The central character is a charismatic young priest with a radical approach to Catholicism and possible powers to heal. The rise and fall of Father Gabriel Romero is told by the people around him -- believers and skeptics. American Saint has just been published by the Amazon imprint 47North, and author Sean Gandert has set the novel in his hometown, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"I was raised Catholic and it's a part of the whole landscape here," says Sean of his home state. "I wanted to look at not just mainstream Catholicism, but also older parts of Catholicism that usually don't get thought about, and how that formed modern New Mexican Catholicism, which is its own thing."
In this more complete version of the interview, Sean discusses the reasons he set American Saint in the present day. "When we read about the past, we get a little bit of distance and we don't want to act on what we hear. The book does have a certain political agenda, particularly with regard to activism. So I wanted people to not be able to tune that out."
