It makes sense that J.D. Sousa’s creative vision involves world domination. After all, that’s his marketing plan as well.

While most first-time authors are only worried about getting their books on the shelves, Sousa, a former Realtor, is looking a lot farther down the road.

His Web site, www.untoldlegends.com, offers to sell the movie rights to his first novel, "The Rise of Empires," along with those of the eight other as yet unfinished books in his planned series. If movie producing isn’t your thing, Sousa offers all sorts of other opportunities — from merchandising to flat-out investing in his vision.

All this before he’s even sold 2,000 copies of his book, which tells the story of ancient and powerful weapons that helped bring down the Walls of Jericho, and fuel the rise of Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan and the Knights Templar. These weapons are stolen by terrorists setting in motion a new world war.

This confidence either makes the South African expatriate insane or supremely confident.

"‘It’s like Harry Potter, but for adult readers,’" he says people tell him. "‘It’s like ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ but deeper.’ When I hear those things, I know I won’t fail. It’s that good."

Still, major publishers and literary agents passed when he offered the book last year. The distribution offers he did get from smaller publishers didn’t make sense to him financially, he says. So he decided to self-publish and skip the middlemen.

He considers getting his book into the hands of millions a military campaign of sorts. His strategy, he says, is guerilla marketing. In fact, selling "The Rise of Empires" and J.D. Sousa is his full-time job now.

"J.D. isn’t like a lot of authors we see who think that it’s your job to market their book," says Felicia Santiago, community relations assistant at Barnes & Noble in Naples. "He’s out there trying to get people to buy his book."

After going through the process of getting it into the Barnes & Noble system, which includes sending a copy of the book and a detailed marketing plan to Barnes & Noble’s New York headquarters, Sousa took some advice Santiago and others had given him and started scheduling as many book signings as he could possibly manage.

At first, Sousa was trying to sell the book by himself. But recently his wife Michelle has quit her job as well to work full-time helping him manage the tour and search for investors. The couple and their two children are now living off their savings.

"It’s scary for sure," Michelle DeSousa says. (J.D. shortened his name for the book.) "But I do believe we are going to get it right. We know what we need to do. Now we just have to do it."

DeSousa says living and breathing nothing but the book has taken its toll on her family, especially her children.

"They get frustrated," she says. "All they hear is a lot of conversation about the book. It’s the book, the book, the book. They’re tired of hearing about it, I think."

Still, Sousa and his wife plug on, following the plan.

The first step is getting the book into as many people’s hands as possible. He keeps the elements of his battle plan inside a three-ring binder that’s always with him. In it is his calendar, packed with scheduled book signings at Barnes & Noble stores throughout the state. There’s also a handful in California.

Because he’s in the Barnes & Noble system, local stores can stock as many copies of his book as they think they can sell. As of press time, there were 62 copies on the shelves of the Naples store.

His binder also contains a list of topics for interviews, and a list of Florida chain bookstores with little notes about conversations he’s had with their managers. The few press clippings he’s garnered, none of which review the book, are in a separate folder he also carries with him.

"My biggest problem right now is that I haven’t gotten reviewed," says Sousa, 37. "Just one review in a big newspaper could make this whole thing happen. I need to get reviewed by The New York Times or the Los Angeles paper or Houston or something like that.

"That would make this whole thing a lot easier."

A review would most certainly bring investors. Without the help of a big publisher, Sousa estimates he’ll need about $2 million to print books, run a marketing campaign and support a world tour. He says that money is all that’s standing between him and mega-stardom.

If dedication and determination are indicators of success, Sousa should find his happy ending. He’s leaving as little to chance as possible.

"A lot of authors just sit back and wait for people to talk to them in the store," Barnes & Noble’s Santiago says. "They don’t sell any books. J.D. doesn’t wait for people to come to him."

While she has only read a few chapters, Santiago says she believes the book has the components necessary to make it successful. Its cover, designed by Sousa’s teenage son, draws interest with busts of President George W. Bush and Alexander the Great staring each other down in front of a pyramid.

