The Book of Jotham Second Edition Now Available

The second edition of The Book of Jotham is now available on Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

Synopsis: Winner of the 2012 Tuscany Prize for Novella. Jotham is a mentally challenged man-child who, like the other apostles, follows Jesus as Christ carries out his ministry and experiences death by crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Yet the other apostles the dedicated Mary, Peter, Thomas, and the rest while they care for Jotham and look out for him, don t understand why Jesus loves him so. Thomas even says, after Jesus offers a parable, I don t see why all the pots can t be strong and beautiful. Jotham may be different, but through him, we come to see Jesus and Jotham not just with our eyes, but also with our hearts.

Reviews:

“The Book of Jotham chronicles the spiritual journey of the fictional protagonist, from his initial fears due to his personal limitations to his discovery of his self­ worth in Christ. Written from the perspective of the title character, the author gives the reader a unique insight into the mind and the heart of one who is mentally challenged. And by placing the narrative in the familiar  setting of  Jesus’ public ministry and using Biblical characters like Mary, Peter and the Apostles, the reader is able to experience the Gospel story anew, through the eyes and gradual progression of faith of Jotham. The universal theme of the grace of adoption helps us to discover that, as children of Light, our conversion and progression of faith may not be so different from those who experience life like Jotham.”  + Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

“This… is called “The Book of Jotham” because it’s a sort of Gospel according to the eponymous character. The ways in which St. Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot relate with their disabled brother are particularly powerful. The Book of Jotham is a work that never preaches but which will evoke a powerful pro-life response from the reader.” Joseph Pearce, author

 “The book is a gem for anyone serious about a genuine, loving relationship with God.” Kaye Park Hinckley, award-winning author

“Reading The Book of Jotham is a powerful and life changing event. I really felt drawn into the story and actually believed that I could see out of Jotham’s eyes. This is a masterpiece of writing and deserves to become a classic. ”  A.K. Frailey, author

“This novella won first place in the Tuscany Press competition for Best Novella for a reason. Try to imagine experiencing discipleship with Christ unencumbered by the burden of rationalism. Powers’ depiction of a mentally challenged young man who follows Christ is more than moving–it’s revealing. Then, because language itself is a product of rationalism, try to imagine how that discipleship might be expressed non-verbally, internally. Powers accomplishes something amazing here.” Dena Hunt, award-winning author

“Wonderful book. It’s hard to write a compelling narrative when the reader knows the historical events, but Powers does a masterful job. He bravely uses a second person point of view to pull the reader into the story, to become the mentally challenged young protagonist sitting on the side of the road when a charismatic rabbi comes along. You’ll fly through the pages, but then read a second time to enjoy the poetry of the words.” Ronald B. O’Gorman, MD, author

Ella’s Promise Finalist in the 2020 International #Book #Awards

Huge #Sale of FQP Books on #Kindle #socialisolation

Looking for some cheap but quality reading during this time of social isolation?

FQP has reduced all its books for this one week sale to take place today through Monday March 30 at 11:45 p.m.

The following books are on sale for .99

(Tomorrow’s post will list the books on sale for 1.99)

A Channel of Your Peace by Veronica Smallhorn

Angela’s Song by AnnMarie Creedon

Rightfully Ours by Carolyn Astfalk

Stealing Jenny by Ellen Gable

Growing Up in God’s Image by Carolyn Smith

Don’t You Forget About Me by Erin McCole Cupp

Emily’s Hope by Ellen Gable (2006 IPPY Awards, Honorable Mention)

    The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt (CALA Winner)

Great War Great Love Series by Ellen Gable

Julia’s Gifts

Charlotte’s Honor

Ella’s Promise

Heaven Intended Series by Amanda Lauer

A World Such as Heaven Intended (CALA Winner)

A Life Such as Heaven Intended

A Love Such as Heaven Intended

Stay With Me Series by Carolyn Astfalk

Come Back to Me

(Come Back to Me will be on sale for .99 early tomorrow morning)

Stay With Me  (IAN finalist)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ella’s Promise Receives Seal of Approval

My book, Ella’s Promise, has just received the Seal of Approvalfrom the Catholic Writers Guild for quality and content!

All three of the series, Julia’s Gifts, Charlotte’s Honor and Ella’s Promise, now have the Seal of Approval!

Here is the link for all books in the series:  Great War Great Love Series.

