Ellen Gable's Blog, page 117

A Catholic Alternative to "Trashy" Novels

My latest column at Amazing Catechists is a column about my novels and the "amazing" giveaway starting on December 6 at the Amazing Catechists website:



I have always been an avid reader. Even now, I usually read two to three novels per week. Years ago, before my re-version, I devoured trashy romance novels like they were candy.

Like anyone, I love a good story, but I especially enjoy a compelling romance or suspense novel. As I grew in my faith, I no longer wanted to read fiction with explicit sex scenes. So I began seeking out Christian fiction. However, I yearned to read good, compelling fiction with Catholic themes.

Partly in response to this desire, I began writing my first novel, Emily's Hope, in 2001. I'm a certified NFP teacher and I've debated the "contraception" issue with non-Catholics, liberal Catholics, ex-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics. So when I sat down to write my first novel, I knew that not only did I want to write a compelling story, I also wanted to include information on the Theology of the Body and NFP. I figured that if I was going to write a novel, I wanted to write one that had the potential of evangelizing.

Emily's Hope is the story of "Emily" (loosely based on myself) and "Katharine," my great-grandmother. In the seven years since it's been published, I've received many letters from "fans." One teenager approached me at a Catholic conference and said, "You know, Mrs. Hrkach, your book helped me to understand the Theology of the Body better than any textbook I've read."

With my second novel,, I wanted to write a Catholic historical romance that would be hard to put down, a romance that didn't shy away from Catholic teachings on sex and marriage.

Amazingly, won the Gold Medal for Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards (the first Catholic novel to do so). It was in the top 100 of Religious Fiction and Christian Romance for six months and continues to sell extremely well on the Kindle. One reviewer on Amazon.com writes, "When I read In Name Only, I was floored. It was so good! I could not stop reading it! I read it in a weekend staying up until 2am on Sunday night/Monday morning to finish it even though I had work the next day… what really gripped me was how Ellen Gable took Theology of the Body (TOB) and turned it into a novel. TOB is near and dear to my heart. I loved how she incorporated the teachings of the Church and weaved them into such a complicated storyline…"

My third novel, Stealing Jenny, is a suspense thriller about the kidnapping of a pregnant woman. The husband and wife protagonists are open to life, NFP-using, devout (yet imperfect) Catholics. One of the main characters is not religious. Another character is a born again Christian. I purposefully created Stealing Jenny so that the teaching was more subtle. And, of course, I wanted to write a book that was hard to put down. Therese Heckenkamp of Traditional Catholic Novels, said "When I had to put this book down, I literally could not wait to pick it up again…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."

A few weeks ago, Stealing Jenny hit #1 in Drama/Fiction/Religious on Amazon Kindle and has remained in the top ten for the past three weeks!

A warning: my novels, although not explicit, do deal with mature themes and are appropriate for teens and older.

All my books are available on Amazon.com in print or on Kindle.

Like many of the Amazing Catechists columnists, I'm giving away free books: one copy of each of my novels in print and Kindle editions, as well as both editions of my non-fiction book, Come My Beloved (that's eight books in total). Enter to win by leaving a comment at ANY OF OUR COLUMNS, ANY TIME from NOW until December 15th!

Of course, my novels are not the only Catholic alternatives to secular "trashy" novels. Do you have a favorite contemporary Catholic novel? Please feel free to comment at the AC site. Comments below or on facebook won't be entered in the massive giveaway.

Photo and Text Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – December 4

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

Here are my posts:

Advent Cartoon

Miscarriage is the Lost of a Real Child Fr. Frank Pavone's moving article on miscarriage.

Seven Quick Takes Friday which includes the video of two of my sons and husband playing "Carol of the Bells"

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1. Snow, snow, snow

My youngest son (age 12) is an avid skier and has been pining for snow. There is usually snow on the ground by now (after all, this is Canada, right?) Today…it's snowing…I have one happy son!

2. My third novel, Stealing Jenny, is continuing to receive great reviews and doing well on Amazon Kindle. Thanks especially to Sarah Reinhard for this amazing review on Catholic Mom!

3. Advent Cartoon (and yes, these are caricatures of my husband, myself and three of our five sons)

4. Amazing Catechists New Site I've been writing for Amazing Catechists for a few years now and Lisa Mladinich, the founder, has just launched a new site and new look! Next week, there will be all kinds of fun giveaways to be won!

5. If you've had a miscarriage or have lost a baby at birth, I hope you'll find some comfort from my post and excerpt from Fr. Frank Pavone's article.

6. I LOVED this post by AnnMarie Creedon at Catholic Sistas Begin the ADVENTure

7. And…last but not least….it's that time of year again…to share with readers the cool video (from 2009) of my husband and two of my sons performing "Carol of the Bells" at the local high school (who obviously loved their performance!)



(Next week, I'll share the more recent version of this number)

Visit Conversion Diary for More Quick Takes!

Miscarriage is the Loss of a Real Child

The following is an excerpt of Fr. Frank Pavone's moving article on miscarriage in a recent issue of LifeSite News:

While there are no magic formulas, there is one fundamental truth that needs to stay front and center: a miscarriage is the loss of a child who is just as real and has just as much value as any other child of any age. A woman who has a miscarriage is a parent who has lost a child, as is the father of the child as well.

In a society which continues to have a legal and cultural blind spot for the unborn, many suffer from the illusion that miscarriage doesn't grieve a parent as much as the loss of, well, a "real child." And that is precisely what hurts so much. We can never console someone in grief if we imply, even remotely, that the person they lost wasn't real.

As someone who has lost seven babies through miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy, I can tell you that the grief is real. I began writing in a journal to ease the grief I was feeling as the result of having several miscarriages in a row. This journal led to the writing of my first published article in 1995,

"Five Little Souls in Heaven."

