Ellen Gable's Blog, page 111

Sunday Snippets – February 19

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

Increase the Odds of Self-Publishing Success My post at the Catholic Writers Guild Blog.

Our Courtship Story This is an excerpt from my book Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship and tells the story of how my husband and I met.

Life in a Cartoon World My guest post at Catholic Sistas on the origins of our cartoons.

The Benefits of NFP My latest post at Catholic Mom.

Photo and text copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

The Benefits of NFP

My latest post at Catholic Mom is a reprint from Amazing Catechists called "The Benefits of NFP."

Natural Family Planning (NFP) provides many benefits that not only promote healthy living, this remarkable method of birth regulation is also environmentally friendly and fosters authentic marital love.

NFP is safe

There are no harmful side effects for either the husband or wife. It is completely safe, 100 percent natural, and involves no potentially harmful devices or drugs.

NFP is healthy

There are no pills, invasive procedures or long-term drugs. Women who use NFP know more about their bodies and can discover health problems sooner.

NFP is effective

Used and taught properly, NFP can be 99 percent effective in avoiding pregnancy. In our experience as an NFP user couple, we have never had an unplanned pregnancy in nearly 30 years. NFP can also assist some couples in achieving much-wanted pregnancies without chemicals and operations.

NFP costs very little to use

In this economy, NFP is very cost effective. Other than the cost of the course, materials and the replacement of thermometers, NFP costs very little to use over a couple's 20 or 30 years of fertility, compared to purchasing condoms, diaphragms, pills and other chemicals or operations.

NFP is environmentally friendly

NFP does no harm to the environment. Charts can be recycled and there are no chemicals or other devices used.

NFP is marriage insurance

In a study done by the Couple to Couple League, couples who used NFP had a less than two percent risk of divorce compared to the national secular average of 50 percent.

NFP is morally acceptable

Married couples who use NFP are spiritually healthy because NFP fosters authentic marital love and allows a couple to love as Christ loves: freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully.

NFP works with irregular cycles

NFP is not like the old rhythm method, which depended on regular cycles. NFP's charting system works with a woman's present signs of fertility.

For more information on NFP:

ccli.org

www.serena.ca

www.woomb.org

http://www.creightonmodel.com/

Text copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Cartoons copyright Full Quiver Publishing/James and Ellen Hrkach

Life in a Cartoon World

If you ever wanted to know more about the origins of our cartoons or the process it takes to create one, I'm guest posting over at Catholic Sistas with a post entitled "Life in a Cartoon World."

"A picture is worth a thousand words." Like the old adage says, an image can usually tell a story better than words. Of course, storytelling in any form is as old as human beings. Comics or cartoons, humorous ways of telling stories, have been popular since the 1930's, and many people still look forward to the "Sunday Comics" in local newspapers.

Today, comics are not only seen in newspapers, they also appear in magazines and, more recently, on the internet.

As a child growing up in New Jersey, I loved to read the Sunday comics. I never dreamed that I would be helping to create one. Of course, that was before I met my husband.

The origins of our little "comic" or cartoon actually began 47 years ago. My husband, James, an artist from the time he was three years old, used to doodle and create little caricatures of people around him.

Years later, when I was a teenager, I traveled up to Canada to meet my pen-pal. I know that it sounds cliche, but when I first saw James, he was so handsome that he took my breath away. As I got to know him, however, what really attracted me was his quiet, kind, and witty personality. Since we lived 500 miles apart, we began exchanging letters to keep in touch.

To read the rest of the article and see more cartoons, please go to the Catholic Sistas Blog.

Our Courtship Story

As my gift to you, the Kindle edition of my book of true courtship stories, Come My Beloved:Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, is free today until midnight.

Since this is Valentine's Day, today's post is an excerpt of James and my courtship story (which was the basis for my novel, Emily's Hope). The entire story can be found in Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship.

Ellen: Because I was very young looking, I did not date in high school or for the year or so after. I longed to meet someone, that special person with whom I could spend the rest of my life. Every night I prayed, "Please God, send me a man."

During my first visit to Canada in 1978, my pen-pal asked if I wanted to go with her to a jam session where her brother would be rehearsing with his rock band. When we arrived, the band was taking a break. One boy, however, was crouching, with his back toward me, a guitar in front of him, and he was playing the same three or four notes over and over again. I remember thinking that fellow must be dedicated. I also noticed that he had dark curly hair and bell bottoms (out of style at the time) which prompted me to think he must not be too concerned about fashion. A few moments later, the band members took up their instruments. The fellow with the dark curly hair turned around and began playing his guitar and singing. It sounds cliché, but when I first saw his face, he took my breath away. And he played with such intensity that I couldn't stop staring at him.

James: I wasn't much for pursuit, except pursuit of excellence in music and art. That seemed so much easier to understand than girls. Ellie, on the other hand, was definitely in pursuit and had a hard time hiding it, even if she tried. One thing is for sure, though, her young looks were less intimidating for someone as shy as myself.

Ellen: I returned to Canada the summer of '79. Although I was 20 at the time, I looked more like 13 and was rather immature. I was told that James was shy and usually quiet, but when we later met at a dance in the local curling club, we spent the entire time outside (where it was less noisy) talking for three hours. I was nervous because I liked him so much. I actually began the conversation by asking him a "conversation starter" that my pen-pal had given me in case I became nervous. "Nice trees around here," was all I could come up with. His answer surprised me. "Yes, they are nice. I like the way the light is reflecting off the oak leaves over there." I never expected such a well-thought out and creative answer to a conversation starter. But as we began to talk, I realized that he was no ordinary young man.

James: It's funny that although I would have gladly stood on a stage and produced a wall of loud noise to perform at any dance, I wasn't much for attending them. I certainly saw the empty meanings of much popular music, and spending time outside of the noisy dance hall was a definite option, especially when this time was to be spent getting to know a person from a different part of the continent, a girl, in fact, who seemed to want to get to know me. When time flies by so fast you can't keep track of it, you know you're having fun and I certainly felt comfortable chatting with Ellie that night. So comfortable that I almost couldn't face the discomfort of having to see her return home.

Ellen: Later that week, when we said good bye to one another, he promised that he would write to me. I arrived back in New Jersey and immediately wrote my first letter to James.

In those days, we didn't have email or cheap long distance or texting, so he had to wait over a week before he received my letter. I had to wait two weeks before receiving a response. When I received his first letter, I knew he was the real thing. Over the next few months, he sent letters frequently and drew little pictures on the backs of envelopes or in the letters themselves, little pencil sketches of scenes, lions or the cartoon version of himself. On one particular envelope, he drew a man crawling over the desert, passing a glass labeled "H20" and saying "Ellen, Ellen." On another, he drew a picture of me pulling on a phone wire with him saying "Keeping pulling. I'm just passing Syracuse."

As we began to share thoughts and feelings over the next five months, I became more and more excited at the prospect that he was the man with whom I was meant to spend the rest of my life.

James: I must admit, I wasn't much of a pen-pal and the only person I had ever or would ever write letters consistently to was Ellie. The delay between one writing and the other responding was frustrating, but it added a certain timeliness to my letters' content. I tended to write things that would matter regardless of when Ellie read them. One thing is for sure: Ellie's ceaseless and timely response to every letter I wrote definitely convinced me that there was someone who really cared about me, helping to cement my certainty that I was developing a relationship that was going to work. If she was putting aside the distractions of life just to make sure I got a response every few days, how much more would she truly be able to commit herself to being my lifelong partner when we were near each other?

Ellen: On returning to Canada just after Christmas 1979, James presented me with a beautiful painting (see photo above). When James and I were alone together, we pledged our love to one another and promised that we would be faithful. I was overjoyed because I had finally found the one I loved but unfortunately, he lived 500 miles away. I had no idea what it would mean to carry on a long distance relationship for an unknown number of years, but we were in love and it didn't seem to matter when we were together.

Although I was Catholic — and had discovered that he was also Catholic — I figured that James was like most Catholics who didn't follow everything that the Church taught. I wanted to give myself to him physically before I left during that visit so we would have something to hold us together. He was only 17 at the time, but he shared with me that he wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. I was shocked that a 17 year old would turn down an opportunity like that, but in hindsight, his high ideals for morality and "pursuit for excellence in art and music" are the exact traits which attracted me to him in the first place.

We spent the rest of the week trying to enjoy the few days we had left together. When it came time to say goodbye, we both sobbed. Neither of us knew when we would see each other again.

This is an excerpt of our courtship story. The full version is included in Full Quiver's book: "Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship." Our story has also been fictionalized in my novel, Emily's Hope."

This is our 34th Valentine's Day together. Happy Valentine's Day to my true love!

Don't forget, Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship Kindle edition is free until midnight tonight!

Copyright 2011 James and Ellen Hrkach

and Full Quiver Publishing

Increase The Odds of Self-Publishing Success

I'm over at the Catholic Writers Guild Blog today with a post on increasing the odds of self-publishing success:

When I began writing my first book, Emily's Hope, ten years ago, I did so thinking, "If just one person can read my book and feel they've learned something, then I'll have reached my goal." It never even occurred to me to "make money" with my books. But eight years and three books later, I am making a nice supplemental income.