"Plus, the people who have read it seem to like it," Santiago says. "And word of mouth is the best way to sell books. Oprah tells people about ‘The Secret’ and we can’t keep it on the shelves.

"If enough people are talking about it, it will sell."

Daily News: How did this project get started? When did the idea come to you?

J.D. Sousa: I’ve had the idea for a long time but never any chance to write. I actually sent in the copyright for the book to the Library of Congress in 1997. But that was only a plot outline and the concept.

I had been doing a lot of research, but never had any time to write. I got into the restaurant business because I thought it would give me some free time to work on the book. Well, there was no free time at all, so I got out of the restaurant business.

After that, I closed the door to my office and wrote flat out for a year. I finished the first book in, like, September of 2006.

DN: On your Web site, you mention plans for more books. Was it always your plan to write a series?

JDS: My intent was to have all the "Legends Untold’" in one book. But things kept expanding and expanding. Then it was going to be three books. Now it’s nine books and it could be more.

DN: What was your inspiration for this series?

JDS: Mysteries have always fascinated me since childhood. Everyone knows who built the pyramids. I never cared about the who, but instead the why.

DN: You are embarked on a sort of guerilla marketing campaign to sell this book.

JDS: I have to be. Unless you have a "Big Six" publishing house behind you, you have to be out there constantly trying to get people to pick up your book. I’m on the road a lot trying to let people know about it.

DN: Is there something that would send your book over the top? Something that would push it from a self-published book sold in local stores onto the national scene?

JDS: I had the opportunity to talk at length with some people at Barnes & Noble in Naples. ... I asked what makes a book sell. And they said get endorsements.

DN: Have you gotten any yet?

JDS: Not yet, but I’ve got the book out there. I’ve sent it to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. ...Ted Koppel has a copy of the book. I went to a convention he was speaking at in Orlando just to give him a copy. Emeril (Lagasse) was in town for a book signing. I stood in line for hours just to give him a copy. I sent a copy to Mel Gibson’s people.

Pretty much I go online and search and search and search for people to send copies to.

DN: How many copies of the book have you sold so far?

JDS: Well, it’s really only been available since March. So there hasn’t been a lot of time to sell yet. There are more than 2,000 copies on the shelves and I’ve sold around 1,000.

DN: Yet you seem so confident about your chances of success. Even though the book was turned down by major publishers.

JDS: I know I’ve got something really good here. It isn’t going to fail.

You know, I would like to make a documentary of my experience, especially at the book signings. I want to see the difference between how people treat me now and when the book becomes successful.

Now, sometimes people are just right out rude. I see someone staring at my poster and I go up to him.

"Hello. How are you today?"

One guy told me, "Get out of my space."

I said, "I’m the author. That’s my book you are looking at."

He said, "Just go away."

That was a shock to me. But I bet it won’t be like that forever.

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If you go

J.D. Sousa book signings

When: 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. today

Where: Panera Bread, 6424 Naples Blvd. Suite 201, Naples

Admission: free

Information: 514-1126

When: 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Panera Bread, 8027 Mediterranean Dr. Suite 107, Estero

Admission: Free

Information: 498-4472

Sousa’s top 5 books

1. "The Man Who Fed The World" by Leon Hesser

An inspirational biography of Norman Borlaug perfectly compiled and written by my good friend Leon Hesser. This book is a must read especially for young readers: Any dream is obtainable. You just have to reach out and make it happen.

2. "Fingerprints of the Gods" by Graham Hancock

This book takes an alternative view of the world’s mysteries. I found this book very interesting because it dates mankind’s existence older than 10,000 years. It also has a very logical argument about the pyramid builders, the Peri Reis map and other mysteries.

3. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

The way Dan Brown fused fiction and non-fiction is similar to the style that I write in.

4. "The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury

Raymond Khoury blends a fictional search for lost Templar artifacts with history and current times.

5. "The Orion Mystery" by Robert Bauval

In this book, Bauval convincingly argues the purpose of the Egyptian pyramids and the reason why they were built. An alternative theory on the Egyptian Pyramids.