Thanks, Fr. Pavone, for the moving article.

To read the article in its entirety, please click on the link above.

Photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Advent Cartoon

Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach/Full Quiver Publishing

Please email us at info (at) fullquiverpublishing.com for permission to use

Sunday Snippets – November 27

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

Here are my contributions:

Favorite Advent Books

Contraceptive Pill Linked to Prostate Cancer tells about the interesting connection between use of synthetic estrogen in women and increased prostate cancer in men.

Along the River Road Book Review

Special Cyber Monday Offers

Full Quiver Publishing is offering three deals for Cyber Monday (this Monday, November 28):

ONE DAY ONLY – NOVEMBER 28

Offer #1 Stealing Jenny print edition is available for 6.50 and shipping is free! Usual price is 12.99 plus shipping so that's less than half-price! Email us at

info @ fullquiverpublishing.com with your address to receive your free book. LIMIT ONE PER FAMILY.

Offer #2 Stealing Jenny Kindle edition is FREE on Monday, November 28th. To receive your free Kindle book, just send your email address to info @ fullquiverpublishing.com.

Offer #3 Buy Stealing Jenny either print or Kindle and receive a FREE PRINT copy of Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship. To receive your free book ($13.00 value),

send your Amazon order confirmation email to

info @ fullquiverpublishing.com.

Favorite Advent Books

Advent is almost here and I'm over at the Amazing Catechists website with a list of my favorite Advent books:

Welcome Baby Jesus by Sarah Reinhard

Sarah Reinhard's new book, Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent and Christmas Reflections for Families, takes a refreshing, unique approach to Advent.

There are many children's Advent/Christmas books out there, but this delightful book includes activities and reflections for the entire family.

From the author: "Advent is a season that's almost forgotten by the secular world. You'll find Advent calendars, to be sure, but they are really an adornment for the "Christmas season," which begins sometime after Halloween and ends on Christmas Day."

Each section encompasses three different activities: Think, Pray and Act. Each Sunday has its own theme. The First Sunday of Advent and the week following is "Get Ready." The Second Sunday and following week is "Repent." The Third Sunday's theme is "Love," and the fourth Sunday, "Anticipate." The Christmas season has its own theme:" Rejoice." There are also stories and activities for the Feast of the Epiphany.

What sets this apart from other Advent preparation books is that it has reflections and activities for the entire family (parents included) so that both parent and child can prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth.

Sarah Reinhard's beautifully-designed book is an ideal gift for those families who wish to embrace the true meaning of Christmas and to grow closer to Christ. I highly recommend this wonderful book to everyone!

I also reviewed Joy to the World by Kathleen Basi last year on Amazing Catechists. Great book for the entire family!



My all-time favorite Advent book is called "Donkey Bells" by Catherine Doherty, foundress of Madonna House. This gem of a book is filled with stories, traditions, meditations and customs. I highly recommend it!

Do you have a favorite Advent book? Feel free to comment…

Contraceptive Pill Linked to Increased Prostate Cancer

Interesting article on LifeSiteNews about the connection between the oral contraceptive pill and the increased risk of prostate cancer:

Researchers have found yet another link between the contraceptive pill and cancer – this time, a cancer in men.

A study conducted at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto that looked at 87 countries found a statistically significant relationship between use of the contraceptive pill and prostate cancer.

The researchers speculate that the results, which have been published in the journal BMJ Open, may be explained by the fact that women on the pill excrete estrogen in their urine, which then finds its way into the water supply, where the estrogen is ultimately ingested by men.

If correct, the result would be consistent with other studies showing that men exposed to estrogen-containing pesticides are also at higher risk for developing prostate cancer, according to CBS news.

The newly-discovered relationship between oral contraceptives and prostate cancer adds yet another adverse health effect to the long list of medical problems caused by the pill.

Studies have linked the use of the pill to breast cancer, cervical cancer, liver cancer, bladder disease, heart attacks, and other health problems.

To read the rest of the article:

LifeSiteNews article on Increased Prostate Cancer

Along the River Road Book Review

My latest review for Catholic Fiction is for a book entitled "Along the River Road" by Isaac Morris. It is a compelling read and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. The author tackles the controversial issue of priest sex abuse and, overall, I think he did a good job.

The novel begins with a screaming woman whose husband is trying to kill her. I was hooked.

Sister Margaret Donovan is a former sheriff but is now Dominican nun. Because of the lack of priests, she is the administrator of a small town parish, which for all intents and purposes is like the pastor, except she doesn't say Mass. The current priest is in poor health, so a retired Army priest is assigned to her parish. She takes an immediate dislike to him because he's haughty, ultraconservative and pushy. She soon suspects that he is not as ultraconservative as she thinks.

Two suicides and a murder later, Sister Margaret is torn between trying to solve the mystery of the deaths and staying true to her vows.

This is a tough issue to deal with in fiction without coming across as ultra-liberal or ultra-conservative. I suspect that the author has liberal leanings from the way he has created his characters, but he doesn't go overboard and, as a conservative Catholic, I appreciate that.

A warning: the book is explicit in parts and, of course, the subject matter is adult/mature. Also, many of the priests in this book are involved in some sort of "indiscretion." The abuser talks about his teachers "taking an interest in him." A present-day bishop in the same diocese leaves because of a scandal. Another priest thinks about his "indiscretions," and justifies that it wasn't a big deal because they were private. These sorts of scenarios could possibly lead a few unsuspecting readers (especially young adults) to believe that most priests are guilty of some sort of indiscretion.

I also found that the second half of this book was not as well-edited as the first half (typos, grammar issues etc). As well, the Kindle edition was not properly formatted so it made for a choppy read at times.

Overall, however, I found Morris to be a talented writer and I look forward to his future books.

Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach