Ellen Gable's Blog, page 106

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

Sunday Snippets – May 6

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

It was a slow week for blogging. There were a few birthdays to celebrate and I was also trying to finish the first draft of my fourth novel.

But I did manage to post a few:

May – The Month of Mary and the Holy Rosary

7 Quick Takes Friday – The Month of May Reflections on why May is one of my favorite months.

My novel, Stealing Jenny, is still on sale for .99. If you haven’t yet downloaded it on Kindle, please consider doing so!

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – The Month Of May

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

I have always enjoyed the month of May. It happens to include some family birthdays, a holiday, my anniversary and, of course, May is the month of Mary. Also, May happens to be the month that my third novel, Stealing Jenny, is on sale for only .99! The print book is 12.99 so that’s a $12 savings!

Here are a few of the reasons I love the month of May:

1. May is Mary’s month. When I was a child in Catholic school, every May, the entire school and parish took part in the May procession. One 8th grade female student was chosen as May Queen to crown the statue of Mary. When my mother was 13, she was chosen to be May Queen at St. Richard’s School in Philadelphia. Years later, when we were living in Philadelphia and attending the same parish, my sister was chosen as May Queen in 1971. The photo below is of my mother as May Queen (1947).

2. May is usually a great weather month. The key word there is usually. So far, it’s been rainy and cool, unusual for this time of year.

3. May is a month of birthdays. I’ve shared before that my youngest son was my favorite birthday present 13 years ago. Besides my son’s birthday and my birthday, there are numerous other relatives who have birthdays in May. I guess August was a popular time for conceiving (although I was conceived in September and was born prematurely in May).

4. May is the month of our anniversary. One of the reasons my husband and I chose May for our wedding 30 years ago is because it is the month of Mary, but also because May usually brings good weather. Again, usually is the key word here. It rained the entire day of our wedding so most of our photos were taken inside. However, as the reception was winding down to a close, the photographer approached us. He said that the weather was clearing and asked us if we would like to pose for a few photos outside. When we walked outside, we were astonished to see a huge patch of bright light in the distance. It’s not evident from the photo because it was around 8:00 p.m., but the weather had turned quite beautiful. I took it as a sign from God that truly “bright days were ahead.”

5. May is the month of Mother’s Day. Although I have always tried to honor both my mother and mother-in-law, Mother’s Day has afforded me an extra chance to spoil them. My mother has been gone for nearly five years but I still remember her daily in prayer. We usually treat my mother-in-law to dinner at a restaurant. As a mother myself, I have always enjoyed receiving home-made, creative gifts from my sons and have treasured these special mementos. The photo below is of me and my mother.

6. Continuing with the Mother’s Day theme, here is a Mother’s Day cartoon:

7. May includes a three-day weekend. Up here in Canada, the third Monday is Victoria Day, which is a holiday similar to Memorial Day in the USA. We usually celebrate by barbequing and enjoying a day off. It’s the unofficial start to summer (I say unofficial because up here in Canada, anything is possible in terms of weather…I have seen snow on one or two previous Victoria Day holidays).

For more Quick Takes, please visit Conversion Diary.

Photos and Text copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

May – the Month of Mary and the Holy Rosary

Images copyright 2012 Full Quiver Publishing (to use either of these images, email us at info(at)fullquiverpublishing.com.

Sunday Snippets – April 29

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

I’m going to be on EWTN/Sacred Heart Radio’s Son Rise Morning Show this Monday, April 30th at 8:50 a.m. (Eastern time) talking about

“The Spiritual Consequences of Sterilization.”

Here are my posts from last week:

Is NFP Effective is my latest column at Catholic Mom.



Seven Quick Takes Friday In this Quick Takes Post, I mention that, for a limited time, Stealing Jenny Kindle Edition is only .99.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday. Before I get to the Quick Takes, I wanted to mention that this Monday, April 30th, I will be on EWTN’s Son Rise Morning Show at 8:50 a.m. talking about “The Spiritual Consequences of Sterilization.”

1. For a limited time only: my bestselling novel, Stealing Jenny, is only .99 on Kindle!

2. I am still in awe of the fact that I have “fans” and I receive “fan” mail (below). In fact, since last year, when I began selling over 100 e-books a week, the fan mail has been frequent, mostly positive and at times, emotional. Many of the letters come in the form of e-mail, others arrive as letters.

3. Plans are under way to travel down to Nashville in July to attend my sister’s first profession of vows and receive her black veil. We are all so proud of her and her decision to join the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. The photo below was taken last September during my visit to the St. Cecilia Motherhouse.

4. I’m finally getting the knack of Pinterest and I’m having a great time “pinning” all sorts of things to different boards I’ve created. Of course, like any social media, it can be addicting, so I’m limiting myself to five minutes a day. If you are on Pinterest, please consider following me: http://pinterest.com/ellengable

5. One of our earlier cartoons entitled “Cease Fire.”

6. In a few days, both my youngest son and myself will be celebrating our birthdays. Paul was my favorite birthday present 13 years ago. Below is a photo of my oldest son and youngest son 13 years ago.

