Ellen Gable's Blog, page 105

Down to Earth

Our latest cartoon from Family Foundations copyright 2012 Full Quiver Publishing

Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington Texas

Press Release:

CONTACT: Ann Margaret Lewis

Phone: (317) 755-2693

e-mail: president@catholicwritersguild.com

For Immediate Release

Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

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.

This year’s conference will focus on “Writing and the New Evangelization.” Speakers include Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St.Anthony Messenger Press, Mike Marshall of FAITH Catholic Publishing, authors Ellen Gable Hrkach (In Name Only and Stealing Jenny) and Patti Armstrong (Catholic Truths for Our Children, Stories for the Homeschool Heart), Ann Margaret Lewis (Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes), and EWTN personalities Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR. More excellent speakers are still being confirmed.

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. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site.

In partnership with the Catholic New Media Conference, also taking place in the convention center, writers 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 attendee Sarah Reinhard, blogger and author of Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative or Clueless and several other Catholic family books. “It was great to put faces with names and personalities with suspicions. It was also 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. I enjoyed it so much I’m afraid I’m addicted.”

The Catholic Writers Guild, a religious non-profit organization, sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature. “Our conferences are totally focused on encouraging faithful Catholics to share genuine Catholic culture and faith in their writing no matter what genre,” says CWG President Ann Margaret 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.

 

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Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

Click here to download the media release as Word document.

Awards Contests for Self-Published Authors: Are They Worth It?

My latest post for the Catholic Writers Guild blog is about awards contests and whether they are worthwhile.

In my post last month, I gave a link which lists some popular awards contests for self-published authors: http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/blog/2009/01/self-published-book-contests/

This list doesn’t claim to be all inclusive, but it is helpful. And be aware that most of these contests require an entry fee.

One award that doesn’t require an entry fee (if you’re a member) is the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval. Sarah Reinhard gives extensive information on the SOA contest in this blog post: http://blog.catholicwritersguild.com/2012/03/seal-of-approval-now-accepting-submissions.html

Another awards contest that CWG members have been quite successful with is the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs). In 2010, my Catholic historical romance, , won the Gold Medal in the Religious Fiction category and CWG President, Ann Lewis’, book Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, won the Gold Medal in 2011. Other CWG members have won Bronze medals for their novels in past contests.

As well, CWG member, Karen Kelly Boyce, recently won the Eric Hoffer award (in commercial fiction) for her novel, Down Right Good.

The question is: are awards worth it? Awards are certainly affirmation that we are producing quality books. But do they sell books?

Case in point: A few years ago, at a local Catholic conference, the organizers allowed me to speak briefly in front of the 400 or so attendees. I then proceeded to tell them that my novel, , had won a Gold Medal for Religious Fiction. Later that day, the local Archbishop came to my table. He said he was an avid reader and was interested in the book that “had won the Gold Medal.” “It’s a romance,” I replied, thinking that an archbishop would not be interested in a romance. I continued, “But it has inherent Theology of the Body themes.” “Great,” he said, “I love romance novels, especially one with Catholic themes.”

The archbishop wasn’t the only one who stopped by my table after I mentioned that my book had won a gold medal. During the next three hours, more than 40 people lined up at my table to buy my book.

While medals may help to sell books at conferences, I have to admit that the award didn’t make much difference in my online sales (in fact, I didn’t see any spike in sales following the medal announcement).

Even so, winning an award is an incredible honor, an invaluable addition to a resume and it increases personal one-on-one sales. So…what do you have to lose? The cost of the registration fee. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Contests are definitely worth it.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Saints and Scripture Sunday – Happy Mother’s Day

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at The Kennedy Adventures for “Saints and Scripture Sunday.”

On this Mother’s Day, I remember my own mother (who died five years ago). I miss her so much. She often said that the happiest days of her life were the births of her children (she had five), one who was a “Surprise Gift.”

