Ellen Gable's Blog, page 102

7 Quick Takes Friday – July 13

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Jen’s Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. JTTF Youth ConferenceI’m heading to the Journey to the Father Youth Conference today. This is one of the few conferences I have continued to attend every year as a vendor. It’s close (two hours away) and I have a lot of “fans” amongst the attendees.

2. Review of Growing Up in God’s Image

Full Quiver’s soon-to-be released book on how to talk to your kids about sex, “Growing Up In God’s Image,” by Carolyn Smith was recently reviewed by Kathleen Basi at Catholic Mothers Online.

3. Parliament Hill

photo copyright James Hrkach

We recently took our niece and nephew and some of our own kids to see the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

4. Hotel Adventure

Image copyright James & Ellen Hrkach/Full Quiver Publishing

5. Catholic Writers ConferenceThe Catholic Writers Guild will be holding their fourth annual Catholic Writers Conference Live from August 29-31 in Arlington (near Dallas) Texas. I’ll be presenting two talks: one on Marketing and one on Fiction and Evangelization. If you’re a writer and would like more information, check out the conference website at this link.

6. Gazpacho Soup

Image from Better Homes and Gardens

One of my favorite summertime treats is Gazpacho Soup from Better Homes and Gardens. I usually add more garlic and I chop the onions instead of thinly slicing them. This is a great way to easily get two or three servings of vegetables.

7. God Moments II: Recognizing the Fruits of the Holy SpiritI contributed three stories to a book called God Moments II: Recognizing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit by Michele Elena Bondi. It recently won 3rd Place in the small publisher category for the Catholic Press Association. It’s available on Amazon in print or Kindle.

Text and photos copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Catholic Writers To Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

For Immediate Release

Arlington, TX — The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe.

The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique with professional editors and writers. Some participating publishers are Ignatius Press, Ave Maria Press, Christus Publishing, Tuscany Press, Ascension Press and Servant Books. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site.

This year’s conference will focus on “Writing and the New Evangelization.” Speakers include EWTN personalities Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, authors Ellen Gable Hrkach (Stealing Jenny, In Name Only) and Patti Armstrong (Stories for the Homeschool Heart), Ann Margaret Lewis (Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes), and author and blogger Sarah Reinhard (A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy). More excellent speakers are still being confirmed.

In partnership with the Catholic New Media Conference also taking place in the convention center, conference attendees will be able to attend a special track on blogging for $25. Information on this opportunity will be made to attendees upon registration.

“It’s not just writing, it’s not just fellowship, it’s inspiration too!” says 2011 Conference presenter Sarah Reinhard. “It was great to share the Eucharist and evening meals in person with writers who inspire me, encourage me, and motivate me the rest of the year.”

The Catholic Writers Guild, a religious non-profit organization affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature. Says CWG President Ann Lewis, “These events are integral to our mission of ‘creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

Registration costs $70 for CWG members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students. There’s also a discounted combined membership. To register or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

The Importance of a Good Cover

My latest post at the Catholic Writers Guild Blog is entitled, “The Importance of a Good Cover:”

A book’s cover is the first thing a prospective reader sees so it is important that it be professionally created. If it is poorly designed or if it is too simplistic, it can turn your reader away. I know of some self-published books in which the story and writing were pretty good, but the covers screamed “Self-published!”

In these days of digital printing and e-copies, a good cover also needs to look interesting in thumbnail.

With traditional publishing, the author may not have much say regarding the cover. However, with self-publishing, the author has 100 percent responsibility for making sure the cover is professionally created.

I cannot stress enough the importance of hiring a professional cover designer. In my case, my husband (James Hrkach) is an artist and he has designed all my covers.

Some self-publishing websites also offer cover design services. However, if you want a professional looking cover and not too simplistic, it’s better to hire a cover designer. Ask fellow authors for recommendations. Do an online search. Cover designers are as diverse as authors. Look for a designer whose portfolio includes covers which are professionally done and thematically in line with your book’s topic.

Once you’ve hired a designer, it’s important to work with him or her to create a cover design which sets the mood for your book and intrigues a prospective reader.

Two things an author should realize with regard to good cover design is that:

1) one of the most important things about a cover design is the composition

2) artistic/visual composition is probably one of the things authors/writers know the least about

Look for books which have interesting designs and ask yourself:

What’s the theme?

