Ellen Gable's Blog, page 87
May 14, 2013
In Name Only FREE Today Through Thursday
My second novel, In Name Only, is FREE today through Thursday The sequel to In Name Only, A Subtle Grace, will be published later this year.
Here are the links:
Philadelphia, 1876: Caroline Martin foresees a joyous future when she meets a wealthy, moral man. But unexpected tragedy topples her illusions, opening the way to a profound understanding of God — a moving tale with 72 four and five star reviews on Amazon. In Name Only won the Gold medal in Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards and has been an Amazon Kindle Top Ten bestseller since February 2012.
Reviews:
“If you love romance but hate smut, pick up this beautiful story and let it carry you away. The characters are believable, layered, human and humorous even in the midst of tragedy. The reader never loses hope and is rewarded on every page with little gems of character behavior, dialogue, plot twists and romantic intrigue. I was so very sorry when it ended!”
Lisa Mladinich, author, founder Amazing Catechists
” …conveys the beautiful Catholic teachings on conjugal love, and shares both a pro-life story and a conversion story.”
Jean Heimann, Catholic Fire
May 12, 2013
Sunday Snippets – Happy Mother’s Day
Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
It’s Sunday so it’s time to join with RAnn for Sunday Snippets where Catholic bloggers share their previous week’s posts.Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers! I’m especially thinking of my own mother this weekend. She’s been gone six years. Here is a special post I wrote about her last year on her birthday (and included is the eulogy I gave at her funeral reception).
Only one post this week:
7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 70
May 10, 2013
7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 71
Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.
1. March for Life
The Canadian March for Life was yesterday. For the first time in many years, I wasn’t able to attend because of illness. Thankfully, our family was represented at the March by my 23-year-old son. Read more about the March here.
2. God-grandchild!
I just found out that one of my god-daughters is expecting a baby! This will be my fourth god-grandchild! James and I have been blessed to be the godparents of six incredible people: three girls and three boys (the girls are all adults now.)
3. Sunrise
My son, Josh, captured this breathtaking sunrise.
photo copyright Josh Hrkach
4. Never Say Never
Excellent post from Jen at Conversion Diary: “Never Say Never and Other Thoughts on Having More Kids.”
5. Fr. Denis Lemieux
Fr. Denis is a wonderful priest from the Madonna House community in Combermere, Ontario. He is also an author (see below) and blogs at Ten Thousand Places. Last week, I attended an inspiring day of prayer and reflection in which he spoke on “Mary and the Year of Faith.”
6. Reading Shelf
Going Home - Denis Lemieux
The I-Choice: Staying Human in a Digital Age – Denis Lemieux
7. Mother’s Day Cartoon Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach
Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach
May 5, 2013
Sunday Snippets – May 5
Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
It’s time to connect again with other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets.
It was a slow week, but I managed a few posts, one at Amazing Catechists and one here at my blog:
This Little Light of Mine Review
May 3, 2013
7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 70
It’s Friday so time to join with other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.
1. Recent Review at Amazing Catechists
Check out my recent review posted at Amazing Catechists for Kathleen Basi’s new book, This Little Light of Mine: Living the Beatitudes.
2. Happy Birthday, Paul!
Today, my “baby” turns 14. Where did those years go? Check out my previous post on how Paul was my favorite birthday present ever. I still find it hard to believe I have four sons who shave, let alone a “baby” whose voice is deepening and who is growing quickly. This photo was taken shortly after the birth of my youngest, his oldest brother (then 12) holding him. 
photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
3. All Four Full Quiver Novels in Top Ten on Amazon Kindle Canada!
Unbelievably, all four Full Quiver novels are currently in the top ten on Amazon Kindle Canada:
Emily’s Hope (Ellen Gable) #1
Angela’s Song (AnnMarie Creedon) #2
Stealing Jenny (Ellen Gable) #3
In Name Only (Ellen Gable) #7
4. Sears Roebuck, 1897 Catalog
One of the best $15 I have ever spent is for a reprint of the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog. This is a gold mine of information for the historical fiction author. The other day, I was editing a scene for my upcoming novel, A Subtle Grace, and I needed to choose a few Christmas presents. Imagine my delight in being able to Christmas shop for characters out of a book they would likely have used for that purpose!
