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! 

Best Books of 2018

2018 was a fantastic year for Catholic fiction! Check out our best picks of the year and let us know your favorites.

Welcome Courtney Guest Kim, Our New Classics Editor!

Courtney Guest Kim joins us to help readers figure out where to start in the long and renowned roster of Catholic Literary Classics!

Ordinary Eccentricity By G. M. Baker

Travel is not really about the destination or even the points of interest along the way. It is about the road itself.

Will You Come to Mass by Susan Joy Bellavance, Illustrations by Sara Tang

This book helps your kids get into the right mindset for Mass.

Hold Fast By Spencer K.M. Brown

Will a small rowboat on Lake Superior awaken the stalled lives of a father and son?

The Secret Princess: A Tale of Hope by J.C. Prins

Will Miriam’s magical locket bloom and come alive, or turn cold and dead like her grandmother’s?

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

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

Revelation by Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor takes us into the mental experience of one of those people Jesus condemned.

Theology In the Bottle: Where Cana Meets the Cross By A. P. Schreck

Prayerful meditations to pair with your journal and a glass of wine.

Books to Pray With: April, For the Role of Women

A book list with prayerful reflection on the gift of women in the church. Pray and read along with us and the Pope’s monthly reflections for 2024.

Cinder Allia by Karen Ullo

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

Die This Hour (Inspector Sheehan Mystery Bk 2) by Brian O’Hare

Detective Sergeant Denise Stewart joins Inspector Sheehan’s Serious Crimes unit in Belfast and helps chase down a killer.

Books for Lent

Deepen your Lenten reflection with these stories of repentance and forgiveness

King of the Shattered Glass by Susan Joy Bellavance

An orphan maid braves the wrath of the King when she breaks his precious glassware but realizes true beauty of forgiveness and broken glass.

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

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

The Catholic Origins of Dracula & Women’s Suffrage 

Did you know that Bram Stoker’s wife was a Catholic & he considered converting himself at one time?

Roses for The Most High: “Poetry Celebrating the Mystical Christian Path” by Ronnie Smith

Contemplations in the spirit of Merton, perfect for your Lenten season.

The Exile by Allison Ramirez

Is there hope beyond the Island of Mirror?

When We Were Eve: Uncovering the Woman God Created You to be By Colleen C. Mitchell

Remember Eve before the fall, remember the good inside you. A book for those who have forgotten, or are tempted to forget.