Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

A Catholic Alternative to “Trashy” Novels

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I have always been an avid reader. Even now, I usually read two to three novels per week. Years ago, before my re-version, I devoured trashy romance novels like they were candy.

Like anyone, I love a good story, but I especially enjoy a compelling romance or suspense novel. As I grew in my faith, I no longer wanted to read fiction with explicit sex scenes. So I began seeking out Christian fiction. However, I yearned to read good, compelling fiction with Catholic themes.

Partly in response to this desire, I began writing my first novel, Emily’s Hope, in 2001. I’m a certified NFP teacher and I’ve debated the “contraception” issue with non-Catholics, liberal Catholics, ex-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics. So when I sat down to write my first novel, I knew that not only did I want to write a compelling story, I also wanted to include information on the Theology of the Body and NFP. I figured that if I was going to write a novel, I wanted to write one that had the potential of evangelizing.

Emily’s Hope is the story of “Emily” (loosely based on myself) and “Katharine,” my great-grandmother. In the seven years since it’s been published, I’ve received many letters from “fans.” One teenager approached me at a Catholic conference and said, “You know, Mrs. Hrkach, your book helped me to understand the Theology of the Body better than any textbook I’ve read.”

With my second novel, In Name Only, I wanted to write a Catholic historical romance that would be hard to put down, a romance that didn’t shy away from Catholic teachings on sex and marriage.

Amazingly, In Name Only won the Gold Medal for Religious Fiction in the 2010 IPPY Awards (the first Catholic novel to do so). It was in the top 100 of Religious Fiction and Christian Romance for six months and continues to sell extremely well on the Kindle. One reviewer on Amazon.com writes, “When I read In Name Only, I was floored. It was so good! I could not stop reading it! I read it in a weekend staying up until 2am on Sunday night/Monday morning to finish it even though I had work the next day… what really gripped me was how Ellen Gable took Theology of the Body (TOB) and turned it into a novel. TOB is near and dear to my heart. I loved how she incorporated the teachings of the Church and weaved them into such a complicated storyline…”

My third novel, Stealing Jenny, is a suspense thriller about the kidnapping of a pregnant woman. The husband and wife protagonists are open to life, NFP-using, devout (yet imperfect) Catholics. One of the main characters is not religious. Another character is a born again Christian. I purposefully created Stealing Jenny so that the teaching was more subtle. And, of course, I wanted to write a book that was hard to put down. Therese Heckenkamp of Traditional Catholic Novels, said “When I had to put this book down, I literally could not wait to pick it up again…Stealing Jenny is a smoothly written, chilling tale of gripping suspense. There are terrifying moments and heart-wrenching moments. Catholic faith and hope are tested. Above all, the sacredness and privilege of precious new life is made indisputably evident.”

A few weeks ago, Stealing Jenny hit #1 in Drama/Fiction/Religious on Amazon Kindle and has remained in the top ten for the past three weeks.

A warning: my novels, although not explicit, do deal with mature themes and are appropriate for teens and older.

All my books are available on Amazon.com in print or on Kindle.

Like many of the Amazing Catechists columnists, I’m giving away free books: one copy of each of my novels in print and Kindle editions, as well as both editions of my non-fiction book, Come My Beloved (that’s eight books in total). Enter to win by leaving a comment at ANY OF OUR COLUMNS, ANY TIME from NOW until December 15th!

Of course, my novels are not the only Catholic alternatives to secular “trashy” novels. Do you have a favorite contemporary Catholic novel? Please feel free to comment below.

Photo and Text Copyright 2011 Ellen Gable Hrkach

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About Ellen Gable Hrkach

Ellen Gable Hrkach and her husband, James, have been certified NFP teachers since 1984. She's also an award-winning, bestselling author of twelve books, an editor, publisher, book coach, and ghostwriter. Her newest novel, Where Angels Pass, recently won First Place in Catholic Novels in the CMA Book Awards. The mother of five adult sons and grandmother of two precious grandchildren, Ellen lives with her husband in the country near Pakenham, Ontario. Her website is https://ellengable.wordpress.com.