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and I appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. John 15:16

Today’s Gospel reading was the Gospel my husband and I chose for our wedding 30 years ago. Both of us were open to the fruit of many children and I commented to him just before we were married that a dozen kids seemed like a good number. I prayed frequently that God would bless us with many children.

Well, I didn’t give birth to 12 babies, but God indeed answered my prayer.

It hasn’t been an easy journey to motherhood: I’ve been pregnant eleven times with 12 babies. I’ve lost a set of twins as well as five babies through miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. There were times we were accused of being irresponsible. My novel, Emily’s Hope, is based on my true story of love and loss.

The difficulties and challenges have made me more fully appreciate my five sons. I feel so blessed to have them in my life.

It was only recently that I realized that God had indeed answered my prayer. He blessed us with 12 eternal souls, the fruit of our love: five sons here on earth and seven precious babies waiting for us in heaven.

Text and photo copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – May 13

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:

In the Arms of Jesus (my latest post at Amazing Catechists)



Catholic Family Fun by Sarah Reinhard – Book Review

7 Quick Takes Friday – Canadian March for Life

Catholic Roundup Podcast Interview (with Sean McGaughey, talking about the March for Life)

Text and images copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Catholic Roundup Podcast Interview

I appeared on the Catholic Roundup Podcast yesterday and spoke with Sean McGaughey about the 2012 Canadian March for Life: http://cc.ductapeguy.net/catholicroundup/CatholicRoundup102.mp3 (my interview is the first one of the podcast).

7 Quick Takes Friday – Canadian March for Life

Please join me and other Catholic Bloggers for 7 Quick Takes Friday. Hallie Lord is guest hosting for Jen at Conversion Diary. Before I get to the Quick Takes, I wanted to let readers know that my novel, Stealing Jenny, is FREE today on Amazon Kindle. Because of the March for Life yesterday, I decided to offer it for free yesterday and today.

The 2012 March for Life on Parliament Hill in Ottawa was the best attended yet; this, despite the cold weather and constant threat of rain (it only sprinkled a few times). Check out this link at LifeSite News for more information.

1. The March for Life is spiritually enriching. The day started with a beautiful Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa near Parliament Hill. Our bus was a bit late in arriving and it was standing room only, but several kind young adults gave up their seats so that we could sit for the second half of the Mass.

2. The March for Life builds character and virtue. There were many children at the March. Older siblings and other young adults had numerous opportunities to assist their mothers. There was a small group of pro-choicers shouting nasty comments to the pro-lifers. It was a great opportunity to respond charitably and to show good example to our children.

3. The March for Life appeals to young people. I love seeing many young adults so enthusiastic for the pro-life cause!

4. The March for Life is a great place to see and visit with like-minded friends! My sons and I enjoyed the fellowship of the others on the bus to the March (which was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus). At Mass, at Parliament Hill, then on the March for Life, I was constantly “bumping into” fellow NFP teachers, marriage prep host couples and many others in the pro-life movement. Every ten minutes or so, I was hugging someone I hadn’t seen in a while. I also loved seeing so many priests and religious sisters.

5. The March for Life is emotionally edifying. There is nothing quite like the experience of standing with nearly 20,000 people (or as my mom used to call it, a “sea of humanity,”)…knowing that these people believe that human life begins at conception and abortion is morally wrong gives me hope that eventually abortion will be illegal.

6. The March for Life is a “Family Affair.” I love seeing entire families marching for life. Of course, we have to be prepared to shelter our young children’s eyes from those pro-choicers who disrobe (yes, this has happened in the past), but each family’s presence is an important part of the success of the March.

7. The March for Life is always successful! Whenenever thousands of people (in this case, nearly 20,000) show up to demonstrate against abortion, it is successful. When that many people attend, you can be sure there are many more who wanted to be there, but for some reason, couldn’t attend.

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie’s Lord’s blog.

Text and photos copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Catholic Family Fun by Sarah Reinhard

Amidst the busyness of family life with small children, some parents can miss the numerous opportunities to simply have fun with your kids. These are the memories your children will treasure.

