This month, the Catholic Writers’ Guild is touring Jean M. Heimann’s book, “Fatima: The Apparition That Changed the World.” It is a CWG Seal of Approval winner! Few place-names in the Christian world conjure up such powerful images and associations than this humble town in Portugal. For it was there […]
The King’s Prey, by Susan Peek
Terrible but true, Princess Dymphna flees Daemon, her father who, in his madness believes her to be his late wife, Odilla. He demands that Dymphna marries him. With the aid of her confessor and a few companions, Dymphna flees across Ireland and eventually reaches Belgium. Susan Peek stays true to […]
The Perfect Blindside, by Leslea Wahl
At sixteen, Jake Taylor is an Olympic medalist, a snowboarding prodigy, and a big fish transplanted to a small pond. He annoys Sophie Metcalf with his arrogance. She plans to expose him for the thoughtless egotist she thinks he is, but she discovers Jake’s considerate and haunted side. A warm […]
Moriarty Meets His Match: A Professor and Mrs. Moriarty Mystery (Book 1), by Anna Castle
When writers strain their brains for new ideas, they might consider revisiting an old idea. For instance, Gregory Maguire applied the rules of “alternative fiction,” in his retelling Frank Baum’s classic 1900 story the Wizard of Oz. Forget Dorothy, Maguire wrote from the point of view of the Wicked Witch […]
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, by Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert’s journalistic style offers an exciting and thorough case study of humanity’s impact on life, and the likelihood that human behavior may extinguish all earthly life, including human life. Not one to research in dusty museums, Kolbert meets the current extinction experts in the ecological hotspots that serve as […]
Feast of Pontius Pilate, by E. Ann McIntyre
Who would have thought that any of the Gospel villains would merit a feast on the liturgical calendar or have churches erected in their memory? Believe it or not, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church considers Pontius Pilate and his wife, Claudia to be saints. A clear case for Claudia begins […]
CWG Book Blast: “Celebrating Advent and Christmas With Children,” by Colleen Rooney
This month, the Catholic Writers’ Guild is touting Guildie Colleen Rooney’s book, Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children: Food Celebrations with the Saints for Home and School. It is a SOA winner. Are you looking for a warm, inspiring book for Christmas for yourself or as a gift? Look no further! […]
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, by Sebastian Junger
“The United States is so powerful that the only country capable of destroying her might be the United States herself, which means that the ultimate terrorist strategy would be just to leave the country alone. That way, America’s ugliest partisan tendencies could emerge unimpeded by the unifying effects of war.” […]
Specter, By John Desjarlais
Specter mixes the flavors of Romero, Ghostbusters, and The Terminator with generous glops of sour cream and salsa. John Desjarlais embroils his favorite DEA agent, Selena De La Cruz in a fictional parallel to the 1993 assassination of a Cardinal at the Guadalajara airport. She unearths the stench of corruption […]
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak’s social/historical novel, The Book Thief, follows the citizens of Himmel Street in Molching, Germany between 1939 and 1943. In particular, he logs the fortunes and misfortunes of Hans and Rosa Hubermann and their foster child, Liesel Meminger, the book thief. A town near Munich, Molching often witnesses shambles of […]