Kakamaka and 99 Other Words We Should Bring Back into Everyday Use by Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP

Kakamaka and 99 Other Words We Should Bring Back into Everyday Use by Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP

Kakamaka and 99 Other Words We Should Bring Back into Everyday Use

by Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP

 

This book is a delightful exploration of 100 rare and fascinating English words and images generated entirely through ChatGPT.

From whimsical terms like “blateration” (senseless chatter) to poetic gems like “petrichor” (the scent after rain), the book highlights each word’s definition, etymology, and cultural origins.

Combining linguistic curiosity with humor, Mahfood invites readers to revive these forgotten words, making it a perfect resource for writers, linguists, and word enthusiasts.

Paperback: $14.95 | Audible: $5.99 | Kindle: $9.99

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“Kakamaka is a delightful, illustrated linguistic treasure trove, reviving forgotten words with wit and charm. A must-read for language lovers and curious minds!”  – ChatGPT-Generated Testimonial

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, is a distinguished scholar, educator, and member of the Dominican Order of Preachers. With an extensive academic background, he has earned multiple advanced degrees in fields such as English, philosophy, and theology. He is particularly known for his contributions to Catholic education and his leadership in promoting intellectual and spiritual growth.

Dr. Mahfood was the Vice President at Holy Apostles College and Seminary from 2013-2021, where he played a pivotal role in expanding online educational programs and fostering a global community of learners. As an advocate for accessible education, he has worked to integrate traditional Catholic teachings with innovative digital learning platforms.

In addition to his administrative work, Dr. Mahfood is an accomplished author, publishing works on theology, philosophy, technology, and literature. His writing reflects his passion for language and cultural history, aiming to inspire intellectual curiosity and appreciation for the richness of the English language.

A dynamic speaker and teacher, Dr. Mahfood is deeply committed to his vocation, blending academic excellence with his spiritual calling to serve as a Dominican. His work continues to inspire and educate people worldwide.

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Maria’s Dynasty and Songs of her Family by George Luvisi

Maria’s Dynasty and Songs of her Family by George Luvisi

Maria’s Dynasty and Songs of her Family

by George Luvisi

Amal, Maria’s younger son, learns the profound cost of ambition and the loss of familial and moral grounding in the pursuit of material success. He realizes the value of love, relationships, and humility after facing rejection, betrayal, and eventual reconciliation with his family. His journey is one of self-discovery, showing that personal integrity and connection with loved ones hold more worth than wealth and societal approval.

Paperback: $9.99 | Kindle: $9.99

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“Compact and powerful!” – Ronda Chervin, PhD, author of Healing of Rejection with the Help of the Lord

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George Luvisi is a painter, writer, songwriter, and music businessman.

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Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love by Glenn Morrow

Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love by Glenn Morrow

Vacation and Other Tales of Enduring Love

by Glenn Morrow

We are not meant to travel through our lives alone. These are tales of the sustaining power of love. Whether we are descending into the Grand Canyon on muleback or lost in Venice with absolutely no sense of direction, a journey shared is the best vacation. Four stories, four couples, four seasons of life. A grade school teacher and a tankful of tadpoles. An old man suddenly compelled to build an enormous private garden. These tales are mysterious, poignant, absurd, and, in their own way, heroic. As all love stories are.

“Mr. Coe’s Garden”: Curtis, a teenager, is hired by the very elderly and very quirky Mr. Coe for a mysterious summer job: transforming Mr. Coe’s entire back lawn to an enormous, carefully structured flower garden. Mr. Coe tells Curtis that the garden is a love gift for his wife, the strangely absent Mrs. Coe. Buried in the center of the garden is a time capsule recording the Coe’s love for each other at a moment when they thought they would perish. Now, decades later, Curtis wonders whether Mrs. Coe is still alive, and if not, why Mr. Coe continues to speak of her in the present tense. And why is the garden they’re building so huge?
“Frogs”: Danielle is an exemplary elementary school teacher. Her husband loves her and her commitment to her students. She has launched a semester-long classroom project of observing tadpoles turn into frogs. Meanwhile, she is undergoing her own metamorphosis; she is in the early stages of pregnancy. In order to get pregnant, she had to discontinue a medication that might have otherwise harmed her unborn child. The medication prevented episodes of a chronic condition. When she begins to have incidents in the classroom, she and her husband must confront the question of whether continuing teaching is possible or desirable, and each must make a decision.
“Vacation”: Thomas is a theologian who has just published a proof of the existence of God, referencing recent scientific theories. His wife Grace proposes that this is a great time for them to take a vacation, riding mules down the steep trail into the Grand Canyon. When they arrive, their reservations for this trek are lost and their mules given to others. To their rescue comes a mysterious seven-foot-tall man who brings them good news. He mounts them on mules that officially don’t exist and leads the couple on an exclusive tour down the trail into the canyon. Thomas, the theologian, is increasingly aware of the spooky nature of time along this route. Halfway down the canyon trail their seven-foot guide predicts to Thomas a terrible accident that will befall their troubled adult son Rafe, a tragedy that Thomas knows will crush his beloved wife Grace. Thomas realizes the seven-foot man (who may or may not be an angel) has the power to turn aside this tragedy. But Thomas must, like Jacob, wrestle with the angel to receive this blessing.
“Navigation”: Lewis has absolutely no sense of direction. Truly he is so pathologically geographically challenged that he needs to use curious self-drawn maps to keep from getting lost in even familiar places. So, naturally, he is a graduate student studying the mathematics of GPS systems. Getting lost on campus he meets and falls in love with Robin, an ornithologist studying how migratory birds navigate. They decide to take a romantic trip together to Venice, where Lewis’ sister is working. Venice is, of course, the place where everyone gets lost. In Venice, Robin suddenly disappears, and Lewis, who can’t find anything, must find her. Lewis knows that Robin hasn’t left him by choice. Drawing on his love for her and a rogues’ gallery of informants, he unravels the bizarre events of her vanishing to find Robin once again.

