Tag Archive for: new release

Cath-Lit Live! Episode #54 – Rachel Bulman

Whether you are preparing to be or are already a wife, you likely are immersed in the external reality of marriage. But being wife is so much more: It’s a call to holiness and a vocation of incredible significance. Becoming Wife explores what it means for a woman to fulfill this vocation. Catholic wife, mother, speaker, and author Rachel Bulman shares – like a friend over a cup of coffee – how being a wife is at once a calling and a purpose. The more a wife makes herself a gift to her husband, to her children, and to the world, the more she inevitably becomes the person God created her to be. She becomes more wife, more woman, more Christian. Thus, she fulfills her identity as a daughter of God and cultivates the soil from which her motherhood comes to fruition. By exploring the life of the Blessed Mother and the guidance of great minds in the Church, like Saint John Paul II and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, this book unwraps the gift of becoming a wife and what it means to make a “total gift” of oneself through matrimony.

Rachel Bulman is a lover of humanity, especially her husband and six children. A national speaker and author, she also appears with her family in the show Meet the Bulmans currently airing on the Word on Fire Institute’s YouTube channel. She serves on the advisory board of The GIVEN Institute and frequently gives talks at retreats, conferences, and other gatherings. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book, lifting weights, and perfecting her Old Fashioned cocktail recipe.

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Cath-Lit Live! Episode #46 – Lisa M. Hendey

Embark on a whimsical journey to encounter and protect the majesty of Earth. With a call to simple but impactful action, this book invites young readers to serve as caretakers for the natural world around them. With a gentle, rhyming story by bestselling author Lisa M. Hendey and artwork by award-winning Italian illustrator Giuliano Ferri, I Am Earth’s Keeper describes one child’s pre-dawn kayak ride that opens his eyes to the astonishingly beautiful world around him. Observing the rising sun, frogs, fish, birds, trees, and gentle breeze, he begins to marvel at the life all around, and to imagine how he can care for it. Inspired by St. Francis and his famous love song “Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon,” this warmhearted book sparks the imagination of young readers to connect more deeply with God’s creation and develop an ever-deepening sense of commitment to living in solidarity with nature.

Lisa M. Hendey is the founder of CatholicMom.com and a bestselling author. She has journeyed around the globe to hear and share messages of hope and encouragement. Her Chime Travelers series for kids is read and studied worldwide in homes, schools, and churches. A frequent TV and radio guest, Lisa also hosts two podcasts. Lisa and Greg Hendey worship and live in Los Angeles, CA.

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Cath-Lit Live! Episode #45 – Stephanie Landsem

In the summer of 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler is the new and powerful anti-Semitic chancellor of Germany. But in Los Angeles, no-nonsense secretary Liesl Weiss has concerns much closer to home. The Great Depression is tightening its grip, and Liesl is the sole supporter of two children, an opinionated mother, and a troubled brother.

Leon Lewis is a Jewish lawyer who has watched Adolf Hitler’s rise to power—and the increase in anti-Semitism in America—with growing alarm. He believes Nazi agents are working to seize control of Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known. The trouble is, authorities scoff at his dire warnings.

When Liesl loses her job at MGM, her only choice is to work with Leon Lewis and the mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American community. What Leon Lewis and his spies find is more chilling—and more dangerous—than any of them suspected.

Code Name Edelweiss is based on a true story.

Stephanie Landsem writes about women in history for women who love history. Stephanie has traveled on four continents and dozens of countries. When she can’t travel, she reads fiction and history and dreams of her next adventure — whether it be in person or on the pages of her novels. She makes her home in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, with her husband of 33 years, occasional adult children, two cats, a dog, and a tortoise named Moe.

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Cath-Lit Live Episode #41 – Andrea Bear

Two years after the death of her mother, forty-year-old Frankie Waters reluctantly joins a parish book club to prove to her family she is coming out of her grief-like state. While engaging with the eclectic women who drink wine and never finish their readings, she encounters Olivia, a young, single mother who has a secret that could be life altering. As the weekly book meetings progress, Frankie’s desire to help Olivia and the other women starts to lighten her pain. But good intentions aren’t always enough. Could Frankie’s intrusiveness push Olivia to make a horrible decision, or worse, cause Frankie to regret and return to her cocoon of grief?

