Grace-Filled Tuesdays: Book Club "Meeting" #27: Marketing

Hey, did you know that I have this online book club called Grace-filled Tuesdays (where I discuss my two Catholic novels, Finding Grace and Erin's Ring, and the things that inspired me to write them)?   If you didn't know before, you do now.  And it's Tuesday, so welcome to the club!  Grab yourself a cup of coffee (that's what I'd do, anyway, because that's what I always do) and have a seat.  I'm so glad you're here!

You know, I have to say that I am proud and honored that both of my novels made it into print (proud and honored, and also deeply humbled), because they are filled with lovable Catholic characters, inspirational story lines, and plenty of positive messages for readers of all faiths.  I feel this way in spite of the fact that neither has enjoyed wide readership.  I admit that sometimes I feel a bit discouraged by my books' lack of worldly success (something I vowed I'd never do...but I am only human, after all).   On occasion, I'll say to my husband, "I think my little experiment with being a writer has been a dismal failure."  But then he'll remind me again of the reasons I wrote these books in the first place, and those reasons have nothing whatsoever to do with money or acclaim; instead, they have everything to do with trying to use the gifts God gave me, such as they are, to their fullest potential, and more importantly, striving to use them for His greater glory.  If achieving that goal is the point of it all, then I need to have a "mission accomplished" attitude and go a little easier on myself.

The hardest thing about writing books, apparently, isn't even the writing itself; it's the marketing.  If you're not good at marketing, it is well nigh impossible to get your books into the hands of readers.  I keep plugging away at it, by now and again hosting a giveaway over at Goodreads or here on the blog, by reaching out to Catholic bloggers who might be willing to review them, by contacting Catholic schools to see if they would be interested in having some donated copies for their libraries.  But for the most part, I stay where I am most comfortable, incurable introvert that I am: very much behind the scenes, where I am neither seen nor heard.  This is not a good marketing strategy, by the way.  In case you were wondering.

So yesterday, in an effort to make more of an effort in the marketing department, I ordered new business cards.  (The information on my old ones was a bit out-of-date.)  You can custom-design them at Vistaprint for an extremely reasonable price: $9.99 will get you 500--which is about 480 more than I would probably ever need, mind you, but you just can't beat that price!

So I'm having this one made for Finding Grace.

And this one for Erin's Ring.

I should have figured out a way to put both titles and both book cover images on one card, but I am not tech-savvy enough to manage that.  So I'm going to have 1,000 business cards in all.  That should be plenty.  I should be set for years to come, even if I finally get brave enough to put myself "out there" on a more regular basis and end up doing some book signings.

I am enjoying having a wonderful office in our new house in VA, where my husband and I each have our own desks, our own rolling desk chairs, our own printers, our own file cabinets, our own shelves, etc.  I would have loved to have a set-up like this one back when I was working on my books.  It almost makes me want to write another one...but before I do that, I think I need to figure out how to market the first two!

As I was unpacking boxes after the move and organizing my new office space, I came across a letter that I had forgotten about, and it was a good reminder that I am not in this business to make money but instead to touch the heart and soul of even a single reader who might benefit from reading my work.  These are the words of one such reader, who contacted me last year via email (most likely by clicking the "Email Me" link on the sidebar of this blog):

Mrs. Pearl,

I recently finished your book "Finding Grace" and wanted to thank you for writing it.  My mother read it and gave me a copy quite a while ago.  I am ashamed to say how long it sat on my book shelf.  My mother grew up in Rutland, VT [across the lake from Plattsburgh, NY, the setting for Finding Grace] and went to Catholic school.  I think that probably made her love the book even more. 

I know your book is aimed towards teens or youth, but I think it has a very wide appeal.  I am a 39 year old mother of 6 (two boys, then four girls) and I found lots of inspiration to be a better mother, wife, daughter, and human within its pages.

I found myself wiping tears from my face when I got to the part at the end of the book when Irene was at the church.  You tackled some very tough subject matter with kindness and grace.  I am hoping to get my oldest daughter to read it (she will be 13 this summer).  I find myself wanting to recommend it to everyone.  Again, thank you so much for writing this book and sharing it with the world.

