Detroit Writer Makes Catholic Fiction Cool Again With Suspense Novel

Ron Teachworth’s “The Annunciation” (WestBow Press, 2014) bears some similarities to Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” and Steve Berry’s “The Third Secret.” Classical art spurs the events in the novel, and a secret society that aims to restore the Catholic Church to what it was pre-Vatican II, plays the antagonist.

In “The Annunciation,” a number of Catholic young men and women from Detroit travel to Florence, Italy to assist in restoring the frescos of the Early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico. Finn McNelis, a seminarian, and Olivia Gianetti, a Felician sister, are among the young students in the art restoration fellowship. Not long after arriving, Finn and Olivia begin to fall in love with each other and fearing repercussions, they hide their feelings. 

Meanwhile, the Piagnoni, a radical group of religious conservatives, plot to assassinate the Pope in order to restore the Catholicism of the past. While restoration is underway at the San Marco convent, a professor stumbles upon new evidence that links Leonardo da Vinci to Girolamo Savonarola, an excommunicated friar revered by the Piagnoni. Finn heroically thwarts the Piagnoni’s assassination attempt on the Pope, who visits the San Marco convent to survey the restoration work. As a reward, the Vatican offers him an attractive position. Can Finn and Olivia sort out their feelings before they commit themselves to the Church… to celibacy? 

In the midst of Catholic bashing that pervades the entertainment world, Teachworth offers Catholic thriller fans something new and refreshing to read about, and to non-Catholic and secular readers, a break from the anti-Catholicism they are acquainted with through the media. It is as if the author attempt to initiate contemporary literature’s deference to the Catholic faith and offers the balance that does not often apply to catholic representation. “The Annunciation” has received two national book awards and is available on Amazon and WestBow Press.

“The Annunciation”
Written by Ron Teachworth
Published by WestBow Press  
Published date: June 27, 2014 
Paperback price: $19.95  
Electronic $3.95
 
About the Author
Mr. Teachworth’s background is in visual art, film, and television. He wrote and directed the feature film “Going Back,” for Vestron Pictures. He followed up with a children’s book: “Two Stones,” and recently published “Beyond: A Collection of Metaphysical Short Stories.” He has taught at the college level and currently writes and publishes art criticism.

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