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! 

Infinite Regress by Joshua Hren

Poetic justice when the victim of a predator priest finds freedom from his seducer.

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

“Virtue, the good life, tempted him in the dark like a sin.”

Zeal & Zest: Where to Begin with Hillaire Belloc

Belloc was known as a Catholic polemicist with a vicious talent for skewering his opponents. Anyone struggling to persevere as a Christian in the fields of journalism or media should read him. His children’s books have an acerbic humor that will appeal to bored veterans of political correctness, especially teens.

The Light of Christmas Morning by Susan Joy Bellavance, Illustrated by Anne Kissanne Engelhart

A cozy Christmas bed time story that puts Catholic traditions front and center

 

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.

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

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

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?

Shadow in the Dark by Antony Barone Kolenc

An immersive mystery and an amateur sleuth set in the walls of a 12th century English monastery

The Rescue Sisters Series Adventures by Karina Fabian

Kickass Catholic Nuns in Space- what more do you need?!

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?

The River of Life by Diana González Tabbaa

The death of little Anthony’s father shakes his faith until a heaven-sent friend helps him find his way back to God.

The Branded Ones by Colleen Drippe

Fr. Ruiz has little idea what he’s getting into when he takes a post on the isolated and pagan planet of Fen.

Best of 2020

Yes some good things DID happen this year- Catholic creators have not let turmoil stop their mission.

Image of God, Personhood & the Embryo by Calum MacKeller

Abortion is not the only danger to the human embryo. Defend humanity from experimentation in the USA.

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.

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.

Through the Ashes by Jacqueline Brown

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

Tortured Soul by Theresa Linden

Looking for a book that puts Christ not just back into Christmas but into Halloween too? Throw in a dash of ghost story, mystery, and romance and you have A Tortured Soul.

Gifts Visible and Invisible

If you are looking for a cozy read to get into the Christmas cheer, this collection has it all.

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

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