Ellen Gable's Blog, page 93

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 55

It’s time to join up with other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. Prayer Intentions:

Continued prayers for Jen and Fulton.

2. March for Life – January 22

Large numbers are expected in Washington DC for the National March for Life. Check out this pro-life video with President Obama’s own words:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/01/13/thank-you-mr-president-for-these-pro-life-marching-orders/

3. NFP Organizations and Working Together

James and I are fortunate to be part of a wonderful diocese where NFP organizations work together to promote NFP and not against each other. John Paul II never endorsed any one method of NFP over another. NFP teachers should work together to promote NFP, regardless of which method they use and teach. (More on NFP organizations working together in a future post…)

4. Wedding Photo (58 years ago)

This week would have been my parents’ 58th wedding anniversary. My father died when I was 18 and my mother remarried. However, every year on January 15, I remember them both. This photo shows my parents and both sets of grandparents.

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

5. Frost – It’s COLD!

It’s hard to see in this photo but it’s so cold that the frost is nearly three inches high on our window (it’s 30 below zero C).

copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

6. A Subtle Grace

My new novel’s cover will be unveiled next week! I’ve been trying to finish this manuscript so I can move onto other projects, although admittedly I’m enjoying the characters so much that I’m torn between wanting to finish and wanting to keep them around!

7. “Officially Married” Cartoon

Our latest cartoon for Family Foundations:

image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach/FQP

copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Facing Infertility – A Catholic Approach

My latest post at Amazing Catechists is entitled “Facing Infertility – A Catholic Approach.”

When I received a review copy of the newly-published book, Facing Infertility – A Catholic Approach, by Jean Dimech-Juchniewicz, I was a bit surprised there wasn’t already a Catholic book which specifically dealt with the topic of infertility. When I searched online, I could only find secular or Christian books on this subject.

This new book is an ideal resource for Catholic couples who want more information on increasing their chances of conceiving. At the same time, she explains why certain fertility procedures are morally wrong.

Because of a variety of factors, infertility has become increasingly common in our culture. Fortunately, with advances in modern technology, more infertile couples are able to conceive children. However, not all of these modern techniques are morally acceptable. For example, selective abortion and destroying embryos that are not implanted are procedures that are obviously wrong. But many Catholics don’t realize that in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination and other modern techniques are considered offenses against our faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2376, 2377) and considered mortal sins.

Dimech-Juchniewicz shares her personal infertility experience as well as the various things she learned in the process. She also includes short testimonies from infertile couples. Chapters touch on topics such as Expecting Fruitfulness, Working Through Denial, Understanding Your Options, Discerning Treatment, Handling Anger, Coping With Sadness, Considering Adoption, Following God in the Midst of Suffering and many others. Questions for Reflection and Discussion end each chapter. Several extensive appendices list resources for the infertility couple such as “Patron Saints for Infertile Couples” as well as prayers and other helpful books.

This is an outstanding book and an excellent resource. The emotional and spiritual dimensions of infertility are covered exceptionally well. Information on NaPro Technology and Natural Family Planning are mentioned and resources are given for these morally acceptable ways of achieving pregnancy.

You can purchase this book at or Amazon.com.

Highly recommend!

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Angela’s Song Free January 15 and 16

Angela’s Song (Kindle edition) by AnnMarie Creedon (published by Full Quiver Publishing) will be free tomorrow (January 15) and Wednesday (January 16).

Catholic Sistas posted a wonderful interview with the author, AnnMarie Creedon, today.

Sarah Reinhard recently posted this review at her website:

“Great story. Real characters. Good writing. This book was, in some ways, applied Theology of the Body. It’s romance that’s just about what I like and Catholicism not shoved down my throat.

Guys, be warned: I’d call this chick lit. Gals, be encouraged: it’s gooood. It’s “name a big well-sold author” good. It’s completely Catholic, but it’s also completely honest. It presents real life in a way that will make you think that you could be lunching with these people. This book deals head-on with issues that Catholic women face, and it doesn’t apologize for Church teaching or for human mistake. Rather, it explores what could happen.”

Sarah Reinhard also listed Angela’s Song as one of her ten favorite novels for 2012!

Download your free Kindle copy of Angela’s Song on January 15 or 16.

Digital, Print or Both?

My latest post at the Catholic Writers Guild blog is entitled: “Digital, Print or Both?”

New self-publishers often ask the question: should I go digital, print or both?

Ten years ago when I was in the beginning stages of self-publishing my first book, I never considered offering my book digitally on a wide scale. Although I occasionally sent PDFs to reviewers, the digital revolution had not yet taken off. As well, I was concerned about e-book piracy (which will be a topic of a future post).

Fast forward seven years. On a whim, I decided to convert and upload my first two books to Kindle (at the time, there were no conversion programs…it took weeks of trial and error to figure out how to do it). However, this “whim” soon became the best publishing and financial decision I ever made.

For more on how my e-books became successful, check out my previous CWG blog post.

If I were doing it today, I would probably do both. However, digital publishing is ideal to start with since there are no major printing costs to spend up front and you can reach millions of people within hours.

I still use a printing company (more on “print-on-demand” companies in a future post) for hard copy books, but I sell many more e-copies than print. Because of this success, my company is now publishing other authors’ books.

Here are some pointers I’ve come up with for publishing e-books:

Use Professional E-Conversion Companies (or learn how to do it professionally yourself)

Once you’ve uploaded your book to Kindle, use the previewer to determine whether it’s formatted properly…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve downloaded a book (some by established authors) that was not formatted correctly, like missing words, letters or words on different lines, which makes it difficult to read.

Editor

E-books still need editors. Check out my previous post about editors.

Cover Designer

I can usually tell a self-published book a mile away by the look of the cover. Please employ a professional. The cover design should be a normal cover size (and please, not a horizontal rectangle!)

Check out my previous post about covers.

Book Blurb

Must be well-written and short enough to pique your prospective readers’ interest, but not give them too much information.

Kindle KDP or Kindle, Nook, Kobo etc.

You must decide whether to go exclusively with Kindle KDP or have your book be available on other e-reader sites. The advantages of having your book exclusively on Kindle is that you can do free promotions (successful free promotions almost always bring a surge in actual sales following the free promotion). Your book also gets to be part of the KDP Library that Amazon Prime members can borrow for free. But that doesn’t mean you don’t get paid. A few months ago, for every borrow, I actually received MORE money than I did for each sale (2.20).

To find out more about the KDP Program:

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

If you’d prefer to have your book available for other e-readers, check out Smashwords as they are a distributor for the other e-readers. A warning, however: Smashwords does not offer the same sort of piracy protection that Kindle does. (E-book piracy will be a topic of an upcoming post…)

Digital or Print? I’d say do both…but start with digital!

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – January 12

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

It’s almost Sunday so it’s time to connect with other bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets.

I’ve been trying to finish the edits of the first draft of my fourth novel, A Subtle Grace, so my week was light on blogging and I only managed to post once:

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 54

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 54

It’s Friday and time to join up with other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. Prayer Requests

Please continue to keep Jen from Conversion Diary in your prayers. Also, I’d like to ask readers to pray for fellow CatholicMom contributor, Cassandra Poppe’s son, Fulton. He was severely burned in an accident. Prayers and donations are needed. Here’s the website: http://www.giveforward.com/PrayForFulton

2. Stealing Jenny Reaches 100 Reviews!

My novel, Stealing Jenny, just received its 100th review on Amazon with a 4.3 average ranking! Woo hoo! It was #1 for most of the month of December, has been in the top three for the past week, and in the top ten for the past 18 months.

3. Ellen Gable Author Facebook page

Please consider “liking” my author page. You can either click the link or click the link at the side bar to the right and just below the Stealing Jenny cover photo. There will be weekly free giveaways listed over the next few months and news about upcoming books.

4. Bring Him Home

With the recent release of Les Miserables, I decided to post a video on Facebook of my husband’s moving rendition of “Bring Him Home” (which was recorded nearly four years ago at my surprise 50th birthday concert). Please feel free to take a look and let me know what you think. You need not have a Facebook account to watch the video, although if you want to comment or “like” the video, you’ll need to have a Facebook account.

One of the reasons I wanted to post this video is because “Bring Him Home” is my favorite song of Les Mis. On the whole, I enjoyed Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Jean Valjean very much, although I was disappointed with his “live” rendition of this particular song.

5. A Subtle Grace

I’ve been busy editing and trying to finish my latest work in progress, A Subtle Grace, the sequel to In Name Only which continues the saga of the O’Donovan Family. I’m specifically writing this book so that it can be read independent of the other, although reading both will give a more complete experience.

A Subtle Grace takes place in 1896 in Philadelphia. Each week during 7 Quick Takes Friday, I’d like to introduce one character from the book. This week: Kathleen O’Donovan, main female protagonist, is the oldest daughter of Caroline (main female protagonist of In Name Only) and her late husband, Liam O’Donovan. At the beginning of the story, Kathleen is 19 years of age and present with her mother as the older woman gives birth to another baby. Kathleen is the oldest of six children (soon-to-be seven children). She is naive, carefree and innocent although an unforeseen circumstance causes her to question everything she has believed about herself and her family.

6. Reading List

The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt

7. Cartoon – Skydiving

image copyright FQP – James/Ellen Hrkach

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – January 6

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

It’s Sunday (Happy Epiphany!) so it’s time to meet up at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets where we share posts from the previous week.

7 Quick Takes Friday

Prayers for Jen, thoughts on Les Miserables, Epiphany Blessing, Saints Name Generator, Reading List, my work in progress

Happy New Year

Our 2012 original Christmas Card

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 53

It’s Friday so it’s time for 7 Quick Takes. Usually, Jen from Conversion Diary hosts it, but since she is in the hospital, Hallie Lord is hosting this week.

1. Prayers for Jen

I’d like to ask my readers to pray with me for Jennifer Fulweiler and her unborn baby. She is presently in hospital with pulmonary embolisms. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

2. Les Miserables

I recently saw the movie, Les Miserables, with my husband and one of our older sons. It was an outstanding movie, although admittedly, I prefer the live version to the movie version. I thought Hugh Jackman did an outstanding job and Anne Hathaway’s acting and portrayal of Fantine was riveting. However, I’m not sure I liked the “live,” “raw” singing. It worked well most of the time, but there were some moments when it distracted me enough to pull me out of the story. Perhaps I’m too accustomed to listening to the Les Mis CD (which I’ve done hundreds of times…) What I loved most about this movie, though, was the positive portrayal of the Catholic Church and the kindness of the bishop and the sisters. In this day and age, it’s unusual (and refreshing) for a film to show the Catholic Church in such a positive light.

As we were exiting the theater, I was thinking, “I’d love to see my husband play Jean Valjean on stage…” A friend of mine, who happened to be at the theater for that showing, commented as she caught up with me, “Your husband would make a great Jean Valjean.” Indeed.

3. Original Christmas Card

Check out our original Christmas card for this year!

image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach 2012

Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach 2012

4. Epiphany Blessing

This Sunday, my husband will mark the doorways of our household and say the Epiphany blessing.

5. Saints Name Generator

This Saints Name Generator is a great tool to use if you want to pray to a particular saint for a certain time period. The two saints I’ll be focusing my prayers to this year are St. Paul and St. Dominic.

6. Reading List

Blood of the Martyrs and Other Stories by John Desjarlais

(got this free on Kindle yesterday.)

The Ultimate Saints Guide to the Immaculate Conception of Mary

(got this free earlier this week.)

7. A Subtle Grace

I haven’t been blogging much lately as I’ve been busy with other deadlines, but I’ve also been trying to finish my fourth novel, A Subtle Grace, which is the sequel to . A Subtle Grace takes place in Philadelphia about 15 years later than In Name Only (1896). More about my latest work in progress in upcoming blog posts.

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Happy New Year!

image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach 2012

Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach 2012

A Blessed and Joy-Filled Christmas to All!

photo credit: Josh Hrkach 2011 (copyright)

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11

“Fear not little flock, fear not. Come with me to Bethlehem. Let us celebrate a joyous Christmas. Let us be merry and happy no matter what because Christ is born.” Catherine Doherty

I’ll be taking the next week off from blogging.

Merry Christmas!