Book Details:
PILGRIMS by M.R. Leonard
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 412 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Blue Castle Press
Release date: November 2024
Content Rating: PG-13. There is death in my book. There are also religious profanities “God damn”. There are also a few swears (not many but some “F” bombs said by the villain at the end). There is no description of sex but my protagonist follows an online creator who does adult content (her content is never described at all other than to say it exists). The main thing is the violence in my book. It is not gory but it does involve children dying.
Book Description:
Latin was a dead language—until the aliens arrived.
Out-of-work Latin teacher and borderline alcoholic Austin DeSantis is determined to spend his final days in the arms of a prostitute—that is if the aliens don’t exterminate humanity first.
But when the aliens land at the Vatican, begin speaking Latin, and reveal themselves to be Catholic, the world turns upside down.
Pressed into service as a translator and thrust into the center of humanity’s first contact with a cryptic alien race, Austin must uncover their true intentions before religious turmoil rips the planet apart. But with Austin caught between the Catholic Church, the US military, and an enigmatic alien AI, he’ll have to decide where his loyalties lie as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
PILGRIMS is a sci-fi retelling of Augustine’s Confessions, mixing a high-concept premise à la Children of Time with the ceaseless pacing and rich characterization of Red Rising.
Okay. The cover. We need to talk about the cover. How’d you come up with that?
It is a great cover, isn’t it? I wanted something that announced the genre clearly but said to the reader, this book is going to be different.
In PILGRIMS, instead of landing on the White House lawn and saying “take me to your leader,” the aliens land at the Vatican and ask for an audience with the Pope.
Is this like the far future, the past, the present? When do these “Catholic” aliens show up?
It’s set in the near future. I’m vague about the time because I think when books are super specific it kind of dates the story. Like in Back to the Future II Marty McFly goes to the “future” which is 2015. Needless to say, 2015 California in the movie didn’t look a whole lot like the real 2015 California (where is my hoverboard?!!).
So the story starts in a world that looks a lot like ours, with one key difference—humanity discovered an alien ship careening toward Earth five years prior and all attempts at communication have failed. No one knows if the aliens are friend or foe and if their arrival portends a coming apocalypse or a golden age.
As you can imagine, this has a pretty big impact on things, not really for the better.
The aliens are faking, right? Aliens can’t be Catholic. Can they?
You have to read the book to find out 😊.
But interestingly, this is a subject Catholic thinkers have been pondering for centuries (that’s right—centuries). While there is no official Church teaching, there are many scholars, including those who work at the Vatican Observatory, who believe that of course aliens can be Catholic if they sincerely want to be.
Speaking of the Vatican Observatory. That is a real thing. It’s in Arizona and one of the characters in the story—Father Ambrose—is the director. So read my book and learn more!
How long have you been writing?
About three years. This is my debut novel. I came from a business background before but I had this story burning inside me and I just needed to get it out. I’m happy to say the response has been phenomenal. A lot of major influencers have picked up on it. It’s not every day that a book about Catholic aliens invading Earth comes out . . .
Is this a one-off story or is it a series?
The book concludes about fifty days after Catholic aliens arrive on Earth. What happens to society ten years after such a momentous event? Fifty years? There is still so much story to tell and I’ll do it from the perspective for the main character—Austin DeSantis.
I didn’t want to write a book with a major cliffhanger at the end, however. The story is all wrapped up in a bow at the end. It’s very satisfying.
What’s this about you going to the Moon?
Even though I’m a sci-fi author, I’ve never really had an interest in space tourism. I like things on Earth just fine. But I do want to go to the Moon one day.
And here’s the thing—I think that is going to be possible in the late 2030’s. This isn’t a pipe dream. I already have permission from my wife an everything (which we all know is the hardest part about going to the Moon).
Speaking of the Moon, my Instagram handle is @Monksonthe_Moon. It’s about time we had monks on the Moon, isn’t it? I’m gonna work on making that happen. I like to have modest goals . . .
Meet Author Michael Leonard:
Michael Leonard was born and raised in Boston, but the cities he’s spent the most time in are Beijing, Florence and Edgartown (in that order). After graduating from Boston College, he pursued a career in law before becoming a China market entry advisor and accumulating a few lifetimes worth of adventures in just nine short years. Somewhere along the way he lost his faith but he found it again in graduate school at MIT. Married with two young sons, he can be found discussing his next novel with his ten pound dachshund as he strolls around Boston Harbor.
connect with the author: website ~ X ~ instagram ~ goodreads
PILGRIMS by M.R. Leonard Book Tour Giveaway
~~~~~
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
For a list of my reviews go HERE.
For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE
To see all of my giveaways go HERE.
