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! 

Gapman by Karina Fabian

Earth has its first superhero—and a dragon’s taking him under his wing.

October Books to Pray With: For a Shared Mission

A list of books exploring the theme of solidarity between clergy and laity.

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.

The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell

This is NOT another DaVinci Code, but it is so cleverly disguised as one it makes the perfect gift for your anti-Catholic friends and family.

Demons are Forever by Declan Finn

Marco flees from his fears of hurting Amanda by taking a job to train Vampire Hunters in San Francisco. Should be a quiet job right?

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.

Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors by Katharine Campbell

This quirky, fairytale fantasy is a fun and amusing read with a serious moral backbone.

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.

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.

Triumph of the Heart By Sherwood Fellows

Locked up to die, this film begins where most would end.

By Violence Unavenged by Annette Young

A Catholic Historical Epic to Rival The Sound of Music.

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.

The Grace Crasher by Mara Faro

The Grace Crasher is the ecumenical romantic dramedy that everyone who has ever had family members in split churches needs to read.

A Spiritual Odyssey By Brian O’Hare

A wonderful testament to the love of God and how He never abandons us, even when we say no to Him for decades.

A Very Jurassic Christmas by Corinna Turner

Christmas with Jurassic dinosaurs is often wild!

Extraordinary! by Jacqueline Brown, Illustrated by Katie Anne Ennis

Make your child feel secure and loved by God and their Catholic family.

Our Lady of the Roses by Janice Lane Palko

Could Rome spark romance between a fashionista and an inventor-engineer?

Coven (Book 7 of St. Tommy Series): By Declan Finn

St. Tommy fights the CPS and a group of pagans who have taken over a military base.

Girl Arise by By Claire Swinarski

A Catholic take on feminism, going beyond the political talking points and approaching women on a personal level.