Comments

  1. Joanne Chiappetta says

    I wanted to wish you well on this blessed work! I read and very much enjoyed Emily’s Hope after we met at a CCL conference. I knew it was based on your life, and felt that the characters seemed like real people. The reader could follow along in Emily’s growth, both as a Christian and as a woman. It resonated with me also as I was newly grieving a pregnancy loss- the pain of which, as you know, never really goes away. ( I since found out that little Christy had a chromosomal abnormality that was “incompatible with life” according to my very supportive doctor. ) I also want to commend you on Come My Beloved, I only read a few chapters (nursing school), but the concept of writing about true Catholic romance, and later family life, is ,to me, fascinating and full of potential. Again, good luck with your writing, and God bless you!

    • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

      Thanks so much for your comments, Joanne! You’re officially entered in the massive book giveaway! So sorry on the loss of baby Christy. Yes, the grief never goes away. BTW, it was great meeting you at the CCL Conference! Most of the reader emails I receive are from women who have had miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. I hope you’re able to finish reading Come My Beloved during the holidays. It’s an easy and relaxing read! God bless you and your family!

  2. Jennifer Fitz says

    I’ve enjoyed both the Michelle Buckman novels I’ve read. Neither were my usual genre, but she tells a great story, so they were fun to read – page-turners. And for something completely different, my boy & I like John McNichol’s Young Chesterton series. I’m interested to see what else other readers recommend.

    Jen.

  4. Rhoda says

    Thank you for highlighting your books – they sound fantastic!! I love your idea to incorporate Theology of the Body in the context of a novel. God bless you and your work!

  5. Catherine says

    I’m so glad to see an author dealing with Catholic topics and writing without the gratuitous sex so prevalent in other recreational reading. It’s coincidental that a friend and I were just discussing our frustration in finding reading material that isn’t embarrassing and sometimes downright disgusting. I hope someone has suggestions for a science fiction author for my friend.

      • Jennifer Fitz says

        I’ll second that! The other thing I am enjoying reading is all my kids’ and niece’s fiction. It is not necessarily catholic, but the stories (middle-school and down) are clean and pretty uplifting. Plus – quick to read, which is great if you are short on time.

        • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

          For your kids and your niece, I would highly recommend Olivia and the Little Way and Olivia’s Gift by Nancy Carabio Belanger. Not sure if you’ve read them…but they’re great books (I read them with my 12 year old)!

  6. Dina says

    Looking forward to reading your books. I always read trashy novels too when I was younger. I haven’t read a novel in years.

  7. Jennifer says

    I look forward to reading your books. I too am a big fan of ToB and am intrigued on how you could weave it’s premise into a novel. Thank you for being a strong Catholic voice in literature!

  11. Linda Martin says

    As a recent convert (2005), I only had John Paul II as my Pope for a couple of weeks (am also thrilled with Pope Benedict XVI). Anyway, TOB has impacted my life and I was just recently trying to explain to my mother why I no longer liked trashy novels (sex and/or language). She commented on how hard it was to find novels without one or both that were not “sappy”. I’m looking forward to introducing her to your work. I’m also glad to find a forum where I might find other novels to read. Thank you!

  13. Susan Varholy says

    I am looking for books as gifts for Confirmation candidates (age 14) Would your books be appropriate? I have not had the opportunity to read any of them yet
    Thanks so much!

  14. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    Thanks for commenting, Susan! With regard to whether my books are appropriate for 14-year-old teens, I would say it depends on the maturity of the teen. There is no explicit sexuality but there are mature themes like contraception and abortion.

  17. Elizabeth M says

    Thank you for this! I’ve recently begun reading on my husband’s hand-me-down Kindle. Now I know what to look for. I’m so glad to hear of novels that will weave in our faith. Thanks for sharing them with us!

  19. Stacy says

    I’ve already added all your books to my Amazon wishlist :)! Of course, winning them free would be even more exciting lol!

  21. Andrea says

    Dear Ellen, Thank you so much for this blog/ website. I have been looking for a good romance novel with Catholic/ Christian teachings on the true meaning of love and relationships. I have been reading romance novels and I like this genre a lot. However, I too do not appreciate the secular meaning of love (explicit scenes).

    • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

      Thanks for your comment, Andrea! One of the reasons I started writing Catholic fiction is because of the explicitness of novels I wanted to read. So I wrote ones that included Catholic teaching but with no graphic scenes! God bless you!