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!

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.)

A Finding Grace Sighting

A number of years ago, I donated some copies of Finding Grace and Erin's Ring to the library of the Catholic school in our old hometown.

When my husband and I were young, there were multiple parochial schools in town: the K-8 co-ed grade school attached to my parish, where I went up until high school; the K-12 co-ed school attached to his parish across town, where he went; an all-boys high school for both local and boarding students; and another K-8 school attached to a third Catholic parish. (A quick aside: we met in 9th grade at the school where he had been a student since kindergarten, and by the summer after our freshman year we were dating.) All of these schools merged into one K-12 Catholic school a long time ago.  And now, all three once-thriving parishes have merged into one as well.  

One of my husband's sisters moved back about a year ago, after years of living far from where she'd grown up; she now has two kids at the Catholic school and has taken the job of track coach.  This sister-in-law posted this picture on the Pearl sibling text stream a few days ago: 

She spied this copy of Finding Grace on a shelf in the school's library.  She said that some of the kids on the track team had told her it was good book and she should read it (not realizing that she was related to the author by marriage 🤣).

I’m humbled and amazed…there are high school students out there reading this book.  Published in 2012, it has been out of print for a while, so it wasn’t a success by the world’s standards.  But it may be doing some good yet!

My Writing Phase

Recently, my aunt--my father's only sibling and a voracious reader/former high school English teacher--asked me if I was doing any writing these days.

I guess it was a valid question, because I have three published books to my name.  (The illustrated My Little ABC Book was entirely self-published a couple of years ago via one of those "vanity presses," mostly to print as gifts for friends and family; but I'll still count it.)

My response to my aunt's question was, "No, I don't really write anymore.  I think that was a phase."  

That really is how it seems to me: it was not a writing career; it was a writing phase.

Between 2007 (when the youngest of our five sons started his freshman year of high school) and 2014 (when he was in college and his four older brothers had all gotten married and were starting their families), I admit that I did a lot of writing, a lot of thinking about writing, a lot of writing about writing, a lot of Internet corresponding with other writers.  Writing consumed a good deal of my thoughts and energies, to put it mildly. But that was a different time: when I started writing Finding Grace in 2007, all four of our oldest sons were either in college or beginning careers far from where they grew up in NH, and our youngest son was off at school every day after five years of being homeschooled.  I was often alone in an empty house. So it's not surprising that I suddenly found myself with many free hours during my days to devote to writing, something I'd always dreamed of doing--especially since my airline pilot husband would often be away on trips for three or four days at a time.  I had hours to fill and I filled them at my computer, writing the one novel I ever thought I would write, positively giddy with the process of bringing characters to life and seeing where they would lead me. I grew to just love Grace and Tom and Sully and their families and friends, and I missed them when the five-year process of getting FG to print was over.

After Erin's Ring (the second novel I never thought I'd write) was published in 2014, I kicked around the idea of a third novel, an historical fiction sequel to ER about an amazing Marian apparition that is not well known.  I did some research, read a book about the event, printed off some online articles about it...I even wrote a first chapter for a story wherein the same characters from ER would once again find their lives interwoven with those of an earlier era.  But that project never really got off the ground.  As the number of grandchildren we were given to love quickly multiplied, my motivation to do writing of any sort kind of faded into the sunset.  I just didn't have the impetus to do it anymore.

So much has changed since 2014!  Thanks to our move to VA in 2017, we live close to our four oldest boys and their families now (including all 17 of our grandchildren!), except during the summers, which we spend in NY; we have a very full and busy grandchild-centered life. Family takes up the bulk of our time again, just as it did when we were raising our boys.  So the idea of putting that kind of energy and time into writing a novel now?  It's hard to imagine. 

As I said, it must have been a phase.

Does that make me a bit pathetic?  I don't think so. Could I be more ambitious, more driven?  Sure.  But I believe we are all meant for different things, and I was not meant to be a professional writer. 

Will I ever write another novel?  I highly doubt it, but who knows?  I was never going to write a second one, and then Erin's Ring happened.  God works in mysterious ways.  If He wants me to write another book, then maybe I will.  

But at present, He seems to be telling me that I'm in a different phase these days, one that doesn't include writing books.  It does, however, include lots and lots of THIS:

It's a good phase.  A very good phase.

Real Life IS Better Than Fiction!

When I started working on Finding Grace in August of 2007, I seriously didn't expect it to ever become a book.  I mean, my goal was to write a full-length novel, sure; but I never really believed it would get into print and become an honest-to-goodness BOOK--as in the published variety, with a front and back cover and professionally printed pages and everything.

My girlhood dreams involved imagining that I might someday produce one "great American novel" (just one!  That's not too much to hope for, is it?), inspired by my early favorite authors, Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell. Lee had stopped at To Kill a Mockingbird and Mitchell at Gone with the Wind--two of my all-time favorite books; I figured I could stop when I'd written my one novel, too.  (I also loved the romantically brooding works of those talented Bronte sisters, but I was looking for inspiration on this side of the pond, in modern times.)

I tucked away this dream while I was busy raising my boys.  By the time I felt ready to try my hand at novel-writing, when my youngest boy (whom we'd been homeschooling from 4th through 8th grade) was about to start high school, a new dream had emerged for me: to write a novel that would never make me rich or famous, but that would be an antidote to the dangerous secular humanist values and messages with which most modern popular fiction was replete (and this situation seemed to be getting exponentially worse as the years had gone by).

When I set out to tackle that book, with absolutely zero writing experience to my name--unless you count the papers I did as a college English major decades earlier--I did hope that I would have the patience and drive to see the project through and tell the story I wanted to tell (even though over the course of the four and a half years I spent writing it, the original story I'd imagined went in directions that I hadn't planned at the outset; it's funny how that happens).  Because you see, Finding Grace was more than anything a labor of love for my family, something that I thought I could leave behind, something that would be around long after I was gone.  Even if all it turned out to be was a manuscript printed off at home, with hole-punched pages in a binder, I wanted to get this done to pass down to any book-loving grandchildren I might one day have.  I wanted to create a novel that espoused the beautiful teachings and traditions of our Catholic Faith, one that was filled with endearing characters whose lives were enriched in countless ways by living according to that Faith.  As the years were going by, I was becoming more and more worried that by the time my future grandchildren were reading, there would be nothing of Truth or beauty left in print--at least in popular mainstream fiction; so I wanted to take matters into my own hands.

What she said.

When I started out my later-in-life "career" as a writer, none of my boys were even married yet.  By the time Finding Grace was published in 2012, our oldest son was married and he had given us identical twin granddaughters.  (I had written identical twin girls into Finding Grace several years before they were born.  I had also given my title character, Grace Kelly, a father who was a dentist--and that was our first daughter-in-law's dad's profession.  Totally by accident, art had imitated life!)

Fast forward to 2020, and I've now got 16-going-on-17 grandchildren.  And to prove that dreams do come true, one of those twins I mentioned earlier, who is now 9, recently read her Grammy's second YA novel, Erin's Ring (she's still a bit too young for the more mature-themed Finding Grace).  Her mom sent me this text when she was reading it.

Umm...I believe that is the only endorsement I need.  Better than a 5-star Amazon review, in my opinion.  This is exactly the audience I hoped to affect with my writing: future generations of Pearls!

My middle son also recently texted me a few cute pictures of the oldest of his three girls, who's 4, holding a copy of Finding Grace.  She and her older brother (5) think it's a story about her. ;)

In about 9 or 10 years, I hope she'll read it.  And I hope I'm alive to hear what she thinks!

Life is SO BEAUTIFUL, even in the age of Covid-19.  It is better than any story I could ever think up.  Better than any fiction, for sure.  I am enjoying all the undeserved blessings I've been given, because I know that life can change on a dime, when we least expect it.

Thank you, God, for helping me to see my dreams come true: not one, but TWO published novels; and better yet by far, so many beloved grandchildren to read them.  I am humbled and grateful!

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!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #29): Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect, Redux

So we had a meeting of the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club over at String of Pearls today.  (That's what the club is called, because Tuesday's child is full of Grace...and Finding Grace is a coming-of-age tale about a young girl named Grace Kelly...and the characters in Erin's Ring need grace to overcome the many hardships and tragedies in their lives...you see what I did there?)

Today's book club post was inspired by this 1984 photo of my husband and me, all dressed up to attend a Navy function, that I stumbled upon yesterday as I was working in my office.

Something happened to me on that long-ago night, and the incident became the inspiration for a scene I wrote into Finding Grace.  (I mean, let me be clear: what happened to me wasn't utterly devastating or completely earth-shattering; but I think it's the kind of thing that almost every human on earth can relate to.)

Here's a snippet from the post:

I'm kind of glad I came across this almost-forgotten photo again, because I do think it's time to revisit the idea that when an author writes a work of fiction, she can't help but allude to people, places, and events from her own life.  It's just about impossible to avoid it.  They say you should write what you know, after all.  However, nothing in either of my books is autobiographical, per se.  (Except of course the way Grace Kelly feels about Tom Buckley in Finding Grace, because I was channeling my high school self there, and the inspiration for Tom was my then boyfriend/now husband of 37 years.  But other than that, anyone who reads my books must understand that the rest is fiction. And even Tom became a whole new person to me in the course of the four-plus years I spent writing the book.)

Let me tell you about those two crazy kids in that photo above.  They were young (so young! Only going-on-26!) so in love, and the relatively new parents of their first baby boy.

Intrigued?  Did this leave you wanting more?  Oh, I hope so!  If you'd like to read the full post, head on over and join the club.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #28): Writing...about Writing

When I go too long without doing it, I really miss writing.

In the new office in our house in VA that I share with my husband:

a vintage typewriter, bought at a consignment shop in NH for $65.
It was something I thought a writer ought to have.

That's not to say that I believe I'm a particularly good writer; it's just that I have a burning need to write.  It's an exercise that feeds my soul.  I love words.  I love figuring out how to arrange them best so that they say just what it is I want them to say.  Not that I'm always successful, mind you; but the process of messing around with them is just so. much. FUN.

I suppose that's why blogging has been such a good outlet for me for the past six years--and why I keep coming back to it, even when I think I've got nothing interesting to say anymore.

I became a writer relatively late in life, after decades of being a stay-at-home-mom.  When I started working on what I was sure would be my one and only novel in 2007, I was 49, my oldest son was a year out of college and a newly-minted officer in the Army, my youngest son was a freshman in high school, and the three sons in between were away at college.  Unless it was summertime or the college-aged boys were home on a holiday break, I was often alone in the house during those writing days, down in my basement "office."  I might still be in my bathrobe at 2:30 in the afternoon, if it was a particularly productive session (with my first cup of coffee on the desk, long forgotten and cold--an almost unheard of scenario for me, if you know how much coffee I usually drink, and proof that writing completely took over my thoughts and energies).  Even though I never really believed that all those painstakingly created pages would actually be published or read by anyone outside of my inner circle of friends and family, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing for its own sake.


During the almost five years that I spent writing and re-writing--and for the umpteenth time, re-writing!--Finding Grace (with plenty of breaks, of course, when I had to close up shop for days or weeks at a time to attend to the needs of my husband and my boys), I was so happy.  Sometimes when I was working on the dialogue between Grace and Tom, or Grace and Jimmy, in a scene that really tickled me,  I'd realize that I had a silly grin on my face as I tapped away on the keys of my laptop.  "Yes, that's it!"  I would think, often saying it out loud.  "That's just what he would say in that situation!"  What an indescribable joy that was, spending those years getting to know that cast of characters who became like friends to me.  I miss spending that time with them, I really do.