I find myself wiping tears from MY face, dear reader of Finding Grace.  Because of your kind words of affirmation, I dare to believe that the four-and-a-half-year stretch I spent bringing Grace Kelly's story to life was not a waste of time.  And I find myself inspired to become a better marketer.  (Also, you have my permission to share it with the world.  Share away!)

In the world of Catholic fiction publishing, word of mouth is the very best tool for getting books into the hands of readers.  I've been blessed to have Internet friends like Aileen, who has voluntarily helped me to spread the word on various forms of social media.

If you feel moved to do the same, I could use all the help I can get!

God bless you with faith, family, and friends--and let's not forget fiction.  Okay then, this meeting is adjourned.  (But if you have any questions for me regarding either of my books, or if you would like to receive a copy for review, or if you are a teacher interested in purchasing some copies at a reduced rate for classroom use, please contact me!)

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

I woke up this morning in the mood to blog, but I said to my husband, "I have nothing to write about.  I feel like I'm completely out of ideas.  There's nada going on in here [as I tapped my empty noggin]."  (Okay, I didn't really say "nada," or tap my head; but I'm trying to make this post a little more interesting.)

I sat down at the kitchen table of our Oyster Haven VRBO house to face the empty screen of my laptop.  With my trusty Hatch Prints Morning Offering mug by my side--filled with the first of the three or four cups of coffee I will consume by 11:00--I looked out the window, sighing and wondering if I was ever going to get my blogging groove back...

And this is what I saw (minus the helpful arrows, but I'll explain those).

That big island on the left is Valcour Island; and the much smaller one on the right is Gunboat Island.  Beyond the islands you can see the blue outline of the mountains of Vermont.

It's a spectacular view, isn't it?  And you can't see them, but the ghosts of Revolutionary War battleships steam right alongside those two islands.

Oyster Haven is located so close to where the Battle of Valcour was fought in 1776 that this historical marker sits just on the edge of our property.

Gunboat, Valcour's itty-bitty sibling, has a rather interesting story.  Let me show you a zoomed-in shot of it, so you can get a better idea of what it looks like.

Anyway, as I was sitting here on this sunny morning, mesmerized by the sparkling diamonds on the surface of the water, I had an epiphany: since it's book club day, and Finding Grace most definitely touches on the rich history of this area and the key role the lake (and these two islands) played in that history, I thought I'd give you a little excerpt:

          "The Battle of Valcour (which is a large island off the southern shore of Plattsburgh) was fought on Lake Champlain on October 11, 1776.  Led by Benedict Arnold, the Revolutionary War hero who would later become a traitor, the Continental navy was defeated by the British in this battle, losing eleven ships.  However, in ways it was a victory for the Americans, because the British forces had been hurt enough that they retreated into Canada to nurse their wounds for the winter instead of staying to establish a strong presence in the northern colonies.  Had they stayed, it would have cut the colonies in half and could have altered the outcome of the war.
          It was said that in the confusion of the battle, British Colonel Guy Carleton fired upon a small island off the tip of South Hero, Vermont, mistaking its rocky silhouette for an American ship.  Afterward, this island was christened 'Carleton's Prize,' in mockery of the British leader's mistake, but these days it was known simply by the nickname 'Gunboat Island.'  (In defense of the colonel, its outline really did resemble that of a small battleship.)  To this day, local divers frequently brought up rusty old cannonballs found around both Valcour and Gunboat Islands, tangible reminders of the bravery of America's fledgling navy."
                                                                                      
                                                                                                                  Finding Grace (Chapter 3)

See, Finding Grace is both entertaining AND educational!  And there's some romance in there, too.  And a bit of humor.  And definitely some strong messages about how our choices have consequences--not to mention the importance of faith in God's will and in His loving mercy.  I call it "a pro-chastity, pro-life, pro-family, Catholic coming-of-age story."  I hope you'll call it "next on my to-read list," or "next assigned reading for our high school homeschool co-op."  Actually, you can call it anything you like, just don't call it late for dinner.  (Is that joke/wisecrack still in circulation, or did it die out back in the 1950's or 60's?)

Okay then, now it's back to window-gazing for me (which ranks only slightly higher than navel-gazing on the productivity scale).

