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Miami, Florida (April 15, 2010)—Papal Rogues, the debut thriller by author Ron Wilk is now available on Amazon.com, www.ronwilkfiction.com, and through bookstores nationwide. Papal Rogues is published by Langdon Street Press and draws the reader into the clandestine underbelly of corporate America, the U.S. Military and most shockingly—the Vatican.
In a daring and controversial “what if” scenario, Ron Wilk creates a compelling and multilayered thriller that leaves readers wondering just how far a nefarious few will go to recapture the reins of power and just how vulnerable the world can be when the secrets of cyberspace fall into the wrong hands.
“Throughout history the world’s most powerful institutions have always spawned rogue elements who blur the lines between good and evil in their ‘ends justify the means’ pursuits,” explains Wilk. “In Papal Rogues, I take the readers on an adrenaline-pumping thriller that explores what happens when someone uncovers what was meant to remain hidden.”
While Papal Rogues weaves a complex and intriguing tale, Wilk displays his levity and wit by revealing much of the story though the journey of his naïve protagonist, Calder McMonagle, who ventures from home in Scotland to California, where he investigates the mysterious death of his computer hacker friend, Michael Squire.
Papal Rogues is Ron Wilk’s first published novel, however, the author has released two highly successful Internet novels. With over 900,000 pages downloaded to date, both Red Death and Kerberos are available at www.ronwilkfiction.com
About Ron Wilk: Born in New York City, author Ron Wilk is a retired neurologist. He earned his medical degree at the world’s oldest medical institution, the famed University of Bologna Faculty of Medicine in Bologna, Italy. His youthful years in Europe broadened his cultural experiences and later influenced much of his fiction writings.
Upon graduating, Wilk trained at the prestigious Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York City where he achieved chief resident status. After a twenty-three year career in Boca Raton, Florida, following an injury, Wilk retired from medicine and is now a full-time author.
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How a Doctor Healed Himself by Becoming a Novelist
By Patrick J. Kiger | July 6, 2010 | 2 Comments
Ron Wilk loved being a neurologist and spent 23 satisfying years practicing what he saw as his life's calling. Then, in 2000, the Boca Raton physician's life was inexorably altered by a slip and fall down a stairwell. The accident left Wilk with a permanently injured spine, headaches and frequently excruciating pain in his back and neck.
"My specialty required a lot of bending and lifting to examine patients," he says. "I couldn't do it anymore." He couldn't even stand or sit for more than a few hours without having to lie down. At age 55, he had no choice but to retire from medicine. He also had to give up tennis and boating, the hobbies that he enjoyed. Long divorced and childless, he didn't have a family to for emotional support. He didn't know what to do with himself ... To read the entire Entrepreneur Magazine Blog article click here.
http://www.secondact.com/2010/07/how-a-doctor-healed-himself-by-becoming-a-novelist/
SKIP SHEFFIELD’S FLIX,
MUZIK, SHOWZ, TRAVEL &
MORE BLOG
Skip is a 30-year writer for Boca Raton News writing about arts, entertainment, travel and unforgettable people. He can also be reached to sshef47@gmail.com
Thursday, July 1, 2010
“There are no second acts in American lives,” novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald famously argued.
Ron Wilk would beg to differ. Wilk, 65, has been on the second part of his life for a full decade now, and things are looking up. The first part of his life culminated in his becoming Dr. Ron Wilk, neurologist and chief resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, and later in private practice in Boca Raton. Around 10 years ago Dr. Ron Wilk came tumbling down a flight of stairs. The resulting injuries were sufficiently severe to convince him to retire from medical practice and reassess his life.
“As a neurologist I knew the diffuse spinal injuries would make it difficult for lifting, bending and twisting, all of which a neurologist must do,” he explains. “Yes, I went through depression, self-incrimination and regret. Once I got through that, I realized I had to do something with the rest of my life. While I was in law school I discovered I had a facility with writing. Writing is not hard for me. Getting published is more challenging.”
