Catholic Thriller Gives New Twist to Holiday Reading

Dec. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- This is not the religious bedtime story your grandmother once read to you. "Until I Return: Dawn of the Shining Darkness" is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that leads around the world and through the centuries until its pulse-pounding climax. This adventure occasionally  detours through fascinating but little-known alleys of Christian history, but then revs up as it takes us to the story's emotional and suspenseful scenic hills.

As first-time author Kenneth E. Nowell says, "These are the prophecies you don't know and the warning you should never forget."  

Back in the 1990s, Nowell was pushing himself to the limit, pursuing all things worldly. The hard work had its rewards, "But I knew I couldn't continue at that pace," Nowell says. "After falling asleep at the wheel, one too many times, I had even established the habit of putting my car in park at every stoplight."

Nowell was enjoying successful careers in business, law and politics. But he came to believe that the world was changing, and not for the better. So, he dove into Biblical prophecy and supplemented his studies with little-known prophecies of saints. Increasingly, he felt that it was time to batten the hatches, so to speak, both financially and spiritually. He sold his business interests, his stock investments and even his real estate. "I had never thought I would see the day when I would own no stocks or real estate. But I was blessed to get out of them shortly before the bubbles burst."  

So, in 2008, at the relatively young age of 52, Nowell retired with his wife to the Treasure Coast of Florida. There, he hoped to focus more on his faith and family while enjoying tennis and sailing in the lovely Florida weather.

But soon after that, Nowell suffered a serious injury while playing tennis. He completely severed his Achilles tendon while lunging for a return. Once he realized how long he would be stuck in bed, he quickly decided to lunge into the book he had been planning for over a decade.

Nowell hopes his novel will reinvigorate the waning market for Catholic fiction. "Almost 75 million Americans are Catholic," Nowell points out. "Yet, go into any bookstore and you'll see that it is almost impossible to find modern works of adult fiction that do not mock our values or slander our faith." In fact, the blockbusters of contemporary novelist, Dan Brown, are seen by many as slanders against the Catholic Church.

Still, this novel is not "Father O'Malley Saves the Choir Girl." It does not whitewash its story with one-dimensional characters. "Until I Return" accepts that evil exists and that every human institution has its share of sinners. Still, it wholly rejects Brown's "blame Catholics first" approach.

That said, however, this book is not just for Catholics. "Until I Return" is a great read for the spiritually curious, of any faith. Its story is derived from true prophecies that are documented in the book's endnotes.

No, this novel is not a typical bedtime story or typical Christian fiction. It is not typical in any way. But that is what makes it so special.


BOOK INFO:
Until I Return: Dawn of the Shining Darkness
420 pages
Paperback
$16.95
ISBN:978-0-9828279-0-1
Available from
major bookstores,
Amazon.com,
BarnesAndNoble.com,
www.VeroHousePublishing.com

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9K5FyF08tI



BOOK LOGLINE:
The prophecies
you don’t know…
The warning
you should never forget.

# # #

Vero House publishes Christian books with a Catholic perspective. Soon to be released are Ruth Werkowski's lovingly faithful memoir, "Transformed by Trouble: From Misfortune to Miracles" and Father John J. Pasquini's convincing defense of Catholic beliefs, "Catholic Answers to Protestant Questions: A Concise Summary."