Dr. Lisa Theus

Historical Fiction Editor

Lisa Theus thinks one of the best ways to get to know somebody is their favorite books, and she credits Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi with helping her fall in love with her now husband. Her favorite works include (listed chronologically!): The Epic of Gilgamesh, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Mary, the poetry of John Donne, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, and Pope Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth.

She has spent most of her life training herself how to think like an ancient Roman (she earned a PhD in Classics at Rutgers University and taught college courses for several years). Eventually, she left academia for something more stable–working first as a church secretary for her local Catholic parish and now as an assistant for a financial advisor. She can’t keep her head out of history or rich worlds, however, and she loves reading about noble heroes and the difficult pursuit of virtue–however that may manifest. Bonus points for an engaging cast of characters and strong worldbuilding.
When she isn’t working for her paycheck, she’s pursuing the life of a freelance writer and editor; building her own worlds; volunteering in her community; or playing video games with her husband.

Corinna Turner

Fantasy Editor

Carnegie Medal Award nominated author Corinna Turner has been writing since she was fourteen and likes strong protagonists with plenty of integrity. She has an MA in English from Oxford University, but has foolishly gone on to work with both children and animals! Juggling work with the disabled and being a midwife to sheep, she spends as much time as she can in a little hut at the bottom of the garden, writing.

She is a Catholic Christian with roots in the Methodist and Anglican churches. A keen cinema-goer, she lives in the UK. She used to have a Giant African Land Snail, Peter, with a six inch long shell and an even larger foot, but now makes do with a cactus and a campervan! 

The Monks’ Daily Bread by Sylvia Dorham

A nursery rhyme for toddlers showing them the daily life in a monastery.

Death in Black & White by Fr. Michael Brisson, L.C.

Can an ordinary American guy make it as a priest in a world where everything is against him?

Island of Miracles by Amy Schisler

When she finds out her husband had a whole other set of wife and kids Kate starts over in a small beach town.

My Name is Philomena By Fr. Peregrine Fletcher, O. Praem

Who was St. Philomena, daughter of light?

Please Don’t Feed the Dinosaurs by Corinna Turner

A series of dino adventures that has been doing better what the mainstream Jurassic Park series only recently attempted.

Minding Mom: A Caregiver’s Devotional Story By Lisa Livezey

A fifty-two-day devotional book for caregivers.

All in Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk

A truly healthy romance that will STILL leave you up at night

How Sweet the Sound by Courtney Guest Kim

Annette makes all the wrong decisions for her love life—but through Grace finds true wisdom.

The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt

A deep, honest story of emotional struggle, temptation, and sacrifice.

A Bloody Habit by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

An English lawyer runs afoul of necrotic vampires, and even worse things– Dominican Priests!

Spooky Catholic Reads

Books with the themes of the All Hallows season grouped according to scariness level.

Nightside The Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

A groundbreaking classic that conveys the practical need for ritual and a Priesthood to a secular world.

House of War by Carlos Carrasco

With the government on the verge of outlawing Christianity, a group of Catholics launch a new Crusade.

Life Choices The Gift By Pat Wiedemer, Neil Thompson, Philip Kosloski

Casey’s birthday present to Josh is a little more than they bargained for.

Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person By Luke Burgis and Joshua Miller, PhD

Every person is gifted with a primary vocation from birth based on motivational patterns.

The Journal by C.E. Rivetto

An ancient journal. A family secret. A soul to save.

Nun of My Business by Karina Fabian

When a nun hires Vern to prove that a new pop song is evil, the dragon suspects his new client might be hiding something.

Vigil by Russell Newquist

“Big Trouble in Little China” meets Saint George and the Dragon

From the Shadows by Jacqueline Brown

In a broken world, Bria tries to unite a family even as she struggles to keep hope alive.

The World is Awake By Linsey Davis

An adventure of daily joy, inspired by the Psalm, “This is the day the Lord has made.”