'The Saint and The Sinner'

Young Man's Path to Salvation Takes an Unusual Turn on Cross-Country Trip

"The Saint and The Sinner" (published by AuthorHouse), the new novel by Frank M. Civale, follows a young man's quest to be saved in the eyes of the Lord, a dramatic journey that starts with a family rift, leads to seminary school, and ends up on a raucous cross-country road trip with a hard-living trucker.

When Antonio Vallo, an Italian immigrant, came to the United States, he quickly learned that you can't have the good life without money. After years of hard work, Antonio is now living the American Dream. He owns a trucking business and a winery. He lives in a mansion on a large estate near Los Angeles, Calif. All he wants for his family is the success that comes with wealth. And he expects his son, Frank, to help run the family businesses when he graduates from college.

But Frank has other ideas, going against his father's wishes to enroll in seminary in Boston. This, he believes, is the only path to salvation. In the seminary Frank learns a whole new way of life. He learns to be humble, a true test for someone who has always been given everything he wanted. After a trying yet rewarding first semester, he decides to take a bus ride home.

Frank is picked up at the bus station by a truck driver, a rough dude who likes wine, women and singing, not to mention a good fight once a day. Their trip across the country is filled with adventures. Every stop is a test for Frank because he feels it is his calling to help lead those engaged in sinful living onto more righteous paths.

On the trip an unexpected thing happens: Frank becomes so involved with trying to save souls, he almost loses his own. The wine, women and singing take hold of Frank. The truck driver, who at first appears like a lost soul, is greatly influenced by Frank's constant preaching. By the end of the journey, the truck driver takes on all the characteristics of Frank, while Frank seems to be taking on all of the truck driver's bad habits.

Will Frank's transformation be for the better or the worse? Has he come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be saved, or has he started down a path of sin? Will he return to the seminary or drift aimlessly through the rest of his life? Find out in the conclusion of "The Saint and The Sinner."

Frank M. Civale was born in Connecticut and raised in the Bronx, N.Y. He has written several other novels, including "Atlantis: The Last Testament," "Memory Man," "Decision," "Ocean Harvest," "Who Laughs Last," "The Property Room" and "Honey." He has also written 700 children's books, which together form "The Grandpa Collection." He hopes to eventually write 1,000 children's books for a place in Guinness World Records.