Ave Maria Press Launches CatholicMom.com Books

Back in July 2011, I was approached by Lisa Hendey of CatholicMom.com and Ave Maria Press and asked to write "The Catholic Baby Name Book." I spent the next nine months working frantically on it - truly, it was only through the grace of God that this project got completed - and turned in the completed files in May of this year.

I was hesitant to say anything about the book in case the project didn't go through, but here it is in black and white in Ave Maria Press' latest press release, so I'm sharing the good news! I'm honored to be in the company of the other wonderful writers asked to be part of this series. My book won't be coming out until some time in the spring of 2013, but when it does, I hope it will prove to be a useful resource for those choosing a name for a child as well as a resource on saints. It includes over 10,000 names and 3000 short saint biographies. There is a patron saint in there for everyone! I will share more info on the upcoming publication when I have it.

In the meantime, please enjoy the following press release and help support all of these great Catholic writers:

Building on the popularity of Lisa M. Hendey’s The Handbook for Catholic Moms and A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms and her award-winning website CatholicMom.com, Ave Maria Press is pleased to announce the launch of CatholicMom.com Books, which will take place at this week’s Catholic Marketing Network tradeshow in Arlington, Texas.

In the spirit of the New Evangelization, and at the forefront of Catholic new media, Hendey and her fellow moms and bloggers celebrate all things faith, family, and fun from a thoroughly Catholic perspective. Through the triumphs and tedium of the everyday, CatholicMom.com Books will encourage and support moms in their vocations, showing how their Catholic faith can be the vital center of their experience. 

Ave Maria Press’s CatholicMom.com Books will include 1-2 books per year, starting in September 2012 with A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy by popular blogger and author Sarah Reinhard. Reinhard’s book accompanies expectant mothers from conception to baptism with weekly reflections and prayers rooted in the mysteries of the Rosary. Due out in 2013 will be a book of Catholic baby names by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur and one by Marge Fenelon  on eight Marian virtues for motherhood.

Hendey will play an active role in selecting new authors and books for this exciting new series, contributing a foreword for each title and promoting the books on her site and through the thousands who follow her on social media networks.

Hendey’s website has seen exponential growth since its inception in 2000 and now welcomes over half a million unique visitors per year: she is the original Catholic mommy blogger. This vibrant online community provides a friendly forum and digital meeting place for Catholic women to exchange stories, experiences, and prayers, and CatholicMom.com Books will be a treasury of wisdom from many of Hendey’s well-known and trusted online contributors and others.