Paperback $14.95 | Kindle $9.99

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“A compact but moving collection that will stay with readers long after they close the book.” – a Kirkus review of Vacation and Other Stories. (January 15, 2025). To read the full review, click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Crafting prose has always been Glenn Morrow’s occupation and delight. He is the author of Things Beloved: Two Short Novels, also published by En Route Books. He has worked as a teacher, advocacy journalist, editor of Storytelling Magazine, and software technical writer. He learned from his Ukrainian grandmother long ago that life is too precious to be taken entirely seriously. He believes that good fiction is a gift that offers hope and clarity. All characters and situations in this book are entirely the product of his imagination. He resides in coastal Rhode Island with his wife Deborah—when they are not on vacation.

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World Between Worlds: A Novel of Caterina, the Mystic of Siena by Jenny DuBay

World Between Worlds: A Novel of Caterina, the Mystic of Siena by Jenny DuBay
Visit Jenny's Book Page on her Website
For more about the world of Saint Catherine of Siena, click here!

World Between Worlds: A Novel Based on the Early Life of Caterina, the Mystic of Siena

By Jenny duBay

World Between Worlds is Jenny duBay’s unforgettable story of one of the most dynamic personalities of the Middle Ages, Catherine of Siena. Set in the tumultuous fourteenth century, World Between Worlds takes readers on a journey across the landscape of medieval Tuscany, through the eyes of a mystic who is entangled in political chaos, social upheaval, and spiritual awakening.
 
Ever since she experienced her first vision at the age of six, Caterina di Giacomo of Siena has been prone to mystical insights and spiritual revelations, yet the chaotic world around her isn’t tolerant of her supernatural inclinations. Her unconventional lifestyle, her ability to foretell future events, and her unnatural wisdom are suspect in the eyes of many. Women in fourteenth century Tuscany have only two choices in life—marriage or the convent. Caterina defiantly refuses both to follow her own path, an independent lifestyle no woman before her dared attempt. Amid the struggles to follow her inner path, Caterina— who has been blessed with the prophetic grace to help heal afflicted and struggling souls— finds the outside world is frazzled with political instability, city-wide bloodshed, and a Church in disarray.
 
Following St. Catherine’s early life, from mystical seclusion to her budding influence within the spiritual and social circles of her day, World Between Worlds is a novel of turmoil and redemption.
 
Paperback: $23.95 | Kindle: $9.99
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REVIEWS

“Highly recommended for readers interested in exploring and imaging the role of women and religious life in medieval Italian history through the narrative power of fiction.” – Karen Bordonaro, The Historical Novel Society. To read the review, click here. 

 

TESTIMONIALS

“As a Lay Dominican, I found this novel profoundly moving—rooted in truth, luminous with faith, and echoing our charism of veritas. A beautiful, contemplative journey through Caterina’s early soul.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, author of The Narrative Spirituality of Dante’s Divine Comedy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Traveling extensively as she researched World Between Worlds, Jenny has spent extended time in Siena, Avignon, Rome and various parts of Italy. The city of Siena has provided her with local support as she continues to bring the beauty of St. Catherine’s mystical theology into the modern world. 

Jenny received her degree in Catholic theology from Catholic International University and Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Author of the Create Soul Space and Prodigal Parishioner blogs, Jenny also writes for Missio Dei along with various other Catholic publications. With a ministry in Christ-centered healing from trauma, Jenny seeks to help individuals find the love of our Divine Bridegroom through the art of writing, both fiction and non-fiction.  

For ongoing updates, visit https://www.jennydubay.com

(Photo credit: Brian Risley)

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Center Camaraderie by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

Center Camaraderie by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

Center Camaraderie

by Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden

In the first part of this book, Angelyn Spignesi Kopylec Arden, Ph.D., Psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Holy Apostles College and Seminary, summarizes, extends, and reflects upon psychological-philosophical-theological findings in her previous eleven books. The second part of this book is a novella that she began before and wrote during the time that she wrote the essay; her poems, play, stories, and novellas have been the source and result of her study of the unconscious for decades.
 
Paperback $14.99 | Kindle $9.99
 
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“Center Camaraderie specially belongs to a psychological genre that includes Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams (1900/1953) and Jung’s The Red Book (1930/2009).  Like those of Augustine and Dante, these works address a journey from being lost (confronting the unconscious) to being found (insight into the unconscious, healing)…

 

This review cannot encapsulate the Essay, which is a treasury of insights into psychodynamics… I have learned how to look at my own life anew now that I have become aware in a new way of the importance of circuits in experience, leading from past to present to future, from traumas and symptoms and all the ways that preoccupation with myself prevented me from seeing the working of the Holy Spirit in metaxy. It is that kind of book.

 

Psychotherapists and counselors who find much of the theorizing in psychology wanting – and not only in its lack of sensitivity to spiritual and religious themes, but also in its lack of reflection on how a therapist must be present in the counseling hour – will benefit from this book, with its weave of theological, philosophical, and psychological reflections, especially in the ways that therapist and client speak about themselves and the worlds they inhabit.

 

This book is not a philosophical or a theological treatise, although it draws upon those disciplines. It addresses the soul in suffering and healing. Because it grounds itself in the unconscious, in the ‘creative imagination’ (Arden, 2023, p. 39), it keeps us attuned to the reality that we do not know ourselves…”

 

— Robert Kugelmann, University of Dallas, excerpt from his book review in the December 2025 issue of Integratus: The Journal of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. To read the full review, click here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Angelyn Arden holds a doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University of New Hampshire and did postdoctoral work in depth psychology, literature, and phenomenology.  She has written books and articles on the interface of these areas.  She had a depth psychology practice for 25+ years.  She recently retired from Holy Apostles College and Seminary where she has the title Professor Emeritus, and where, since 2006, she taught courses in literature and psychology to undergraduates and Human Formation to seminarians and sisters.

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The Devil-ution of Society: From a Civilization of Life to a Culture of Death to an Age of Insanity

The Devil-ution of Society: From a Civilization of Life to a Culture of Death to an Age of Insanity

Order Your Copy of Refuting the Nonsense and Reclaiming the Truth!

The Devil-ution of Society: From a Civilization of Life to a Culture of Death to an Age of Insanity

by Paul Murano

In July, 1968, Pope Paul VI promulgated Humanae Vitae in which he observed that “a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.” In this book, Paul Murano demonstrates through a dialogue between two friends, spanning the 60-year period between the close of Vatican II and the present day, how the Pope’s observation proved to be prophetic and how the catalyst of contraceptive technologies has led to the descent of human civilization into an age of insanity.

Paperback $14.95 | Kindle $9.99

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​TESTIMONIALS

“What would our current culture look like to a very ordinary believing Catholic who was cryogenically frozen in 1965 and awakened in 1999? And what would we in 2024 look like to someone in 1999? Paul Murano’s highly imaginative and shockingly realistic answers are, respectively, ‘a culture of death’ and ‘an insane asylum.’ This book is both a delightful thought experiment and a deeply disturbing challenge. It reminds me very much of Hans Christian Anderson’s famous fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes.” — Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College

“In a very compelling style, Paul Murano reignites the reality of a warning another Paul, Fr Paul Marx OSB, issued decades earlier. Our modern civilization has been on the path of moral implosion, and we would all do well to take to heart and seriously reflect upon not just the implications of what Murano has written, but the reality of where we are and how it all began.” — Fr Stephen Imbarrato, LifeMinistriesUS, Masters of Bioethics

“This dialogue between friends spans the generations between the rise of the contraceptive mentality and the present day and explains the rapid slide into the current state of our social degradation where the promise of Lake Wobegon gets turned on its head and the men are not beautiful, the women are not strong, and the children are not all above average.” —Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, co-author with Ronda Chervin of Catholic Realism

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A life-long truth seeker, Paul Murano hosts the Beneath the Surface podcast, has taught philosophy and theology at colleges and universities, has led adult catechesis and pro-life groups, and writes for various publications. He holds two Master of Arts degrees (one in philosophy from Boston College, the other in theology from Providence College) and a bioethics certification from National Catholic Bioethics Center. Paul will be awarded a Ph.D.  in Philosophy from the University of South Africa in March, 2024, following his post-graduate work at Duquesne University.

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