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! 

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.

The Lost Vessel by Mark Adderley

McCracken joins a treasure hunt for Captain Nemo’s lost ship in this exciting adventure that adds another chapter to Jules Verne’s greatest creation.

Why Flannery O’Connor is Too Dangerous for Catholic Book Stores (And why I love them both for it)

Why the promotion of religious fiction is just as important as the promotion of nonfiction and Apologetics.

The Fire of Eden (The Harwood Mysteries Book 3) by Antony Barone Kolenc

The mystery of a stolen treasure might hold the key to Xan’s discernment about whether God is calling him to the priesthood or to Lucy.

The Wind That Shakes The Corn: Memoirs of a Scots Irish Woman by Kaye Park Hinckley

Sold into slavery on her wedding night, an 18th-century Irishwoman struggles to free herself from her thirst for vengeance.

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 Iron Door: Book 3, The Casa Bella Chronicles By Liz Calvano

In 1940s Sicily, will four young adults survive the war and find love? Two American women are rescued by an Italian family after their plane goes down in Sicily.

I Hope You Find Joy By Eliza Mae Albano

Can Emma find joy with the man who hurt her?

Through the Ashes by Jacqueline Brown

Fans of The 100 and Runaway’s and The Gifted will find this YA story riveting.

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

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

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I knew this book was going to be scary. What I did NOT expect was to be left with a deep feeling of peace and comfort.

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.

Cinderella by Charles Perrault

The true story of the Catholic saint who inspired the myth of Cinderella

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.

Bead by Bead: The Scriptural Rosary by Meggie K. Daly 

A scriptural meditation and a moving witness of how the rosary brought the author back to The Church.

Sister Aloysius Says, “Pray, Pray, Pray.” By Linda Etchison Illustrated by Denise Plumlee-Tadlock

Sister Aloysius teaches children how to be active in their prayer life.

To Crown with Liberty by Karen Ullo

What must you do when nothing you can do will save those you love?

A Dance with the Devil By Christina Michelle

How does a young woman raised in a loving Catholic family ignore every warning, marry the wrong man, and ultimately discover the life-changing power of God’s Divine Mercy?