Saturday, December 21, 2013

Season's Greetings!



To all my friends around the world:

Happy Winter Solstice! Happy Holidays!
Wishing you much love and joy!
May your New Year be absolutely marvelous
and may all your dreams come true!

Much love,
Jeanne***

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Latest News, November 2013


I'm excited to announce that White Lie will not just get a sequel. While researching forgotten history and unsolved mysteries, I found so much inspiration and amazing historical material, that I have decided to create a trilogy. ;-)

I will keep you posted!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Never a dull moment...

It is amazing how so many people came over to Occitania this year and hired me as their private guide. Among them were people who are specialists in certain fields, and who could confirm several details of my research which I used for "White Lie". There were also several celebrities, e.g. Jeopardy show host Alex Trebek and his amazing wife Jean, and singer/songwriter/producer Corjan (photos below).


Jean and Alex Trebek in Rennes-les-Bains, July 2013


Corjan de Raaf and I, October 2013

Starting up the White Lie movie project takes a lot longer than I expected, but we're working on it. Below you can see the promo poster. It will be interesting to see how this project, which seems to have a life of its own, will develop. For instance, who will play the man on the right, Otto Rahn? Only time will tell. ;)


I don't know how many times I have been standing on top of Montségur castle, one of the locations from the book. Here I am standing on the outer wall of one of the Cathar houses. What an amazing place this is...


As I have been taking so many people to the amazing sites here in Occitania, I was able to take some really good photos when I had a moment. Among several others which were taken by clients, I would also like to share some of my favorite photos below. It is an incredible place, this realm of Oc.


Inside the tower of St. Michael in Alet-les-Bains.



The sunflowers of Coustaussa are beautiful both in flower and in seed.



Collioure



The magical square with the head at the Galamus hermitage.


At our home in the woodland garden.


At the African reserve near Sigean/Narbonne. I never dreamed of being so close to wild lions and have the courage to open my window...


Queribus castle in the late October afternoon sun with dramatic clouds behind it. An incredible atmosphere!



The biggest walled medieval town in Europe, Carcassonne, with its 52 towers, never bores me, no matter how many times I visit.


Finding old Greek inscriptions in the ruins of the old monastery at Alet-les-Bains.


It's always nice when the locals start to trust you with their only key to an ancient church.



With a very honored and loved visitor, author/speaker Tim Wallace-Murphy. Our cat Babar immediately liked him. ;-)


It's always fantastic when animals let you come so close and still dare to keep their eyes closed. The French Mediterranean coast of the Camarque and the Roussillon are famous for its many flamingoes that come in from Africa.


Last but not least, an amazing detail in the windows at the St. Nazaire basilica in Carcassonne. Mary is given to Zachariah by her parents. ;-)

Keep on watching this space! I will be back with more news a.s.a.p.

From Occitania, with love... ;-)

Monday, September 9, 2013

Mysterious Occitania

What an incredible Summer this has been! Living in Occitania is an amazing experience. Because of its forbidden history, unsolved mysteries and stunning natural beauty, it serves not only as an inspiration to artists, writers, filmmakers and photographers; it also attracts the most amazing people from all around the world to witness this unknown part of France with their own eyes.

Not many people know that I am also a passionate amateur photographer. Not only through my guided tours and writings, but also through my photography I hope to share the beauty and mystery of this ancient realm. I would like to share a few of my photos below.



Beautiful Alet-les-Bains, with its medieval half-timbered houses, ruined cathedral and the house of Nostradamus. In "White Lie", one of the teams investigated the mysteries that surround this old town on the Aude river.



The Cathar stronghold of Montségur stands proud upon its pog in the Sabarthès mountains. It takes a bit of nerve to climb upon its walls and take this photo while holding onto the lightning rod, but I did it! Montségur plays an important role in "White Lie" and it is always a pleasure to bring part of the story to life during a tour.



Also Rennes-les-Bains and its stunning surroundings are some of the book's locations.

Below a lucky shot at Puivert castle when a little girl wearing medieval clothes ran in and stayed just long enough for me to take this photo:


Puivert Castle has been used as a location for the Roman Polanski film "The Ninth Gate" featuring Johnny Depp. There are many film locations here in this region, that I have explored. Apart from photography, I love location scouting. It is a challenge to find the most incredible places...

 

I'm still working on creating a fab team to turn "White Lie" into a movie. It is a project that will not only be an incredible adventure for any filmmaker and those involved, but also change the way we look at history, conduct, choice and religion.

In the meantime check out my website www.jeannedaout.com. Although some time will be given to do research for my sequel, I will remain available for interviews and guided tours over the coming months. I hope to be back here with news very soon. Have a wonderful Autumn!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Next Hollywood Hype?

