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 Wolf, the Lamb, and the Air Balloon by Corinna Turner

A wolf, a lamb, an air balloon—what could go wrong?

Elfling by Corinna Turner

Serapia Ravena is on a mission to find and keep her father, but he has transgressed a boundary that no creature has the right to cross. Only the mercy of God can resolve this tension.

Dying for Revenge by Barbara Golder

After her husband’s murder Dr. Jane Wallace moves to Colorado to nurse her grudge against the world and ends up tracking a serial assassin.

The Journal by C.E. Rivetto

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

House of War by Carlos Carrasco

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

Vigil by Russell Newquist

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

Breach! by Corinna Turner

Isaiah’s got a T-rex size problem, but this time, it’s not a dinosaur.

In the Footsteps of St. Therese: How to Be Single but Not Alone by Teresita Ogg

A Filipino woman recounts her lifelong journey in a single vocation, with Saint Therese guiding the way.

Blink and We’ll Miss It by Ginny Kochis

Back amongst her estranged best friends and former love, Mae tries to hide her time-hopping secret.

Feel-Good Books For Pandemic Summer

Book Therapy to chase the blues away

Cinder Allia by Karen Ullo

A political fantasy epic bildungsroman where Allia’s feminine heart becomes as powerful a force has her sword.

Gevaudan Project

This fun monster story takes themes of God, man, and environmentalism to places deeper than any newsroom can go.

September Books to Pray With: For the Cry of the Earth

Let us pray that each of us listen with our hearts to the cry of the Earth and of the victims of
environmental disasters and the climate crisis, making a personal commitment to care for the world
we inhabit.

The Last Monks of Skellig Michael by Philip Kosloski

The Christian monastic roots of Star Wars’ Jedi Knights.

Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino

In this historical drama, Emilia longs for a love as beautiful as her sonata, but the ambitions of her father put her and her sister in great danger. Winner of our 2018 Best of the Year Awards.

The Letters of Magdelen Montague by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

An epistolary novel full of ironic British wit.

Jennifer the Damned By Karen Ullo

A story of a teenage vampire without the glamorous tempting allure, trying to really live in the real world.

My Brother’s Keeper by Bill Kassel

What if you were Jesus’ protective older brother? Could you navigate the courts of Rome & Jerusalem to save him?

Stay with Me by Carolyn Astfalk

Can Rebecca get out from under her domineering father and find love with the forbidden Catholic boy determined to win her heart?

Will Wilder and the Relic of Perilous Falls

Follow Will Wilder as he discovers a hidden world, fights demons and rescues a hidden treasure!