One of my favorite things to do with my own children (even those who have reached adulthood) is to play games with them. I’ve always enjoyed a fun game of “Life,” “Scene It” or video games. When they were younger, my sons loved to play pretend games based on movies (like Aladdin, the Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz) and of course, as the only girl in the family, I always got to play the female parts (like Dorothy or Jasmine). As my sons have grown into young men, we still enjoy playing games together (Boggle is our favorite game).

Sarah Reinhard is no stranger to fun. Anyone who reads her columns, blog posts, Tweets or Facebook messages, knows what a wonderful sense of humor she has and what a great writer she is. She has taken two of her strongest talents and made them into a book on how families can have more fun together, not only fun, but fun with a Catholic twist.

Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative or Clueless is a terrific resource that includes nine chapters ranging from a series of light-hearted activities to suggestions on how one can draw deeper into the Catholic faith. Each section lists the activity, the “faith” angle and a way to make the activity your own. It’s filled not only with great ideas for family fun in general, but also specific ideas. I especially enjoyed seeing each activity from a “Faith Angle” and ideas for making the activity your own.

The Appendix is packed with a categorizing of the activities organized by prep time, activities organized by duration and by cost.

I highly recommend this wonderful book for any family looking make their family time more fun and enjoyable.

Catholic Family Fun has a website where families can enjoy more Family Fun ideas. The book is available through

Catholic Family Fun has a Facebook page and I highly recommend you “like” it!

Catholic Family Fun is also available on Amazon in print or on Kindle.

For more “fun” links that will give you a great idea of Sarah’s unique humor, check out these hilarious blog posts:

The Baby Made His Rounds

Taking a Break From the Serious

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Stealing Jenny FREE Today and Tomorrow on Kindle

To celebrate the Canadian March for Life being held today on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, my third novel, Stealing Jenny, is FREE today and tomorrow on Amazon Kindle at the following link:

Stealing Jenny Kindle Edition

“After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. A neighbor, however, is hatching a sinister plot that will leave Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.”

Stealing Jenny has received some outstanding reviews:

“Stealing Jenny is a gripping novel filled with engaging characters, a compelling mystery and a message which underscores the precious dignity of life. I literally couldn’t put it down and give Stealing Jenny my highest recommendation.” Lisa M. Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com and author of “A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms”

“Stealing Jenny is a smoothly written, chilling tale of gripping suspense. There are terrifying moments and heart-wrenching moments. Catholic faith and hope are tested. Above all, the sacredness and privilege of precious new life is made indisputably evident. I never wanted it to end!” Therese Heckenkamp, Traditional Catholic Novels.com

“Stealing Jenny will keep you on the edge of your seat and probably destroy your sleep pattern as you stay up to find out what happens. As a fan of Ellen Gable’s already, I’m now officially getting a tee-shirt!” Sarah Reinhard, author, “Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent and Christmas Reflections for Families” and “Welcome Risen Jesus”

“Another powerful novel from a favorite author that I highly recommend to all suspense readers, especially those who appreciate not only exceptional storytelling, but the depth and meaning in a novel whose creativity is so perfectly intertwined with its spirituality. ” Krisi Keley, author, “On the Soul of a Vampire,” and “Pro Luce Habere”

“Stealing Jenny is a uniquely Catholic story which contains themes of faith, love, hope, forgiveness, healing, and strongly emphasizes pro-life values. It is a book that provides high quality entertainment, while at the same time, reminds one of what is most important in life: faith and family. I highly recommend it.”

Jean Heimann, Catholic Fire

“Stealing Jenny is a real page turner of a novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the end. I began reading it on a long train trip, and found myself wishing that trip would keep going so I could keep reading. Highly recommended reading.” Christopher Blunt, author, Passport

“Stealing Jenny” has all the qualities of a keep-you-up-at-night thriller: high life-and-death stakes, three dimensional characters you care about, the clash of good vs. evil, and complications galore. I guarantee once you pick up this book it’s going to be a sleep-stealer.” Gerard Webster, author, “In Sight” and “The Soul Reader”

Stealing Jenny is FREE today and tomorrow on Amazon Kindle.

