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! 

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.

Vassals of the Valley by Robin Sebolino

Travel to the Islands of the Philippines of the 16th century with a colorful former pirate who is sure to entertain you as he fights off invaders and explores various early settlements of Southeast Asia.

Fair Now Later Rain, by Jeremy Long

We cannot escape loss, but God offers us hope.

Fields of Prosperis By Claudia Leboeuf

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

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.

Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors by Katharine Campbell

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

Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh’s brilliant examination of the moral fatigue of men at war.

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.

Rachel’s Contrition by Michelle Buckman

After the loss of her child, Rachel goes insane but she must pull her mind back together to solve a murder and save her own life.

Me, Ruby & God; A Journal of Spiritual Growth by Linda Crowley

A beautiful memoir about the love of God and the love of a good dog.

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.

Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis

Sherlock Holmes teams up with Pope Leo XXIII to solve crimes in the Holy City.

Broken Brain; Fortified Faith: Lessons of Hope Through a Child’s Mental Illness

When her daughter is stricken insane her mother finds the grace to do what she must to save her and bring her back to sanity.

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.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I knew this book was going to be scary. What I did NOT expect was to be left with a deep feeling of peace and comfort.

PANIC! (unSPARKed #3) by Corinna Turner

It’s a three hour drive unSPARKed, and for city-folk, anything might cause PANIC!

The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom by Gerald L. Schroeder

Essential reading for anyone involved in the debate between religion and science.

Champion of the Poor: Father Joe Walijewski by Voyage Comics

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

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.