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! 

Sister Aloysius Arrives at Our Lady of Sorrows By Linda Etchison, Illustrated by Denise Plumlee-Tadlock

Sister Aloysius teaches love and respect in the family through prayers to Mary.

In Pieces by Rhonda Ortiz

Is a marriage without love the only way to save Molly Chase’s reputation?

Lessons In Leadership from the Saints by BJ Gonzalvo, Ph.D.

A book about different Saints to help inspire you to become both a leader and a saint.

Books To Pray With: Feb For the Terminally Ill

Every month in 2024 Pope Francis has a monthly prayer intention. Every month we will release a book list that will draw your heart and soul deeper into prayer on these topics.

Molly McBride and the Party Invitation by Jean Schoonover-Egolf 

This children’s book teaches compassion for bullies and the courage to act rightly regardless of others.

How Can You Still Be Catholic? By Christopher Sparks

There are many good apologetics books out there but this book teaches you how to speak to the heart as much as the head.

Mandy Lamb and the Full Moon By Corinna Turner 

A human-sheep hybrid’s friendships with a friendly vampire and a very angsty house-wolf are tested in this story that explores nature versus nurture. 

For the Pastoral Care of the Sick: July Books to Pray with Reading List

Use your recreational reading to foster an empathetic and Catholic imagination. A reading list to reflect on the sacrament of anointing of the sick, for them and their caregivers.

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?

The Book of Jotham by Arthur Powers

Experience Christ through the eyes of Jotham, his disabled disciple.

June & July Book Releases

The hottest new books in Catholic fiction

Cinder Allia by Karen Ullo

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

North Pacific: A Story of Life, Love, Suffering, and Grace by Michael Steffan

Joseph & Miku’s love was already illegal. Then WWII began. Now home, disabled, and questioning God’s love, he still searches for her.

The Needle of Avocation by G.M. Baker

A match no one wants, except perhaps the groom. A mystery that could destroy everything.

Lioness Lost by Susan Brinkmann

Can Ari solve a murder, or will a handsome FBI agent distract her?

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh’s great Catholic novel that is not Brideshead Revisited.

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.

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Finally, someone’s done it. Someone’s written a horror novel about a haunted IKEA. And boy is it done well.

The Poppy and The Rose by Ashlee Cowles

While abroad in England, Taylor discovers a mystery linking her to an heiress and passenger aboard The Titanic.

Trapped in Time by Jerry J. Weis

Can a team of misfit teens save the day in this wholesome time-traveling romp?