Meet the Contributors

Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Levesque (staff 2019-present) was not planning on creating a new magazine, but when God puts something on your heart, you do it. And she’s super excited about it too! Sarah has been a reader since before she can remember, a writer since age 6, an editor since age 12, and a magazine-worker since age 20. She’s proud to be a geeky Roman Catholic, and hails from New Hampshire. Sarah is the foundress of LSM and as editor in chief wears such diverse hats as editor, graphic designer, writer, website editor and more. She also teaches theology to high schoolers and edits books during vacation.

Assistant Editor

Ian Thomas Wilson (staff 2019-present) is an eccentric comic artist, writer, armchair theologian, skilled craftsman, and gardener. In a word, a Renaissance man. He considers himself simply “Orthodox, but not Eastern”. He hails from a small, out-of-the-way village in Northern New York we guarantee you’ve never heard of, and he likes it that way. He has a black belt in Karate, and is certified in shenanigans. You can read his comics, blog, and other content at IanThomasWilson.com. He is also known to write short fiction on Reedsy. Ian is a founding member of LSM. He is one of our graphic designers and is our Social Media Master.

Staff

Monica Murray Derr (staff 2020-present) is an editor, writer, stage manager, and bookseller. She lives in New Hampshire surrounded by stacks of unread books. Monica is our second pair of eyes on every magazine submission. Find her at MonicaMurrayDerr.com.

Joshua David Ling (staff 2019-present) is a multimedia storytelling wizard. He does everything from building websites to video editing to public speaking, to DJing, to just about anything you can think of. And what allows him to do all of that is three things: his faith in Christ, his beautiful wife and children, and his ability to see the underlying story in everything around him. He’s excited and motivated to tell stories and help people tell their own through media and this amazing gift known as the internet. Joshua is our Podcast Prince, a regular contributor to Controversy Corner, and a founding member of LSM.

Amanda Pizzolatto (staff 2019-present) is a prolific fanfiction writer with more than a few small projects published on Amazon, Nook, Smashwords, Wattpad, Fanfiction, and Archive of Our Own under her pen name Aurora Mandeville. Find the links here. She’s been finding inspiration for several stories from the lives of the Saints, the Holy Bible, and traditions she’s found out about that have become dormant in the Faith. A practicing Roman Catholic (and loving it! Reading about the pagan pantheons makes her so glad to be a Catholic), she’s just working on following God’s plans for her, which she has figured out writing and marriage is part of it. Other than that, working on more stories to be published. Amanda is a founding member and a regular contributor to LSM. Happy Reading!

T. K. Wilson (staff 2019-present) is a dreamer of dreams and a maker of things, living and writing somewhere in the mountains of New York. Considering herself most closely allied with the Anglo-Catholic family of churches, she finds nuggets of truth wherever she can. From an early age, she found herself most at home with her “writing teachers” Lewis, Tolkien, and Jacques, and somewhere off in Faerie. She can often be found brainstorming with her brother, Ian T. Wilson, laying the groundwork for her latest story. T.K. is a founding member and a regular contributor to LSM.

Caroline Liberatore (intern Summer 2022) is a writer and recent graduate from Cleveland, Ohio. She spends her time writing poetry, perusing picture books, and serving the good people of Cleveland as an employee of the public library system.

Volunteers & Contributors

Thomas Adams is an old soul with a passion for God, Arthurian/Celtic history, and martial arts. He is an Oklahoma state champion in ATA Kobudo and Taekwondo, and a children’s mentor in martial arts and chivalrous Christian values. He also loves dragons and making wooden swords.

Judith Alkema is an artist/bard/creative/designer/educator currently living and working at a Christian university on the East Coast of South Korea. Her pilgrim journey has taken her from her Reformed roots to a Celtic faith which values Word, Art, and Nature as essential elements revolving around the central figure of Christ. A lay sister of Belle Coeur, a wife and mother, and a worship leader, Judith designs branding, collages images, bakes bread, writes liturgy, burns cedar, restores furniture, sniffs saltwater, plays piano, creates curriculum, and lives intensely. She is a founding member of LSM and created our logo.

Calista Bethelle is a hobby writer, freelance artist, and long-time ponderer of the Christian walk. She loves to draw eyes towards “whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report” in each of the above.

Billy Beauchesne is the founder of JESUS aCROSS the Border, an organization dedicated to connecting Catholic Young Adult Groups.

Frater Bernard James Brodeur is a novice in the Norbertine Order who sang There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy for our Spring 2021 audio issue.