In the Arms of Jesus

My latest post for Amazing Catechists is entitled In the Arms of Jesus.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate motherhood and remember our mothers, an opportunity for our children to show their appreciation.

I celebrated my birthday recently. My biggest wish was to celebrate with my five sons ages 13-24. A few of them are no longer living at home so I was thrilled that they were all able to be with me. Never far from my thoughts, however, were those seven precious babies I never got to hold, nurse or raise to adulthood.

It is heartbreaking to experience miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or stillbirth.

After my miscarriages, I found that NFP was a beautiful consolation. I wanted to get pregnant again, but emotionally and physically I wasn’t ready. And with each miscarriage, I needed to give myself time to grieve.

These are some pointers I’ve come up with from my own personal experience in dealing with pregnancy loss:

1) Allow yourself to experience the stages of grieving (depending on the source, the common ones are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance). Grief is a unique experience for each person, but grieving is usually made up of several stages.

No matter how far along in a pregnancy, the newly-formed life is exactly that: a human life and the representation of husband and wife in love. The news that a woman is expecting and carrying a baby is usually greeted with elation. But in those first few moments when spotting occurs, and a miscarriage becomes inevitable, the experience can become an emotional (and physical) roller coaster.

2) Trust in God. This was difficult for me. I continually questioned God, “Why did you allow my baby to be conceived when you knew he wouldn’t be born?” Eventually, I experienced a light bulb moment: my baby, even though he died before birth, is a great gift from God and now waits for me in heaven.

During one particularly heartbreaking miscarriage, I cried out to my spiritual director, sharing with him that I was torn between saying, “God, Your will be done,” and “Please, God, don’t make me go through this again.” His loving response was: “Perhaps God is asking you to sacrifice the joy of holding this child in your arms so that He may quickly hold your child for all eternity in heaven.”

For me, the image of my baby in the arms of Jesus was a great consolation.

3) Talk to your spouse and comfort each other. Communication is important, especially in the aftermath of a miscarriage. Couples who use NFP must communicate about birth regulation and how soon the couple will be ready to conceive again. Conversations about fertility, abstinence and planning another pregnancy helped me as I grieved.

It is normal for both husband and wife to grieve. In my experience, because I was the one who carried the child, not to mention that I’m more emotional, miscarriage affected me differently than it did my husband.

4) Talk to your friends, especially those who have gone through miscarriage and pregnancy loss. In many ways, grief is a very unique experience. Some people grieve very publicly; others are very private.

5) Accept Help, especially with things like meals or assistance with other children. Grief counseling can also be helpful.

6) Write your thoughts in a journal. Sometimes I wouldn’t be able to sleep and wanted to talk to someone (and didn’t want to wake my husband). Writing in a journal became especially helpful for me. My journal actually became my first published article in 1995, Five Little Souls in Heaven, and later became the basis for my first novel, Emily’s Hope.

7) Take your grief to God in prayer because God grieves with you. Some days, prayer was difficult and all I could do was manage was, “Please God, help me.”

Karen Edmisten’s new book, After Miscarriage, A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing and Hope is a terrific resource for those who have experienced baby loss. Besides sharing her own experience, the author also includes stories of mothers who have endured baby loss (my own story, “Eternal Gifts” is included).

For more resources on pregnancy loss, check out this link above: Baby Loss Links as well as my interview about miscarriage on Pat Gohn’s Among Women Podcast from 2011.

This Mother’s Day, I will not only remember my late mother, I will also remember those mothers who have recently lost a baby through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or stillbirth and picture their babies, like mine, in the arms of Jesus.

Image and Text Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach