The Real Story Behind The Vatican Deal
In January of 2004, I attended one of the most surreal events of my life.
My business partner Roy Rose and I were seated in the Vatican audience hall for the Papal Concert of Reconciliation, hosted by Pope John Paul II. There were roughly 7,000 invited guests. And the man sitting next to us was none other than Luciano Pavarotti.
We were there because of a business deal.
At the time, I owned an art company that had purchased a license to use the Vatican seal on a line of museum-quality art reproductions. That licensing agreement brought us into the inner workings of one of the most fascinating institutions in the world.
During our visits to Rome, we were given a private tour of the Vatican, visited the Pope’s garage (yes, the Pope has a garage), attended an event at the Vatican Observatory, and met numerous officials of the Church. We even spent time with the American Ambassador to the Vatican.
The Vatican – A Global Business Operation
What struck me most was how unusual the Vatican is as an organization.
It is simultaneously:
- the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church
- a sovereign state
- a massive cultural institution
- and, in some respects, a global business operation
Contracts are negotiated. Licenses are granted. Intellectual property is protected. Yet all of this happens inside a centuries-old institution steeped in ritual, diplomacy, and tradition.
For a novelist, it was irresistible material.
Years later, when I began writing the second Marty and Bo thriller, I realized that my experiences in Rome had given me something most writers don’t have: a small glimpse behind the curtain of the Vatican’s business world.
In The Vatican Deal, Marty and Bo travel to Italy to close a licensing agreement with the Vatican very much like the one my company negotiated years earlier. Of course, in fiction the deal turns far more dangerous than anything we encountered in real life.
Still, I often think back to that evening in the Vatican audience hall in 2004—sitting among thousands of guests, with Luciano Pavarotti in the seat beside us, attending a concert hosted by Pope John Paul II. Moments like that stay with you.
And sometimes, years later, they find their way into a novel.
The Thriller Inspired by Real Events
My experiences in Rome and Naples eventually inspired my award-winning crime thriller The Vatican Deal.
In the novel, Portland entrepreneurs Marty Schott and Bo Bishop travel to Italy to purchase a historic bronze foundry and close a Vatican licensing deal. But when their alluring business partner and her powerful Russian backer pull them into a dangerous web of deception, they find themselves caught between the Naples mafia, the Vatican Bank, and the Russian Vory.
When their partner is kidnapped, Marty and Bo must uncover the truth behind the Vatican deal before it costs them their lives.
Winner — 2025 CIPA EVVY Gold Medal (Thrillers & Suspense)
Amazon #1 Hot New Release – Financial Thrillers
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