I wrote my novel “Upon a Field of Gold” in 2017. It’s a story about a past life I had as a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War.

I have no burden to prove that I had lived as Joshua Park and died in Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

My belief has been confirmed by a hypnotherapist specializing in past life regression, two psychics, my standing on the exact spot on the battlefield where I was shot, several visions, and a novel mostly written by Joshua Park moving my fingers on the keyboard.

On one August afternoon in 2018, I submitted a synopsis of my book’s story to Voyage Media in California. They make movies and podcasts from stories written by little known writers and authors. They were intrigued by my summary and I sent them the book. They informed me that they wanted to take me on as a client.

A friend once told me, “Sometimes you have to jump out of a plane and build a parachute on the way down.”

I signed a contract with Voyage with the understanding that they had the right to change the characterization and the plot scenes as they see fit to make the movie successful. Progress moved quickly at first.

A producer, Robert Mitas, who has made films with Michael Douglas and produced several Hollywood movies including “Flatliners,” took on my project. He procured a proven screenplay writer, Lydia Genner, and then got a blockbuster director, Andy Fickman who has worked with Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Kevin James, Bette Midler, Billy Crystal and several other Hollywood stars.

Genner’s first script was turned down by an investment company. Too risky, they said, to make a film about a Confederate soldier with the current perception that the Southern flag and the Confederacy symbolize racism. Genner went back to work and instead of Joshua Park being a Rebel from Alabama, he’s now a Yankee from New Hampshire.

A few other alterations were written into the screenplay. Fickman then got 12 Hollywood actors to read the script on a live zoom where I was present to watch. It was terrific. After the read, Fickman and Mitas consulted me about amping up some of the scenes.

I was advised to obtain an entertainment lawyer. I Googled one in California who has years of experience negotiating contracts for both production companies and for clients like me.

Fickman and Mitas put together a list of possible actors for the lead role. One is an Academy Award nominee and the others are all popular movie stars. The most difficult task came next. Get the money to make the movie.

Investors are being asked to fund our budget with $8 to 10 million. Civil War battle scenes are expensive to make. We got a few nibbles, but no big bites.

Meanwhile, Fickman moved along directing another movie and a musical produced in England. Mitas, the Head of Originals at Voyage, kept me updated though nothing was really happening.

Voyage’s Pathway Awards, their version of the Academies, was held this past August on Zoom. My project won for Best Feature in Development. I have the trophy on my mantle and every time I look at it, I want to change the words to “Best New Feature Film.”

It’s already been a four and half year wait, but that’s not quite long enough, according to insiders from the entertainment business. From script to screen, most Hollywood major movie productions take between 5 to 8 years or even longer. I told my producer that I might not live that long. “Me neither,” he said, with a laugh.

“Do not be discouraged,” Mitas told me two weeks ago. “This is how Hollywood works or doesn’t work. We will see this through. You have a beautiful story and we will make this movie.”

What caused Mitas to take on my story is its timeless theme. It’s an incomplete love story that promises to continue in a future time period.

As far as my life as Joshua Park, Fickman said, “You’re the one with the courage to come forward and tell your past life story which can move others to tell theirs.”

Upon entering this venture with Voyage Media, I was told by some people close to me that I would be scammed. They’d steal my story, make the movie, and deny it was ever mine. I understood the risk of getting involved before I actually invested my own money into this project. Trust Voyage. Yes, I do.

CEO Nat Mundel has been honest with me since the first day we had spoken. Mitas and I have had several conversations, not just about the business at hand, but about our families, too. I feel like I have a friend that lives 3,000 miles away that I’ve never met.

Trusting someone I don’t know has never been my thing, but that’s what I have done with Voyage. I have kept my faith in promises that have been given to me.

Poet Charles Bukowski put it this way. “If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start ... It could mean mockery ... and you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. ... You will be alone with the gods, and the night will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter.”

This dream is as real to me as is my life as Joshua Park and that moment will come when I sit in a theater seat on opening night of our motion picture. And then, when the first scene flashes across the big screen, I will be crying tears of perfect laughter.

Rich Strack can be reached at richiesadie11@gmail.com