7. Great article on NFP and Marketing: “Truth in Advertising: How We Talk About NFP.”

For more quick takes, please visit Conversion Diary.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Is NFP Effective

My latest column at Catholic Mom is entitled “Is NFP Effective?”

Although there is less skepticism with regard to NFP’s effectiveness these days, Natural Family Planning still gets a bad rap from many in secular society. I’ve heard more than a few people say, “NFP didn’t work for us.”

When the rules are followed, NFP can be 99 percent effective in avoiding pregnancy and works well to achieve pregnancy.

A brief overview of how NFP works: a couple charts the woman’s signs of fertility and determines when she is fertile. If the couple is avoiding pregnancy, they abstain from marital relations in the fertile time and only have relations in the infertile times (the average length of abstinence is between one and two weeks, depending on the couple).

Here are some of the most common reasons people think NFP isn’t effective:

1. The couple chooses not to follow the rules or they take “shortcuts.” On numerous occasions, a couple indicated that they were using NFP to avoid pregnancy, then they became pregnant. Upon questioning them, the couple shared that they had relations during the fertile time. “It was only one time.” One time is all is takes for a normal healthy young couple to become pregnant.

2. The couple chooses to use barrier methods in the fertile time. Couples who use contraceptive methods (condoms, diaphragm) during the fertile time may experience an unplanned pregnancy at some point if they continue contraceptive use. NFP’s 99 percent effectiveness rate depends on abstinence in the fertile time. If a couple does not abstain, the effectiveness rate will drop to whatever barrier they’re using. Contraceptive use is contrary to the teaching of the Church and is considered serious sin.

3. “We can’t abstain.” Abstinence is difficult. We don’t try to skirt the issue. But just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. A strong sacramental life is essential to assisting couples having difficulties with abstinence.

4. “My cycles are irregular.” NFP is not the old rhythm method. Most of the calculations and rules are based on a woman’s present cycle. Therefore, women with irregular cycles can use NFP effectively. As well, irregular cycles can sometimes be an indicator that something unusual is going on in the body. Improved nutrition, exercise and simple changes in lifestyle can often produce dramatic results.

No method of birth regulation is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. NFP is around 99 percent when the rules are followed and works well to achieve pregnancy too.

Our own experience illustrates the effectiveness of NFP. My husband, James, and I were very young when we got married, so for the first four years of our marriage, we used NFP to avoid pregnancy. At the end of James’s last year of university, we decided to use NFP to seek a pregnancy. We became pregnant (with twins) in the first cycle. We unfortunately lost those babies early in the pregnancy. But over the next 25 years, we have been successful in avoiding pregnancy when we have had a serious need to do so; and equally successful in becoming pregnant when we have desired it (we have five sons ages 12-24). We were able to use NFP in the postpartum periods and have been able to use it effectively during pre-menopause.

When the rules are followed, NFP is extremely effective in avoiding pregnancy and can work equally well in helping couples to achieve pregnancy. (This is the only method that can work both to avoid and achieve pregnancy.)

We currently offer NFP classes online (classes are limited to eight couples). If you’re interested or have any questions about NFP or its effectiveness, please contact me at info@fullquiverpublishing.com or leave a comment below.

copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – April 22

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:

Family Life Humor Our latest cartoon from Family Foundations Magazine

Sons of Cain by Val Bianco Book Review

Amazing Catechists Declares No Topics Off Limits

7 Quick Takes Friday- A Free Book, Book Reviews and Other Cool Books

copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – A Free Book, Book Reviews and Other Cool Books!

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

1. FREEBIE ALERT!

2. My latest review over at Amazing Catechists is for Sarah Reinhard’s wonderful new book, Catholic Family Fun. If you’re looking for fun ideas for your family, look no further. This is a great book!

3. This might be a good time to lament about the most recent bad reviews that Stealing Jenny has gotten. I’m thankful that it has had nearly 50,000 downloads on Kindle. However, some non-Christian and pro-feminist readers feel like they need to bash the book and mention every single thing they think is wrong with it (especially the religious aspects) and a few are downright mean-spirited. Admittedly, there are only three bad reviews on Amazon and about five on Goodreads and my husband said, “Ellie, you’ve only gotten that many bad reviews for 50,000 books downloaded, that’s pretty good!” My husband, the optimist. And he’s right. I’ve gotten many more good reviews. Anyway, when I began writing, I knew I would have to grow a thick skin, but I still find these sorts of reviews hard to take (sigh).

4. I recently posted a review for a great Catholic novel called Sons of Cain by Val Bianco. Powerful stuff! Read my review here.

5. Another book I recently read and would like to recommend is Leticia Velasquez’s beautiful book“A Special Mother is Born.” Included in this book are the inspiring and sometimes challenging stories of mothers with special needs children. My full review will be posted in a few weeks.

6. AmazingCatechists.com isn’t a book, but it certainly covers just about everything catechetical. Check out Lisa Mladnich’s article at Patheos, entitled “Faith, Sex and Suicide: There’s Nothing We Won’t Talk About” which promotes this wonderful website.

7. Did I mention that

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach