Ellen Gable's Blog, page 127

Catholic Writers Conference Live!

Are you a Catholic writer or do you know someone who is? Then you need to know about the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE!

The third annual Catholic Writers' Conference LIVE will be held August 3-5, 2011, at the Scanticon Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA. 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.

CWG President Ann Margaret Lewis said this year's conference will, "focus on marketing and selling one's written work." Highlights of the conference include:

· Over 30 sessions taught by professionals in writing, marketing, blogging and publishing

· Pitch Sessions where writers may meet privately with representatives from four publishers

· One-on-one coaching sessions. For $35 an author can have a 30 minute private consultation with a specialist who will review their manuscript and guide them toward publication.

· Rapid-fire readings. Published authors will each have five minutes to read a selection from one of their books. A mass book sale and signing will follow.

Lewis says the conference comes at a modest cost. "Registration for the jam packed three days is only $90 for CWG members or $100 for non-members. And we have a special price of $42 for students. Our conference allows you to connect personally with Catholic publishers and retailers, to show your work, learn the craft and network."

Priests and religious are invited free of charge, but must register at the email address:http://www.catholicwritersconference.com

This year's conference speakers include:

Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St.Anthony Messenger Press, Regina Doman, acquisitions editor for Sophia Institute Press,Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, author of "Mother Teresa and Me," Michelle Buckman, author of the young adult novel "Maggie Come Lately" and the adult drama "Rachel's Contrition," Angela Breidenbach, author of "Gems of Wisdom" and Patti Armstrong, co-author of the best-selling Amazing Grace book series and author of "Catholic Truths for Our Children, Stories for the Homeschool Heart."

I will be presenting a session on "Self-Publishing and Marketing," participating in one-on-one critique sessions with aspiring authors, doing rapid fire readings and coordinating the Catholic Writers Guild booth.

"Attending this conference has been the best thing I have done for myself professionally," Carol Bannon, author of the children's book Handshake from Heaven, said of the 2009 conference. Her fellow writer Melanie Cameron agreed, saying she left the last conference re-energized. "I recommend [this] conference as a resource for any author (or wannabe) at any stage. You will walk away empowered!"

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."

Also at this year's conference, the CWG will be presenting its first ever Catholic Arts and Letters Awards (called the "Lilies") for the best in Catholic fiction. This award will recognize one book in the adult market and one in the children's market for its literary merit.

Attendees of the CMN Trade Show may attend the conference free – simply contact conference coordinator Ann Lewis at annlewis@joesystems.com.

To register online or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

Come My Beloved: More Great Reviews

Special thanks to Patrice at Spiritual Woman Blog for this great review:

http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/06/book-review-come-my-beloved.html

"This book is an enjoyable read for anyone who likes a good love-story (made all the more enjoyable because they are true life.) I think that its best purpose would be for teens starting to think about finding that special person."

Thanks also to Jim over at the Natural Family Life blog for this wonderful review:

http://naturalfamilylife.blogspot.com/2011/07/matches-made-in-heaven.html

"Come My Beloved shows that Catholic marriages are not all the same and have as much beautiful variation as the glorious art which has decorated cathedrals over the life of the Church."

Interview at Catholic Mom

I was recently interviewed by Lisa Hendey, founder of Catholic Mom.com.

http://catholicmom.com/2011/06/29/catholic-book-spotlight-come-my-beloved/

Here's the prologue to her interview:

I love a good love story, and even more so when it's a "real life" story of the triumph of love. That's probably why I instantly fell in love with Come My Beloved by Ellen Gable Hrkach and Kathy Cassanto. In full disclosure, I'll share that I actually already loved Ellen – she and I have been writing friends for years, she is a contributor here at CatholicMom.com, and we've even had the pleasure of meeting and spending time in person. So I guess perhaps I was predisposed to enjoyment when Come My Beloved crossed my desk. But the truth is that this is a wonderful book — and in an age when marriage is often under attack — a greatly needed shot of encouragement not only for married couples, but also for engaged couples discerning their vocation together.

And the start of the interview:

Q: Tell us about Come My Beloved – what prompted you to compile this book and what will readers find in the book?

Everyone loves a love story, especially a true life love story. In this day and age where divorce is unfortunately common, love stories which lead to joy-filled marriages give us hope.

Come My Beloved is a celebration of Catholic courtship and love. Readers will find different courtship stories, from couples who have been married a few years to other couples who have been married for many years (one couple in the book has been married for 58 years).

