Early may we saw the publication of a book called Quest for Middle-earth. This is a book takes the unusual viewpoint that J.R.R Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings" was based upon fact.

Dirk Vander Ploeg is the editor and publisher of UFODigest.com and PsiTalk.com. He has worked as a publisher and writer for travel related and other magazines.

To claim that Tolkien tapped into some kind of mystical or prophetic Bible-Code, like ancient knowledge, and that The Lord of the Rings is genuine history is very controversial. The Quest for Middle-earth is one of those Tolkien related books that will be judged before people actually read it and Tolkien fans will be very sceptical about it.

We have seen books on Lord of the Rings written by all sorts of people, philologists, scientists, philosophers, academics of all sorts, linguists, religious people, and so on. But this is the first time (I think) someone links the Lord of the Rings with the paranormal. Some weeks ago I contacted Dirk vander Ploeg to ask him to tell me some more about his book. It must be said he was a very charming and friendly man and he gladly accepted to do an interview.

Since I did not read the book myself I will not give any opinion, but hopefully the interview that I did with the author Dirk vander Ploeg will give you more or less an idea what Quest for Middle-earth is all about.

Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I studied communications in college, both journalism and marketing, but majored in marketing as there was more money to be made. But I have always contributed articles, book reviews etc to major newspapers, including the Toronto Star and Hamilton Spectator. My father was a religious nut and my mother introduced me to the paranormal as a way of escape.

My mother’s cousin is Gene Barry, the actor that starred in the War of the Worlds. I met him once when he came to Hamilton, where I lived.

Q. What did you like to read when you were a boy?

I read the books by Dennis Wheatley and Ray Bradbury including his The Martian Chronicles. I also read just about every history book I could get my hands on.

Q. I'd like to talk about your book, Quest for Middle-earth.You are best known as a writer and contributor to UFO Magazines and other paranormal related publications. What prompted you to write the book about Tolkien?

I believe that mankind was seeded by an alien race. This explains the “missing link” in evolution. According to certain researchers our DNA was altered, genes spliced, etc. Homo Erectus thus because Home Sapien- literally overnight. God or what creatures of the time believed to be Gods may have caused this intervention. The Bible and the Book of Enoch agree that the Nephilim took human wives and created a new race of supermen. I believe these were the elves and Tolkien used this storyline in the Silmarillion.

These elves were the demigods of history and folklore and had names such as Hercules and Achilles.

I have always believed that mankind has reached high levels of civilization several times in our past, but natural disasters, such as Noah’s flood, caused them to decline.

I have traveled extensively in Mexico, Central America, England, Scotland, Ireland and West Africa. I have studied the Mayan civilization and Arthurian tales: visiting Tintagel, Glastonbury, Stonehenge etc.

As I was watching the first two movies it was as if pieces of a puzzle were falling into place, creating a history that I knew was true. Everyone has heard or read stories about dragons, giant eagles, elves, all seeing eyes and trolls. I decided to investigate Tolkien to see if he had knowledge of ancient history and I discovered that he did.

I also realized almost immediately that the quest for the ring was actually a grail quest. It was King Arthur and Camelot all over again.

Installing the rightful king could only save the land, Middle-earth, and he must marry to continue and renew the royal bloodline. That is the reason Arwen and Aragorn had to marry. She was an elf-queen, born of the royal blood.

Q. How did you first get interested in Professor Tolkien's works?

I actually had no interest in Tolkien. I had once tried to read the Hobbit and didn’t get 50 pages into the book before giving up. It was only after seeing the first two movies that I went out and purchased The Return of the King and devoured it. Couldn’t wait a year until the release of the third instalment.

Prior to seeing the movies I had read, Holy Blood Holy Grail, as was aware of the San Graal or royal blood. Tolkien also realized the importance of this and wrote, ‘but in the wearing of the swift years of Middle-earth, the line of Meneldil son of Anaron failed, and the tree withered, and blood of the Numenoreans became mingled with that of lesser man’.

This also tied directly to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, which I absolutely loved.

Q. For sure your book must be a one of a kind book? Or are there other books which cover the same subject and topics?

I believe my book is unique. I began by asking myself the question - is there proof available that the tale could actually have happened. I set out to discover if there was evidence to support this hyposthesis.

Q. What special qualifications do you have for making this book?

I am an avid reader and dreamer and have the ability to write coherently. One of my greatest assets, according to the women in my life, is that I am a collector of irrelevant facts. They suggest I would be a great contest on Jeopardy.

Q. Do you consider your book as scientific?

No, I consider my book to be starting point for scientists, historians and others, to ask questions about our past.

Q. Where did you gather your information? How do you ensure that your revelations are correct?

I gathered my information from the following sources:

- 12th Planet, The, Zecharia Sitchin, Avon Books 1976 - Ainulindale, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Collins Publishers 1999 - Da Vinci Code, The, Dan Brown, Double Day 2003 - Genesis Of The Grail Kings, Laurence Gardner, Transworld Publishers Ltd. 1999 - The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien, Methuen Publications 1977 - The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln,   Arrow Books 1996 - The Lord Of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Collins Publishers 1999 - The Lost Treasure Of The Knights Templar, Steven Sora, Destiny Books 1999 - The Master of Speech, Shannon Dorey, Trafford Publishing 2003 - Realm Of The Ring Lords, Laurence Gardner, Fair Winds Press 2002 - Silmarillion, The, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Collins Publishers 1999 - Valaquenta, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Collins Publishers 1999 - Wars Of Gods And Men, The, Zecharia Sitchin 1985 - Iraqi archaeologists uncover ancient Sumerian ‘city of graves’- Hobbit-Like Human Ancestor Found in Asia- Gilgamesh tomb believed found- Feds Want All-Seeing Eye in Sky

Q. On your site questformiddle-earth.com we can read, “There is evidence that The Lord of the Rings was based on actual historical events”. Will we find the answer in your book?

You will find evidence, some anecdotal, historical and biblical that support the questions raised.

Q. Do you think that Tolkien fans will not be sceptical about your work? Many Tolkien book fans did not appreciate even the movie adaptation, since the Lord of the Rings is ‘so’ precious for them.

I believe my book will be of great interest to Tolkien fans because they will gain knowledge of what he was thinking and why he wrote the story the way he did.

Q. What is your hope for your readers?

My hope is to open the minds of my readers to ask, “What if…?”

Q. How long were you working on the book?

The book took one winter to write and two years to edit.

Q. Did you learn something new about Tolkien?

I learned that he had a great interest in ring tales, which virtually are grail tales. He learned to speak Finnish so that he could understand their oral heritage. I also discovered that he published a prose translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, along with E.V. Gordon, in 1936 so was a grail historian. I also believe, although Tolkien denied it, that the “Ring of the Nibelings” heavily influenced him

Q. In your research did you read much about Tolkien? Which resources can you recommend?

I scoured the Internet plus some old college English literature books. The best way to learn about Tolkien is to read his books including the Similarion.

Q. One final question. Can you tell us a bit about your website.

My website – questformiddle-earth.com - is basically a place to find out information about the book, about me and where it can be purchased in both book and eBook formats. The website will soon have reviews of the book posted on it and have an area where visitors can leave comments.

My main website – ufodigest.com - is an online magazine that deals with everything paranormal, with diverse opinions by 20 plus published writers and authors. We have been online since 1998 and have over 2 million visitors annually.

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