More and more people are starting to discover Occitania, land of the Cathars, Templars, Troubadours and the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau, which inspired Dan Brown to write the Da Vinci Code and me to write White Lie. As I am also a tour guide here in Occitania, I get more and more vips and celebs on my tours, including producers, directors and actors. Could this be the next Hollywood hype?
Come and discover this mysterious realm, with its forbidden history and mysteries. It will be my pleasure to be your private guide. Contact me at books@jeannedaout.com.

Below you can see a recently uploaded fragment from my talk show interview, with host Janelle Kay Collard, which I did in the States a few months ago. For me, this is the most important part of the interview. It sort of 'wraps it all up.'

Click here to see the interview on YouTube.



For some reason, my star rate on IMDb.com has gone up an amazing 610.900 places this week!


Also, my demo reel on IMDb has been updated.

Wishing you all a great Summer! From Cathar Country, with love...

With the wolf hounds of Puivert Castle

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Synchronicity

While researching the life and times of Otto Rahn, I have found new friends who have become very dear to me. Let me take you on a short journey of synchronicity.
 
Rahn was, during his early visits to France, working together with a group called The Polaires, researchers of forgotten history and values, who eventually founded the White Eagle Lodge in the 1930-ies.
 
A year ago, I was in Ornolac at the house of Antonin Gadal, Rahn's mentor. I was having a coffee with friends, when a group of people knocked on the door. When we started to talk, I found out that they were White Eagle Lodge. Colum Hayward, who was among them, owns Polaire Publishing, a company attached to the White Eagle Lodge. They found out I had written a book, in which, among others, Otto Rahn plays an important part. It was the start of a new friendship and a great exchange of knowledge and information.
 
 
With White Eagle Lodge members at the house of Antonin Gadal, May 2012

 
Antonin Gadal (1877–1962)

The day, which had started with a coffee with friends, was about to turn into a fantastic adventure!
 
 
 
In the footsteps of Otto Rahn, we walked and crawled through several narrow corridors and caves, and ended up at the exact spot where the original and now famous silhouette photo was taken, which is on the cover of "White Lie".
 

 
 
Colum Hayward and Dave Patrick then asked me if I'd be interested in writing a chapter for their new book, "The Cathar View". And so, one thing led to another...
 
Friday, May 10th, 2013
The new book "The Cathar View", for which I wrote a chapter called "Back to the Source", was presented in Rennes-le-Chateau, France. After Colum Hayward and Dave Patrick (publisher and editor) and several other contributors (a.w. Jaap Rameijer, Shannon Andersen, Ani Williams and myself) did a talk, Ani played her harp and Henry Lincoln (known from "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", which inspired Dan Brown to write "The Da Vinci Code") recited a beautiful poem that he had written. We had a fab lunch (Gerda and Tobi and their crew of the Jardin de Marie are stars!) and many more friends came to join us.
 
Below: Ani Williams and Henry Lincoln at the Jardin de Marie, Rennes-le-Chateau.
 

My talk (below) was, of course, about synchronicity, and how I first met Colum and Dave a year ago in Ornolac, France. ;-)

 
Thanks go to all those who organized it, and all those who came!
 
It was an honour to be asked to write a chapter for the book, and to be present during this special occasion in Rennes-le-Chateau. :)
 
Info about "The Cathar View": www.thecatharview.com
 
 
 

 
 


Thursday, March 21, 2013

USA TOUR 2013

Many thanks to my dear friends in the USA who welcomed me with open arms on my first visit to the States! I gave an interview for The Huffington Post on the subjects of "White Lie", which will be published soon, and I met someone who could perhaps help me get the book filmed, which would be an amazing adventure! I have also been interviewed on a live TV talk show in Las Vegas, an interview which you can see below:


Here are some of the photos taken on my journey which took me to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York City.


On the Talk Show in Las Vegas.


Liberty and Peace, NYC.


With actor James Gill, authors Victor Smith & Glen Craney, and the amazing Foster Perry and Kristos Tsompanelis, after an unforgettable lunch at the True Food Kitchen,
Santa Monica, LA.


Falling in Love with Santa Monica...


With Paulette Victor-Lifton
Triad Artists Group, Lifton Films, Oracle Post


In Vegas...


At The Empire State Building, Manhattan.


Visiting the "Hands Across Time" prehistoric site at the Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.


At the Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam) on the Nevada/Arizona border.


"White Lie" sold out in 5 minutes at the Talk Show venue in Vegas!

Discover Occitania!
The lines are now open to book your seat on the "White Lie Tour 2013". For more information, click here.

Stay tuned for more news!

Photo credits:
Victor Smith, True Food Kitchen, Oracle Post, DeAnne Wolfgram, Beth Tiger, VLB Las Vegas