Welcome! My name is Jen and I like to write.
I’m the author of The How-to Book of Evangelization (OSV 2020) and Classroom Management for Catechists (Liguori 2013). You can read my take on those two, as well as other book projects I’ve worked on, over at the books page.
Where to find me at the moment:
I write regularly at One Soul at a Time, my online newsletter about Catholic evangelization and discipleship. This is non-political, written specifically for those who just want to talk about Jesus, and do not want to have to wade through social media in order to receive a dose of edification and encouragement. You can get an e-mail based subscription so that you don’t have to leave the tranquility of your inbox in order to read. Subscription info (it’s free) is here.
Time-permitting I still blog at Patheos. Topics run the gamut, and can be quite heated and controversial. I didn’t say I was right, I said I was opinionated.
I’m no longer actively blogging here at my personal website, but I do periodically provide an update on where to find me. The old blog archives are here. Also check out The Catholic Writers Guild blog, where I’ve contributed from time to time. My most recent series started here.
I currently have very little social media presence. For an automated feed of Catholic Writers Guild content, you can follow @Jennifer_Fitz on Twitter. You cannot reach me there! Over at @JenFitz_Reads is where I actively tweet about whatever’s grabbed my attention lately, and that is the account you should use if attempting to get in touch with me.
Desperate to e-mail? Subscribers to my Substack (including free accounts) can reply to any newsletter of One Soul at a Time in your e-mail inbox and it’ll reach me (you can write me about whatever, change the subject line as needed). I cannot commit to replying to all e-mails, but I do read all reader mail and pray for your intentions.
Media Archives
I mostly only write, but occasionally I can be made to talk out loud:
- My episodes (audio only) with TL Putnam on Outside the Walls;
- Pat Gohn and I talking about “Spiritual Muscle for Life’s Curves” on the Among Women podcast (audio only); my interview begins at the thirty-minute mark. Covers a lot of evangelization stuff . . . guess I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while. Hmmn.
- Here’s the OSV webcast for The How-to Book of Evangelization. Fill in the registration form and you get in free; you may need to reload if it times-out on you. There is not a transcript or captions within the webcast, but here is the written version of that presentation.
And, most exciting one so far, here’s my conversion story on EWTN’s The Journey Home.
My Bio
Education
I have a Certificat d’Études Politiques from Sciences Po Paris (that’s a one-year course of study of French politics and economics at the late-undergrad level) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies earned stateside. I did study a fair bit of economics during that time, but the bio circulating here and there (not written by me) that says I have a degree in economics is wrong. (Honest mistake, I assume). I don’t. I just enjoy the topic very much.
After undergrad I earned my Master of Business Administration, focused primarily in accounting (I loved accounting theory so much, it was just silly) and a little bit of finance.
Experience
Right out of school I worked in cost accounting and then pricing for a mid-sized manufacturing firm. After that I transitioned briefly into the non-profit sector, then into the zero-profit (but very rewarding!) business of bringing new humans into the world.
Circa 2005 my oldest started kindergarten, and we homeschooled for the next decade. In 2013 I co-founded and subsequently directed a parish educational cooperative that was 100% volunteer-run and self-funded. Classes I taught there included Apologetics for Kids, Editing, French, Economics, Debate, and (of course) Tolkien.
Over the past twenty-some years I’ve also taught religious education and Bible study to children and adults, including creating VBS and other specialty programs from scratch. I am trained as a presenter for Family Honor, an apostolate dedicated to teaching chastity and The Theology of the Body to groups of either parents-only or parents with their teens.
After my last homeschooler transitioned to traditional brick-and-mortar, I taught sixth and seventh grade history, English, and beginning Latin at a small private Christian school. Full disclosure: Middle schoolers are fun. Not kidding. Best kept secret in the industry.
Writing Life
I have been writing for fun and profit since about third grade. (Heavy on the fun, light on the profit). I write fiction for my own entertainment and occasionally do some private developmental fiction editing on a very limited basis. At work I was always the person tagged to do the writing part of the project. I worked as a writer and editor for my university’s career center during grad school, and later in my early-career put together some riveting in-house user guides to various accounting software. (Okay, maybe not riveting — but definitely helpful.)
In 2006 I started blogging anonymously as a way to practice writing for an audience. Soon after I discovered and joined the Catholic Writers Guild. I went on to more blogging, founded and directed the CWG group blog, and served a stint as the CWG Vice President. Although I am doing very little public writing at this time, basically I can’t shut up, so I blog when I can.
Disability Stuff
You don’t need a special pass to write about civil rights for persons with disabilities; that’s just a normal thing for decent human beings to care about. My sporadic chronic illness themed blogging, though, does come from personal experience. I have a relapsing and remitting neurological disorder, final diagnosis TBD; it has ranged over the years from severely incapacitating to so thoroughly in remission that I forget it exists. (At present it is not easy to forget.) Sometimes it does stuff that is mildly amusing to people with a dark sense of humor; most of the time it just makes me tired and prone to complaining.
Jesus
I really love Jesus, even though mostly I just complain to Him. He really loves me, despite my being sort of a pain in His side, and also there’s the part about how it’s going to be quite an effort to actually get me into Heaven. But we’re working on it.
Okay, honestly He’s gonna have to do basically all the work.
Personal
I’m married to the SuperHusband and we have four fantastic children and zero boring ones. I am a dog person who has only cats, and mostly I’m okay with that. In my free time I like to play outside.