I have an offer for you, before I sign off here: if you'd like to order a signed copy of Finding Grace for $15.00 (and skip the Amazon shipping fees), contact me using the "EMAIL ME" button on the sidebar.  I would love to introduce you to Grace Kelly and her family and friends, and to the history-filled area she calls home.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #17): Last of a Four-Part Series

Here is the last installment of the four-part series I've been sharing here recently at the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club--or re-sharing, I should say, as this series originally appeared on the blog in 2013 and 2014.  It was called "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect," and its purpose was to answer any questions readers might have about which parts of my novel Finding Grace were loosely autobiographical and which were entirely made up.

Feb. 3, 2014

"Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" (Part 4): I Can Relate to Grace

I've heard that authors who are writing their first novels have a hard time keeping them from being a bit semi-autobiographical, and I suppose that's somewhat true about my own debut effort, Finding Grace.  The story is set in my old hometown in Upstate NY, and Grace lives with her family in a sweet old house very much like the one in which I grew up on a street very much like the one where our home was located.  Like my own childhood best friend, Grace's best friend Irene lives in a modern, ranch-style house out on the lake; and like my then boyfriend/now husband, the boy with whom Grace falls in love in high school lives on the lake, too, on the other side of town.  Two colleges near and dear to my heart play a part in the novel: the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where I graduated in 1980, and the University of Notre Dame, where my husband graduated that same year.  Grace starts high school the same year my husband and I did--1972--and she and her friends attend a Catholic school very reminiscent of the one we attended...

I could go on and on.  (And I have written several "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" posts already, if you'd like to peruse those here, here, and here.)

But there are many important differences, too. Contrary to my mother's assessment that the novel [which I don't believe she's read in full] is about my own story with my husband, which is simply not true (and I would tell you how it's different, but that would spoil the plot if you haven't read the book yet), things happen in this book that came completely out of my imagination--things about which I have no personal experience.  Things that not only never happened to me, but didn't happen to anyone I was close to.  So this work is most definitely FICTION, with a capital F, and it's important for the reader to remember that. 

None of the families of the main characters in Finding Grace even remotely resemble the families of the real life individuals who inspired them.  And that's the key word here: "inspired."  Because most of these characters--Grace Kelly, Tom Buckley, Jimmy Sullivan, and Grace's five older brothers-- share some traits with real-life people, but they truly did become, over the course of the five years the book was coming together, quite unique individuals.  Of course Tom Buckley has a whole lot of the same qualities I admire in my beloved husband; I started dating him at 15 and never looked at another guy--how could he not?  And of course Grace's brothers share many traits with my own five wonderful sons, whom I just adore--and again, how could they not?  But these characters all took on lives of their own as I wrote; they became people completely unlike anyone I knew in real life; they sort of whispered to me what they'd say and what they'd do, and they helped to move the plot along.  I started out with a loose outline for my story, but the characters took me on many unexpected detours--because no matter what I thought they ought to do, over time I came to know what they WOULD do.  They became good friends that I missed once the final chapter was done.

I miss them still!  (Perhaps I shall write a sequel?)

I am not Grace Kelly, although I know very well what makes her tick and I share many of her feelings and insecurities.  Grace and Tom's high school story does not follow the same path as my husband's and mine (and again, I don't want to say too much about that, because--spoilers!).  But I know just what it's like to feel as if the boy you love is so much better than you deserve in every way, that he's perfect, in fact; to worry about not being beautiful enough, and to think that he's so much easier on the eyes than you are--and what does he want with little old you, anyway?  Oh yes, I had confidence issues--just like Grace.  I hid (and still hide) behind my glasses, like my shy and sometimes awkward heroine.  All the feelings Grace has for Tom in the book were easy for me to write about, because I felt the same way about my guy back when I was an insecure teenager, back before I let myself believe that in his eyes I was beautiful enough.

When my husband and I graduated from high school in 1976 and went off to colleges that were separated by almost 900 miles, I wondered if the best part of my life was over.  (Tears were shed the day he left for Notre Dame, about a week before I departed for Holy Cross.  Copious tears.)  I was sure that he would meet a smarter, prettier version of not-me out in South Bend.  And what would that mean for my future? Well, then I would join the convent, I figured, because I had already made the determination that he was the only one for me.

