Contact: Ray Keating, 631-909-1122, keatingreports@aol.com

MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- Former Newsday columnist and current Dolan Media Company columnist Ray Keating has published his first novel -- Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel.

Warrior Monk revolves around a former CIA assassin, Stephen Grant, who has lived a far different, relatively quiet life as a parish pastor in recent years. However, a shooting at his church, an historic papal proposal, and threats to the Pope's life mean that Grant's former and current lives collide. Grant must tap the varied skills learned as a government agent, a theologian and a pastor not only to protect the Pope, but also to feel his way through a minefield of personal challenges.

Keating said, "My hope is that this is an entertaining, compelling story of murder, action, humor and romance, while touching on various religious, moral and political topics important to the twenty-first century, including conservatives versus liberals in Christianity, terrorism, torture, extreme environmentalism, ecumenism, and the challenges of relativism, militant secularism, and radical Islam."

Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Review copies, interviews for the media, and author appearances are available upon request.

Advance Praise for Warrior Monk

Larry Kudlow, host of CNBC's "The Kudlow Report," said: "Ray Keating has created a fascinating and unique character in Pastor Grant. The way Keating intertwines politics, national security and faith into a compelling thriller is sheer delight."

U.S. Congressman Pete King, Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee, commented: "CIA intrigue, the Vatican, international terrorism and brutal assassinations make Warrior Monk a fast-moving, riveting read right out of today's -- and tomorrow's -- headlines. Add challenging religious issues, which the author makes us confront, and you have a brilliant novel. Ray Keating knows what he is writing about and writes it extraordinarily well."

About the Author
Ray Keating is a writer, newspaper columnist, economist and adjunct college professor. His work has appeared in a wide range of periodicals, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Newsday, National Review, The Washington Times, Investor's Business Daily, Long Island Business News, and Colorado Springs Business Journal. Keating lives on Long Island with his family.