Lauren Brouillette is a founding member of LSM. She also is the accompanist in the hymn Holy Holy Holy in the Summer 2020 audio issue and does a fabulous job fact-checking Sarah Levesque.

Jordan Christensen aka J.C. Ellis is a Confessional Lutheran and poet who lives in New Brunswick, Canada. He is married to a wonderful woman and has two children. He loves classical music, literature (especially fantasy), art, good food and drink. He is a regular contributor to Controversy Corner.

Alyssa Duckworth was born and raised in Northwest Arkansas. She enjoys gardening in her backyard, making things, and frozen semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Cordelia Fitzgerald, Queen of Opinions and cardholding member of the Oxford Comma Club, has, unlike Dr. Peter Kreeft, read more books than she’s written. She uses the miniscule knowledge gained thereby to dabble in short fiction, articles, and the occasional amateur poem.

B. Craig Grafton‘s latest books are: Twenty First Century American Fairy Tales, Willard Wigleaf, West Texas Attorney, and Jill Driver: Trail Boss. They are available on Amazon.

Jessica Noel Grissom currently lives in a small Texas town with her husband and their rainbow baby. Her passions include books, writing, chocolate, jewelry, traveling and tea. She obtained an MBA from Dallas Baptist University and worked in the business industry for eighteen years. Her story, Ascensión, was published in the creative writing journal, The Image, at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. In her spare time, she records a podcast that focuses on honest discussions and practical tips for living.

Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall was raised in situational poverty on the farm (no more cows, no, no more! End the mooooo!), was a Navy Corpsman in Viet-Nam, worked his way through university as an LVN on the night shift, and is a retired high school teacher (“Bueller…Bueller…”) and former community college part-time adjunct instructor of no status whatsoever. As the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship, Y’r ‘Umble Scrivener was on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame. The waiters at the ND Faculty Club were not impressed. He has been the recipient of other various awards, fellowships, and website.

Michala Hampton discovered her love for writing at the age of thirteen after reading fantasy novels that inspired her to create her own magic. She is caught between the worlds she brings to life in her stories and the one called reality. In fact, chances are that if a wizard with a pointy gray hat showed up and invited her to go on an adventure, Michala would rush out the front door never to be seen again.

Michael Hoogasian is the mind behind Sharkangel Books – Midnight Streams.

Thaddeus Hughes is a farm kid from Illinois, working as a Design Engineer in New Hampshire. He’s a jack of all trades. He was raised Roman Catholic, but is in love with the Byzantine Liturgy. He is one of the minds behind the blog and podcast Machinae Ex Deo.

Ryan Keating is a pastor, writer, and teacher on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where he also owns and operates Exile Coffee and Wine (@exilecoffeeandwine). His work can be found or is forthcoming in publications such as Saint Katherine Review, Ekstasis Magazine, Amethyst Review, and Miras Dergi, where he is a regular contributor in English and Turkish.

Courtney Kleefeld is an author and musician from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She writes prayer books, fantasy, and self-help nonfiction for Christian creatives. Her first published book is A Prayer Book for Writers.

Stephen Kuehne is a lover of puns, wordplay, and books of all kinds. He is a graduate of Boyce Bible College in Louisville, KY, and is a husband of one wife, a father of one son, and a master of one dog.

Keturah Lamb is a contributor to LSM as well as a writer of two blogs.

Rebecca Lemke Rebecca Lemke is a hybrid, multi-genre author and artist. When she’s not writing, knitting, or painting, she’s chasing her son around their Oklahoma farmhouse. You can find more of her work at RebeccaLemke.com and ScarletVirgins.com.

Mary McCulley is a lover of words, art, and music. She has the privilege of teaching writing and literature as a college instructor, and creates art in her spare time. Her goal in life is to share her Creator’s love of beauty with others.

Ethan McGuire is a healthcare information technology professional and a writer whose work has appeared in Better than Starbucks Poetry Magazine, Bob Jones University Press, Cultural Revue, The Dark Sire Literary Magazine, Fevers of the Mind, Flashes of Brilliance, Foundling House Journal, The Legend, Life in the Time of Corona, Three Rows Back, and Vita Brevis Press. Ethan lives on the Emerald Coast with his wife and their dog and cat, and you can connect with him at TheFlummoxed.com or on Twitter at @AHeavyMetalPen.

Kelsey Mercurio is passionate about Christ, her fellow man, plants and much more.

Michael Milisci is the self-proclaimed metalhead who kicked off our Musical Musings column in Spring 2020.

Evie Morandi is a contributor to LSM.

Amy N is the soprano voice in Holy Holy Holy, found in the Summer 2020 audio issue, as well as the vocalist for Ubi Caritas in our Winter 2021 audio issue and the soprano for O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing in our Summer 2021 issue.

Jamison N is a House Church Christian from Arizona who is always asking difficult questions, but keeps one foot in the Catholicism of his upbringing, rooted in layman Ignatian spirituality. He values interfaith dialogue, and writes strictly for enjoyment, believing that everyone should have an opportunity to be involved with literature and poetry, even the less talented .

Elizabeth (Liz) Nguyen (staff 2019-2020) is a graphic designer, illustrator, programmer, dreamer, and writer on a pursuit to find Jesus in all that is created. She loves the unpredictability of our God-given imagination for the beauty and awe that can be discovered within art, music, dreams, culture, digital technology, and story-telling. Coming from a tight-knit Vietnamese Christian family with Evangelical roots, she is currently seeking God and His boundless wisdom in the quiet but precious state of New Hampshire. Liz was a regular contributor to Controversy Corner, a founding member of LSM and was a huge help in creating our website.

S.P. Ora is a contributor to LSM.

Jordan Quigley has sung multiple hymns for our audio issues and has written for our Musical Musings

Olivia Ruigrok is a contributor to LSM.

Steve Rzasa would be perfectly happy warping around the galaxy when he’s not writing. He’s the author of many novels of science-fiction and fantasy, gobs of short stories, and when he’s not writing, he’s running a library in Wyoming. Steve’s works encompass The Face of the Deep series, which includes the ACFW award-winning Broken Sight; the Vincent Chen novellas compiled in Lines of Communication, which follow after The Face of the Deep; the human-alien buddy cop adventure For Us Humans; and his newest endeavor, the Mercury Hale trilogy, including the Realm Makers award-winning Mercury on Guard.

Isabella Summitt is a founding member of LSM.

Chantal Tamburino loves to bring a little more joy to the world with her artistic pursuits. Her talents cross multiple mediums such as pencil drawing, acrylic & oil painting, and charcoaling. She has been commissioned on several occasions for both Christmas cards and book illustrations. Her work on LSM includes the poem Untamed. Check out her work or reach out to her at www.tamburinomedia.com or @Chant_art_ on Instagram.

Eric Tamburino is a self-published author across multiple genres inspired by writers such as Lewis, Rothfoss, and Sapkowski. A comic book lover and movie fanatic, Eric currently lives in New Hampshire with his wife and has several more books planned. You can find his work or reach out to him at www.wheremanandmonstermeet.com.

Samantha Terrell author of Vision, and Other Things We Hide From (Potter’s Grove Press, 2021) is a widely published American poet whose work emphasizes self-awareness as a means to social awareness. Find her online at: SamanthaTerrell.com.

Rose Therese is a regular contributor to LSM.

Abbey Thompson graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville and is a theology teacher and Campus Minister at Trinity High School in Manchester NH. While she’s visited 13 different countries, it’s the White Mountains that have her heart. Her greatest joy in life is to lead others to Christ – especially through airplane evangelization. She contributed to the Prayer Beads booklet that is available to those who subscribe to our website via email.

Killarney (KJ) Traynor (staff 2019-2020) is an accountant by day and a writer/screenwriter/actress/director by night (and weekend). She is constantly overbooked, more curious than a cat, loves God, history, and literature, and has more books in her To-Be-Read pile than most people have in their entire house. You can find her books and more at KillarneyTraynor.com. She lives in New Hampshire and is a convert to Roman Catholicism. KJ is a founding member of LSM.

Deacon Roarke (Rory) Traynor is a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire. He graduated from Providence College and Our Lady of Providence Seminary with a bachelor’s in philosophy and then studied at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana before being ordained in June 2022.

Joseph Tuttle is a Catholic freelance writer and author. He has written for numerous publications including Aleteia, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Voyage Comics Blog, Missio Dei, Catholic365, and Clarifying Catholicism. He is the author of An Hour With Archibishop Fulton J. Seen (Liguori, 2021), a contributing editor and author of Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle Earth (Voyage Comics, 2021), and the editor of the forthcoming book Understanding Communism with Fulton J. Sheen (Missio Dei, 2022).

Mariella (Ella) Warncke is a graphic designer who lives with her family in a small town in New Hampshire. She has two crazy, super happy dogs. She loves to read, write, play video games (specifically “The Sims” and “Zelda”), and binge-watch Netflix. Ella is a founding member of LSM.

C.J. Williams is an inveterate storyteller, logophile, interior and exterior adventurer, and writer. She was born listening, and still does; except when she’s asking a question.