Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #33): Erin's Ring Gets a Couple of Shout-outs

It's Tuesday, isn't it?  (Although it's getting late, and if I don't get this posted soon, it will be Wednesday!)

Well, Tuesday's child is full of grace, and my novels tell stories of God's grace (and one of them is even about a character whose name is Grace)...so I think that means it's time to call a meeting of the book club.  (While it's still Tuesday!)

Welcome, book enthusiasts!

Okay, so in case you've never been here before, I use this club to discuss my two Catholic novels with you, dear readers.  I never imagined or expected that the titles of my books would become well-known, or that I would become a household name, or that I'd make a fortune as an author.  But I always did hope that my humble works of fiction would do some good in the world.  I wrote them praying that they would be for God's greater glory and for the good of souls, including my own.  Obviously, God did not want them to be widely read, or to earn lots of money or accolades.  But there are no accidents.  Everything happens for a reason; and I still think there's a reason that I wrote these books and that they actually found their way into print.

It's been a long time since I had a book published.  Finding Grace came out in 2012, followed by Erin's Ring in 2014.  I can't believe it's been four years already since the younger of my two "babies" was born.  Time does indeed fly, doesn't it?  Four years.  Wow!

And just when I think that I lost my shot at marketing and promoting those books the way I should have, in order to ensure that I gave them the best possible chance of finding their way into the hands of young (or old) readers who might enjoy and/or be edified by them, I am made aware that there are generous folks out there who have been helping me--and I didn't even know they were doing it!

Back in December, Catholic YA author Leslea Wahl (The Blind Side, An Unexpected Role) did me the great favor of reading Erin's Ring and posting a review on Amazon.  This is always such an invaluable help to any author, and I was humbled and extremely grateful that she took the time to do this for someone she has never even met.  Here is that much-appreciated Amazon review.

As if Leslea hadn't done enough for me already, I found out that she had gone a step further: she had included Erin's Ring, along with two other titles, in a recent (May 1) blog post about YA historical fiction. Huzzah!  Or faith and begorrah, I suppose!

And then, God bless her, I discovered that Leslea had done even more: in a personal email message that she sent me after I thanked her for her lovely blog shout-out, she mentioned that she had also talked about Erin's Ring on a Reading with Your Kids podcast (a special St. Patty's Day installment highlighting books with Irish themes).  Here is the text of what she said on the podcast.

My little book, a story about some endearing 19th-century Irish immigrants whose faith inspired them to build a Catholic Church in a small New England town that didn't have one, has got a powerful advocate in Leslea, and I truly owe her a debt of gratitude.  Lately, I have been so busy with my boys and their rapidly growing families (now my close neighbors, after our move south last year from NH to VA) that I don't seem to have as much time to read as I used to.  But I am more determined than ever to make time, and Leslea's YA novels are now on the top of my "To Read" list.  Please support Leslea's works, too!

Before I sign off, I just want to let you know that Erin's Ring is currently selling at a reduced price on Amazon (marked down from $8.99 to just $7.27 per copy).   This would be a great time to order one for yourself, if you haven't read it yet.  ;)

That's about it for today, so meeting adjourned.  Thanks for stopping by!