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A Catholic Alternative to “Trashy” Novels

By Ellen Gable Hrkach

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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Read all posts by Ellen Gable Hrkach Filed Under: Evangelization, NFP/Chastity Tagged With: Amazing Catechists Book Giveaway, Catholic fiction, Come My Beloved, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Emily's Hope, In Name Only, NFP, Stealing Jenny

About Ellen Gable Hrkach

Ellen and her husband, James, have been certified NFP teachers for the Couple to Couple League since 1984 and have worked since 1983 in marriage preparation and chastity education. Ellen currently works as marketing director for Live the Fast. Ellen’s also an award-winning, bestselling author (her books have recently topped 610,00 downloads on Kindle). Her newest book is A Subtle Grace, which just hit #1 in Christian Historical Fiction and Christian Romance. Her other books can be found at her Amazon Author Page. She writes frequently for CCL’s Family Foundations magazine, a columnist for CatholicMom.com, a reviewer for CatholicFiction.net and she and her husband create the “Family Life” cartoons. She and her husband own a small Catholic publishing company called Full Quiver Publishing. Her blog is at https://ellengable.wordpress.com. She lives in Pakenham, Ontario Canada with her husband and sons. Contact her at: info@fullquiverpublishing.com

Comments

  1. Joanne Chiappetta says

    December 4, 2011 at 11:35 am

    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

      December 4, 2011 at 11:42 am

      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

    December 4, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    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.

  3. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 4, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    Thanks for your contribution, Jen! I’m also interested in what others will recommend…

  4. Rhoda says

    December 4, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    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!

    • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

      December 5, 2011 at 5:49 am

      You’re welcome and thanks for commenting, Rhoda!

  5. Catherine says

    December 5, 2011 at 4:10 am

    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.

    • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

      December 5, 2011 at 5:51 am

      Hi Catherine and thanks for commenting! Your friend might be interested in Karina Fabian’s novels (Catholic science fiction). Her website is https://www.karinafabian.com/

      • Jennifer Fitz says

        December 6, 2011 at 10:22 am

        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

          December 6, 2011 at 10:42 pm

          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

    December 5, 2011 at 5:29 am

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

    • Ellen Gable Hrkach says

      December 5, 2011 at 5:54 am

      Thanks for commenting, Dina!

  7. Jennifer says

    December 5, 2011 at 8:16 am

    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!

  8. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 5, 2011 at 8:33 am

    Thanks for commenting, Jennifer! It wasn’t easy to weave TOB into a historical novel, that’s for sure!

  9. Christine Taylor says

    December 6, 2011 at 8:54 am

    I am hoping to receive a Kindle for Christmas and am so glad to hear that your books will be available. They sound wonderful.

  10. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 6, 2011 at 9:02 am

    Thanks for commenting, Christine!

  11. Linda Martin says

    December 6, 2011 at 5:59 pm

    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!

  12. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 6, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    Hello Linda and thanks so much for commenting! I hope that you enjoy my books when you have the chance to read them (and feel free to let me know what think!) God bless…

  13. Susan Varholy says

    December 7, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    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

    December 7, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    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.

  15. Jen Popiel says

    December 7, 2011 at 3:34 pm

    These look interesting and like something to look at for daughters!

  16. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 7, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Thanks for commenting, Jen!

  17. Elizabeth M says

    December 8, 2011 at 8:36 am

    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!

  18. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 8, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Thanks for commenting, Elizabeth! I hope that if you do have a chance to read my novels you will enjoy them!

  19. Stacy says

    December 9, 2011 at 9:55 am

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

  20. Ellen Gable Hrkach says

    December 9, 2011 at 10:03 am

    That’s great, Stacy! The draw for my books will be held on Monday…but you can also win other authors’ books too! Good luck and God bless!

  21. Andrea says

    January 5, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    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

      January 6, 2016 at 9:07 am

      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!

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