In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Maria Riley on her children's book Joan of Arc.

The Martin siblings are back for another adventure! Joshua and Luke are playing at the park with their friend Nathan when bullies steal Nathan’s hat. The boys walk away because they know fighting is wrong. Now, the park doesn’t feel fun anymore, and they all feel sad about Nathan’s hat. Later that day, Luke, Becca, and Joshua go on a special journey and meet Saint Joan of Arc - a teenager who was a soldier for God! What can this special saint teach the kids about dealing with bullies? Will they ever be able to play at that park again? This is the 4th book in the Adventures with the Saints series. The book can be read as a stand-alone, but it is best enjoyed after getting to know Luke, Becca, and Joshua in the other books.

https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Joan-Arc-Soldier-Adventures/dp/1959607049/

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Stephanie Landsem on her book Code Name Edelweiss.

“What I am looking for―what I desperately need, Mrs. Weiss―is a spy.” Adolf Hitler is still a distant rumble on the horizon, but a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own backyard. 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, unknown until recent years: How a lone Jewish lawyer and a handful of amateur spies discovered and foiled Adolf Hitler’s plan to take over Hollywood.

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Name-Edelweiss-Historical-Hollywood/dp/1496460677/

In the episode, Kiki Latimer interviews Kevin A. Codd on his books To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela and Beyond Even the Stars: A Compostela Pilgrim in France.

“Pilgrimage” is a strange notion to our modern, practical minds. How many of us have walked to a distant holy place in order to draw nearer to God? Yet the pilgrimage experience is growing these days in various parts of the world. Seeking to take stock of his life, Kevin Codd set out in July 2003 on a pilgrimage that would profoundly change his life. To the Field of Stars tells the fascinating story of his unusual spiritual and physical journey on foot across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater. Each brief chapter chronicling Codd's thirty-five-day trek is dedicated to one or two days on the road. Codd shares tales of other pilgrims, his own changes of perspective, and his challenges and triumphs along the way -- all told with a disarming candor. Seen through the eyes of a Catholic priest who honors the religious worldview that originally gave rise to these medieval odysseys, “pilgrimage” comes to life and takes on new meaning in these pages.

https://www.amazon.com/Field-Stars-Pilgrims-Santiago-Compostela/dp/0802825923/

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Deacons Mike Plese, Jeff Kosidowski, Scott Sparks, and Greg Weigold on the Holy Land/Greece Tour in October 2026 (May 27, 2025)

For the trip flyer, click here: https://tinyurl.com/holylandandgreecetour2026

In this episode of WCAT Radio's The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Karen Ullo on her novel To Crown with Liberty. (May 25, 2025)

New Orleans, 1795. In the wake of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, Alix de Morainville Carpentier—a former lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, now married to her gardener—seeks peace and security in the Spanish colony of Louisiana. But her journey into the man-eating swamp called Attakapas reopens the wounds of her old life in France. Alix is forced to reckon with the choices that saved her life at the cost of her honor—and perhaps her soul.

In revolutionary France, the Old World is dying; the quest for liberty, equality, and fraternity has become a nightmare where the price of dissent is blood. In the wilderness of Spanish Louisiana, a new civilization is beginning to emerge—but in this budding New World, the slave trade perpetuates the systems of oppression that sparked the revolution. Caught between old and new, scarred by trauma and grief, will Alix ever find a home where she can truly be free?

To Crown with Liberty is a historical novel based on riveting legends from George Washington Cable’s Strange True Stories of Louisiana (1888).


To Crown with Liberty | Karen Ullo

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Dr. Marianne Siegmund on her book The Face of Jesus, the Martyr and the Reciprocity of Abiding Love: Anthropological Considerations in Spiritual Theology Based Upon the Pontifical Writings of Pope Saint John Paul the Great.

This book explores the theological and spiritual dimensions of martyrdom, as interpreted through the writings of Pope Saint John Paul II. It aims to provide a spiritual anthropology, focusing on how martyrdom serves as a profound act of self-giving love, symbolizing the ultimate commitment to Christ. The author reflects on John Paul II’s emphasis on the “contemplation of the face of Christ” as essential for believers, which is a recurring theme in his pontifical writings and aligns with the concept of witnessing to truth and love through suffering.

Siegmund analyzes key documents and encyclicals, such as Veritatis Splendor, where John Paul II identifies martyrdom as the supreme testimony to human dignity and the moral law, affirming an objective moral order. She argues that the martyr’s act of sacrifice becomes a visible proclamation of faith and truth, demonstrating a life fully integrated with divine love. The document ultimately positions martyrdom not only as an act of fidelity to God’s law but as a contemplative act, revealing Christ’s face to the world and radiating divine love and truth through self-sacrifice.

The Face of Jesus, the Martyr and the Reciprocity of Abiding Love by J. Marianne Siegmund | En Route Books and Media

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Mark and Patricia Roser on their book My African Dream: Transformed by the Rain (May 22, 2025)

Inspiring and challenging memoir from Mark and Patrica Roser documenting their adventures over the past 40 years in war torn Zimbabwe. From colonialism to poverty, war, dictators and AIDS, this beautifully documented story will change your view of the world and your place in it.

Spanning three decades, My African Dream is an epic adventure of firm faith and loyal love. It chronicles how a family, a nation, and a continent are changed and emerge in a world vastly different from what they entered. It is not just the story of Africa but redemptive history; a narrative of how a loving, holy Creator-Redeemer rescues us and transforms our world. It is an account of not only where Africa has been, but where she's headed - more Christians in African than North America.

The Rosers' memoirs will open for you a wide window into the soul of Africa, telling her real story, close-up. You will laugh and cry as you experience this roller coaster ride in a land on the brink of anarchy. Their story may even change your view of the world and your place in it.  Go to this link for a preview!https://www.amazon.com/My-African-Dream-Transformed-Rain-ebook/dp/B078GRX2D8/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=mark+roser&qid=1601406188&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

























My African Dream | Mark C. Roser

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews John Ossi on his book Can We Care for Aging Parents at Home?: Stories of the struggle to care for the author's own parents and other relatives at home. (May 13, 2025)

Over 100 questions adult children should ask to evaluate the process of caring for aging parents at home.

• What options other than home care exist?
• How can I start a conversation with my parents regarding future care?
• The best way to approach sensitive questions with parents.
• Is the parents' home suitable for care during an expected decline in health?
• How to improve a home's operation to make caring in place functional?
• Finding medical devices available for the elderly at home.
• Accompanying parents to their doctor appointments.
• How to help the doctor evaluate the effectiveness of medications taken by parents.
• How to monitor parents' health at home.
• Why pain and discomfort are so difficult to quantify.
• hould my parents be driving a car?
• How to reduce the susceptibility to fall.
• Questions to ask at the rehabilitation facility.
• How to evaluate in-home nursing assistants and the company that sends them.
• How operational or helpful is a parent's religious faith during a decline in health?
• Handling hallucinations, delusions and memory loss.
• Preparing for sundowning events.
• Sharing televised sporting events and entertainment shows.
• End of Life issues

https://www.amazon.com/Can-Care-Aging-Parents-Home/dp/B0DV856Q7R/

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Sarah Crowne on her novel All These Threads of Time. 

Sylvie Mitchell’s world falls apart when her sister is murdered the same night her father vanishes without a trace. Crushed with grief, Sylvie consoles her mother and younger brother alone.

But then Sylvie discovers an incredible gift: the ability to time travel. Determined to rewrite the past, she embarks on a desperate quest to save her sister, find her father, and stop the killer terrorizing her once peaceful New England town.

Can Sylvie stop the killer before she becomes his next target, or will she alter the fabric of reality trying to put an end to his rage?

Set in the late 80s, ALL THESE THREADS OF TIME is a cutting-edge time travel murder mystery that asks, how far would you go to save the ones you love?

Amazon.com: All These Threads of Time: 9798991005203: Crowne, Sarah: Books

In this episode of The Catholic Bookworm, Kiki Latimer interviews Vijaya Bodach on her novel Bound.

Set in Pullman, WA, home of Washington State University (Go Cougs!) BOUND is a stunning debut novel that's perfect for fans of Sara Zarr and Francisco Stork. Seventeen-year-old Rebecca Joshi, an adopted girl from India, burn survivor, and primary caretaker of her intellectually disabled sister, Joy, has one dream—to be a physician. Her traditional Indian father relies upon Rebecca to care for Joy while he buries himself in work to drown his grief over his wife’s death. Leaving home is the only way Rebecca can envision reaching her goal. She helps Joy develop greater independence, and is devastated when Joy becomes pregnant. Rebecca tussles—with her father and with herself—over who is responsible for Joy and her baby. When Rebecca discovers the truth of what happened the day she was burned, she struggles to hold onto her dream while wrestling with questions of life, love, and responsibility. 

https://www.amazon.com/BOUND-Vijaya-Bodach-ebook/dp/B07F7L4Z1B/