5. Canadian March for Life – Next Week!
I`m looking forward to participating in the March for Life on Parliament Hill next week.
6. Reading Shelf
– Patrice Fagnant McArthur
7. Tie the Knot (classic cartoon)
Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach/FQP
copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach
April 27, 2013
Sunday Snippets – April 28
Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
I’m meeting up with other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets. Come join us!My posts for the week:
I Believe: The Creed and You Review
April 26, 2013
7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 69
It’s Friday again so time to join up with other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.
1. Google Translate
There are so many reasons to love living in the 21st century. Google Translate is one. I have used this on many occasions and although it’s not perfect, it is pretty close.
2. 35 Years
Hard to believe that it’s been 35 years since my father died suddenly on April 22nd, 1978. This photo was taken in 1977. Earlier this week, I was thinking of the time he took me to the new Vets Stadium to see the Phillies game, just the two of us. The curious kid I was, I asked so many questions, the poor man probably couldn’t enjoy the game. Requiescat in pace, Dad…
photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
3. Blessed John Paul II’s Journey to Sainthood
According to the Vatican Insider, John Paul II’s journey to sainthood might sooner than later.
4. Spring Kayaking in Canada
My husband greatly anticipated getting out in his kayak again and has been waiting patiently for the ice to clear away. But…although most of the ice was gone, he discovered this large patch which prevented him from paddling any further in that direction.
5. A Subtle Grace Progress
I’ve been working hard implementing suggested edits for this draft. I would say the novel is 80% finished, so hopefully we’re still on track for an end-of-year release. 
6. Reading Shelf
Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood by Pat Gohn
7. Cease Fire (Classic Cartoon)
Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach/Full Quiver Publishing
Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach
April 25, 2013
I Believe: The Creed and You by James Forsyth
My recent review for The Catholic Register:
In this Year of Faith, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has encouraged Catholics to learn more about what they believe. What better way to do this than start with the basic prayer of our beliefs, the Creed.
Have you ever said a prayer without feeling or conviction, perhaps because it’s an ancient prayer? James Forsyth has written a book that will help Catholics recite the Apostles’ Creed meaningfully.
“Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals Himself and gives Himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Forsyth challenges us to take the Creed and make it ours personally. To do so we must first understand it better. This, I believe (pun intended), is the purpose of this useful and timely new book.
Like the Creed itself, this book should be read carefully and reflectively. In this way, the reader can more fully understand the faith as “he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life,” and how to personally live faith as a response to God. Forsyth uses two guiding principles in explaining the Creed. First, the idea of “the reciprocal relationship between human nature and divine grace,” from Thomas Aquinas.
Simply put, “the more fully human we become, the better equipped we are to respond to the grace of God.” The next step is “the more we respond to the grace of God, the more fully human we become.”
Secondly, Forsyth asserts,“the principle of the analogy of being between the human and the divine…” that “we can understand something about God by examining our human life and experience.” The more we understand these principles, the better our response — and faith — can be.
For Forsyth, belief has consequences. “I believe, therefore I am a somebody,” he writes.
“For all of us, the Creed is a voice that is well worth listening to. Of all the voices vying for our attention, the Creed tells us, at the most fundamental level, who we are and how we should live, what we should do and what is important. The Creed gives us as believers an identity,” argues Forsyth. Now, more than ever, with secularism, its subjective truth and a lack of the sense of sin, Catholics need this sense of identity.
Connecting our beliefs to our experience can improve our understanding of the Apostles’ Creed, as well as our Catholic faith.
“We must take personal responsibility for our belief in God and our personal belief in God implies that we are making God the most important thing in our lives,” he writes.