Ron Wilk is now a novelist. “Papal Rogues” (Langdon Street Press, Minneapolis) is his first novel in print, but it is not the first thing he has written. I wrote two novels and sent out hundreds of query letters to publishers,” he relates. “When no one responded positively, I created a web site and published them myself. I have had over 950,000 hits so far.” Almost a million hits, but Ron Wilk has yet to earn a penny. He hopes that will change with “Papal Rogues,” a timely page-turner about a New Jersey computer hacker who dies under suspicious circumstances. This inspires his Scottish Internet buddy and fellow hacker to seek the truth, and discover shadowy, treacherous figures tied to corporate America, the U.S. Military, and certain rogue elements within The Vatican. America is incredibly vulnerable to cyber-terrorism- more so than most other counties,” Wilk asserts. “We are so dependent on computers and the Internet for everything we do. When the Pentagon can get hacked, we’ve got a problem.”
The prime hacker in his mystery-thriller is the late American Michael Squire who relishes the challenge of hacking into allegedly invincible web sites. Evidently Michael was a little too good, because soon after he hacked into the web site of a very rich and powerful organization, he was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his New Jersey apartment. Since Squire eschewed drugs and didn’t even smoke cigarettes, his friend, Scotsman Calder McMonagle, is a little more than suspicious. Calder, who worked for the same company creating virus' and their solutions, soon begins to fear for his own life and decides to travel to LA to see if he can solve the mystery of Michael’s death.
“Papal Rogues” is full of rapidly-unfolding intrigues in a one-off world that resembles our own. The starting point for Calder’s investigation is the sinister Recton Corporation, which hired both Michael Squire and Calder McMonagle.
As the plot unfolds, readers are introduced to the corporate victims of Recton’s designer computer viruses including Aspen Aerospace, a company with U.S. military contracts. Aspen’s most intriguing project is an invention that bends light waves in such a manner as to render material objects invisible.
While Aspen Aerospace and the other corporate victims grapple with their dilemma, Calder discovers unusually large payments to Recton that ultimately leads to a Chicago Cardinal of the Catholic Church with close ties to the Vatican.
In his perilous pursuit of the mystery, Calder encounters two “femmes fatale;” one a hired assassin named Simone and the other a 19-year-old computer genius named Brenda. Along with the hot button issues, there are erotic diversions.
“Sex sells,” Wilk says with a smile and a shrug. “I actually had more sex in the story, but my editor advised me to tone it down.”
As it is “Papal Rogues” is racy enough to keep the armchair voyeur satisfied while fulfilling the role of gripping whodunit. Wilk is not resting on his laurels. He has just finished a fourth novel, a psychological thriller, and he is working on a possible sequel to “Papal Rogues.” On the practical side, he has an online blog about how to deal with the second part of anyone’s life.
Go to www.ronwilkfiction.com for more information.
Posted by Skip Sheffield at 12:39 PM
Skip Sheffield: I was an employee of Boca Raton News for 40 years- the last 30 as a writer and most recently arts, entertainment and society editor/writer.
Allen Eyestone/The Palm Beach Post
FL Ron Wilk was a neurologist until a broken back 10 years ago forced him to give up his practice. He lives in constant, chronic pain. He started writing novels, published two on the internet and has just had his first hard copy version published.
 
* ‘Papal Rogues’ by Author Ron Wilk Draws the Reader into the Clandestine Underbelly of Corporate America, the U.S. Military and the Vatican
In a daring and controversial “what if” scenario, Ron Wilk creates a compelling and multi-layered thriller that leaves readers wondering just how far a nefarious few will go to recapture the reins of power and just how vulnerable the world can be when the secrets of cyberspace fall into the wrong hands. “Papal Rogues” (ISBN: 978-1936183029; 520 pages; paperback; Langdon Street Press – a division of Hillcrest Publishing Group, Inc.) is Wilk’s first published novel; however, the author has previously released two highly successful Internet novels with nearly 1 million pages downloaded to date.
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