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! 

Shadowmancer by G.P. Taylor

A dark fantasy along the lines of Revelation itself.

Pink Noise by Leonid Korogodski

A classic Martian adventure that plumbs the spiritual life of a future humanity.

Murder of a Runaway (Inspector Sheehan Mysteries – Book 5)

Inspector Sheehan’s Belfast Serious Crimes Unit investigates human trafficking rings.

Where to Begin with Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor dissected the Devil for a generation that was busy explaining evil away. She perceived God at work in grotesque places. Was she right?

Where to begin with J. R. R. Tolkien?

Beyond the adventure, the way to read The Lord of the Rings is not as an allegory but as a meditation on the human Story we are each caught up in, and in which we each have our part to play, our temptations to resist, and our task to accomplish.

Best Catholic Books of 2017

2017 was an awesome year for Catholic literature. Here are our best finds for every genre.

Editor’s Choice Awards 2025

2025 Our Favorite Books we Read this Year

A Hero for the People by Arthur Powers

Stories from the front lines of the Church’s mission to protect Brazilians farmers from theft and greed.

Death in Black & White by Fr. Michael Brisson, L.C.

Can an ordinary American guy make it as a priest in a world where everything is against him?

Best Books of 2021

2021 brought many changes but the effects these books had on us remains as stalwart as the rock of Peter.

On Heaven’s Doorstep by Andrea Jo Rodgers

When you’re on the front lines of life and death, it’s hard to avoid seeing real miracles.

Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors by Katharine Campbell

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

A Good Girl by Johnnie Bernhard

When an old man dies his daughter must trace her family tree to find the ability to forgive him.

The Table by Dennis Lambert

A table built by the grandfather of Jesus Christ survives the darkest moment in history to bring peace to a widowed musician

Mary, Mystical Rose By, J.T. Frodin

Why is Mary called the Mystical Rose? An interactive children’s book.

Heavenly Rescues and Answered Prayers: True Stories of Faith and Miracles from a First Responder by Andrew Jo Rodgers

A book that’s great to have on hand when one needs a reminder that there are good people out there and that God’s hand is in everything.

The Phantom Phoenix

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

I, Claudia By Lin Wilder

Will the extraordinary events lead the wife of Pontius Pilate, Claudia Procula, to the Son of God?

Everything Old: Love in Anadauk Book 1 by Amanda Hamm

Two youth group leaders rekindle their friendship and find love with each other along the way.

Playing by Heart by Carmela Martino

In this historical drama, Emilia longs for a love as beautiful as her sonata, but the ambitions of her father put her and her sister in great danger. Winner of our 2018 Best of the Year Awards.