The new evangelization challenges us not only to learn more about our faith, but to share our faith. While we can try to understand in an academic way, it is only when we apply our faith to our personal lives (as a response to God) that we begin to live it. Lived faith is always shared with others.
Readers of I Believe: The Creed and You will never recite the words of the Apostles’ Creed without thinking of the importance of the Catholic faith in their lives. It is an ideal and timely book for this Year of Faith.
April 22, 2013
The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt – Review
My latest review at CatholicFiction.net:
When I was first asked to review this book, I immediately went to Amazon to read the (very) short summary. Needless to say, I was tentative and doubtful that this would be the type of novel I would want to read…until I perused the reviews from faithful Catholics such as author Joseph Pearce, Bernardo Aparicio, publisher, and Rev. Paul Check, Executive Director of Courage International.
Admittedly, my curiosity was piqued. Before reading this novel, I had never thought much about the struggles of Catholics with same sex attraction.
Paul Gonzalo Meyer is a cradle, non-practicing Catholic. He shies away in disgust at anything Catholic. He has spent most of his life in and out of casual homosexual relationships, especially staying away from long-term serious relationships with men because “sustained intimacy was not to his liking…he liked belonging to everyone, not just one person which is to say that he liked everyone belonging to him while he himself belonged to no one.” Paul is a charming man who gets along well with both men and women. Despite his selfish lifestyle, Paul is a likeable character.
Max (Allen Martin Maxwell Jr.) is a junior partner in a law firm in Atlanta which he describes as an “exceptionally dull but lucrative business.” He and his wife, Michelle, a beautiful blonde, were high school sweethearts who have been happily married for many years. They have two children, Jake, 15 (who lives away at prep school) and Roxie, 11. Michelle works at a local art gallery, Hunter’s. Max and Michelle are living the wealthy American dream.
Paul is hired as the new executive director of Hunter’s Art Gallery. Michelle invites the new director to dinner where he has the opportunity to meet her husband (Max) and daughter as well as Michelle’s parents.
Paul’s initial attraction is to Max and Michelle’s sense of family. Max offers to help Paul in setting up legal and financial arrangements for Paul’s Spanish grandmother, who is very elderly and is suffering from intermittent dementia. As the two men begin to work together, there is a growing mutual attraction. Max has “never had a response like this to anyone before, man, woman – or child. The near touch of Paul’s hand had left him feeling breathless.”
Paul realizes that Max has never experienced same sex attraction and being “in love” with another man. Thinking that Max might be confused, Paul delays the beginning of the affair. But Paul has his own growing attraction to Max and the two eventually enter into an adulterous affair. “Paul was happy – so happy that he believed he’d never really been happy before in his whole life.”
Their feelings are intense, passionate and the two are convinced it is not based only on physicality. Eventually, they declare their love for one another. This begs the question: “Can love ever be wrong?” Throughout the story, the characters (and reader) eventually discover an answer to this question.
During this illicit affair, Max and Paul undergo major transformations. At first, Michelle doesn’t notice the subtle changes in her husband’s behavior, but the differences soon become too obvious to miss.
Paul also grows to love Max’s family as his own. Eventually, through a series of life-changing events, Paul comes to understand the truth about love. The ending is unexpected.
About same sex attraction, the Catechism says (2358): They do not “choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.” (Emphasis mine).
Dena Hunt paints a realistic and multi-dimensional portrait of the challenges of same sex attraction, which is a controversial topic. This is an outstanding book, well-written, well-researched and deeply moving. Although I’m a faithful Catholic woman married to the same man for 31 years, I found myself identifying and empathizing with all the characters. The message of this book shines through beautifully without being preachy. I literally did not want to stop reading from the moment I began this book. The characters were so real that I felt like I knew them; descriptions were not over the top, but just right. I truly felt like I was experiencing the journey along with the characters.
This novel has what every great novel should have: beautiful writing with a compelling, moving story, well-defined characters, crisp setting descriptions, brilliant narrative voice and a strong moral message. Because of the mature themes, this book is appropriate reading for adults 18 and over. I highly recommend “The Lion’s Heart” and I look forward to reading future books by this gifted novelist.
Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach
The Lion’s Heart by Dean Hunt – Review
My latest review at CatholicFiction.net:
When I was first asked to review this book, I immediately went to Amazon to read the (very) short summary. Needless to say, I was tentative and doubtful that this would be the type of novel I would want to read…until I perused the reviews from faithful Catholics such as author Joseph Pearce, Bernardo Aparicio, publisher, and Rev. Paul Check, Executive Director of Courage International.
Admittedly, my curiosity was piqued. Before reading this novel, I had never thought much about the struggles of Catholics with same sex attraction.
Paul Gonzalo Meyer is a cradle, non-practicing Catholic. He shies away in disgust at anything Catholic. He has spent most of his life in and out of casual homosexual relationships, especially staying away from long-term serious relationships with men because “sustained intimacy was not to his liking…he liked belonging to everyone, not just one person which is to say that he liked everyone belonging to him while he himself belonged to no one.” Paul is a charming man who gets along well with both men and women. Despite his selfish lifestyle, Paul is a likeable character.
Max (Allen Martin Maxwell Jr.) is a junior partner in a law firm in Atlanta which he describes as an “exceptionally dull but lucrative business.” He and his wife, Michelle, a beautiful blonde, were high school sweethearts who have been happily married for many years. They have two children, Jake, 15 (who lives away at prep school) and Roxie, 11. Michelle works at a local art gallery, Hunter’s. Max and Michelle are living the wealthy American dream.
Paul is hired as the new executive director of Hunter’s Art Gallery. Michelle invites the new director to dinner where he has the opportunity to meet her husband (Max) and daughter as well as Michelle’s parents.
Paul’s initial attraction is to Max and Michelle’s sense of family. Max offers to help Paul in setting up legal and financial arrangements for Paul’s Spanish grandmother, who is very elderly and is suffering from intermittent dementia. As the two men begin to work together, there is a growing mutual attraction. Max has “never had a response like this to anyone before, man, woman – or child. The near touch of Paul’s hand had left him feeling breathless.”
Paul realizes that Max has never experienced same sex attraction and being “in love” with another man. Thinking that Max might be confused, Paul delays the beginning of the affair. But Paul has his own growing attraction to Max and the two eventually enter into an adulterous affair. “Paul was happy – so happy that he believed he’d never really been happy before in his whole life.”
Their feelings are intense, passionate and the two are convinced it is not based only on physicality. Eventually, they declare their love for one another. This begs the question: “Can love ever be wrong?” Throughout the story, the characters (and reader) eventually discover an answer to this question.
During this illicit affair, Max and Paul undergo major transformations. At first, Michelle doesn’t notice the subtle changes in her husband’s behavior, but the differences soon become too obvious to miss.
Paul also grows to love Max’s family as his own. Eventually, through a series of life-changing events, Paul comes to understand the truth about love. The ending is unexpected.
About same sex attraction, the Catechism says (2358): They do not “choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.” (Emphasis mine).
Dena Hunt paints a realistic and multi-dimensional portrait of the challenges of same sex attraction, which is a controversial topic. This is an outstanding book, well-written, well-researched and deeply moving. Although I’m a faithful Catholic woman married to the same man for 31 years, I found myself identifying and empathizing with all the characters. The message of this book shines through beautifully without being preachy. I literally did not want to stop reading from the moment I began this book. The characters were so real that I felt like I knew them; descriptions were not over the top, but just right. I truly felt like I was experiencing the journey along with the characters.
This novel has what every great novel should have: beautiful writing with a compelling, moving story, well-defined characters, crisp setting descriptions, brilliant narrative voice and a strong moral message. Because of the mature themes, this book is appropriate reading for adults 18 and over. I highly recommend “The Lion’s Heart” and I look forward to reading future books by this gifted novelist.
Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach
