Author, Kevin P. Keating's book, "The Natural Order of Things," has secured a nomination for the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction awarded by Los Angeles Times

Keating is an English lecturer at the Baldwin Wallace University.

Along with him five other authors have been nominated. The finalist will be announced at an event, April 19, University of Southern California.

"To think that the judges have placed me among this company is the greatest honor of my professional life," Keating told Cleveland.

Apart from his English classes, Keating, 41, conducts fiction workshop classes at Cleveland State University. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College, Chicago and MA in English from Cleveland State University.

Keating's book, 'The Natural Order of Things' features 15 interwoven stories about a Jesuit boy's school in a vanishing industrial city.

Aqueous Books published this novel. It says:

"The novel concerns the adventures and exploits of a small group of students, teachers, employees, and priests at a Jesuit prep school in a dying industrial city."

"Its stories harbor star quarterbacks who sabotage important games, the head coach with a gambling addiction wagering on his own team, an elderly priest suffering from acute memory loss who dabbles in heretical beliefs and others who swim against the tides of society's proscribed roles."

Keating said that some of it is disgraceful, but there is hidden truth behind it. He was always intrigued as to what happens when the secular world meets the religious world.

One of the judges told the newspaper that the language is complicated and beautiful.