As to what prompted me, two years ago, on Valentine's Day, a group of homeschooling mothers had gotten together so that our children could exchange Valentine's. Because it was Valentine's Day, we began sharing how we met and married our husbands. My friend, Kathy Cassanto, remarked, "I wonder if there is a book out there with Catholic courtship stories." My response was, "If there isn't, there should be." Thus, the idea was born.

To read the article and interview in its entirety:

http://catholicmom.com/2011/06/29/catholic-book-spotlight-come-my-beloved/

Come My Beloved and In Name Only in Top 100 on Kindle

Last evening, imagine my surprise to find not just one of my books in the top 100 on Amazon Kindle, but TWO! Come My Beloved was #85 (Inspirational Books) and In Name Only was #90 in Religious Fiction! I realized that they both wouldn't stay in the top 100 for long. I'm just amazed that they did so together for a short time. (Come My Beloved remains at #85 this morning!)

Many thanks to all those who purchased Kindle and Print editions of my books!

Come My Beloved Kindle edition


In Name Only Kindle Edition

Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Book Tour and Upcoming Conferences

I've updated my Book Tour profile to include the summer conferences I'll be attending this year.

http://booktour.com/authors/show/29469

One of my favorite things to do as an author is to take part in book signings at conferences. I enjoy meeting people and talking to them about my books. The photo to the right is from the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show last year at the Catholic Writers Guild Booth.

Difficult Anniversaries – Responsible Parenthood

The end of June every year marks two very difficult anniversaries for me. On June 26th, 1986, I was rushed into surgery to remove a tiny baby from my right fallopian tube. This, after already miscarrying a baby from my womb. I woke up in the hospital with the knowledge that I had conceived twins…and I would be leaving the hospital with neither in my arms.

At the end of June in 1993, I found myself in an ambulance fighting for my life, bleeding internally as the result of ectopic pregnancy complications. It's hard to believe it's been 19 years.

The following is a reprint of an article I had published last year which deals with the difficult decisions James and I faced when deciding whether we should limit our family to three boys after a life-threatening pregnancy in 1993.

Pope Paul VI in his papal encyclical Humanae Vitae states: " Responsible parenthood… has one further essential aspect of paramount importance. It concerns the objective moral order which was established by God, and of which a right conscience is the true interpreter. In a word, the exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society."

In the ambulance, as I drifted in and out of consciousness, I didn't have much time for retrospective thoughts, except "Please God, I can't die. I don't want my little boys growing up without a mom." I was bleeding internally, the complications of ectopic pregnancy surgery two weeks previous, and quickly becoming weaker and weaker. Waking up later in the recovery room, I was thankful to be alive.

"You should not be having any more children." The words were harsh and at first, we took them as truth. I was capable of having more, but after two ectopic pregnancies and complications from one of the surgeries, we were told that we must limit our family to three boys. The doctors suggested that I be put on hormonal contraception. They later urged me to have my remaining fallopian tube tied. The physicians weren't the only ones to give the 'order' to stop having children. Well-meaning relatives and friends felt it was their duty to tell us that we should not get pregnant again. "You don't want to be irresponsible, do you?"



"It concerns the objective moral order which was established by God…"

It became evident, as we dialogued with both the physicians and the well-meaning relatives and friends, that they were concerned only about my physical health. Most of them cared little, if at all, for my/our spiritual well being. And, initially, in those first few weeks after my surgery, we felt that we ought to listen to the "doctor's orders."

However, as the months went by, I began to regain my strength. We continued using NFP in the most conservative way, often adding one or two days to the rules for extra security. A year later, with heaviness in my heart, I thought of the future and the fact that we would not have anymore children. I wondered whether God was calling us to actively seek another pregnancy. My husband and I discussed it, then brought our concern to our spiritual director, explaining to him that the doctor told us that we should not have any more children. "James and Ellie," he said, "that is a decision to be made between the two of you and God." He encouraged us to pray about it and he further recommended that we talk to a faithful Catholic doctor. We knew of a Catholic physician through a neighboring homeschooling community. Her response after reviewing my file was that we could try for more children, but that I would need to be monitored carefully in the first several weeks to confirm that it wasn't another ectopic pregnancy.

… a right conscience is the true interpreter…"

For the next several months, we prayed together. We deeply desired another child, but we did not want to be careless or irresponsible. After much prayer and discernment, and weighing all the risks, we decided to actively seek another pregnancy.



"…the exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities…"

Ten cycles later, we were still not pregnant. We felt at peace with our decision to seek another pregnancy and, although disappointed, we trusted that God knew what He was doing. Eventually, we stopped charting. Another eight cycles went by with no pregnancy and I began to sell off most of my baby furniture. A few weeks later, it dawned on me that I hadn't had a period in six weeks. The next morning, I took my temperature and it was 98.9. After 18 months of saying no to us, God was saying yes and blessing us with another eternal soul. I was thrilled that another new life, the fruit of our love, had begun, and would be sheltered lovingly in my womb.

With the blessing, however, soon came suffering. I began having debilitating migraine headaches and some days I could not get out of bed. Worse than the physical pain, however, was the emotional suffering. Doctors, well-meaning friends and relatives told us that we were being "irresponsible" and "selfish," and that if I was suffering, "I had asked for it."

At 30 weeks, our unborn baby was six pounds and I had already gained 50 pounds. That might not seem like much, but with my four feet nine inch frame, it meant that I could not drive (the seat had to be pushed back so far to allow for my large stomach that my feet couldn't reach the pedals) and I could not walk the last six weeks of the pregnancy.

Our son, Adam, was born eight weeks later at nearly ten pounds. The pro-life Catholic doctor who delivered Adam by C-section told me that we could try for another baby someday, but that the pregnancy would again have to be monitored. Three years later, our youngest son, Paul was born.

"… recognize their own duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society."

The words of Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae courageously proclaim the truth of responsible parenthood. The decision to have or avoid another child remains a decision between the couple and God. No one else ought to make such a life-changing and important choice because no one else will have to endure the consequences (and joys), nor will anyone else have to stand before God someday and explain their actions.

Although we could have used NFP to avoid pregnancy permanently and to limit our family size to three sons, we choose to listen to our hearts, to answer God's calling, and to seek more children. When I consider that our two youngest sons (pictured above) might possibly not be here today, my heart becomes heavy. Both are unique, talented and amazing human beings who have already given so much to our family and to society. I am grateful to God, because I can't imagine our family without them.

Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Fiction Friday – Viper by John Desjarlais

My thanks to John Desjarlais for today's Fiction Friday excerpt, which is from his latest novel, Viper. My review of his book is here.

I will make you enemies of each other:

You, serpent, and the woman.

She will crush your head

And you will strike at her heels.

Genesis 3:15

Selena De La Cruz finish-welded the high flow exhaust tubes at the manifold flanges, twisted off the white flame and lifted the mask to inspect her work. Perfecto. She blew at the torch as though it were a smoking gun and thought about the next tasks: install a low-temperature thermostat to keep the Charger's engine cool, check the brake bleeder valves, and – line one on the garage phone trilled.

¿Ay, ahora qué? she sighed with a roll of her eyes. Hadn't she made it clear to her new receptionist Felicia that her lunch hour in the insurance claims garage was sagrada and she was not to be disturbed while working on her car? She ducked from under the Matco lift, tugged off her work gloves and crossed to the Formica counter, her Filas sneakers squeaking on the glossy concrete floor. She raked her fingers through her sable hair. It must be an emergencia, she thought, her heart rate accelerating with each quickened step. Un accidente malo with injuries. Lord knows how the early November drizzle had slicked the roads.

She seized the chirping phone and punched a button. "¿Sí, Felicia?"

"Selena? Is that really you?" asked a man's voice.

She wrinkled her brow. It wasn't her brother Francisco asking for another loan. It wasn't her brother Lorenzo looking for a place to crash, now that his wife had kicked him out again. It wasn't Reed Stubblefield, calling about their weekend date; he knew better. And it felt a bit presumptuous for an insurance agency customer to call her by her first name. The nerve. And how did he get this direct line number? She drew a cleansing breath and used her softest business voice. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Selena Perez, ex-DEA?"

"Who is this?"

"Geez, you don't know how hard it is to find you."

Her heart hammered against her ribs. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do. But being hard to find was the whole idea, wasn't it?"

She rifled through her memory. "Del?"

"The same," Del Bragg, her old team leader said with a snort. "Say, I like your new last name. Dee-lah-Crooz?"

"From John of the Cross, a Spanish poet," she said, her breath suddenly short. "I always liked his work."

"Yeah, well, I always liked your work, too."

"That's not true. You wrote me up twice for insubordination."

"Three times. The third was because of that little girl you shot. I know you want to forget about that."

"What do you want, Del?"

"So don't thank me for getting the media off your butt about it. She lived, didn't she? Aren't you over it yet?"

"I said, what do you want?"

"Guess you're not over it, not even five years later," Bragg said. "But I need you back anyway."

"When I left the agency it was for good," Selena said, biting off the words. "I did everything I needed to do, and I'm done. Goodbye."

"The Snake is out of prison," Bragg shot back.