Andrea Bear believes God calls us to share the stories from our heart. In 2018, she lost her mother to cancer and began to channel her grief and faith through writing. That same year she attended a Bible study where the women in her group shared personal and inspirational testimonies which prompted her to write her debut fictional novel Grieving Daughters’ Club. In addition, she is a contributing writer for Catholicmom.com, Queenofpeacemedia.com, and Her Life Magazine. Outside of writing, she is a high school history teacher in Stockton, California, and has been married to her husband Kevin for close to 20 years. You can follow her work on Instagram or Facebook at andreabearauthor or visit her website at andreabearauthor.com 

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Cath-Lit Live Episode #40 guest Marge Steinhage Fenelon

In 1859 on the Door County Peninsula of northeast Wisconsin, Mary appeared three times to a young Belgian woman named Adele Brise. She identified herself as the Queen of Heaven and gave Adele instructions to teach the children their catechism, pray, do penance, sacrifice, and receive the sacraments frequently. Adele was initially met with skepticism, and during her lifetime she experienced many trials, including persecution. Still, she maintained that she was telling the truth and courageously carried on the mission the Blessed Mother had given to her. Based on historical documents, testimonies, personal interviews, and expert analysis, America’s Mary: The Story of Our Lady of Good Help chronicles for the first time the United States’ only Church-approved Marian apparition.

Marge Steinhage Fenelon is an award-winning author, retreat leader, internationally known speaker and Catholic media personality. She has written several books on Marian devotion and Catholic spirituality, including the best-selling Our Lady, Undoer of Knots: A Living Novena (Guided Reflections from the Holy Land) and the award-winning My Queen, My Mother: A Marian Pilgrimage Across America. Her newest book is America’s Mary: The Story of Our Lady of Good Help. She is an instructor for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Deacon Wives Program and holds certificates in Spiritual Mentoring and Mariology. Her podcast, Simply Holy, airs weekly on many popular podcast platforms. Visit her website at MargeFenelon.com.

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Cath-Lit Live Episode #31 with guest Maya Sinha

In this episode of Cath-lit Live!, I speak with Maya Sinha, author of the new novel, The City Mother from Chrism Press.

Fresh out of college, small-town crime reporter Cara Nielsen sees disturbing things that suggest, for the first time in her life, that evil is real. But as the daughter of two secular academics, she pushes that notion aside. When her smart, ambitious boyfriend asks her to marry him and move to a faraway city, it’s a dream come true.

Maya Sinha grew up in New Mexico and wrote for the Santa Fe Reporter before attending law school. As a lawyer, she wrote a humor column for the local newspaper. In 2019, she became a columnist for The Saturday Evening Post. Her work has appeared in The Lamp Magazine, Dappled Things, Book & Film Globe, and many other publications. The City Mother is her first novel. She lives in Northern California with her family.

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Cath-Lit Live Episode 26 with guest Christy Wilkens

I’ve been waiting for a long time to share this book–mostly because I had a front row seat when the events in this book took place!

The grotto at Lourdes is known as a place of healing. But sometimes the miracle that occurs is not physical, but something much deeper. Christy Wilkens made the long trek to Lourdes with her husband, Todd, and their toddler, Oscar—who was plagued by mysterious seizures—through a program with the Order of Malta. In Awakening at Lourdes, Wilkens shares that while Oscar’s condition did improve after their visit, the real healing took place in her heart and her marriage. In Lourdes, her family discovered a deeper love for each other, a renewed sense of community, and an abiding confidence in God’s mercy.

Christy Wilkens is a Catholic wife, mother of six, and the author of Awakening at Lourdes: How an Unanswered Prayer Healed Our Family and Restored Our Faith. She writes for CatholicMom.com, Blessed Is She, and Accepting the Gift. In 2019, she was invested as a Dame in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

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