Within a few months of arriving in Worcester I'd gained the famous "freshman ten" (the culprit was not really beer, but rather greasy slices of pizza eaten at midnight--accompanied by zero-calorie Tab, of course), while my main man remained Adonis-like; but my weight gain didn't seem to bother him.  Although we'd decided we weren't going to hold each other back from seeing who else might be "out there," our relationship deepened--we'd been friends first before we were boyfriend and girlfriend, and now we were best friends--through hand-written letters and late-night phone calls.  Then I added 10 more pounds my sophomore year, while at the same time experimenting with a short haircut that didn't suit me and new glasses the size of ski goggles.  And still, our relationship flourished.

This 1978 photo of us, taken at a friend's wedding reception the summer after our sophomore year of college,
 really does make me think of Tom and Grace.  My heart still skips a beat when I look at that handsome face of his. 
(And then I cringe a little when I look at mine, remembering how unlovely I felt when this was taken!)

Absence, in our case, really did make the heart grow fonder.  And by the end of our sophomore year, he knew what I'd known all along: that we were headed for marriage, and the only thing standing between us and the start of our life together was two more years of undergrad studies...900 miles apart.

But we persevered.  And we racked up enormous phone bills.  And we visited each other's campuses on our breaks, which were never the same weeks, and reconnected every Christmas and every summer vacation.  And I grew my hair out again.  And I stopped eating so much pizza, even though those extra 20 pounds were never a deal-breaker in his book.  And we did it, we made the long distance thing work.  And we had the happily-ever-after ending everyone roots for, when we were finally joined in Holy Matrimony--in the hometown where we'd met--in December of 1980.  And even though I've always felt I got the better end of the bargain, that saint I married, that guy who is the best helpmate I could have as I navigate the thorny path back to the Father who made us both, likes to say that he "married up."

Now what about Tom and Grace?  Does their story have a happy ending?

I guess you'll just have to read the book to find out!  ;)

(P.S. Finding Grace has a Facebook page now.  If you'd like to stop by there for a second and "like" it, you'll be my best friend forever.  Pinky swear.)

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

If you've been stopping by String of Pearls on Tuesdays lately, you might have seen Parts 1 and 2 of the "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" series, which I've been re-posting here at the book club.

I originally wrote this series of posts back in 2013 to explain which parts of my first novel, Finding Grace, were loosely based on my real life, and which were totally fictional.  I wrote them when this online book club was not even a twinkle in my eye yet.  But I think that they're a great fit for the Grace-filled Tuesdays "meetings" we've been having (and although they're technically not new posts, they might as well be, since they weren't seen by many readers when they were first published in my earlier days as a blogger!).

If you haven't read the first two re-posts and would like to get up to speed with the other club members, you can click here and then here.  Go ahead.  The rest of us will wait while you get caught up.

Okay then!  Now on to Part 3, which originally appeared as part of a What We're Reading Wednesday link-up post on October 16, 2013:


Recently, my husband and I were in our hometown for the funeral of his uncle, and we ran into our high school biology teacher (a woman I admired, and upon whom Grace Kelly's Latin teacher is very loosely based).  She told my husband that she'd seen my mother not long ago and that my mother had told her that my book is our story--as in the story of my husband and me and our high school romance.  Now, I don't want to give any spoilers for those of you who haven't read FG and might do so one day (fingers crossed!); but Grace Kelly and Tom Buckley's story is a far, far cry from ours.  My mother is not a liar; but as my husband told our old bio teacher, "If that's what she said, then she hasn't read it."  (I'm pretty sure this is the case, actually.)

I admit that when I set out to fashion a love interest for my heroine, I couldn't help but create a boy who resembled the one with whom I fell in love at the tender age of 15 and who has been my husband for going on 33 years now.  He's always been the only man for me, and therefore obviously my main character would be drawn to the same type!  So Tom Buckley is tall, handsome, athletic, smart, kind, funny, a good son, a devout Catholic--and he has a large space between his two front teeth.  These are all attributes he shares with my husband, who was my high school sweetheart.  Tom is patient, spending hours teaching athletically-challenged Grace how to ski; my husband did this for me when we were dating.  Tom is the high school class valedictorian; so was my husband (and the quotes from Tom's valedictory speech were taken from my husband's actual speech, with his permission).  But even with all of those similarities, as I got into the writing process Tom became a completely unique person to me (as did every other character who started out resembling someone I really knew).  And Tom is the baby in a family of 4 boys, unlike my husband, who is the second oldest in a family of 8 kids.

I wish I was more like my sweet little Grace Kelly, but trust me, I am not that good!  We do share some qualities: like Grace, I'm a bit klutzy and tend to spill things, I worry about saying the wrong thing and hurting someone's feelings, I suffer from a sometimes crippling lack of self-confidence, and I desperately want to figure out how to become a saint; but although I did grow up in an old house around the corner from the university campus in Plattsburgh, I didn't grow up with 5 older brothers.  Those 5 handsome, smart, athletic, momma-loving Kelly boys are loosely based on my own beloved sons.  And Grace's mother's tendency to favor the boys over Grace is based on a fear I used to have that, because I loved my sons so fiercely (and of course, boys was all I knew), if I'd had a daughter I might not feel the same way about her.  Having three granddaughters has set my mind at ease about that (oh, has it ever!), but when I wrote about Peggy, that's what I drew from.

There are a lot of people, incidents, and conversations in FG that were inspired by real life but were tweaked to fit my story.  After I'd been writing the book for about 3 years or so, I bought a copy of Jon Spence's Becoming Jane Austen, which I found on the Barnes & Noble clearance shelf.  Here are a couple of quotes from this incredible book that just jumped out at me, because--at the risk of putting my humble self in the same sentence with a literary giant like Austen--I thought, "Yes!  That's it!  That's what I'm doing here!"

"Jane wrote her early pieces for the amusement of her family and friends, and she put in shared jokes, teasing jibes, and allusions to real events in their lives."

"Austen is never autobiographical in the crude sense of recording what happened to her or to people she knew.  But a real situation was sometimes her starting point and developed in her imagination as something quite separate from the 'real'."

Case in point: on the day of my high school junior prom, I went over to the gym in the morning to help with last-minute decorations, and I fell backwards off a ladder.  I blacked out for just a moment, and I was left with a painful egg on the back of my head.  So Grace and I both attended our proms with eggs on our noggins, escorted by handsome gap-toothed dates.  But Grace never fell off a ladder--and if you want to know how she bumped her head, you'll have to read the book.  [Wink, wink.]

And with that little teaser, I think I'll sign off...


Until next time!  Stay tuned for Part 4, which I'll share at the next club "meeting."

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

At last Tuesday's "meeting," I re-ran an old post from 2013, all about Finding Grace, that was the first in a series titled "Where Fiction and Real Life Intersect."  (If you couldn't attend last week and would like to see what you missed, you can click here.)  The reason I decided to write this series in the first place was that I know people are always curious about whether or not authors use people and/or incidents from their real lives in their fiction.

Today, I'm going to give you the second installment in the "Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect" series.  So grab yourself a cup of coffee (I've got mine!), sit down in your comfiest reading chair, and join the club.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Where Real Life and Fiction Intersect (Part 2)

It's day 2 of 7 Posts in 7 Days--and so far, so good!

Over the weekend, I got some exciting news: Finding Grace was chosen as one of three finalists in the Young Adult Fiction category for an award called the Catholic Arts & Letters Award (or CALA). I was a bit blown away by the announcement, never believing when I sent in five copies of the book to the contest reviewers that it would make it this far.  The winner will be announced at a Catholic Writers Guild conference in NJ in a couple of  weeks--and it just so happens that I have already signed up to attend the first two days of the event, having been encouraged by both my husband and an author e-friend of mine that I should bust out of my shell of shyness and fear of all things new and just do it. On Sunday, I was laughing with my oldest son about pulling a Zoolander move--you know, preparing a big acceptance speech, jumping up on stage when they announce another author's title, starting to thank everyone...and then having to slink away in shame.  (Like I would EVER let that happen!) Really, though, winning would just be gravy at this point.  Or frosting.  Take your pick.

The news did make me feel like talking about my baby, though, so I thought today I'd give you another peek into "The Making of Finding Grace."