Reviews for Ella’s Promise:

Readers will love this third installment in the Great War Great Love series with espionage, romance, faith, and determination all set amidst the backdrop of wartime France.” Carolyn Astfalk, author, Ornamental Graces

“Ella’s Promise is a story of love tested through war-time confusion and pain, enduring into a new hope for a better future.” A.K. Frailey, author of historical fiction/science fiction

An enjoyable read that fans of historical fiction are sure to love. ” Theresa Linden, author of contemporary romance, Anyone But Him

 

In Name Only Coming Soon to #Audible

I’ve just approved the Audible edition of

In Name Only so it will soon be available on #Audible!

(Hopefully before the end of the year!)

Synopsis:  Book One, “O’Donovan Family Series.”

1876, Philadelphia. Caroline Martin’s life has finally taken a turn for the better. After years of hard work, she has met a virtuous and wealthy man whose love seems to promise the kind of life realized only within the comforting novels she keeps on her night table. Tragedy, however, will teach Caroline of the complexity with which God Himself authors the lives of those who turn toward him. Gold Medal winner for Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards.

Ella’s Promise Virtual Book Tour

I’ll be touring virtually with my new book beginning this week on November 3 and ending November 15th!

Virtual Book Tour Stops/Links

November 3  Carolyn Astfalk My Scribbler’s Heart Blog

November 4  Steven McEvoy Book Reviews and More

November 5  Theresa Linden Catholic Books Blog

November 6  Therese Heckenkamp

November 7 Patrice MacArthur

November 8  Amanda Lauer

November 9  Sarah Reinhard

November 10  Jean Egolf

November 12 Leslea Wahl

November 13  Trisha Potter

November 14   The Yeoman Farmer, Christopher Blunt

November 15  Plot Line and Sinker

Julia’s Gifts A Finalist in the IAN Book Awards!

My book, Julia’s Gifts: Great War Great Love #1, has been recently named a Finalist in the 2019 IAN Book Awards in both the Religious Fiction category and the Romance category!  A list of other winners can be found here at this link.

Julia’s Gifts is available in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and will soon be available on Audible.

New Audiobooks Coming Soon!

My books, In Name Only, Julia’s Gifts and Charlotte’s Honor will be coming this Fall as audiobooks!

The Lion’s Heart Only .99 on Kindle #Sale

This month’s Book Blast for the Catholic Writers Guild is The Lion’s Heart! For a limited time only, the ebook is available for .99 and the print book for 9.99.

The Lion’s Heart by Dena Hunt encompasses the beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church on same-sex relationships.  It won the 2016 Catholic Arts and Letter Award for Adult Fiction.

Synopsis:
Paul Meyer has never let anyone get too close. Until Max. The Lion’s Heart is a heart-rending story about love and sacrifice. The emotional struggle of Paul’s same-sex attraction, the guilt he feels, and his ambivalence toward his Catholic faith all come together in this look inside the heart of a tortured man.

Excerpt
It wasn’t the deception, unpleasant as it was, that troubled him. In fact, he simply couldn’t put his finger on it. All he knew that was truly different with Max was that he loved him. And it was that, that single stark truth, which made everything different. He never loved before… He put the empty wine glass on the balcony floor beside him and tried to find again that mysterious, interior quiet that city noise always brought him. But he felt instead a kind of disquiet that seemed urgent… Love was never wrong. He’d heard that so often from sincere people, good people… ‘Love is never wrong.’ More than a platitude, it became a mantra. No one could argue with it, not without being judgmental or bigoted. Paul himself always believed it, although he never thought much about it before—never had much reason to think about it. But then, he’d never really loved anyone before…

Reviews 
“Dena Hunt is a consummate storyteller who does not shirk or shy away from the difficult questions about life and love that her story raises. The Lion’s Heart contains not only the loves of lovers, spouses, parents, and children but also the demons and dragons that selfishness unleashes. The Lion’s Heart is not for the faint-hearted, nor is it for the hard-hearted. It pulsates with a passion that will bring true hearts to their knees.” Joseph Pearce, author of The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, co-editor of the St. Austin Review

“It may be fiction but The Lion’s Heart reflects a truth that is as real as the sunrise. The moral conflicts and dilemmas are treated with dignity and there are no easy answers, though, thank God, there are answers. The style, beauty, and flow of Dena’s writing speaks for itself. I could not give this book a higher rating, for it is at the top of the charts. I thank Ms. Hunt for having the courage and the beauty of heart to see, feel, and love as she did – for this book is, above all, a work of love. May it be accepted as such.” A.K. Frailey, author The Deliverance Trilogy

“Dena Hunt conveys some of the very real struggles of those persons who have same-sex attractions (SSA), especially the shame, confusion, and misery that can accompany such feelings. She shows how that suffering can affect family and friends. The path to understanding homosexuality requires abundant patience, prudence, and good will because the topic is not primarily a controversial cultural issue, but rather a complex personal reality. It is one for which there is not one simple or general explanation – or response. This novel gives us a glimpse into the lives and hearts of those touched by SSA who are striving to understand themselves, and so to love genuinely after the example of Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Church.” Rev. Paul Check, Executive Director, Courage

“Whatever side of controversy you call home, this book is a game-changer. With The Lion’s Heart, Dena Hunt gives us a compassionate story courageously told, depicting the truth in all its dimensions. Readers will never be the same, and with The Lion’s Heart, the landscape of faith-based fiction is changed forever.” Erin McCole Cupp, author, Don’t You Forget About Me

“The Lion’s Heart is a rocketing page-turner that had me hooked from beginning to end. The characters’ very genuine experiences with same-sex attraction, and its consequences, led me to a much deeper understanding and empathy for all those who must bear this burden. Above all, this story powerfully brings to life the reality that love often means saying “no” to one’s own desires, and instead choosing what is truly good for the other.” Christopher Blunt, author of Passport

You can purchase The Lion’s Heart on Kindle at this link.

It’s also available in paperback at this link.

Royalties from this book are donated by the author to Courage International.

Humbled, Honored and Surprised: Arnprior Author Inducted Into Hall of Fame in New Jersey

From the Arnprior Chronicle Guide:

When local author, Ellen Gable Hrkach, was informed this past July that she was being inducted into her high school’s hall of fame, she was “humbled, honoured and surprised.” The award is “in recognition of outstanding achievement” regarding her success as an author of fiction. The induction ceremony took place on Oct. 7 in Glassboro, N.J. A graduate of Triton High School, class of 1977, Hrkach was a member of the National Honor Society and graduated sixth in a class of over 450 students. She joins 40 other Triton alumni whhave been inducted over the years.

The author recently released her ninth book, Charlotte’s Honor, the second of three books in the Great War — Great Love series. The first in the series, Julia’s Gifts, was published last year. Both books are appropriate for age 12 and over.

Hrkach, who writes under her maiden name (Gable), says that she “enjoys creating stories, especially historical fiction.” In her new book, Charlotte’s Honor, 21-year-old Charlotte enlists as a medical volunteer during the Great War. She begins working in the death ward of the field hospital near Soissons, France, holding dying men’s hands and singing them into eternity.

Award-winning author Therese Heckenkamp highly recommended the novel, saying that it’s an “authentic story of compassion, self-sacrifice, and the true meaning of love.” Dr. Jean Egolf, wrote that “Charlotte’s Honor is a beautiful, tender and moving story set during World War One …” and that “it will not disappoint.”

The main female characters in the series are American and their love interests are Canadian. “I am American, and my husband, James, is Canadian. It’s been fun exploring that relationship with fictional characters.”

Originally from the Philadelphia-South Jersey area, Hrkach is now a dual citizen, having received her Canadian citizenship in 2014. The author began writing Christian fiction when her five sons were small children. The hobby eventually turned into a full-time career of writing, editing, book coaching, and ghostwriting.

She is currently working on the third novel of the Great War — Great Love series, Ella’s Promise, as well as two other novels entitled Where Angels Pass and A Faithful Heart.

Awards and Translations

In 2015, Hrkach’s fifth book, A Subtle Grace, was a finalist in the IAN Book Awards in both the romance and historical categories. In 2010, Hrkach’s second book, In Name Only, won the IPPY Gold Medal in Religious Fiction. In 2006, her first novel, Emily’s Hope, won an Honourable Mention in the IPPY awards.

All of her books are available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback. Her third book, Stealing Jenny, is available in three languages: Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian and will soon be translated into Lithuanian. Julia’s Gifts is available in Italian and will soon be available in Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Stealing Jenny is also available as an audiobook (narrated by Lisa Reichert). Since 2009, the author’s books have been collectively downloaded nearly a quarter of a million times on Kindle. To date, she has published nine original works and has contributed to numerous other books.

Upcoming Book Signings

The author will be signing and selling books at the following events during the month of November:

Friday, Nov. 2: The Knights of Columbus Ladies’ Shopping Night, St. John Chrysostom Parish Hall, Arnprior, Ont., from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 10: Catholic Women’s League Bake Sale and Bazaar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Hall, Braeside, Ont. from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 24: Christmas Craft, Bake and Business Sale, Nick Smith Centre, Arnprior, Ont. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Charlotte’s Honor costs $15 for the print edition and $4.99 for the Kindle edition. It’s available online via Amazon and through the publisher’s website at www.fullquiverpublishing.com. More information can be found at the author’s website: www.ellengable.com.