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! 

Hell Spawn by Declan Finn

What does it look like when an every-man saint battles a demon?

Do Not Be Afraid: A Review of Shane Leslie’s Ghost Book

A real-life paranormal investigation in light of Church teaching and tradition

Pilgrims by M.R. Leonard

Aliens on pilgrimage from across the stars, throw the world’s delicate balance into chaos.

Sisters of the Last Straw Book 1, 2 & 3: by Karen Kelly Boyce

Exploding kitchens, runaway goats, and ghosts in the chapel. Life in the Little Sisters of the Last Straw is never boring.

680 Miles Away By Tara J. Stone

Will Evie run away for good, or will she fight for Finn?

Introducing Our New Romance & Poetry Editor Tiffany Buck

Poet Tiffany Buck joins the Catholic Reads team!

Best of 2019

Comic Books, Classic Literature and newly converted Catholic authors– 2019 brought some excellent changes to the literary tradition of our faith.

Discovery by Karina Fabian

What happens when a team of sisters join a treasure hunt for the first alien ship? Oddly enough, a lot of hilarity.

Secrets: The Truth Will Out By Verity Lucia

Two little lines are about to change Elise’s perfect teen world.

December Books to Pray With: Pilgrims of Hope

A Catholic book list focused on the theme of hope and sense of journey as we look toward the jubilee year of 2025. Use these entertaining fiction stories to deepen your prayer life and renew the virtue of hope.

Honor at Stake by Declan Finn

If you’re looking for a vampire-romance with a truly unique twist look no further.

Lord of the Rings & the Eucharist by Scott L. Smith

What do trees have to do with Bread & Wine?

Bread from Home by Fr. Stephen Siniari

We all hunger for the same food from heaven. A collection of short stories exploring an Albanian Orthodox church community, their Catholic and Evangelical neighbors, and the hunger for heaven that unites them all.

Finnian and the Seven Mountains (Vol.2) By, Philip Kosloski and Michael Lavoy

Can one map be the key to stopping the Viking Invasion?

On Heaven’s Doorstep by Andrea Jo Rodgers

When you’re on the front lines of life and death, it’s hard to avoid seeing real miracles.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas is a fry cook who is haunted by Elvis, sees demons, fights evil and provides a remarkably grounded picture of a man on the path to sainthood.

Fields of Prosperis By Claudia Leboeuf

A bingeable space opera with the best written complex villains out there.

The Light of Tara by John Desjarlais

As the power of Rome crumbles, a teenage St. Patrick must decide between his home and sacrificing himself for those who had enslaved him.

Imperial Passions: The Porta Aurea by Eileen Stephenson

The life and times, political and domestic, of eleventh-century Constantinople through the eyes of a young noblewoman.

McCracken and the Lost Oasis by Mark Adderley

A swashbuckling adventure into Catholic history and archeology.