In the first installment of this series, I told you that like Grace, I lived right in the heart of Plattsburgh, around the corner from the college, and like Irene, my best friend lived out on the lake in Cumberland Head.  My house was an old two-story with a covered front porch (and a front porch swing!) and my best friend's was a one-story modern ranch.  But aside from where we lived and the type of homes we inhabited--and the fact that we had countless giggle-filled sleepovers--the two girls are not like us at all. Not physically or really in any other way.

The old homestead (note the swing at the porch's far right).  
I stopped my car when in town recently and snapped this, 
hoping the current owners wouldn't come out and
think I was some sort of creepy Internet stalker.

I do share Grace's shyness and lack of confidence, and the way she feels horrified if she knows she's hurt someone's feelings or put her foot in her mouth.  And like Grace, I was not given a middle name (and neither were my two sisters), and my dad's reasons for giving them to his sons but not his daughters were exactly the same as Jack Kelly's.  That first conversation in Chapter One between Grace and Jack was inspired by several similar discussions I had with my father during my formative years.  Particularly after a nasty run-in with my 6th grade teacher, Sister Juliet, who accused me of lying when I told her "Laura Harding" was my full name. "Everyone has a middle name!" she cried angrily.  (I'd go into the gritty details for you, but the incident left a sting that lingers to this day!  I was accused of being a liar in front of all my classmates. Someday I'll get over it!)*

Want to read more?  Click here for the rest of this post!

Peace and grace, dear readers!

Happy Birthday to Son #2

It's a two-fer today!!  Yes, we already had a "meeting" of the Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club this morning  here at the blog, but I'm back again (even though lately, I can hardly get myself to produce two blog posts in one week, let alone one day).  Because this Tuesday, there are more important people to celebrate than fictional characters in a novel. 

On this red letter day, 31 years ago, I gave birth to my second son.

There are not enough words to express how infinitely improved and enriched my life has been because he's been in it.  From the time he was very small, he had the gift of reading the feelings of those about him and having empathy for others, when often so many of those subtle vibes go over the heads of spirited little boys careening through rooms like speeding cars or flying superheros.  Although he was just as rough and tumble as any little fella, he also was--and is to this day--so very in tune with what's going on in the hearts and minds of those around him.  (Here's a tidbit that could have been added to today's book club post: the character of J.D. Kelly, one of Grace's older brothers, was very much inspired by this particular son.)

I know these traits have made him a wonderful son.  They also make him a wonderful high school teacher.  And now a wonderful husband and father.  I love him so much that when I think about him, I feel as if my heart will burst.

He's a new daddy now, with a son of his own; and my dearest hope for Junior is that he grows up to be as fine a man as the one he was named after.

Sr. and Jr., rocking the same sailor suit--31 years apart!

Happy Birthday, to the son who is my favorite on this date! 

He gives the best bear hugs!

I think we're practically twins.

Love you to the moon and back.

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

Back in 2013, long before I decided to start an on-line book club, I wrote a four-part series called "When Real Life and Fiction Intersect," wherein I discussed different aspects of my first novel, Finding Grace.  Since it's Fat Tuesday today, and I plan to spend most of my free time preparing a special dinner feast for my husband and myself, I thought I'd resort to re-posting the first segment of that series today.

WHERE REAL LIFE AND FICTION INTERSECT (PART I)

(Originally posted in July of 2013, about a year after Finding Grace was published.)

An author e-friend of mine named Amy M. Bennett* (who was kind enough to leave an endorsement of Finding Grace on my Amazon page) recently posted the above quote on her Facebook page, and I just had to share it here.  It's so true! Although there can't help but be some autobiographical elements in works of fiction (particularly in an author's first novel), my main character, Grace Kelly, is definitely not me, and her story is not my story.  I'd tell you one glaring difference in the way our stories turned out right now, but that might spoil the book for those of you who haven't read it yet.(Hey, if you haven't read it and you'd like to get your hands on a copy, e-mail me and we'll talk.  I can send you a signed copy for lower than the Amazon price and I'd love to hear from you!)

Anyhoo--

I thought it might be kind of fun to do a little series here on the blog, outlining the characters who were inspired in part by people I actually know or knew, but over the course of the four-and-a-half-year writing process completely took on a life of their own, as well as the places, events, and other elements in the book that come from true experiences I've had, versus the things that are completely made up (as well as the things that sort of happened, but were tweaked and used in a different way to fit my story).