The average self-published book will sell fewer than 150 copies (and most of these will be to the author's family and friends). That isn't even enough to pay for your printing and/or editing expenses.

Remarkably, self-published novelist Amanda Hocking, has sold over 1.5 million Kindle books. And while that is unusual, many self-published authors ARE selling books and making money.

So what is the difference between successful self-published books that sell thousands of copies and ones that only sell a few hundred or less? And what can you do to increase your chances of selling more books?

1) Quality of Writing

There is usually (although not always) a difference between self-published books that sell thousands of copies compared to those that only sell a few hundred and it's most often in the quality of writing. Please, please, please don't just accept praise from your friends and relatives telling you that your book is the greatest masterpiece ever written. Give your manuscript to a professional editor, as well as a copy-editor. Humbly consider their advice. Once you've finished editing, ask those friends who think your book's a masterpiece to proofread it for you.

My spiritual director once told me that editing a manuscript is like polishing a diamond. The more you polish a manuscript, the more the brilliance shines through.

It takes a lot of work to write the first draft of a book. However, in my experience, it takes a lot more work to edit, polish, edit some more, polish some more until the book is ready for publication.

2) Eye-Catching Professional Cover

If I had a dollar for every self-published book that had a poorly designed or downright bad cover, I'd be able to take my family out to dinner weekly for the next month.

A book's cover is the first image a perspective buyer/reader sees, whether it's in print or on Kindle. The cover MUST be professionally produced, aesthetically pleasing and tell the story of a book with one glance. Learn more about making a good cover from my post on covers entitled "Discover Your Cover."

3) Extensive marketing versus minimal marketing

This is the one thing that can make or break a book, in my humble opinion. There are many, many outstanding (even brilliant) self-published books out there that are going virtually unnoticed because the authors have done little or no marketing.



Writing the book is only a small part of the success of a book. In my talk at the Catholic Writers Conference Live last year in Philadelphia, I spoke about the importance of marketing: blogging, social networking (Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Linked In), blog tours, Kindle e-books. Marketing takes 90 percent of my time. But then again, I'm a social person. I like connecting with people on Twitter or Facebook. I enjoy a lively conversation on my blog. I enjoy commenting on other bloggers' posts. If an author is not willing or doesn't have the time to market, this will show in sales.

4) Target Audience is Too Small

Sometimes an author will write a book directed to a smaller target audience. This has definitely been an issue with my first book, Emily's Hope, which some people have coined as "NFP Fiction." Since NFP-users probably make up a very small percentage of women who read, my target audience for that book is decidedly small. Most readers don't even know what NFP is, so it's not a book they would normally pick up.

My second novel, is very different from my first book. Although the characters are Catholic, it's not as genre specific. It's an historical romance, which makes it more appealing to the female population. It's not as religiously thick, so secular readers can enjoy it as much as Christian readers. It has been my most popular book thus far, selling hundreds of e-books a week on Amazon Kindle, often attaining the #1 position in Religious Drama.

Most self-published books sell an average of 150 books. You can increase your odds of selling more than that by considering the following factors: quality of writing, eye-catching cover, good marketing and a wide target audience.

Keep these things in mind for a successful self-publishing experience.

copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

photo purchased from iStock

Sunday Snippets – February 12

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place for Sunday Snippets where we share our posts from the previous week.

This has been a difficult past few days. On Friday, my stepdad passed away after a long illness. Keep us in prayer as we travel down to New Jersey for the funeral.

Here are my posts for this week:

You Should Get Married Again

An excerpt from my book, Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship. This one is about a widow with eight children marrying a widower with six children. Come My Beloved Kindle edition will be available for FREE on Valentine's Day.

Emily's Hope Kindle Edition Free for Three Days Continuing today until tomorrow evening, my first book, Emily's Hope, is available FREE on Amazon Kindle. Emily's Hope is the fictionalized true stories of myself and my great-grandmother and also tells the story of how I met my husband, James.

The Longing to be Loved and Cherished is another excerpt from my book, Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, which will be available for FREE on Amazon Kindle this Tuesday, Valentine's Day.

7 Quick Takes Friday – Free Books Editions

My 7 Quick Takes post this week provides seven different links for free print and Kindle books.

Visit RAnn's Blog for more Sunday Snippets.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Come My Beloved Kindle Edition FREE on Valentine's Day

My book of true courtship stories, Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, Kindle edition will be free from midnight (PST) this Tuesday, on Valentine's Day.

