An Archive of Reviews of Finding Grace and Erin's Ring

I am in the process of cleaning up and updating the sidebars of this blog and and my flagship blog, String o' Pearls.  I used to have an image of an old blogging/writing friend, Kari Burke (author of The Life I Dreamed) on the String o' Pearls sidebar, and if you clicked on it, you could read a review of Erin's Ring.  I also had an image of the cover of Kari's novel on there, and if you clicked on that, you could read a review of Finding Grace.  But I've decided to simplify the look of both home pages.  However, I do love and appreciate these lovely reviews so much, so I thought I'd post links to them here, for old times' sake:

Kari Burke's review of Finding Grace

Kari Burke's review of Erin's Ring

Another dear Catholic author friend from my early days of writing and publishing books was Therese Heckenkamp (author of Frozen Footprints).  I had one of her reviews posted on the sidebar here, and one over at String o' Pearls.  Now, I'll just list the links to that pair of generous reviews right here.

Therese Heckenkamp's review of Finding Grace

Therese Heckenkamp's review of Erin's Ring

 

I was able to "meet" and correspond with so many wonderful Catholic writers during those years (from about 2012-2015), and one of them was a sweet blogger named Tiffany Walsh, who was kind enough to write reviews for both books, and a blurb from one was printed on the back cover of Erin's Ring. (Tiffany's blog was called "Life of a Catholic Librarian," and one of the characters in Erin's Ring was a librarian, so it was a match made in Heaven!) 

Tiffany Walsh's review of Finding Grace

Tiffany Walsh's review of Erin's Ring

For ages now, I've had a review of Finding Grace on the sidebar over at String o’ Pearls, one written by a twenty-something young blogger with whom I used to correspond regularly.  My sweet friend posted her review on a site called "The Catholic Young Woman."

Review of Finding Grace at The Catholic Young Woman

A website called "Catholic Fiction" posted a review of Erin's Ring back in 2015, and I've had a link to that review on my String o' Pearls sidebar.  Here is the link to that one.

Catholic Fiction's review of Erin's Ring

There have been other reviews over the years, on Amazon and Goodreads and on other blogs; but these are the ones that I'm going to eliminate from my sidebars now, and I didn't want to forget how to access them.

P.S. I don't know if anyone outside my family and close ring of friends will ever read Marguerite's Diary; but if you do, and you feel compelled to write a little review,  I would love to read it!  (I promise my skin is thick enough to take it if you're not a fan!)

P.P.S. While I'm updating my sites, I should probably change that picture up there.  It was taken in 2012, and my hair is a good bit grayer now (my face a good bit saggier as well!) than it was back then, when I was a mere 54-year-old newbie author!

Final Links to the New Books

I have been all over the place the last few posts here, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for any confusion about the two new books I've recently self-published (Erin's Ring, 2nd Edition, and Marguerite's Diary).

I remember when Bezalel Books (a small Catholic company that no longer exists) put out Finding Grace and Erin's Ring more than a decade ago, I was a wreck about any possible typos or errors that might slip by unnoticed and wind up in the final printed copies.  The publisher there, Cheryl Dickow, tried to warn me that, "There is no such thing as perfection in the printed word."  And although I'm a big fan of perfection, of course there were errors!  Not awful enough to ruin the book, I hope, but errors nonetheless.  I was just about sick to my stomach for weeks after FG came out.  I still really can't bring myself to read it, for fear that I'll want to re-write the whole thing--which I guess is typical of many authors.

I have been reading a lot about this lately, about how no matter how "professionally" done your book is, even at big publishing houses that employ paid editors, copy editors, proofreaders, etc., there are just some errors that will slip by because human error is a thing.  Writers, especially, have trouble seeing their own mistakes sometimes, because they read a sentence the way they MEANT to write it, not necessarily how they typed it up.  One writer said in an interview that it's best to read over your manuscript when it's "cold," not right after you've written it.  Because the more distance you put between yourself and the book, the more likely you will be to catch the errors you've made.  With Marguerite's Diary, I was surprised by how many boo-boos went right past my eyes and my husband's, too; luckily, the first edition that I published turned out to be quite helpful, because between my four granddaughters and their mom, who read hard copies just after Christmas, a number of mistakes were found and fixed.  (BTW, I shouldn't have been surprised by how many errors I missed: I was kind of rushing to get that book written and published in time for Christmas; I was trying to write and proofread almost simultaneously, instead of waiting until I might get better perspective.)

I thought I'd gotten all the errors, finally, after my sweet girls, the best team of proofreaders ever, were through with it and I'd implemented the necessary changes...and the book got published again, this time with an official ISBN# and everything.  But before I ordered the [hopefully] new-and-improved copies to replace the flawed Christmas gifts, I wanted to see one for myself.  And sure enough, when my new copy of MD came, there was one problem with it that I hadn't caught: one page, page 159, had smaller type than all the other pages.  I had "stretched" the print a bit to make the font a tad larger and easier to read, but I'd somehow missed doing it for that one page!  My husband tried to tell me that it was no big deal, that it was still very readable; but it felt like a big deal to me.  The prices over at Bookemon, where the two new books I've published are listed, are rather high.  (And forget the Amazon prices.  They are ridiculous!)  If someone is going to pay that much, I want the product to be as perfect as possible.

My husband might be right...but it just bothers me that the print is smaller
on page 159!

I fixed the error on page 159 and republished the book; but the newer version is thought of as a whole new book and does not fall under the ISBN# I paid for.  Two versions of the book are therefore available: the one that is shared on Amazon with the ISBN#, and the newer one I re-edited, without an ISBN#.  If anyone is going to order a copy, I prefer the newer version, where page 159 looks like all the others.  So finally, I THINK I have everything worked out.  And I think I have links that I feel safe sharing.  Here are the Bookemon links: https://www.bookemon.com/book-profile/marguerite-diary/1000768, and https://www.bookemon.com/book-profile/erin%E2%80%99s-ring/1000746.  And the great thing about Bookemon is that it has the "look inside" feature and you can flip through the whole book without buying it. 

I am so obviously not a professional.  I'm just a Grammy who wants to leave something special for her grandkids and great-grandkids, if possible.  And to do whatever good I can in spreading the beauty of the Catholic Faith through my books, given my limited abilities!

However...

The writing is the fun part; the publishing is another story.  But overall, I do find much joy in the process.

Latest Book News

As of today, a second edition of Erin's Ring and a revised and edited final version of Marguerite's Diary have been published at bookemon.com.  My husband and I decided to buy the special Creative Author's Package this time to publish the books, so that they would both have ISBN #'s and would also be available in the much more reasonably priced eBook version (as well as being available for sale on Amazon).

Before the end of 2023, a paperback copy of Marguerite's Diary sold for $19.91 on Bookemon.  Today, I'm seeing that Amazon has it listed at $31.68.  That is just prohibitively (ridiculously!) expensive, and if it costs that much because I chose to get the CAP deal in order to get the ISBN # and have it available on Amazon, I kind of regret my decision to do it that way.  But actually, at Bookemon, a paperback copy sells for $20.91--which is still very expensive, but at least a better deal than you'll find on Amazon.  And now Bookemon also has the eBook version available for $7.99, which is a bonus for people who like to read books on Kindle. 

I want to thank my sweet and supportive reader, Donna, for ordering a copy of Marguerite's Diary from Bookemon in December--and also to apologize for the cost, and for the fact that it contains errors that I have since corrected!   I was in such a hurry to get copies made for my four oldest granddaughters for Christmas that I didn't go over it with as fine-toothed a comb as I should have before I pushed the "publish" button. The four girls and their mom read the book while we were out visiting them in WI at the end of December/beginning of January, and they found some boo-boos and typos that my husband and I had missed.  (I even mistakenly used the name O'Brien, which is from the previous novel, Erin's Ring, a couple of times when I meant to say O'Keefe!) I have been working hard to clean it up and make it as perfect as I can, and finally felt I was ready to re-publish it today.

Donna, I'm sorry you got the not-so-great version; email me (there is a "contact me" button on my other blog, String 'o Pearls), and I can gift you a PDF version of the revised copy, if you're interested.

While I was out in WI, I was joking with my granddaughters about the next adventure Molly and Theresa could go on, the next piece of history they could learn about.  But I don't know, dear readers...I think this might be it for me.  This recent post by an old eFriend of mine, a sweet and talented Catholic novelist with whom I've corresponded over the years, definitely hit home.  Writing is hard, and publishing/marketing books is even harder.  I really write for my kids and grandkids, not for the public at large, so I'm trying not to put any pressure on myself about these books.  The only reason I made an updated version of Erin's Ring was because the original (which contained a few errors that always bothered me) was out of print, and I wanted to make a nice matching set for my girls (and I thought if anyone hadn't read Erin's Ring yet and wanted to read that before Marguerite's Diary, this way it would be available).

Anyhoo--

That's it from here.   For the foreseeable future, I'm going to be reading more than writing!!  So if you have any good book recommendations for me, leave me a comment.  Thanks!

**This post was originally published on January 16, but I came back to update it on February 5, with new book links added from the Bookemon site.  Since the 16th,  the books are now available on Amazon--but I don't recommend buying them there because they are prohibitively expensive.  It's better to buy them through bookemon.com.

Also, I have decided to revise the books (there was a slight formatting error on one page in MD and a small spacing error in ER), and now the new links to the books at Bookemon are here and here. 

A Final Version of Marguerite's Diary is Completed!

In my last post here, I wrote that Marguerite's Diary, the sequel to Erin's Ring that I've been working on for the past year or so (per special request of four of my granddaughters), was finished.  I published in on a site called Bookemon on December 8, thrilled that the date coincided with one of Mary's special days.

I quickly ordered enough paperback copies for my granddaughters (and myself, plus a few extras), so that I could wrap them up as presents and bring them out to Wisconsin with us when we go to visit our oldest son's gang next week for a belated Christmas.

I've always had trouble reading my own books once they get into print.  It makes me so nervous.  But I spent yesterday and today slowly reading through one of the copies, and sure enough, despite my great efforts to catch all errors, I found some. AAAGGGHHH!!!  Typos are my nemesis.

My husband (my beta reader) caught some typos for me before I sent it to print and his help was invaluable (because an author sometimes looks at a sentence that she's rewritten, leaving in one of the words that was supposed to be deleted, and sees what she MEANT to say, not what's there on the page).  But we both missed a few boo-boos.  I even spelled a character's name wrong once (it was supposed to be the French name Georges, and I called him George!). 

Aside from a couple of typos that we'd missed, I found one instance where I was too repetitive in my phrasing and needed to do a little rewording, and also some formatting issues that didn't really hamper the enjoyment of the story but made the book look less neat and professional.  I have exhaustively gone over the manuscript to make it cleaner and more perfect (I'm pretty sure 100% perfect is hard, if not impossible, for me to accomplish!).  Now I am ready to push the publish button on the book once more.  And this time, I may actually pay the fee that will give it an ISBN number and make it available on Amazon in both hard copy and ebook form.

I hope no one out there ordered a copy of this book yet--not only because I think it's way too expensive, but also because it was not in its most perfect condition yet.  I think there will be an affordable ebook version if I decide to publish it with an ISBN.  I plan to make a decision very soon. I'll let you know!

The Sequel is Finished!

On December 8, 2023, I finished the sequel to Erin’s Ring and published it through Bookemon.com.  It is titled Marguerite's Diary.   Seeing as how this historical novel includes approved Marian apparitions and also a Marian miracle, I thought it was apropos that its publication date would be one of Mary's special days, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

For the cover, I used an old still life painting I'd done in college in the late 70's,
to which I added some flames and a Rosary, so it would fit the subject matter.

I exhaustively pored over the book's 20 chapters myself, looking for typos and grammatical errors, and then had my husband read through it, too.  He caught a few boo-boo's I'd missed.  (You'd be amazed by how many typos an author's eyes don't see, because she knows what she meant to say, and so that's how she reads the words!) However, I fear that even with all of that care and attention in an effort to produce as clean a manuscript as possible, there will be errors.  Cheryl Dickow, the publisher at Bezalel Books (where both Finding Grace and Erin's Ring were published, but which is now out of business), liked to remind me that there was no such thing as perfection in the printed word.  I guess I'll have to take her word for it, and try not to panic if I see any errors in the printed books...

...which are due to arrive today!

I ordered ten copies to start out, because I've promised them as Christmas gifts for our oldest son's four oldest daughters (the avid readers!  The ones who really wanted me to write this book!).  Then there's one for us, and one for each of our five sons.  I didn't want to order too many to start out, because they're a tad pricey on the site where I had them published, at almost $20 a copy, and I want to make sure that they turned out nicely.

My husband is wondering if I should republish on Amazon, using their KDP services. I think the copies would be much cheaper to purchase if I did that, and the book would be legit, with an ISBN number...

We shall see!  In the meantime, it feels good to be done, and to have copies in time for Christmas!

Feeling Encouraged

I have been working on a sequel to Erin's Ring for about a year or so now.  I'm calling it Marguerite's Diary. I've started a big push to finish it by Christmas, which will be hard but not impossible.  (I was going to finish it LAST Christmas, but I missed that deadline by a mile, obviously!)  I dream of being able to wrap up copies to give to my four oldest granddaughters as gifts this year.  Wish me luck!  (Better yet, pray for me!)

I found a site called Bookemon (where I had my My Little ABC Book published) that is user-friendly and where you can get copies of your book on a print-by-demand basis.  They aren't cheap, but the quality is very good--as good as any publishing house has to offer, if you ask me.  You can also set up your Bookemon account to have your titles listed for sale on Amazon...but I've been-there-done-that already, and both books that used to sell on Amazon are out of print now.  I'm not in the "author" business anymore.  I don't think I really have the heart for that.  This book is mostly for my grandchildren, and for my personal use--to have copies made as gifts or whatever.  I'm trying to get all the joy out of the writing, without the stress of wondering whether anyone will read or like what I've written.  I know the audience for whom I'm writing this book will be pleased no matter what.

Anyway, out of the blue lately there have been little surprises that have made me feel very encouraged and excited to keep on writing. 

While we were away for a couple of weeks recently, visiting our two boys who don't live near us in VA, I got a sweet text from my daughter-in-law Braveheart (wife of son #4).  She is the mother of triplets who are in kindergarten, and son #3's daughter is in kindergarten at the same Catholic school.  One of the triplet boys is with his sister in one homeroom, but the other is classmates with his cousin.  Braveheart had gone in to school that day as a volunteer, to read to the class that has the two cousins in it.  Afterward, she sent me this: 

When I asked her if they liked it, she said they loved it--and so did their teacher.  In fact, the teacher wanted a copy!  So I'm ordering a copy to donate to the kindergarten library.  (Braveheart is ordering one as well.)

What an incredibly nice, unexpected blessing, hearing that my humble little picture book had been a hit at our grandkids' school.  Blessings like those are not a dime a dozen.

But then the very same night, amazingly, I got a text from one of our twenty-something nieces on the Pearl side, saying she wanted to let me know that she had ordered my first novel Finding Grace on Amazon (where copies are sometimes available through other sellers, often used).  She was too young to read it when it came out, she said, but she was trying to get into reading and thought it was time to do so.  I was so touched by this!

(I'm not crying; you're crying!)

I can't believe my darling niece paid this for a copy of Finding Grace!  I sure hope she likes it.*

Wow...just wow.  Two messages like that in one day was almost more than I could handle.  I have been a full-time homemaker (a wife, mother, and Grammy, without a career outside the home; a woman who has not made enough money in her lifetime to qualify for a monthly Social Security check like most folks my age), and writing was just something I got to do for a few years, between the time my boys were growing up and moving away and when the grandchildren started coming along at a furious pace.  I didn't have a writing "career," per se.  I don't think of myself as a "writer," really.  But on October 17, my loved ones were sure making me feel like one.

As if my cup hadn't already runneth over, the very next day, a nice reader named Ellen left me this comment on a recent post at String o' Pearls: "Hi Laura, somehow I missed that your books are actually available for purchase.  I thought they were for family only.   I bought them both from Thriftbooks and have been enjoying Erin's Ring.  Your writing is lovely!"

Somebody pinch me!  

Okay then, now I should get back to writing that sequel, shouldn't I?  With my confidence bolstered by all this love and encouragement, I can and I must.

*BTW, I sent a reply telling my niece to cancel the order if it wasn't too late, because the price on the used copy was so high and I still have a number of copies that I bought years ago (for book signings, few of which ever happened!), and I could send her one of those.  But she didn't take me up on it; then when her copy came in the mail yesterday, she texted to say that it was okay, and that she loved getting to support me and my book.  (Okay, maybe this time I AM crying.)

Fiction Imitates Life

Here is a blog post called Fiction Imitates Life, which was published over at String o’ Pearls today.  I thought I ought to share it here, as it has to do with the book I'm working on.  (After all, this blog is supposed to be the one where I talk about writing!)

For the most part, I'm making good progress on Marguerite's Diary, a granddaughter-requested sequel to Erin's Ring.  But I'm about to get to a part of the story--the action-packed, dramatic climax--that intimidates me, and I worry about coming down with a severe case of writer's block.

Pray for me, won't you?

And St. Francis de Sales  (patron saint of Catholic writers!), pray for me, too!