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! 

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.

Molly McBride and the Plaid Jumper by Jean Schoonover-Egolf

Molly doesn’t want to take off her purple habit the Children of Mary sisters wear but mom’s says she has to put on the school uniform.

The Bishop of 12th Avenue by Ray Lucit

A street kid gets ordained a Bishop in a post apocalyptic world. Talk about a shakeup in the priesthood.

Heavenly Hosts: Eucharistic Miracles for Kids by Kathryn Griffin Swegart, O.F.S.

Teach your children about the real presence through these short bedtime stories.

Deus Vult By Declan Finn

Detective Nolan returns home for a well-deserved vacation only to find himself fighting hordes of gunmen, Lovecraftian monsters, and a demon straight from the pit.

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Finally, someone’s done it. Someone’s written a horror novel about a haunted IKEA. And boy is it done well.

My Name is Saul by Lin Wilder

How does a man become a monster? How does a monster become a saint?

The Haunted Cathedral by Antony Barone Kolenc                           

Xan is finally bringing his parent’s killer to justice, yet his guardian monk insists he must forgive the murderer

By Violence Unavenged by Annette Young

A Catholic Historical Epic to Rival The Sound of Music.

How the Dragon Awards Could Uplift Catholic Fiction

If you don’t like current state of mainstream publishing and wish there were more widely available alternatives, this is your chance to help make that a reality.

2026 Readers Choice Award Winners

2026 Catholic Readers Choice Award Winners for best Catholic books of the year. Fiction and Nonfiction!

To Crown with Liberty by Karen Ullo

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

Books To Pray With: Feb For the Terminally Ill

Every month in 2024 Pope Francis has a monthly prayer intention. Every month we will release a book list that will draw your heart and soul deeper into prayer on these topics.

The Phantom Phoenix

A humble phoenix rises from the ashes to clean up corrupt, 1920s Chicago in this thrilling superhero comic

My Son, The Father by Jim Moore

The story of a young priest through the eyes of his father and friends.

Crusader St. Tommy NYPD Book 5 By: Declan Finn

Detective Nolan embarks on a Crusade against demonic sex traffickers trying to raise a demon.

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 Letters of Magdelen Montague by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

An epistolary novel full of ironic British wit.

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

What do trees have to do with Bread & Wine?

From the Shadows by Jacqueline Brown

In a broken world, Bria tries to unite a family even as she struggles to keep hope alive.