All you need to do is to click on the link above and click "purchase." Come My Beloved will be free for 24 hours on February 14th.

To check out a book trailer and read excerpts and reviews, check out Come My Beloved's website.

Excerpts are also listed on this blog by clicking on the link above "Books By Ellen" and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

7 Quick Takes Friday – Free Books Edition

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Hallie Lord's Blog for 7 Quick Takes Friday. Thanks to Hallie for guest hosting.

1. Emily's Hope Kindle Edition is available for FREE for the next three days (Friday, February 10th till Sunday evening February 12th). Just click on this link to download the book. You don't need to purchase a Kindle …you can just download the free Kindle app to your iPod, iPad or computer. If you want to read more about my first book, the novel's website has an excerpt, reviews, a Catholic TV interview and a Sacred Heart/EWTN radio interview. One reviewer called this book "NFP Fiction," although it has also been called "Pro-Life Fiction."2. Come My Beloved Kindle Edition will also be available for FREE on Valentine's Day. If you like reading true love stories, you'll probably enjoy this book. To read reviews, watch a book trailer or read excerpts, visit the book's website.

3. Sarah Reinhard is holding a "Beat the February Doldrums a Book Giveaway". For more details, click on the link above.

4. Here is a great website that has many free Catholic e-books (mostly non-fiction).

5. If you're looking for more free print books, check out Bud Macfarlane's novels.

6. Idylls Press has Kindle and epub editions of a variety of free Catholic classic novels at their website.

7. If you're looking for some free books for your Kindle, this website lists free daily Kindle books and deals.

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie's Lord's Blog.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

The Longing to Be Loved and Cherished – Damon and Melanie

Today I'm posting another excerpt from my book Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship. This excerpt is from the courtship story of Damon and Melanie Owens and it's entitled "The Longing to be Loved and Cherished."

Damon: Our journey back to Christ began with what we now simply call "The Question," "Melanie, what if we stopped having sex?"

It's funny how different a question can be asked (or heard) with just a slight change of inflection. I intended to start an interesting conversation. Chastity had not been an issue of debate or even conversation between us, so I offered the question not as a proposal to stop but as a hypothetical-California graduate student-latte sipping-cosmic-what if. Neither of us had any idea what Our Lord had in store for us.

Though being from opposite coasts, we both grew up in similar Catholic families. We attended Mass regularly, went on retreats and participated in youth groups. At thirteen, I had a profound experience of God on an Antioch retreat that played a significant part in helping me remain chaste and drug-free through high school. Melanie's childhood memories are filled with songs from Catholic family summer camp and piling in the station wagon with seven brothers and sisters.

When we met as new graduate students at the University of California, though, we were both recovering from spiritually dark college years distant from God. During my undergraduate years at Brown, I partied, rarely attended Mass and, drawn by gospel choirs and organs, dabbled in other faiths.

Melanie: I had suffered in relationships during my college days at U.C. Santa Barbara, but continued to attend Mass regularly, though more out of habit than desire.

Damon: So, when we began dating, there was not much virtue, or even desire, left for us to draw on to be chaste.

Melanie "wowed" me the first moment I met her. What a smile! What a sweet soul! We could talk effortlessly for hours—and we did. I wanted to share everything with her. I wanted to know everything about her. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to love her, and I thought I did. Then, I asked . . . The Question.

Melanie, my new beloved, cried. I didn't know what was going on. Is she hurt? Is she pregnant? Or, is she just emotionally unstable? (I had not known her for that long!)

After ten inconsolable minutes, she simply said, "Yes."

Yes? Yes, what? Did she think that I was proposing we stop? Well, while my dulled conscience had been thinking our sexual "intimacy" was deepening our love, Melanie had been tortured with the reality that something was very wrong. When she tried to explain, it was as hard for me to hear as it was for her to speak.

Damon Owens and his wife, Melanie, are the co-founders of the New Jersey Natural Family Planning Association (njnfp.org). Their story in its entirety can be found in Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship which is available on Amazon in print or on Kindle.

Photo and text copyright 2011 Damon and Melanie Owens and Full Quiver Publishing

Coming Soon: Emily's Hope FREE on Amazon Kindle for Three Days!

My first novel, Emily's Hope, will be FREE for three days beginning this Friday, February 10th and ending Sunday night, February 12th (at midnight). All you need to do is go to the link below and click on "purchase." It's free so you won't be charged anything:

Emily's Hope Kindle Edition

To read an excerpt and reviews, to listen to a radio interview, or to watch a Catholic TV interview, go to the novel's website.