It can be like one of those "The Making of" extras that come with DVD's sometimes--those short films that give the viewer a better idea of the process the writer, director, actors, and producers went through to create the movie.  It will be a "The Making of Finding Grace" blogumentary (is that a word?), in installments, for those of you who are interested

Would you like to keep reading?  If so, click here for the full post.

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

Okay, before I begin, I thought I'd share a new meme that I'm working on for the book club.  I've still got some kinks to work out (because I don't really know what I'm doing!), such as inserting the blog address into the image.  But for now, this is how it looks.

Many of you who read this blog are probably well aware that this is Catholic Schools Week.  So in honor of celebrating these fine institutions and the good work they do in helping to form the minds, hearts, and souls of our youth, I thought I'd share some snippets from an email I received from a young Catholic school student not too long ago.  She is an 8th-grader at one of the Tampa Catholic schools I visited in January.  She was able to get in touch with me because I handed out some business cards with contact information on them, in case any of the kids wanted answers to any questions that hadn't been asked during my presentation.  (I wrote briefly about the experience of speaking to my nieces' and nephew's--the triplets'--class, as well as several other 5th through 8th grade classes, here, if you'd like to read that.)

The incredibly articulate young lady who wrote to me had read Finding Grace, devouring it during a four-day stretch, and deemed it her "favorite book by far"--something that was both gratifying and humbling to hear.

I have been fortunate to receive a good deal of positive feedback since Finding Grace was published in 2012--people have in general been very kind.  But some of the comments from this satisfied reader touched me more than any I'd heard before; her insights were so sharp and so well expressed, especially coming from such a young person.  (Reading through her email just made me more convinced than ever that Catholic schools are doing an amazing job and are worth every penny that parents sacrifice to spend on them!)

My young pen pal aspires to be a writer herself, so I was especially thrilled to be able to correspond personally with her, and to share a bit of information about how the story and characters for this novel came about and then evolved over the years that I worked on the book

[Before I proceed any further, I should warn you that there are some spoilers for my novel Finding Grace coming up.  So if you plan to read it and don't want any hints about how it ends, you should probably stop here.]

I loved her comments on the various characters, who had become dear friends to me during the writing process.  It pleased me enormously that she not only liked Grace, Tom, and Jimmy, who aren't perfect, but are basically very good and relatively uncomplicated teens who never go too far astray; but she also identified with/had empathy for Irene and Kate, two sisters with very human flaws who commit the same grave sin, but then make different decisions afterward--with life-altering consequences.  Although I loved Grace, with her shyness, lack of confidence, and desire to mimic the saints, I loved the misguided Pomeroy sisters, too.  Kate changes so much in the course of the book that in the end, it appears she has won the heart of one of Grace's brothers.  (And I couldn't love those Kelly boys more, as they were definitely inspired by my own five sons!)  Of Kate, my young reader had this to say: "As she matured into a responsible adult, I felt pride, because she became selfless and accountable for her actions."  Yes!  That is exactly how I felt about Kate, and the way the book ended for her was almost as important to me as the way it ended for Grace.

One of my favorite comments in this young reader's email was, "Don't get me started on Tom and Sully!"  She said that they were the type of friends she hoped to make in high school next year, because "They were able to have fun, but follow God's teachings at the same time, a true talent!"  She loved those "two trouble makers," and I did, too.  I always knew which one Grace would end up with (that much, at least, never changed, even though the plot ended up going in different directions than I'd thought it would at the outset); but it was funny to me how many readers early on (including my publisher!) said they secretly hoped she was going to end up with the other guy.

My husband and I have always been strongly Team Tom.  If you've read the book, do tell: which team are you on?  Team Tom, or Team Sully?

Tom My husband (also my high school boyfriend) and I, on his 16th birthday.

As I typed away in my basement office, from August 2007 through December 2011, I kept telling myself (and my husband) that if this book helped even one impressionable teen to grow in the Faith or to make a better decision than some of my struggling characters, then I would die a happy author.  "In a way, it has shaped my decision making and thoughts on the Church as I've read it," wrote this young reader.  "Subconsciously, I found myself asking, 'What would Grace do in this situation?'" Thank you, God, for this concrete evidence that the one goal I had in mind when I set out to write my first novel has been accomplished!

