Ellen Gable's Blog, page 95

Bread Upon the Water Book Review

Here in North America, many Catholics have become indifferent. A large number don’t attend Mass on Sunday. Contrast that to the Catholics in developing countries who often walk miles to attend Mass.

Bread Upon the Water by Deanna Klingel is the true story of the difficult and painful journey of Duong Tien, born in South Vietnam, who from an early age knew he had a vocation to the priesthood. When communism invaded his country, he left his family, became a boat person and refugee in a frightening journey to freedom.

This man’s determination is inspiring. Through all the hardships, sicknesses and dangerous situations, he continued to persevere and trust that God would allow him to someday become a priest in America. In fact, the author shows that this man would have welcomed death to the alternative of living in a communist country with no religious freedom.

Although the target audience is young adult, I highly recommend this book to everyone, young and old. Reading Duong Tien’s story could certainly help us all appreciate the gift of our Catholic faith.

To purchase the book on Amazon, click on this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Upon-Water-Deanna-Klingel/dp/0977962857

To find out more about this book or read an excerpt, click this link:

http://www.booksbydeanna.com/bread-upon-the-water.html

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Side Effects Cartoon

image copyright Full Quiver Publishing

Copyright 2012 Full Quiver Publishing/James & Ellen Hrkach

NFP and Communication

My latest post at Catholic Mom is entitled Natural Family Planning and Communication.

Lack of communication is one of the leading causes of marital breakdown. For the NFP-using couple, communication is essential. Procrastination isn’t an option. The NFP couple discusses whether or not they will be avoiding or planning pregnancy. In order to be successful at this, it’s necessary to discuss the woman’s signs of fertility and infertility. My husband has often said, “If you can talk about your wife’s cervical mucus, you can discuss anything.”

To briefly review how NFP works: husband and wife chart the wife’s signs of fertility and infertility. (Note: the man is fertile every day of his post-pubescent life, assuming there are no health difficulties). The couple then determines the start and end of the fertile time (we call it Phase II). If they are avoiding pregnancy, they abstain in the fertile time. If they are planning a pregnancy, they engage in relations during this time. Although it sounds simplistic, there are various scenarios, conditions and more complicated issues that arise, so formal NFP classes (either live or online) are recommended.

One of the keys to each couple’s success in using NFP is effective communication. NFP works best when the couple, together, study and observe the woman’s signs of fertility and infertility. Ideally, each month, the NFP couple discusses whether they will be avoiding a pregnancy or achieving a pregnancy. Because NFP can be used both to plan and to avoid, it’s a good idea to have this conversation every month, even if the couple has decided that they will be avoiding pregnancy for a year or more. When internal shifts in emotional attitude are brought to the surface, the couple can unite in their efforts to carry out their plans regarding abstinence.

In over 30 years of using NFP, we have found that frequently one of us was more open to pregnancy and the other still wanted to avoid it for the time being. Sometimes our monthly conversations were long and complicated; other times, short. The important point is that these types of dialogues are meant to take place well beforehand and not in the middle of the marital embrace.

When the NFP couple is discussing intimate topics such as mucus and other fertility signs, it enhances their marital and sexual life, thereby increasing intimacy. This sort of communication should also continue when the couple is postpartum (after having a baby) and in post-menopause (after menopause).

When they are avoiding pregnancy, abstinence can be difficult and challenging. Being able to talk to your spouse and know that you are not alone in the struggles and challenges brings a couple together in love. NFP demands the kind of intimate and deep conversation that a married couple needs to enhance their marriage. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that NFP couples have a lower divorce rate.

For more information on NFP:

www.ccli.org

http://www.thebillingsovulationmethod.org/

www.creightonmodel.com

www.serena.ca

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – November 18

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

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

Does Self-Publishing Mean Substandard? (Latest post for CWG Blog)

Frozen Footprints by Therese Heckenkamp Book Review

7 Quick Takes Friday I’ll be traveling down to NJ for Thanksgiving, a high school reunion and to speak to a group of Catholic high school students in Philadelphia.

7 Quick Takes Friday – November 16

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

On Sunday, I’ll be traveling down to New Jersey to visit with my extended family and to take part in other various activities.

1. Hallahan High School

This Tuesday, I’ll be visiting my mother’s alma mater, Hallahan High School (My mom graduated with the Class of ’51) in Philadelphia to speak to some of the Freshmen Theology Classes.

2. Reunion

Speaking of high schools, I’ll also be attending my 35-year high school reunion next week. I’m looking forward to seeing my fellow Class of ’77 classmates. It’s no surprise that I was one of the shortest in our class. The photo below was for the “Who’s Who’s” in the yearbook (that’s me on the left).

3. Frozen Footprints

Therese Heckenkamp’s exciting new novel, Frozen Footprints, has been released! Read my review here.

(I’m skipping #4 since I posted eight last week!)

5 and 6. We Sure Have Changed!

We recently had a formal family photograph taken for our parish directory. The last time we did this was 15 years ago before we had our youngest son (top).

7. Let’s Get Healthy Cartoon

image copyright Full Quiver Publishing

Copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Frozen Footprints by Therese Heckenkamp

Eighteen-year-old twins Charlene and Max Perigard have grown up under their wealthy but often cruel grandfather. When Max disappears and a ransom note is received, Charlene tries to persuade her grandfather to pay the ransom, but the older man thinks this is another attempt by his grandson to get money from him. Without her grandfather’s help, Charlene tries to find her brother before it’s too late.

Therese Heckenkamp’s second novel is an exciting page turner with non-stop action. It’s a very different experience than the author’s first book, Past Suspicion (Christian Romantic Suspense). Frozen Footprints has all the elements of an edgy thriller with Catholic references interspersed throughout the novel.

The protagonists are well-developed with flaws and strengths. The antagonists are frightening and believable. As a former court reporter, I enjoyed the courtroom chapters.

For me, as a reader, the measure of a good novel is to be there with the characters as they move forward in the story. Therese Heckenkamp’s talent as a storyteller is the ability to create a plot, characters and setting that are realistic and at the same time entertaining. Her writing style is crisp and varied and she keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat.

Caution to parents: Some parts of this book are graphically violent. However, it is well worth the read and I highly recommend it for older teens and adults.

Frozen Footprints is available on Kindle and in print on Amazon.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Enter Goodreads Giveaway to Win Print Copy of Angela’s Song!

Only a few more days to enter! Today through November 15, enter to win one of five free print copies of Full Quiver’s newest novel, Angela’s Song by AnnMarie Creedon! Click the link below to enter:

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/35802-angela-s-song

Does Self-Publishing Mean Substandard?

My latest post at the Catholic Writers Guild blog talks about the quality of self-published books as well as how to increase your chances of self-publishing a quality book:

Although I now own and run and a publishing company, all my books were self-published. I don’t like the connection that people often make between self-published books and “bad” or substandard writing. The truth is, the vast majority of self-published books (I’ve read a lot of them) are indeed substandard quality. I download free Kindle books every day and many of them aren’t worth downloading because they are embarrassingly bad. I’ve also read some wonderfully written self-published books, but these are in the minority.

So…is the ease of self-publishing bringing the overall quality of books down?

Well, in a word, I believe it is.

Unfortunately, many self-published authors think they can write a book without extensive editing. Others, who do have editors, don’t employ professionals, and instead use friends and relatives. Another self-published novelist I know used a published author as editor but this particular “published” author had no experience in fiction so this showed in the characters and plot. Still others publish their books with little or no proofreading.

Going with a “Self-Publishing” company like Trafford or iUniverse also doesn’t guarantee high quality. Large companies want your business and while they can be helpful, they are also more expensive than a self-publishing book coach.

In my capacity as a reviewer for CatholicFiction.net as well as a reviewer for other websites, many self-published manuscripts come across my desk (or computer) that are so atrociously written, I won’t even review them.

I’ve come up with a few ways to increase the likelihood that your self-published book will not be included in the “badly written” bunch.

Avoid Thinking “I Can Do It All”

I’ve won awards and have had bestselling books precisely because I realize that I can’t do it all. I hire editors, copy-editors, proofreaders and my husband (a professional artist) designs my covers.

Employ a Professional Editor (for overall plot, characters, setting, writing style) and humbly consider their advice. If you’re writing fiction, find a fiction editor. If you’re writing a non-fiction book, find one who specializes in non-fiction. Authors should want their work to be the best it can be. Sometimes a book has to go through many edits in order to be polished and of good quality. My first novel went through about 30 edits. My second and third novels, ten. Be open to construction criticism. Don’t we all want to produce quality books?

Use a Copy-editor (for grammar, word usage and punctuation)

One author I know used a friend as copy-editor. This person (I’m guessing) had little experience in professional copy-editing. That particular book was a great read, but had many comma, quote and apostrophe errors that made it distracting to read. When a reader gets distracted, they’re pulled from the story.

Proofreaders, Proofreaders, Proofreaders!!!

Ask at least 10 of your friends and relatives if they could read your manuscript and find typos. One novelist I know didn’t use any proofreaders (he said he proofread his book himself, which was a big mistake…authors can be blind to their own mistakes). Unfortunately, it showed. Another author used one proofreader, but one isn’t enough to read through 100,000 words and find all the typos. With my second novel, , ten proofreaders went through the book and missed “Brtish.” I didn’t catch it until I converted my book to Kindle.

Employ a Professional Cover Designer

The book may be good, but if the cover looks like a five year old designed it or the font is too light to read, then people may not even consider buying your book. A good cover must also look eye- catching in thumbnail. Many of the self-published book covers I see on Kindle are not professionally designed. In fact, many look like a child designed them.

Research

If your book takes place 100 years ago, please do the research that is necessary. I once read a self-published novel that takes place in the 1870′s and the author included an automobile (those didn’t appear on the scene until 20 or 30 years later…).

Kindle Conversions

If you don’t know how to convert your manuscript to Kindle (or other ebooks), hire a professional. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve downloaded on Kindle that were virtually unreadable because of the poor conversion.

If You’re Going to Print…

If you’re printing your book, hire a Print on Demand (POD) Company who has extensive experience with printing books. A company that prints brochures, business cards and flyers may not be the best company to print your book. Create Space (Amazon’s POD Company) prints over 100,000 books per week and, for the most part, they know what they’re doing and their customer service team is extremely helpful.

Consider Using a Book Coach For a small fee, book coaches (like myself) walk the self-published author through the maze of self-publishing. As a book coach, I sometimes help with editing (although not always) and assist the self-published author in releasing a quality book. The book coach’s fees are usually much less than an author would pay for self-publishing companies.

Following all these hints will not guarantee that your book will be high quality, but it will certainly lessen the chances of it being “embarrassingly bad” or substandard. In the future, I hope to see more quality self-published books so we can remove the stigma and the frequent connection that self-published books equal substandard quality.

Have you self-published? If so, did you use a company, a book coach or did you do it yourself? Feel free to comment below.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – November 11

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets.

Today is Remembrance Day/Veterans Day, so I’d like to remember in a special way my father, father-in-law and stepfather (all now deceased). Each served their country in war: my father-in-law was in the USAF during WW II and was MIA for months, my father and stepfather both served in Korea.

I’d like to share past November 11th posts, as well as posts from the previous week.

Remembering Tony An article about my father-in-law, who was a gunner for the USAF in WW II. He was shot down over Yugoslavia, near his father’s birthplace.

Remembering Dad A post remembering my own father, who served in both the USMC and the United States Army, and who died when I was 18.



Remembrance Day/Veterans Day 2009

Posts from this week:

7 Quick Takes Friday – Cool Catholic Writers

In Name Only Photo Endorsement

7 Quick Takes Friday – Cool Catholic Writers

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

A few weeks ago, I attended the SCSS Conference on Long Island. It was a wonderful few days meeting and enjoying fellowship with other Catholic writers (just before Superstorm Sandy hit the area). Today, I’m going to share photos with eight “cool” Catholics (there were too many to limit it to seven!):

1. Lisa Mladinich, author and founder of Amazing Catechists

photo copyright James Hrkach

2. Marc Barnes (Bad Catholic), blogger

Photo copyright James Hrkach

3. Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, bestselling author and EWTN Host

photo copyright James Hrkach

4. Pat Gohn, author, speaker and podcaster

photo copyright James Hrkach

5. Leticia Velasquez, activist, writer and author of “A Special Mother is Born”

photo copyright James Hrkach

6. Mary Ellen Barrett, blogger, columnist

photo copyright James Hrkach

7. Alice Gunther, author, columnist

photo copyright James Hrkach

8. Claudia Volkman, writer, editor

photo copyright James Hrkach