and a team of scientists and underwater exploration experts, he spearheaded the organization’s first deep sea expedition to solve one of the last great American mysteries: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart during her famed circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937. Since then, successive efforts by many to locate Earhart and her airplane have failed The mystery remains. Working with the National Geographic Society, his efforts at the Waitt Institute also helped lead to the discovery, authentication and preservation of the famed lost Gospel of Judas, the ancient text deemed to be heretical and ordered destroyed by the early Christian Church. The Gospel purports to document the last conversations between Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ as well as the true rationale for history’s most famous betrayal. His involvement at the Waitt Institute also helped lead to National Geographic’s launching of the Genographic Project, the largest ever effort of its kind to chart the migratory history of mankind using DNA donated by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The project is informing the world about our ancient migratory history.
  Heubusch (right) joins Professor Rudolph Kasser (left) and Waitt Institute founder Ted Waitt in examining restoration of the lost Gospel of Judas.
  Heubusch (right) joins Professor Rudolph Kasser (left) and Waitt Institute founder Ted Waitt in examining restoration of the lost Gospel of Judas.
  In May of 2012, Heubusch was also instrumental in negotiating and retrieving a vial of President Reagan’s blood that was stolen from the George Washington University Hospital as Reagan fought for his life after the assassination attempt in March, 1981. The vial containing Reagan’s DNA was for sale by auction to unknown bidders willing to pay in the tens of thousands of dollars to obtain it. Heubusch succeeded in stopping the auction. The vial now remains safe in the Reagan Foundation’s hands.
  Cited often by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and dozens of other media outlets, he has also written for the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, Real Clear Politics, the San Diego Union Tribune and other leading publications. Presently the Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, he oversees the foundation’s activities at the largest and most visited of the nation’s Presidential Libraries.
  John (left) “driving” submarine with Waitt Institute’s Mike Dessner.
  John (left) “driving” submarine with Waitt Institute’s Mike Dessner.
  Previous to his work with Gateway, he was the Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) during the 1995-1996 election cycle. Under his leadership, two more seats were added to the Republican column in the Senate, bringing the number to 55.
  Prior to his appointment to the NRSC, Mr. Heubusch served Elizabeth Dole as the Vice President of Communications for the American Red Cross, one of the largest non-profit humanitarian organizations in the world, from 1991-1994. In this capacity, he was accountable for all internal and external communication activities for the organization, including advertising, media relations, and public affairs.
  During the Bush (41) Administration, Mr. Heubusch was Chief of Staff to Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole from 1989 to 1991. At the Labor Department, he served as a senior advisor to the Secretary, with responsibility for assisting in operations of the department.
  Mr. Heubusch also worked on Capitol Hill and was on the staff of Representative Denny Smith (R-OR) from 1981-1988. He served as Chief of Staff to Representative Smith, Staff Director for the Congressional Military Reform Caucus, and Associate Staff Member of the Committee on the Budget. From 1980-1981, he was a Research Analyst with the Office of the Secretary, Department of the U.S. Air Force, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
  He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles, California.

• Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute - https://www.reaganfoundation.org/about-us/executive-team/john-heubusch/

  JOHN HEUBUSCH
  EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
  John Heubusch
  John Heubusch’s career has spanned politics, public service, philanthropy, and the Fortune 500.

  Prior to his role as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Mr. Heubusch served as the COO of Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly owned private investment company with over $1 billion in assets and diverse interests in technology, energy, finance and entertainment. While at Avalon Capital, he also served as President of The Waitt Family Foundation where he oversaw the organization’s charitable programs.

  Before joining Avalon, Mr. Heubusch was the Chief Administrative Officer of Gateway, Inc., the Fortune 500 computer icon, responsible for managing its Strategy, Human Resources, Facilities, Legal and Government Relations departments.

  Previous to his work with Gateway, he was the Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) during the 1995-1996 election cycle. Under his leadership, two more seats were added to the Republican column in the Senate, bringing the number to 55.

  Prior to his appointment to the NRSC, Mr. Heubusch served Elizabeth Dole as the Vice President of Communications for the American Red Cross, one of the largest non-profit humanitarian organizations in the world, from 1991-1994. In this capacity, he was accountable for all internal and external communication activities for the organization, including advertising, media relations, and public affairs.

  During the Bush (41) Administration, Mr. Heubusch was Chief of Staff to Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole from 1989 to 1991. At the Labor Department, he served as a senior advisor to the Secretary, with responsibility for assisting in operations of the department.

  Mr. Heubusch also worked on Capitol Hill and was on the staff of Representative Denny Smith (R-OR) from 1981-1988. He served as Chief of Staff to Representative Smith, Staff Director for the Congressional Military Reform Caucus, and Associate Staff Member of the Committee on the Budget. From 1980-1981, he was a Research Analyst with the Office of the Secretary, Department of the U.S. Air Force, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

  Mr. Heubusch has earned a Master’s degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and English from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

  You can read more about John Heubusch at his website: johnheubusch.com

• Washington Times - http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/4/john-heubusch-debut-novelist-talks-about-the-shrou/

  Quoted in Sidelights: the story essentially unfolded just like it would for a reader, page by page. I didn’t have an idea exactly where the story was gonna go from chapter to chapter and I found myself laughing to myself or just smiling and wondering. I’d be in the shower the next day thinking about the plot, thinking a lot about where to go next and I think that made the process interesting for me,
  Debut novelist John Heubusch talks about The Shroud Conspiracy
  Reagan Library executive director discusses the craft of writing and the importance of history

  Actor Gary Sinise, emceeing a book launch for debut novelist John Heubusch, the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation. The book, "The Shroud Conspiracy," was published by Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
  Actor Gary Sinise, emceeing a book launch for debut novelist John Heubusch, the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation. The book, “The Shroud Conspiracy,” was published by Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. more >
  Print
  By W. Scott Lamb - - Thursday, May 4, 2017
  John Heubusch serves as the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation in Simi Valley, California. Though his job keeps him busy and one could hardly excuse him if he simply came home from work and put his feet up in a recliner, Mr. Heubusch decided a few years ago to do what over 80 percent of Americans say they want to do: he wrote a book.
  Actually, he wrote two books. And novels at that. Mr. Heubusch penned The Shroud Conspiracy (and its sequel) — a pair of science thrillers interwoven with religion and relics.
  I sat down for a video interview with Heubusch last week to ask him for his thoughts on the craft of writing fiction. As a debut novelist whose book hit the Top 25 on Amazon, what advice would he give other writers? (An edited transcript follows the video.)

  (What follows is a transcript, edited for clarity.)
  Lamb: So John, the amazing thing about writing a work of fiction is that you actually just have to create so much stuff. Coming up with every name for each character — like Adam in the Garden of Eden — naming characters and naming places and figuring out where those places are going to be … describing for the reader in some level of detail what it is that the characters are seeing and maybe even what they’re thinking.

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  Yet, in your debut novel, The Shroud Conspiracy, there’s so much Google-able material — things are able to be Googled. The reader might think, “Wow, I wonder if that’s a real place — a real location or building within a real city?” And in the case of The Shroud, there was so much real life material incorporated into the novel.
  Could you describe for us the process of research that went into putting together the elements, the locations — particularly as it relates to the religious relics and all that kind of material. How did your own background factor in there? How did you find out all that information?
  Heubusch: A lot of questions but every one of them is a good one. First, this is my first work of fiction and so a lot of the answers to those questions unfolded for me over time as I was writing the book. I bought a lot of books on how to write “The Great American Novel”— but I didn’t read a single one of them until after I’d written my book and I think that served to my advantage.
  Here’s what I did. I set up two different flat screens. I’d always have the chapter I was writing on the right-hand side and I’d have all my research on the terminal on the left. It was really useful to set things up that way because I could just easily interchange between a sentence I might be writing and a fact, as you said, that I might Google and pull down.
  In The Shroud Conspiracy, there’s a great, great deal of information about religion, religious relics, lots of different fields of science, things that I might know 5 percent about. But in order to write the book—and hopefully do so in an interesting way — I needed to know 20-30 percent more. Of course, I didn’t want to weigh the reader down with too much scientific or religious detail, but I wanted to give enough to pique their interest or their imagination. So when I would come across a fact, some piece of the story that I felt would really be helped by elaborating on it, then that’s when I would go real-time, search for the important factual information about what I was writing and layer it in. I’d obviously be really careful just to try to get a fact in and not to get a sentence.
  I wasn’t stealing any language in any way. A lot of times in doing that kind of research you have to be very careful that you essentially internalize facts and then in your own way explain to the reader the point that you’re trying to get across. I was able to write relatively quickly as a result of doing my research in a real-time basis like that. I think it helped me a great deal.
  Lamb: You have traveled a lot. What importance do you think travel plays in writing a novel—to have a variety of travels under your belt?’
  Heubusch: There’s the old adage about you don’t have to have gone to the moon to know it’s not made of cheese — and I agree.
  Hopefully, you can’t tell the difference, in my writing, of places that I’ve been to and not been to. I hope that’s the case. Interestingly enough, I have been to most all the places that I wrote about and I do think that it was helpful because it gives you somewhat of a realistic starting point in the sense of confidence that the environment you’re describing really has some basis in truth. It allows you to elaborate and, if necessary, exaggerate from there and make the story as interesting as you can.
  Lamb: How long did it take you to write the novel, from the day that you either thought of the idea or thought “I’m gonna come up with an idea and I’m gonna write”? Take us through that process.
  Heubusch: Yeah, great question and I’ve been asked this one a lot. I think to readers it’s always an interesting question. This book took me approximately six months to write. I’m not sure why but a lot of people hear that and there’s some gasps heard when I say that — and I really don’t know why. I say that because I’ve not written 50 novels. My best friends are not the best writers on the planet so I don’t know how long it’s supposed to take you to write a fair piece of literature like this, but in my case for The Shroud Conspiracy I guess what I’d say is the environmental research that went into the book is about 35-40 years.
  Meaning, I thought about this topic, not a plot specifically at all but the topic of the Shroud of Turin as a centerpiece for a great novel for many years since I was a senior in high school and I’d seen the documentary about the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. It piqued my interest and as a result, for many years I’ve followed the history of the controversy surrounding the Shroud.
  But when I actually sat down to write, I knew that I needed to come up with a plot. I needed to develop an interesting story. So, I sat down and wrote it and finished entirely the first draft which was, from a plot perspective, not very much different at all from the final draft.
  That process took six months.
  Lamb: Wow. Ok, so what tips do you have for an aspiring author, perhaps somebody’s doing some drafts or short stories — and thinking maybe one day they’ll write a whole novel? What one tip would you have for an aspiring author?
  Heubusch: Get started. I think most aspiring authors are “aspiring” because they stay in the aspiring stage. The aspiration stage is kind of exciting because you’re able to think about what world lies ahead, but you never really put pen to paper. It doesn’t become reality. It just stays an interesting idea. I think that stage is where a lot of people get stuck for a long time. Perhaps they are not practiced yet as writers so they’re a little afraid to launch off.From the standpoint of tips for aspiring great writers that are out there, beyond just
  From the standpoint of tips for aspiring great writers that are out there, don’t let a lack of a complete story stop you from starting off. Some people are brilliant enough to have thought through an outline of a story and they know from the first page to the last where all the characters are going and who’s gonna enter into the story and exactly what’s gonna happen by which chapter. If that was the process of writing for me I think I might get bored pretty quickly. That doesn’t, in my mind, make for a lot of fun in the writing process.
  For me, the story essentially unfolded just like it would for a reader, page by page. I didn’t have an idea exactly where the story was gonna go from chapter to chapter and I found myself laughing to myself or just smiling and wondering. I’d be in the shower the next day thinking about the plot, thinking a lot about where to go next and I think that made the process interesting for me, a bit like watching a miniseries on TV or whatever and being able to come back time after time to see what would unfold. That’s what made the process interesting for me so a big tip would
  I’d be in the shower the next day thinking about the plot, thinking a lot about where to go next and I think that made the process interesting for me, a bit like watching a miniseries on TV or whatever and being able to come back time after time to see what would unfold. That’s what made the process interesting for me so a big tip would
  That’s what made the process interesting for me so a big tip would be—Don’t wait until the cake is fully baked to think about selling it and what to do with it. I think just get started and have fun and enjoy the process of writing and let the story go with where it needs to go.
  Lamb: That’s good. Well, The Shroud Conspiracy certainly has a lot of accolades that have been given to it since it released last month. Brad Thor, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author said: “The Shroud Conspiracy is an absolutely brilliant thriller. This riveting, intrigue-filled mystery is like nothing you’ve read before. Once you start you won’t be able to put it down.”
  I can certainly attest to what Thor said. Once you’ve turned the last page you’re wanting to know what happens next. So …when’s the sequel?
  Heubusch: Yeah, another good question. The sequel, according to my good publisher at Simon & Schuster will be a year from the time of publication of the first, so that would put it right at about Easter time of 2018. I’d love to, if I could get the story out sooner than that because it’s a great second half to the play. In my opinion, a lot of these sequels are what you might call Jaws 2. I never really think the sequels or the second movies or the third really measure up often to the original and the first. But in my case, I’m not really sure why, maybe it’s because I was really relaxed in the process of writing the sequel but I like the sequel as much or more than the first book. It might be a little unusual in that regard and I’m just happy about it. I’m happy it’s done and it’s in the can.
  Lamb: One final question. Of course, during your day job, you are the Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation so you’re completely surrounded by beauty — the mountains there in Simi Valley—but also by history. You literally sit in a building that’s dedicated to history—and presenting that inspirational story of President Reagan with storytelling techniques. Being around history so much there at the library, how do you see the role of both books and history in today’s world?
  Heubusch: Yeah. I don’t think there’s enough of a role to be honest. I love fiction, I love non-fiction. Strangely enough, I’ve written a book that’s fictional but the kind of reading I like to do is non-fiction biographical. In some
  I love fiction, I love non-fiction. Strangely enough, I’ve written a book that’s fictional but the kind of reading I like to do is non-fiction biographical. In some respects, it seems like it’s a best combination—history combined with a life story. And a life story in these cases might actually be factual but there’s some interpretation involved and a little bit of creative writing to keep a reader interested in someone’s life story. To me, that’s what I find genuinely interesting.
  And to your question in a pointed way, I think we would all be better off if we were better informed about history in every conceivable facet. I think it would improve not only our decision-making in the present, but I also think it improves storytelling. It improves knowledge. And in improving knowledge, you improve arguments. You improve your ability to make decisions. And I just don’t think there’s enough good, in-depth history that resides in all of us.
  While it may appear old-fashioned for people to sit down and read a good 400-page book, I just think it’s the best thing in the world for you—fiction or non-fiction. It sharpens the mind and we could all use a little bit of that.
  Lamb: As a final note of full-disclosure, John Heubusch is both a dear friend and a client. I served as the literary agent for The Shroud Conspiracy and its sequel.

• Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/John-Heubusch/e/B06XKM7LLF/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

  John D. Heubusch (born June 7, 1958) is an American author and C-Suite executive in the public and private sectors who presently oversees the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California. He has held a series of high-profile positions with the U.S. Department of Labor as Chief of Staff, The American Red Cross as Vice President for Communications, The National Republican Senatorial Committee as Executive Director, Gateway Computers as Chief Administrative Officer, Avalon Capital as President, The Waitt Family Foundation and the Waitt Institute as President.

  Heubusch is a first time author of a best seller entitled The Shroud Conspiracy published by Simon and Shuster in March, 2017. The book debuted as #30 on the Amazon.com list. It is a popular work of fiction describing how the famous Shroud of Turin bearing the image of Jesus Christ becomes the centerpiece of a worldwide race where science is used in an attempt to bring about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The sequel to The Shroud Conspiracy will be published by Simon and Schuster in 2018.

  Heubusch is married to Marcella Navarria and has three children. He lives in Hidden Hills, California.

• Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-heubusch-the-conspiracy-of-the-shroud_us_583e3e2de4b08347769c052a

  Quoted in Sidelights: Like a million others, I have always thought about writing “The Great American Novel” but never felt I had the discipline and focus as a writer to produce a long form work of fiction. Late one evening after our kids were tucked in for the night, I took a story idea that had been rattling around in my head for years and after about five hours of real struggle, I had written Chapter 1.
  A thriller where the “The Da Vinci Code” meets “Indiana Jones.” What if it were possible to bring about the “Second Coming” through DNA? It’s all about what happens when science and faith collide in a way that has drastic consequences for all mankind. At its center there’s also a love story where a man with a genius intellect and no spirituality must grapple with the mystery of faith and a woman his equal who maintains an unshakable devotion to God.
  John Heubusch & The Conspiracy Of The Shroud
  11/29/2016 10:13 pm ET Updated Nov 30, 2016
  Q: How did you come to your current job as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation?

  A: From a political perspective, I’d gone off the grid. I was living in La Jolla, CA and loving life working for Ted Waitt, the marketing genius and founder of Gateway Computers. Through his foundation and institute, we were involved in some interesting scientific and historical adventures, from searching for Amelia Earhart’s airplane in the South Pacific to uncovering and authenticating the lost “Gospel of Judas.” It was a fantastic adventure as most things involving Ted tend to be. Then I got a phone call which turned out to be one of those life changers. “Would you consider running President Reagan’s foundation?” The organization had seen a lot of candidates but hadn’t found the person they felt possessed the right mix of political, government, business and philanthropic experience. I provided the best fit at the time. And I was looking to give something back as well. It was President Reagan who inspired me to enter public service right out of college. That launched me onto a career path I was fortunate to follow. When Mrs. Reagan called to offer me the job, I felt the Reagan Foundation provided a great opportunity to support something important to her and the organization doing so much in service to the country.

  Q: Did you ever meet Ronald Reagan?

  A: Yes, but only in passing on a receiving line. I spent the entire eight years of the Reagan Administration working on Capitol Hill promoting his economic agenda, the last two years in particular from the vantage point of the House Budget Committee as an Associate staff member. I also served as the Staff Director for the highly active Military Reform Caucus where we did a great deal of work to ensure the Reagan defense buildup consisted of weapons systems that were fully battle tested and would perform flawlessly in an intense combat environment. Interestingly, many of the weapon systems we are successfully using in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other areas today got their start in an R & D budget during the Reagan Administration thirty years ago.

  Q: What was the most surprising thing you learned about him?

  A: I always knew that President and Mrs. Reagan had a close relationship. But I didn’t understand the strength of their marriage and bond until I was at the Reagan Foundation and had the chance to read the President’s extensive personal diaries for the first time. As everyone knows, his diaries were published and became a New York Times best-seller. I had lunch with Mrs. Reagan after I finished reading the diaries and I told her I felt they read more like a love story to me than an accounting of life’s experiences. Mrs. Reagan said to me “ours was a love story. So it was only natural the diaries read that way too.”

  Q: How was your relationship with Mrs Reagan?

  A: Wonderful. We got along quite well. She was on the foundation’s board of trustees and was highly engaged and interested in all our plans and activities. After President Reagan passed, I think she felt the foundation was a critical part of her life’s work and purpose. So, naturally, she was very interested in ensuring that we succeeded in all we set out to do. She established some clear goals: raise a healthy endowment; modernize and renovate the original museum; celebrate the President’s Centennial in fine fashion; among many other things. We surpassed many of our goals with her guidance and direct help and I think she was pleased with what we accomplished.

  Q: What are your typical duties at the foundation?

  A: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is the only nonprofit organization established by President Reagan to carry on his work. It receives no taxpayer funding in its mission to preserve and promote his legacy of less taxes, less government, less regulation and more freedom. We operate a wide array of programs meant to preserve and promote his legacy with a particular emphasis on educating future generations on the values and ideals important to President Reagan. As a result, my role as the organization’s executive director is to promote out work, raise funds to support our programming, represent the foundation and library at home and abroad and build alliances, partnerships and friendships with people and organizations important to fulfilling our mission.

  Q: How many visitors come through each year?

  A: The Reagan Library is the largest and most visited of all the nation’s presidential libraries. About a half-million people visit the Reagan Library each year. A great deal of them come to tour the Library and Museum. We also have tens of thousands of guests that come to the many events we host as part of our speaking series, presidential debates or major national holidays we observe such as Veteran’s Day, July 4th, etc.

  Q: What made you decide to write a book?

  A: Throughout my career, I’ve had the chance to write a lot of work-related, short pieces such as Op/Ed’s, speeches, ad copy, memos, etc. Like a million others, I have always thought about writing “The Great American Novel” but never felt I had the discipline and focus as a writer to produce a long form work of fiction. Late one evening after our kids were tucked in for the night, I took a story idea that had been rattling around in my head for years and after about five hours of real struggle, I had written Chapter 1. It was a bit of a mistress. I kept visiting and revisiting the story night after night after night. After writing about a half-chapter each night for several months, there it sat. Finished. And it clearly needed a sequel. So I repeated the process again and in about six months I was done. I hadn’t a clue as to how good the books might be or whether another soul on this earth might like them. But at least I’d proven to myself I could do it. To have a major publishing house like Simon and Schuster want to put them in print has made the effort all the more worthwhile.

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  Q: How would you describe the book?

  A: A thriller where the “The Da Vinci Code” meets “Indiana Jones.” What if it were possible to bring about the “Second Coming” through DNA? It’s all about what happens when science and faith collide in a way that has drastic consequences for all mankind. At its center there’s also a love story where a man with a genius intellect and no spirituality must grapple with the mystery of faith and a woman his equal who maintains an unshakable devotion to God.

  Q: What interested you in the topic?

  A: I’m the product of a Catholic upbringing and education. When I was seventeen and only days from high school graduation, I watched a documentary produced by the Church on the Shroud of Turin that fascinated me to no end. Presumably I get a good idea about every forty years as that’s how long it took for me to invent the plot and write the book.

  Q: What is it about the life of Christ that inspires so many to write about him?

  A: I can only speak for myself in knowing there is no life I look more to emulate than that of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. I presume one writes about those things that might most inspire or touch them as they go through life’s journey. In my particular case, I have always found the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ among the most fascinating of stories in the New Testament. The fact that actual artifacts likely exist today that are part of that story approaches the realm of the miraculous.

  Q: Is there any chance the things described in your book could come to pass?

  A: Yes and no. Is human cloning possible? Theoretically, yes. Will human cloning one day occur? I believe so. Can ancient DNA be “revived” for purposes of cloning species today? Yes, we can either find microscopic, live DNA or reconstruct lost genomes that can be cloned. Presuming the Shroud of Turin is real — that it is the authentic burial cloth of Jesus Christ — is it possible to clone Jesus Christ? No. At least not yet . . .

  Q: You’ve been very public about your battle with cancer. What have you learned from this experience?

  A: That I am human. That we are all God’s children and in the eyes of God I am no better or worse than the man or woman next to me. That life on this earth is short. That there is nothing more important in this world than family and friends and faith. That I would give everything I own to live longer for the sake of my beautiful wife and children.

  Q: What are your plans for a second book?

  A: The sequel to “The Shroud Conspiracy,” presently titled “The Second Coming” has already been written and will be published in 2018.

  Q: How can someone get your book?

  A: The book will not be published until March, 2017 but right now you can pre-order it here or if would like a copy of the book personalized and signed by me you can order it here.

The Shroud Conspiracy
Publishers Weekly. 264.4 (Jan. 23, 2017): p66.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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The Shroud Conspiracy

John Heubusch. Howard, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-1-5011-5570-3