Pre-order the book on Amazon

or from Sophia Press

The author's websites:

http://www.johndesjarlais.com

http://jjdesjarlais.blogspot.com

Come My Beloved in the Top 100 on Kindle

This past week, Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, was consistently ranked between #19 and #57 on Amazon Kindle (Inspirational Books)!

Are you interested in reading a Kindle copy of Come My Beloved? You don't need to purchase a Kindle reader…you can download the free Kindle App for iPod, iPad or PC.

The first two people to leave a comment below will each win a free Kindle copy of Come My Beloved!

The Miracle of the Rosary – God Moments II

My story, "The Miracle of the Rosary" is one of the stories included in the new book, God Moments II: Recognizing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit which will be released this September. Oftentimes, I think we expect miracles to take the form of visions or healings. But miracles also happen when a person's heart changes. The following is a true story.

When I was about ten years old, one night after supper, I was sitting on the couch doing my homework. My parents began to argue over bills they couldn't afford to pay. Each time my mom would yell, my dad would yell louder. It made me feel anxious to see the two people I loved most in the world screaming at one another. Don't they love each other, I asked myself. And why won't they stop yelling?

At one point, Dad said something about moving out. Oh God, please, I don't want my dad to move out. Mom replied, "That's good." Please, Mom, don't say that. I looked at them, but neither of them saw me or the panic in my eyes. They only glared at each other. My father went upstairs. I ran after him and watched as he got a suitcase out and started putting clothes in it. God, why won't you stop him?

I passed by my bedroom and noticed my rosary sitting on the bedside table. I grabbed it, sat down on my bed and began saying the rosary. As I said each Hail Mary, I pleaded with Our Lady, "Holy, Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Please, Our Lady, don't let my Dad leave us. As I was saying another Hail Mary, my dad walked by my room and didn't notice that I was there. He stomped down the steps. I couldn't hear whether he said goodbye, but I listened as the door slammed shut. "Oh, God, please make him come back."

I continued to say the rosary, each Hail Mary becoming more fervent than the last. I prayed until my heart was bursting. Please, God, listen to my prayer. I began to say the Hail Holy Queen prayer at the end of the rosary and suddenly, I heard the door open downstairs. Without finishing, I stood at the top of the stairs and I could see my dad standing in the doorway. Mom walked over to him. At first, they were silent. Then, my father started to cry. "I can't leave you. I can't leave my family." He and Mom embraced. I began to cry with joy.

Thank you, God, and thank you, Our Lady, for bringing my Daddy back.

This entire excerpt is included at the God is at Work in You Blog: http://godisatworkinyou.blogspot.com/2011/06/miracle-of-rosary.html

Cover image copyright 2011 Joseph Karl Publishing

Viper by John Desjarlais

Viper is an intriguing mystery novel starring Selena De La Cruz, a Latina insurance agent who used to work as a Special Agent with the DEA. At the beginning of the novel, Selena agrees to meet her old supervisor, Del Bragg, soon after All Souls Day (and the subsequent El Dia de Los Muertos, on November 2, a Mexican national holiday) at her home church where she learns that her name is recorded in the parish's Book of the Dead, preceded by several other names of men who are being murdered one by one in the order they are listed.

Selena finds out that a young girl has been seeing "visions" of a "Blue Lady," who announces the next killing. Selena is asked to return to her old job in order to assist law enforcement in solving the mystery before the killer reaches her name on the list.

Selena is unsure who the culprit could be, whether it's her nemesis, "The Snake," a notorious drug dealer Selena helped to put in prison, or perhaps someone more insidious.

I loved everything about Selena (from her '69 Dodge Charger to her zapatos) and found her to be believable and well-rounded. In the midst of this mystery, Selena finds herself returning to the Catholic faith of her childhood. I liked the fact that her boyfriend is Reed Stubblefield (protagonist from Desjarlais's previous novel, Bleeder) and I thought this was a nice touch. I especially appreciated the relationship that Selena develops with the little girl who is seeing visions of a "Blue Lady."

Good novelists make us believe that the characters are actual living, breathing persons. The author (a non-Hispanic male) handles the ethnic Hispanic part of the novel so expertly that I truly felt I knew Selena. Desjarlais is a top notch writer and he has created a well-developed, believable cast of characters and dialogue. I especially loved the rich and well-researched history of the Aztecs and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Not only did I enjoy this story immensely, I also learned a lot about Aztec history.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an intriguing mystery with great characters!

Viper will be released on July 1st, 2011 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com or from the publisher, Sophia Press.

And…I'll be running an excerpt of this book this Friday, June 24th for Fiction Friday.

Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach