Reminiscing about My Second-born (Book)

Sometimes I wish I'd known the best way to promote/market my YA historical novel, Erin's Ring, when doing so might have made it a successful book.

Six years after publication, it has died a quiet death, without eulogy, without mourning.  I think it was last year that my publisher at Bezalel Books, Cheryl Dickow, informed me that she would not be able to carry the title anymore for distribution, because it had not sold well enough.  New and used copies of the paperback are still available from other sellers on Amazon; I also have a number of copies that I bought myself, back when I thought I might need to have them on hand for book signings and the like, and I have sold those here and there over the years.  But now I kind of regret not having made Erin's Ring available in the Kindle format at the outset, which might have helped sales (although who knows?).

Marketing books does not come naturally to a shy and introverted person who loves to write them (almost as much as she loves to read them) but can't imagine a scarier scenario than being center stage or trying to call attention to herself.  When I used to confess my discomfort about getting out there and doing what seemed to be "tooting my own horn," Cheryl would always remind me that it was the work I was promoting--work that gave glory to God and the Catholic Faith--and not the author of that work.

I would remind myself all the time that this was true; and yet I struggled.

But here I am, six years later, with a promotional post about a book that never really found its audience, even though it received two Book Awards from the Catholic Press Association and it seemed to have so much potential--especially in the Catholic homeschool community, perhaps.

If you go to this page of the Bezalel website and scroll down to the cover of Erin's Ring, you'll get an idea what this novel is all about. 

Also, here is a generous blurb that appears on the back cover of the book, written by Nancy Carabio Belanger, a well-known author of Catholic YA fiction:

"Highly recommended for Catholic classrooms, Erin's Ring is a Catholic novel that weaves Irish-American history with the present. This wholesome novel had me shed tears of sadness and joy, and these brave young Irish-Catholic women from different generations drew me in. Lovingly and tenderly written, Erin's Ring is a story of true friendship, sacrificial love, and above all, the God Who is never bound by time or space."   --Nancy Carabio Belanger, author of The Gate First Place Winner, 2014 Catholic Press Awards for Novels

Talk about shedding tears: that exceedingly kind endorsement by an author I greatly admire makes my eyes glisten with tears of gratitude.  

God has a plan, I firmly believe that.  There was a reason that I wrote Erin's Ring, a reason that it made it into print, and even a reason that it didn't sell.  In spite of its lack of material success, I can only be happy when I think about that book.  I will always remember the complete joy that infused my very being every single time I sat down at my computer to write, during the six months that I worked on it.  It was truly a labor of love.  And just as I said of my first not-very-successful novel, Finding Grace,  I feel that if even one soul was touched in a positive way by the story, it will have fulfilled its purpose.

Why did I write this post today?  I guess just as mamas like to reminisce about the lives of their precious babies, long after they're grown, maybe authors like to reminisce about the lives of their books?  Sure, let's go with that.

Happy reading, dear readers!  

August 2020 Book Club "Meeting": The Story of a Late-Blooming Author

Remember when I used to have those "book club" meetings on Tuesdays (because "Tuesday's child is full of Grace") over at String of Pearls?  (Remember when I used to blog regularly?  Ha ha!  Those were the days!)

It's Wednesday, so I'm a day late and a dollar short; but I thought it might be fun to do this again.  I'm going to begin by telling you a little story.

August, 2007 is where this story begins.

Once upon a time, there was an older gal who decided to fulfill a childhood dream and write a novel.  It didn't have to be the "great American novel," but she hoped that some reader--even one reader, just one--somewhere would be moved or inspired by it, like she had been by so many of the works of fiction that she'd devoured over the course of her lifetime.

This mom of five boys, who were now college- and high school-aged, began working on the one-and-only novel she ever planned to write (after all, penning only one had been good enough for Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell) at the late-blooming age of 49, mostly for herself, her children, and her future grandchildren, never believing it would actually become an honest-to-goodness book.  But that did indeed happen: against all odds, it became a book!  And at 54, she found herself the published author of a work of fiction that she hoped told a fun story about some engaging characters while at the same time illustrating the beauty and Truth of the Catholic Faith.  This novel, this baby of hers, earned the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval and was a finalist for the Guild's CALA (Catholic Arts and Letters Award) in the category of YA Fiction.  This novel was Finding Grace.

The author discovered this blurb during a random Google search. 
She loves this description of her novel.

The author's middle son, who's always been a great cheerleader--
and a"mama's boy," but in the best, most healthy way.

By the time Finding Grace was published, the author's oldest son had gotten married and she now had two grandchildren, identical twin girls.

Fast forward two years, to the summer of 2014.  Two more sons had married and another grandchild had been born...and she was offered the opportunity to write a second novel, by the same small Catholic publishing house that had published Finding Grace (Bezalel Books). She almost turned down this incredible offer out of fear of failure (after all, she had another grandchild on the way, another son getting married in a few months, and she seemed to spend all her time on the road, traveling to visit her far-flung grown children--when would she have time to write?!), she accepted.  Six months later, that manuscript (much shorter than her first book and appropriate for even younger readers) was published.  An historical fiction novel about some plucky 19th-century Irish immigrants, mill workers who were instrumental in having a Catholic church built in their largely Protestant NH town (a church that became the home of the oldest continuously operating parish in the state!), this second novel was called Erin's Ring and it went on to win two Book Awards from the Catholic Press Association.

This little girl (the daughter of my middle son) is now 4; I hope when she's
a little older she'll actually read Grammy's book!

By the time Erin's Ring was published, the author had four married sons and four grandchildren...with many, many more to join the string of Pearls in the coming years!

It has now been 13 years since the author began her late-in-life "career" of writing novels, and 8 years since her first book went into print.  Here's how the story ends: her books have not sold well; they have not made her a household name or made her bank account any fatter.  In fact, her publisher has sadly had to remove them from distribution because they have not been financially successful enough to justify carrying them.

She sometimes thinks about writing another book, just for the joy of the process; but she doesn't seem to have the time or the desire for that kind of commitment these days.  All five sons have married lovely girls who share their Faith, and her brood of grandchildren has grown to 16-going-on-17.  She and her husband have made a big move, far from the town where she raised her family (the town that gave Erin's Ring its setting), to be close to where all these precious little people live, so that she can be a hands-on Grammy.  She is inordinately blessed in every way that matters to her.  She had never really wanted to be anything but a wife and mother; being an author--well, that was just the gravy on top, the crazy pipe dream that probably wasn't ever going to happen.

Remember what I said at the beginning of this story?  Remember when I said that this author wanted to touch just one reader, she wanted to inspire just one needy soul?  Well, I believe God has given her the greatest gift of all by letting her know that the years spent writing were not all in vain...because here is the proof, which came to her recently via a text from one of her husband's sisters, whose daughter was valedictorian of her high school class and is now a freshman at Notre Dame.

Wow, the author-turned-Grammy knew that this niece had read Finding Grace in 8th grade and had done a report on it; but she surely didn't know this!

The moral of the story is that no effort that you make--if it is done for the greater glory of God and for the good of souls, especially your own--is ever in vain.  And sometimes, dreams really do come true...but success often looks a lot different than the world will tell you it's supposed to look.

The End

Did you ever dream of writing a book?  Do you think you're too old/too busy/too inexperienced to make it happen?  I am here to tell you that it's amazing how possible it is, if you put it all in God's hands.  If it's meant to be, it will happen.

Okay, meeting adjourned!
P.S. "The author" would love to answer any questions you have!  Leave me a comment--I love to hear from you!

INSTAGRAM GIVEAWAY: A Signed Copy of Erin's Ring

I have been neglecting this blog even more than my first baby, String of Pearls.  I'm pretty much choking on the dust here at The Write Stuff...

...so I thought maybe this would be a good time to jump back in and give this site a little attention!

I am currently running a giveaway on Instagram.  On July 25, I will randomly choose the winner of a signed copy of my YA novel, Erin's Ring.  Here are all the details, in today's SoP post.

I will try to come back here before the dust builds up again!  In the meantime, enter the contest!  This might be your lucky day!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #12)

Today I had a "meeting" of the book club over at String of Pearls.  In that post, I tell you about the December 2015 issue of Catholic Library World, and how it featured some Catholic publishing houses.  Among the publishers mentioned was Cheryl Dickow's Bezalel Books, the publisher of Finding Grace and Erin's Ring.  And Erin's Ring got a nice shout-out on page 106!

If you want to read the full post, click on over and join the club!

Book Talk

It's been a while since I posted here at The Write Stuff.  More than a month, in fact.  (String of Pearls is still my favorite child, I guess.  It's not okay to have them as a mother, but I think it's okay to have them as a blogger.)

Today I published a new post called "Bookishness," with some news about my Catholic YA novels, Erin's Ring and Finding Grace.  In it, I copied and pasted the latest Amazon review of ER, a five-star endorsement that made my heart sing.

I also posted a few pictures of my 8th-grade niece's school project, which was all about FG.

There's some talk about book promotion in the post, too, and how blogs can help a whole lot with that process...

Hey, instead of giving you tidbits, why don't I just give you a link to the post in full?  Yeah, that's it; that's what I'll do.

So just click on over, if you're interested in hearing more book talk.

I'm Giving Away a Not-Kindle Copy of Erin's Ring!

I'm still running a giveaway over at String of Pearls.

Leave me a message in my combox over there at my flagship blog by Oct. 31, and you could win a free signed paperback copy of Erin's Ring.

In the future, Erin's Ring (my second YA Catholic novel, published by Bezalel Books) will most likely be available in Kindle format; but for now, it's being offered in the paperback version only.  Although there are probably many "eReaders" who won't purchase the book until it's available for digital download, I love that it's an honest-to-goodness, old-school, ink-and-paper book.  I love real books.  I have a Kindle and I do use it occasionally; but I much prefer the real deal. 

If you'd like to read more about why I prefer actual books to virtual ones, here's the full post today at String of Pearls.

A Plug for My Book Club

I have the best publisher!

Cheryl Dickow, president of Bezalel Books, just blogged about the Grace-filled Tuesdays book club that I started recently on my String of Pearls blog (we just had our second "meeting" yesterday).  I love the title Cheryl chose for her post: "God's Grace and Grace Kelly."  (Methinks THAT would have made an excellent name for this club!)

Review of Finding Grace from Life of a Catholic Librarian

My very good on-line friend Tiffany, a librarian and fellow book enthusiast who blogs at Life of a Catholic Librarian, recently offered this review of Finding Grace , my first novel for Bezalel Books.  (There is also a short endorsement from Tiffany on the back cover of my second novel, Erin's Ring--which coincidentally just happens to feature a character who is a Catholic librarian!)



Thanks for your support of my books, Tiffany!

My First Baby

I am so tickled that I've had a second novel published (by Bezalel Books), a work of Catholic YA fiction titled Erin's Ring. 

But don't worry, Finding Grace.  I haven't forgotten about you.  You will always be my first "baby."

It's a Big Day Around Here!

Today is an exciting day--because I'm supposed to receive my shipment of books from Bezalel.  If everything goes as scheduled, I will be holding an actual paperback copy of my second novel, Erin's Ring, in my hands by end of day.  I can hardly wait to see how it looks "in the flesh," so to speak.  Right now, all I have is a copy of the final galley, which I printed out to see how it looked.

I can't wait to see the actual book!

I already blogged about this over at String of Pearls today, if you want to read that post.  It will explain a few things: which well-known Catholic YA author has already endorsed it, how you can get a signed copy from me, and why it's not available in Kindle format as of yet, to name three.  But head on over and read the rest!

A Special Christmas Offer for Mothers and Daughters

Check out this limited time offer on a mother-daughter Christmas package from Bezalel Books!  You can get Cheryl Dickow's inspirational novel for women, Elizabeth, a Holy Land Pilgrimage

and my newly released YA novel, Erin's Ring

for just $17.99 (with free shipping and handling!).  Both books can be enjoyed by women of all ages.  There are limited quantities of these special Christmas packages, so hurry on over to order now.

Happy reading!

Erin's Ring is Now Available at Amazon!

I'm very excited to announce that Erin's Ring is now available for purchase.  My publisher Cheryl Dickow's enthusiasm for this Catholic YA novel is infectious.  Here is what she said of the book on her Amazon author's page:

"The latest publication from Bezalel Books is Erin's Ring by Laura H. Pearl.  Erin's Ring is a wonderful book on the Irish-Catholic heritage in the United States.  It is a story of love and perseverance and hope.  Erin's Ring is a Young Adult book that will surely be loved by readers of all ages!"

I am humbled and grateful to have endorsements for Erin's Ring already, from successful authors like Nancy Carabio Belanger, Rosemary McDunn, Amy M. Bennett, and Kay Murdy, and also from one of my favorite bloggers (Tiffany over at Life of a Catholic Librarian).  If you check out the page on Amazon, you can read what these wonderful ladies had to say.

If you've got a teen or pre-teen reader who likes a good love story, you might want to get a copy to wrap up and put under the tree for her this Christmas!  Just click on over to Amazon to order!  (You might want to get one for her mom and her grandma, too!)

My First Blog Post for The Write Stuff: In Which I Show You That I Have the Best Publisher Ever!

This is my first blog post for The Write Stuff, and I thought it was only fitting that I share with you a blog post by my excellent publisher, Cheryl Dickow of Bezalel Books.  Back in 2012, my first novel, Finding Grace, was published by her fine Catholic publishing company.  Then this past May, she approached me with an offer I couldn't refuse: she asked me to consider writing another YA novel for Bezalel.  (Actually, I almost did refuse this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime offer, out of fear of failure.  Why Cheryl had so much faith in me, I'll never know!  But God somehow inspired me to say "Yes!"  And I'm so glad He did!)

Here is a blog post which shows the enthusiasm Cheryl has had for my second novel, Erin's Ring, from day one.

Sometimes the Stars Really Do Line Up

When Laura Pearl first brought Finding Grace to Bezalel Books, I was impressed with her writing. At Bezalel Books, we don’t publish everything that comes our way—even if the author is willing to pick up the publishing costs. Rather, we read a sample chapter or two, a synopsis and then get a “feel” for the author’s passions and skills. Pretty much the Holy Spirit is part of everything and we are okay to say “no” if things don’t seem like a good fit.

Laura was a great fit.

Laura’s work at marketing and blogging and even entering the world of Twitter continued to impress me. Laura is the mother of five grown sons and I am the mother of three grown sons so there’s that, too. But I just continued to find her wit and insight to be inspiring. Every time I read a blog of hers I found myself smiling or laughing or in some way connecting with her spirit.

So it was that I began praying about approaching Laura to write a second book with one big difference: this one would be on our dime. We’d take the chance on her because what we saw in her first book and in her continued foray into the world of Catholic fiction really captured what we are about at Bezalel Books.

Needless to say, after months (literally) of praying, I approach Laura with the proposal for a second book. Knowing it took Laura years to write Finding Grace in between her duties as wife and mother, I also knew that I had a timeline in mind—as well as a smaller book. 

You can read Cheryl Dickow's blog post in full here.