Why does the layout work?

What’s the emotion?

What’s being represented?

Do the lines, color and composition support the theme?

A book’s cover is a marketing device. Professionally produced covers will not only enhance your book, they will also help in marketing it to prospective readers.

Sunday Snippets – July 8

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets where we share posts from the previous week.

Here are my posts:

7 Quick Takes Friday

Faith Beyond the Trials Book Review

7 Quick Takes Friday – July 6

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. Feast of St. Maria Goretti

Today is the Feast of St. Maria Goretti. I grew up attending a church named for this saint and I’ve always been fascinated by her story. St. Maria Goretti refused to submit to her rapist (which led to her death) but this refusal led to her rapist’s conversion.

2. LifeSiteNews

I’m still receiving notes about LifeSiteNews’ recent article about my third novel, Stealing Jenny. Again, special thanks to Pete Baklinski for this wonderful article. Since the article was posted last week, I’ve had over 500 Kindle downloads and many print orders.

3. Husband’s Retirement

My husband’s first week of retirement from teaching (in fact, first day) was spent taking care of me last week as I was suffering from a bad case of the flu. Thankfully, I feel much better. Since the weather has been sunny and clear, he’s been spending more time in his new kayak.

4. Stealing Jenny Kindle Edition Only .99!

Stealing Jenny Kindle Edition has been lowered to .99 for a limited time only!

5. Many Hands Make Light Work

Cartoon copyright James and Ellen Hrkach

6. Exhibition a Success!

The opening reception for my husband’s exhibition was a great success! My husband sold a painting but, more importantly, the people seemed to love his art work. He’ll be returning to the gallery on July 21st, to give an art lecture: “I would like to speak about my 30 year endeavour to discover the many levels of meaning in art and specifically to unite content and form,” says Hrkach. “I was never happy with only representing or merely expressing emotion, focusing on media use or obsessing with geometric rules of composition. It seemed to me necessary to see how they could all relate…how they could collaborate.” For more information, check this link.

7. St. Gertrude’s Prayer

One of my favorite prayers is “St. Gertrude’s Prayer.” Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that He would release 1000 souls from Purgatory whenever we say the following prayer: Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen. More prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory can be found at this link.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.

Photos and text copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Faith Beyond the Trials by Paul Turk

Faith Beyond the Trials is a novel about John Taylor and the difficulties and hardships he faces after he is arrested for driving under the influence. One of the reasons I jumped at the chance of reviewing this novel was because it has 17 5-star reviews on Amazon.

The back cover says: “…the Taylors have achieved the American dream – prestigious careers, a sprawling home in Palm Beach and exotic vacations to locations around the world. Although John and Anna’s relationship seemed to be made in heaven, a tragic death followed by an unexpected arrest puts them through the fires of hell. These stormy trials will test their confidence in God and the strength of their love. Only time will tell if their faith – and their marriage – will endure.”

First for the good: I enjoyed the story and the faith themes. The author is a lawyer so the court scenes ring true to life. I worked as a court reporter for many years, so I especially liked these scenes. The cover is professional and eye-catching. The characters, for the most part, are well-defined and believable.

His debut novel, however, needs a lot of polishing and could have used more extensive copy- editing. Adverbs are overused and there is a lot of repetitive wording. His book contains a lot of back story. Perhaps most readers aren’t critical, but as an author and editor myself, I found it hard to ignore the writing flaws.

The bottom line, however, is that I enjoyed the story and faith themes, despite the flaws.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – June 30

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets, where we share posts from the previous week.

I only managed one post this very busy week. My husband’s solo art exhibition opened in Cornwall, Ontario. It is an amazing exhibition, so if you happen to live in the Cornwall area, please drop by and take a look.

My one and only post this week is actually an excerpt from a wonderful article on Stealing Jenny by Pete Baklinski from LifeSiteNews:

Action-packed high octane pro-life novel tops Amazon Kindle

Action Packed High Octane Pro-Life Novel Tops Amazon Kindle

Special thanks to Pete Baklinski at LifeSiteNews for this amazing article:

PAKENHAM, Ontario, June 27, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Before becoming an award-winning and bestselling novelist, Ellen Gable practically devoured any book she could get her hands on. But the Catholic Mom and faith-filled woman of conviction constantly found herself disconcerted by much of contemporary secular fiction containing plot recipes that often included glamorous depictions of non-marital sex and gratuitous violence.

