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! 

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 Blackbird and Other Stories By Sally Thomas

How does the human heart cope and soar from within breakage?

The World is Awake By Linsey Davis

An adventure of daily joy, inspired by the Psalm, “This is the day the Lord has made.”

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.

2021 Summer Reading List for Preteens

Six series that are a must-have for your Preteen’s library ages 8-13

By Violence Unavenged by Annette Young

A Catholic Historical Epic to Rival The Sound of Music.

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.

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman

A cloistered nun confronts her faith when she realizes that the private revelations she has been given might be the product of epilepsy.

Arrow in Flight by Jane Lebak

If you want a gorgeous read delving into the world of angels that reflects actual accepted beliefs about them then this is the book for you.

Consecration to St. Joseph by Donald H. Calloway, MIC

Fatherly protection of St. Joseph, first with the Holy Family and then in the Universal Church, is needed now more then ever to protect and lead us.

The Dunes by A.R.K. Watson

“The Dunes” raises questions that are relevant in any marriage: not just for the creepy, otherworldly couple who venture onto a lonely island to set up camp near prehistoric sand dunes for the last time.

Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

Does Pope Francis think the world is about to end?

Return to Me: Visits to the Tabernacle By Lynda Rozell

Grow in deeper appreciation of the Eucharist by exploring the symbolism and craft of tabernacles.

Our Lady of the Artilects by Andrew Gillsmith

Robots, Souls, Muslim & Catholic Friendships, and the sacramental reality that binds them all together.

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.

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

What do trees have to do with Bread & Wine?

Worth Dying For By Marie C. Keiser

In the shady corporate-ruled galaxy, a man can acknowledge no god. Yet having nothing worth dying for frightens Mark more than death itself.

Markmaker by Mary Jessica Woods

Aboard a world-ship, in an alien society, one artist’s quest for truth will turn his whole society upside down.

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?

God’s Wonderful Woodland Babies by Linda Etchison, Illustrated by Denise Plumlee Tadlock

Lead your child to prayer through their love of fluffy animals.