Some days, though, I would ask myself why in the world I was dedicating countless hours to a fictional story that few people (if anyone) would ever read; my generous and ridiculously supportive husband, however, would tell me that if it made me happy to write, that was enough.  But I couldn't help but wonder: does someone deserve to devote so much time to an activity merely because it makes her happy to do so?  That seemed rather frivolous and self-indulgent to me, and I worried that perhaps my days would have been better spent doing more tangible good in the world.

What I must remind myself on an almost daily basis is that God has not given us all the same talents and skill sets.  Some of His children have personalities and abilities that make them suited for very big and visible ways of making a difference in the world; and some of them are more introverted and shy, and must do their work in quieter ways, behind the scenes.  I become tongue-tied in most situations where face-to-face, I am asked to explain or defend my Faith.  But I can sit at my keyboard and pour out my beliefs through the written word.  I have let my books' characters speak for me at times, and pray that God will appreciate the effort I've made to use them for His greater glory and not my own.

I have an idea for another novel, a work of historical fiction that would be a sort of sequel to Erin's Ring (in that it would involve the same young girls, now a few years older and learning about another fascinating and little-known historical event in the Catholic Church).  So far, however, I have not been able to get disciplined enough to get past the first two chapters.  I would need to do quite a bit of research, and I'm daunted by that prospect.  Pray for me, will you?  Because there is a beautiful story about Mary's intercession, about an event that happened right here in our country and about which most people probably know very little, that I truly believe needs to be told.  I want so badly to write it--not for myself, because I think it will lead to commercial success or professional recognition, but for the greater glory of God and His Blessed Mother.

You know, I just realized that it's Tuesday, so this little post filled with book talk has officially become the latest installment of the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club.  I hope you've been enjoying your coffee while you followed along.  As for me, there's a half-drunk mug of cold coffee on my desk that needs warming up.  And I can assure you, there will be a second cup!

Before we adjourn, though, I have one question for you.  If you read Finding Grace, did you find the end satisfying?  Did you think Grace ended up with the right boy?  Were you "Team Tom" or "Team Jimmy"?  (I guess that's technically three questions.)

I'm not sure why I felt the need to add that image.  It doesn't remind me of my Grace Kelly and the two young men in her life in the least.  But it's obviously supposed to depict a couple of sweet kids on prom night, a night which plays an important part in the book.  (And the bottom line is that I've just always been a big fan of Norman Rockwell's all-American artwork.)

Okay then, until next time...

(This post also appeared today over at String of Pearls.)

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #26): Looking for Some Help (and Playing Catch-up)

I've been hosting a Book Club over at my flagship blog, String of Pearls, for a while now.  It's called Grace-filled Tuesdays, as you might know if you come here often.  I've forgotten to share several of those "meetings" here at The Write Stuff; so before I show you today's post, we'll play a little catch-up, okay?  You can click on any of these links if you'd like to get up to speed with the other club members.

"Meeting" #22 : On Being a Writer (Sort of...)
"Meeting" #23 : Cliffhangers and Cliffs
"Meeting #24 : Austen Talk, and a Giveaway Reminder
"Meeting" #25 : Giveaway Winners

Now we're all caught up and ready for today's "meeting."  (I'm so glad you're here, by the way!)

Tuesday's child is full of Grace...

...and Tom, and Sully, and Molly, and Theresa, and Erin, and a whole host of other characters who make their way onto the pages of my novels Finding Grace and Erin's Ring.

That's right, you guessed it: it's Book Club time!  Whether you've been here before or are a first-time member of the club, welcome to Grace-filled Tuesdays!

Today, I'm looking for some help getting the word out about my two novels, both of which I believe would make excellent choices for inclusion in the curricula of Catholic classrooms and homeschools, not to mention homes where people like to curl up with books on rainy afternoons or hide under the covers with book lights late at night, long after they should be asleep...

Published in 2012, Finding Grace was a recipient of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval.  Classified as "YA fiction" but written with older teen readers (and adults) in mind, this deliciously lengthy novel handles difficult topics like underage drinking, teenage pregnancy, and abortion; but it does so without unnecessary salacious details and with great compassion for the human condition.  You can click on this review, by Tiffany, who blogs at Life of a Catholic Librarian, if you'd like to get a better idea of how this book might be just the right work of fiction for your high school-aged reader.  Here's a snippet of that review, in case you don't have time to read the full article right now:

This isn't a quick read, and for good reason. The book captures important moments in a young adult's life, and fleshes them out into a wonderful, relatable story that will grab your heartstrings. As an adult, this book made me nostalgic, and realize how much work I still have to do to make my faith a bigger priority in my life. Do we ever fully grow up? ;-) For young adults, I strongly suspect they will identify with the winningly charming Grace and want to try her approach to life with the saints.  [And of course, there's this, too, dear readers (my favorite part of writing the novel, if you want to know the truth!)]  I couldn't wait to see how things would turn out for Grace and her friends. Who will get the boy?  [Indeed--who will?  I made sure to write the story in a way that it would keep the reader hanging until the very end.]

I also appreciated this positive review, from a book-loving blogger (Rebekah's Weblog was her site) who decided to exit the Internet a few years ago.  Here's an excerpt, if you want a quick synopsis:

The cover of Finding Grace, in all its pastel sweetness, is a bit misleading. I had assumed (based on the cover, shame on me!) this was a book I would read ahead of time in hopes that my 9 year-old AnneMarie would enjoy reading aloud with me as we talked through issues. Not so. The topics covered include Grace experiencing the first hand pain of a Holocaust survivor as well as very mature teenagerly topics such as underage drinking, premarital sex, adoption and abortion. Pretty heavy. This coupled with the length of the novel make this in no way suitable to a young mind. I think perhaps high school is the earliest I would recommend this, and is not at all too youthy for any adult.

I don't recall reading any books with such a theme when I was in high school, a time of great introspection and soul searching for me, as I am sure it is for many girls, although society would not lead us to believe this is true with the typical characterization of the rebellious, bubble headed and fad-driven teens we are continuously subjected to. I know that I would have appreciated and benefited from reading Grace's story during that awkward time, just as I benefited from reading it now!
  
Finding Grace is a book that, although it has much to offer, has yet to truly find its audience.  After more than four years on Amazon, it has only gotten 20 reviews.  Research shows that reviews help a great deal.  So today, I'm asking for help in spreading the word any way you can.  If you read and enjoyed Finding Grace but didn't leave a review on the Amazon site, would you consider writing just a few words?  (Not to put words in your mouth, but even two would work: "Loved it!"  Ha ha!)  Or if you're a teacher or homeschooler, would you consider reading it to see if you think it would make a good addtition to your teens' literature curriculum?

If Finding Grace is too long a book for you, or if its themes are too advanced for the students/offspring/young readers in your life, perhaps you could check out Erin's Ring, a much shorter work aimed at readers middle school-aged and up.

Published in 2014, Erin's Ring is the winner of two book awards from the Catholic Press Association: 3rd Place in Books for Teens and Young Adults, and 2nd Place in Catholic novels.  This work of historical fiction is appropriate for even pre-teen readers, and its length of just under 200 pages makes it a great choice for classroom use.  However, like Finding Grace, although this novel was written with the hope of inspiring young readers, it doesn't ever speak down to its audience and can be enjoyed by adults as well.

I was humbled and pleased by this wonderful review of Erin's Ring by Catholic author and blogger Kari Burke.  If you don't have time to read Kari's whole article right now, here's a short blurb:

Pearl is an expert at creating authentically Catholic characters who are also multi-dimensional.  So, it comes as no surprise that it was the characters that drew me into the story.  I especially love that the relationships in their lives create a perfect conduit for their strengths and weaknesses to be revealed.  The relationships in the book are full of ups and downs, misunderstandings and insecurities, and, like the characters themselves, are just so real.  

Erin’s Ring is a beautiful love story but it’s not so much about the romantic love between a man and a woman.  Rather, it is about true love and devotion to the Catholic faith and to family.  With so many immoral worldly books on the shelves of our library these days, it can be nearly impossible to find wholesome reading material for teen girls.  This story fills a need for real Catholic fiction that never preaches, yet clearly delivers a message of hope and piety.  Erin’s Ring is exactly the kind of story I feel good about encouraging my daughters to curl up with.  In fact, it’s exactly the kind of book I myself enjoy curling up with!

Do Kari's words make you want to read it?  If so, today might be your lucky day, because

Bezalel Books has recently reduced the price of Erin's Ring from $11.99 per copy to $8.99, in order to make it more affordable for Catholic classrooms and homeschools.

And if you do read and enjoy it, could you post a few words on the Amazon site, pretty please?

Right about now, I can just hear you crying ,"What?!", a la Ralphie in the movie A Christmas Story,  "It's just a lousy commercial!"

Alrighty then, that's enough about marketing and promotion; let's have a real "meeting" and discuss book stuff, okay?

My husband (the most unbiased of all judges when it comes to anything having to do with his better half, I can assure you) tells me that what makes my books enjoyable is the characters.  He says mine are very fully-developed and real, and they make readers care about them.  (He isn't a professional literary critic, but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently...)  So here are some Book Club questions for you: How important to you are the characters in a novel?  Do you need to care about them a whole lot; or can you be satisfied with not-so-believable/lovable characters, as long as the plot is fast-paced and action-packed enough to hold your interest?

That's it for now.  But I'll be back.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #21): Shelf Esteem

Today over on the blog, we had another "meeting" of the Book Club.

I shared some exciting news about where I've spied copies of my two Catholic novels, Erin's Ring and Finding Grace, recently.  Head on over to String of Pearls if you're interested in finding out where my books are currently enjoying a little shelf esteem.  Come on--join the club!  Because Tuesday's child is full of Grace, as you know...and Erin, too!

And don't forget about the giveaway!

I'm giving away five free copies of Erin's Ring.  Just share this post on your blog, on Twitter, or on your Facebook page, and contact me to let me know that you've done so.  I'll throw your name in the hat, and on Nov. 1 I'll announce the lucky winners.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #19): For the Love of Boys

Hey, readers, the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club met today at String of Pearls.  Just thought you might like to know.

What did we talk about, you ask?  Well, if you're interested in joining the club, click here and head on over.

I'll give you a hint about what the topic of discussion was: the importance of writing what you know, and the fact that what I know the most about is having a family with five boys in it. You'll be let in on my not-so-secret secret: that these are the guys who inspired me to create Grace Kelly's five older brothers in my first novel, Finding Grace.

My boys, in birth order from R to L.

For the love of boys, please join us!  We'd love to have you.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #18): A Little History Lesson

As bad as I've been about keeping up with my firstborn blog, I've been even worse about keeping up here at The Write Stuff!  My writing output has been mediocre at best lately!

I did blog yesterday at String of Pearls, though.  The book club "met," and we talked about the history of the area where my husband and I grew up--Plattsburgh, NY, which sits on the shore of Lake Champlain and just happens to be the setting for my first novel, Finding Grace.

At yesterday's "meeting," I posted a short excerpt from Finding Grace, one that gives a little history lesson about some islands in Lake Champlain that played a part in the Revolutionary War.  If you missed yesterday's "meeting" and would like to join the club belatedly, click right here.

So, did you read that post?  And if you did, does it make you want to read Finding Grace? 

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting #16): Third of a Four-Part Series

I know, I know...it's Thursday, not Tuesday.

But I forgot to tell you that we had another Grace-filled Tuesdays book club meeting over at String of Pearls last week. It was the third installment of the "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" series, wherein I tell you which parts of my first novel Finding Grace are loosely based on my real life and which parts are totally fictional.  Originally posted in 2013, when I had about 10 readers, I thought it would be fun to re-post the series, now that there are dozens of you stopping by that blog--DOZENS!  (Are there any other "Arrested Development" fans out there who get that reference?)

Anyway, if you'd like to check it out, click on this link. 

There's one more episode before this little series concludes--so stay tuned, readers!

The Numbers Game

Here's what I posted over at String of Pearls today, copied and pasted for your convenience:

Well, I just realized that I missed a national holiday yesterday.

I'm sure you were all whooping it up like crazy, making and eating infinite amounts of pie--because what better way to celebrate a number that stretches on into infinity than by finding a dessert with the same name?

Truth be told, I've never been good at math and I don't really "get" pi.  (But then again, I don't really get pie, either, when there's a much better option: cake!)

But in honor of Pi Day, I thought I'd play the numbers game a little here and share my Amazon stats with you.  I just happened to check my author ranking on Saturday (something I rarely ever do, because it's not as if it's a huge confidence-booster or anything!).  Well, my friends, I say move over Nicholas Sparks, John Grisham, J.K. Rowling, et. al., because [drumroll please!], as of a few days ago,

Yeah, baby, that's right: my author rank on Saturday was #64,146.  Read that number and weep!  (Just for grins, I checked again today, and I've already moved down the list to #79,477.  Yikes, it doesn't take long to have 15,331 authors pull ahead of you!)

After checking my author rank, I decided to check out the sales ranks for each of my novels, and this is what I learned: Finding Grace was ranked #269,893; and Erin's Ring was ranked #148,276.

So needless to say, my books won't appear on the New York Times bestseller list anytime soon...or ever.  But I did look up another number, which makes me feel a tad better about my rankings: the Amazon website lists 32.8 million book titles (when you add up everything they carry--hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audio, and children's board books); so in light of that number, my rankings don't seem quite so dismal.

I know that my novels, written with the specific purpose of inspiring young readers and hopefully helping them to grow in knowledge of and love for the Catholic Faith, won't make me rich or famous, and I'm 100% okay with that.  I also know that without the help of the Internet and generous eFriends (some of whom I've never even "met") who promote these books on their blogs and websites, I would have trouble getting copies of Finding Grace and Erin's Ring into the hands of the readers for whom I wrote them.

Case in point: not long ago, I was informed by my online friend Nancy Carabio Belanger (a talented and successful Catholic author) that my books had been mentioned in a recent blog post over at Shower of Roses.  Jessica, a homeschooling mother of seven, wrote that she had put together stacks of books for each of her children this past Christmas, and look what her 12-year-old daughter's stack included:

I want to thank Jessica from the bottom of my heart for her support.  And I absolutely mean it when I say that if my novels touch even one reader--her 12-year old, for instance--then my mission has been accomplished.

It doesn't matter what the numbers say about my books, because when all is said and done, chasing worldly success is a game with no meaningful score. There is only one literary critic I've ever worried about pleasing anyway.  And I think you know the Guy I'm talking about.

Public Speaking/Book Signings

In early January of this year, I had the privilege of speaking to four different classrooms of students (5th through 8th grade), at two different schools, about my two Catholic YA novels, Finding Grace and Erin's Ring.  I traveled down to Tampa to be a Confirmation sponsor for two of my nieces, and while there, my sister-in-law arranged for me to visit the Catholic school that her 8th grade triplets attend and also the one where she is a 5th grade teacher.

This was the second time I've been given the opportunity to speak to students in a classroom setting.  In May of 2015, I visited my niece's 4th grade class in Chicago, to talk to her students about Erin's Ring after they'd read the book together.  (I blogged about the experience here and here, if you'd like to read those posts.)

This guy--my best inspiration and my biggest fan--was there to cheer me on, as always.

I can't believe I'm about to say this (gulp!)...but if you would be interested in having me come to speak and/or do a book signing at your school or parish, please leave me a message.  There is an "EMAIL ME" button on my home page over at String of Pearls, if you want to contact me that way.  Although I am often busy traveling to visit my kids and grandkids (none of whom live right down the street!), I might be able to make something work out.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #15): Second of a Four-Part Series

It's Tuesday--so that means it's book club day!

Today over at String of Pearls, I posted the second installment in the "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" series.  I originally wrote this series in 2013, about a year after Finding Grace was published, to satisfy any reader who might want to know which parts of the book were inspired by real people and events in my life and which were strictly fictional.

If you'd like to attend our meeting today, grab yourself a cup of coffee (I've got mine!), sit down in your comfiest chair, click on this link, and join the club!

Peace and grace, dear readers!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #14): First of a Four-Part Series

It's Tuesday.  And as you know, Tuesday's child is full of Grace [Kelly, the main character in my novel Finding Grace!].  That's right, it's book club day over at String of Pearls!  If you'd like to stop in and join me for a "meeting," I'd love to have you!

Today, I'm revisiting an old post from 2013 (long before I decided to start the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club).  It's the first in a four-part series called "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect."  If you're interested in hearing which parts of Finding Grace are slightly autobiographical and which parts are completely fictional, this is the series for you.  I plan to post the next three installments in the coming weeks.

Okay then, click on over and join the club!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #13): Reader Feedback, with Some Spoilers

The book club met today, over at my flagship blog, to talk about Finding Grace.  I received a lovely email from an 8th grade reader, a young lady whose class I visited in January; I couldn't help but share some of what she had to say with club members in hopes of starting a lively discussion.

Head on over to String of Pearls, if you'd like to read more.  (But be warned: if you haven't read Finding Grace and you plan to, there are some spoilers in the second half of the post.)

Dreams Really Do Come True!

Yesterday, I boxed up three copies of Finding Grace and five copies of Erin's Ring, to fulfill a new order I'd gotten, and then I headed to the post office to mail them to a bookstore.  You know, not a virtual bookstore (like Amazon), but an actual bookstore--with shelves and displays and cash registers and everything.

But the bookstore that put in this order wasn't any old bookstore, no-sir-ee!  It was the Hammes Bookstore at the University of Notre Dame!

That's right!  My books are going to be for sale at Our Lady's university out in South Bend, IN.  I am so excited about this that I'm tempted to hop on a plane to see it with my own eyes (it would be, as Rudy's father said when he saw the football stadium for the first time in the movie Rudy, "the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen!").  But I think I'll just try to get one of my two nephews, who are currently students out there, to snap some cell phone pics and forward them to me once the books make it onto the shelves.

Back when Finding Grace first came out in 2012, I contacted the ND bookstore to see if they would be willing to carry it.  (After all, Notre Dame plays a part in that story--and there is even a great scene at the Grotto.)  When nothing came of that, I thought, "Well, I tried."  I'd always known it was a long shot, and I had no plans to try again.

Then last fall, the whole Pearl clan was out at Notre Dame for a football weekend, and when one of my Pearl sisters-in-law and I were in the bookstore together, we passed a table filled with Irish-themed books.  "Your books belong here," she said.  I told her I'd looked into that years ago, but she countered with, "Yeah, but that was before you were an award winner!"  (My Pearl sisters-in-law are the best cheerleaders in all the land, they truly are.)

Bolstered by my sister-in-law's confidence in me, I decided I didn't have anything to lose; and this time I struck gold (or blue and gold).  It took a while to take care of the business end of things, but the books are now on their way out to the Midwest.  And I am left here in NH, pinching myself, and realizing that sometimes, dreams really do come true!

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!