On the other end of the spectrum, Gable found much of contemporary Christian fiction not “deep enough” for her tastes. A near-death experience from complications of an ectopic pregnancy became the catalyst for Gable’s inspiration to write faith-based fiction with edge-of-your-seat plots that are inseparable from a life-affirming moral perspective.

“I write about what I know,” said Gable in an interview with LifeSiteNews.

Not only is Gable a wife, homemaker, and mother of five boys ages 12 to 24, but she is also a Natural Family Planning (NFP) instructor, marriage preparation instructor, and pro-life speaker.

“I want my stories to be packed with meaning. And I have found the most meaning within the treasures of my Catholic faith,” she said. Gable says that it “doesn’t matter” to her whether her readers are Catholic, Christian, or secular. “I want them to know and love the characters. I want to entertain them, but I also want them to come away with an important life-affirming message.”

Gable’s latest novel, Stealing Jenny, currently sits at number one in the Religious & Liturgical Drama category on Amazon Kindle.

To read the rest of the article at LifeSiteNews, click here.

For a limited time, Stealing Jenny is only .99 on Kindle!

Sunday Snippets – June 24

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets where we share posts from the previous week.

Things have been crazy around here so I haven’t been posting to my blog as much. However, I did manage two posts this week.

7 Quick Takes Friday



Looking Closer at the Hail Mary – Now

7 Quick Takes Friday – June 22

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. Concordia Convocation

Our second oldest son received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Theatre (with Distinction) this past week at Concordia University’s Convocation held at Place Des Arts in downtown Montreal. It was a proud moment for Mom and Dad! (Our son was homeschooled until high school).

This week’s convocation at Concordia University in Montreal.
Copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

2. Solo Art Exhibition

My husband, James, is currently exhibiting a number of art works at a solo exhibition in Cornwall, Ontario. It’s exciting because this is his first solo exhibition in decades.

3. Stitches

I don’t like stitches. It means someone has been hurt or has had an operation. Of course, you can’t have a family with five sons without having some experience with stitches. This past week, one of my sons was visiting his friend and he fell (my son, that is) and cut his hand and finger. I wasn’t there at the time and only got the call from the ER. Four stitches. He explained that he was glad I wasn’t there because with the amount of blood coming out of his hand, I would have been “freaking out.” Darn right.

Thirteen years ago, my second oldest son (the one who just graduated from university; he was 9 years old at the time) also fell at a friend’s house. But I was present that time. One of the children was riding a bike behind him. He accidentally fell and the boy behind him plowed into his face. When I looked up and saw my son running toward the house, it looked like he had been shot in the face. I have never seen so much blood coming from a wound. There’s just something about seeing your child bleed that doesn’t sit well with me. We took him to the emergency room where the wound was cleansed and stitched (and he still has a small scar on his cheek).

4. A Tale of Two Turtles

Two weeks ago, I had occasion to encounter a slowly moving turtle in the road, just beyond our driveway. We live in the country so we do see wild animals from time to time. Well, I didn’t want to run over the turtle, so I waited. My husband, seeing our car waiting at the end of the driveway, came over and moved the fellow out of the way. Earlier this week, my second oldest son encountered a turtle in the middle of the road. He stopped the car, put on work gloves and went to move the turtle, then realized the poor fellow was dead. We hope it wasn’t the same turtle.

5. Father Jungle Jim

Cartoon copyright Full Quiver Publishing/James & Ellen Hrkach

6. LifeSiteNews I just received an email from one of the writers at LifeSiteNews who just finished reading my novel, Stealing Jenny, and would like to do an interview with me for an article he’s writing about my book! Cool!

7. The “Chosen” One

Last, but not least, my youngest son took this photo earlier this week. We were sitting on the couch watching TV and noticed the sun streaming through. When we saw this, we both laughed out loud. This shows our “baby” wall, with each of my sons at around 9 months old, the oldest at the top and the youngest at the bottom.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen’s Conversion Diary.

Text and photos copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach