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! 

Books to Pray With: April, For the Role of Women

A book list with prayerful reflection on the gift of women in the church. Pray and read along with us and the Pope’s monthly reflections for 2024.

Death Cult by Declan Finn

St. Tommy continues his fight against the death cult, battling Voodoo priests and zombies along the way.

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?

When We Were Eve: Uncovering the Woman God Created You to be By Colleen C. Mitchell

Remember Eve before the fall, remember the good inside you. A book for those who have forgotten, or are tempted to forget.

Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski by Voyage Comics

Meet the priest who spread the love of God in Peru.

The Boy Who Knew (Friends in High Places: Carlo Acutis) by Corinna Turner

Faced with his death, a fifteen-year-old learns how to live through the wisdom of Blessed Carlo Acutis.

The Letters of Magdelen Montague by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

An epistolary novel full of ironic British wit.

Best Catholic Books of 2017

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

3 Mistakes New Catholics Make (& 2 Remedies)

Five common errors new converts make and how to avoid them from a convert 16 years in who did all of these so you don’t have to.

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.

Fields of Prosperis By Claudia Leboeuf

A bingeable space opera with the best written complex villains out there.

June & July Book Releases

The hottest new books in Catholic fiction

Sisters of the Last Straw Book 1, 2 & 3: by Karen Kelly Boyce

Exploding kitchens, runaway goats, and ghosts in the chapel. Life in the Little Sisters of the Last Straw is never boring.

The Other Side of Freedom by Cynthia Toney

A Catholic “To Kill a Mockingbird” if there ever was one.

Elfling by Corinna Turner

Serapia Ravena is on a mission to find and keep her father, but he has transgressed a boundary that no creature has the right to cross. Only the mercy of God can resolve this tension.

Dex’s Way by Karina Fabian

Surviving the Black Hole was only the first part, now Dex will have to survive the far future and reunite with Santiago.

City of Shadows by Declan Finn

St. Tommy uncovers a group of elites using an ancient artifact to destroy London.

Falling Into Place by Susan Brinkmann

She’s New Age; he’s Catholic—can their romance survive? And can she survive their investigation into their city’s Satanic hate crimes?

Aurora and God by G.M.J.

After her boyfriend’s death, can Aurora forgive God?

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang

This two part graphic novel tells its story from 2 sides China’s bloody civil war: A Boxer Rebel & a “traitor” Christian-Convert.