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

An atheist forensic anthropologist seeks scientific and theological answers in Heubusch's cumbersome thriller. Famed scientist and skeptic Jon Bondurant takes up the Vatican's challenge to settle the origins of the Shroud of Turin. When a traitor compromises the study by tampering with a sample of blood from the relic, the second coming of Christ itself could be at risk. Dense exposition and clunky characterization hampers Heubusch's thought-provoking conceit: montage-like scraps of personal details and backstory play in characters' heads while they lose interest in conversations, try to sleep, or sit on planes; an Indian character speaks in what the book characterizes as "Hindi Ebonics," a misguided attempt to merge African-American Vernacular English with a Hindi accent. Potentially disturbing for some readers, an act of animal cruelty and a rape are both central plot devices. Though a shy and taciturn misogynist by reputation, genius Bondurant charms his way through every interaction and women line up to sleep with him. The few female characters are all "as distracting as [they are] talented," but in the end helpless and uninformed. While Heubusch establishes an interesting premise, the thrilling tale that arises by merging science with religious mysticism fails to overcome the haphazard plotting and unlikable characters. (Mar.)

Quoted in Sidelights: interesting premise, ... thrilling tale ... haphazard plotting and unlikable characters. "The Shroud Conspiracy." Publishers Weekly, 23 Jan. 2017, p. 66. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA479714202&it=r&asid=e6da58346a17585d306050a503fca799. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

• Pastor Stephen Grant
  https://pastorstephengrant.blogspot.hk/2017/08/is-shroud-conspiracy-anti-dan-brown.html
  Word count: 580

  Quoted in Sidelights: unlike Brown, Heubusch shows respect for the Christianity in which the story is rooted.
  a thriller that lends itself to reflection, debate and discussion.
  The Shroud Conspiracy is packed with action, some big issues to ponder, and welcome character development.
  Monday, August 14, 2017
  Is “The Shroud Conspiracy” an Anti-Dan-Brown Thriller – In a Good Way?
  by Ray Keating

  In his first thriller, John Heubusch, the executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, earns the moniker of being an anti-Dan-Brown novelist – and I mean that in a good way. The Shroud Conspiracy (Howard Books, New York, 2017, 402 pages, $26) ranks as an engrossing, easy page-turner, like much of Dan Brown’s work, but, unlike Brown, Heubusch shows respect for the Christianity in which the story is rooted.

  Writing a Christian-based – in this case, Catholic – work of fiction can be tricky. After all, Christian fiction often can be sugary, with cardboard characters and stilted, unrealistic dialogue. Meanwhile, at the other extreme are works of fiction that dismiss or are hostile toward Christians or the Church.

  Heubusch avoids these extremes. His book moves along nicely. His characters come across as real people, who act, speak and react in ways that seem reasonable, even as Heubusch puts them in fantasy-like situations. Indeed, he takes his characters and the readers on a wild ride weaving together the Vatican, Catholic relics, atheists, scientists, faithful Catholics and the misguided, likeable and not-so-likeable priests, a crazy cult, some globe-trotting, and both the miraculous and the heretical. Heck, there’s even a cute little dog that plays a role in this tale.

  And there’s more that makes this more than just a shallow thriller. A question wrestled with by the characters in The Shroud Conspiracy is not if science and faith are necessarily in conflict, but rather, can science acknowledge that it has limitations?

  The two main characters have an intriguing relationship. Domenika Jozef works for the Vatican, and Dr. Jon Bouderant is a scientist who the Vatican hires to put together a team of experts to test the validity of the Shroud of Turin. Sexual tension emerges between the two. But the will-they-or-won’t-they question is not necessarily about clashing personalities, but rather strikingly different worldviews. Domenika is a devout Catholic, while Jon is a very public atheist. It is Domenika who asks Jon: “Are you willing to agree that science may never be able to grasp the divine?” The question eventually is answered in an edge-of-the-seat, conspiracy-thriller manner.

  As the fast-paced story unfolds involving the natural and the supernatural, the everyday and the miraculous, and the beliefs of individuals being put to the test, if you will, I thought of what the resurrected Jesus, after showing Thomas the marks of his wounds from being crucified, said: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Yes, this is a thriller that lends itself to reflection, debate and discussion.

  The Shroud Conspiracy is packed with action, some big issues to ponder, and welcome character development. Unlike some thrillers and certain Christian fiction, Heubusch engages the reader on assorted levels.

  _______________

  Ray Keating is the author of the PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVELS. The latest in the series is WINE INTO WATER. Coming soon is the seventh book in the series titled LIONHEARTS.

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