In closing, this thoughtful 8th-grader told me that Finding Grace is "a model for what I want my novels to do: impact young readers and bring them closer to our Father."   The idea that someday, this budding future author will write novels with that purpose in mind, and that she will do so in part because she was inspired by Finding Grace...well, dear readers, my heart is so full thinking about this.  I feel that any purpose for my own books has already been fulfilled--and then some.

I thoroughly enjoyed corresponding with this reader, and I would love to answer any questions you have for me as well.  Just look for the "EMAIL ME" button on the side bar, and send me a message.  I promise I'll get back to you!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #12)

Okay, it's Tuesday.  And you know, of course, that Tuesday's child is full of Grace...and Erin!  (Hardee har har.)  So here we are, book clubbin'.

I do think I'm going to have to work on a new meme for Grace-filled Tuesdays.  I'm not sure that this one is snazzy enough.  Here's one that I always loved over at Housewifespice.

It's got that great vintage look about it, and it's a very easy to recognize image.

Mine is...meh.  So-so.  (And I forgot to put the // after the http, so the Internet address is not even technically correct!)  My design team is on it, though. Look for a better meme the next time we meet.

I recently found a YouTube video showing how to make a Christmas tree out of a paperback book, so I decided to try it with a copy of Erin's Ring.  I ended up not being as impressed by the final product as I thought I was going to be, so I never added the ribbons and glitter.  And I'm not going to waste any more of the author copies I've bought from the publisher--even though it's very "circle of life": from a tree, to a book, back to a tree again.

Speaking of Erin's Ring, I was thrilled to see it mentioned in a print publication, an actual paper-and-ink magazine (something that surely doesn't happen every day!).  Catholic Library World featured a number of Catholic publishing houses in its December 2015 issue, and Bezalel Books (the publisher of both Erin's Ring and Finding Grace) was included.  Among other Bezalel works, Erin's Ring got a nice shout-out.

I told you that earlier in the month, when I spoke to some Catholic school students (including the eighth grade class of my nephew and two nieces--triplets!), once we got to the Q and A part of the presentation, the kids got pretty quiet.  Hands were not exactly shooting up in the air.  I thought I'd sort of blown it with them.  But my sister-in-law (the triplets' mom) called me recently and said that she'd eavesdropped on one of her daughters and a classmate, while she was driving them to a basketball game in her van, and my niece's friend was talking about Finding Grace.  This friend told my niece that once I'd come to visit their class, she suddenly felt that it was time to finally read it.  A teacher had recommended it to her long ago, but she hadn't gotten around to it yet.

My sister-in-law was giddy relating the details of the girls' conversation to me.  This young reader claimed that Finding Grace was one of her favorite books of all time.  For four days, she couldn't put it down; and when she finished, she wished it hadn't come to an end.  To say that this made my day would be a gross understatement!  Those are just the kind of words an author yearns to hear--especially a Catholic author who dearly hoped that she would be able to reach and inspire impressionable young people through the medium of fiction.

And book clubs are a great medium for discussing fiction.  So I'll ask you a question, dear readers: if you've read either Finding Grace or Erin's Ring, did you have a favorite character?  Why did you like him or her so much?

And do you have any questions for me?  Don't be shy now, ask me anything you want.

Okay then, until next time, I hope your life will be filled with blessings and grace.  And plenty of good books!

[Peanut Butter &] Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #11)

I've said it before here at String of Pearls, and I'll say it again: this blog has brought me so many opportunities, blessings, and even friendships that I never would have experienced had I not taken the plunge almost five years ago.  I have my first daughter-in-law to thank for making me a blogger; she's the one who suggested the idea, feeling sure it was something I would enjoy.  Well, she was right.

One thing that always amazes and surprises me is when, out of the blue, I receive an email from someone who has stumbled upon my humble little blog and asks me if I would be willing to use it as a tool to spread the word about their products or websites (and they're always wonderful Catholic products and websites).  This doesn't happen often, mind you.  Since I set up shop here on the Internet, I can count the number of times this has happened to me on one hand.  But when it does, I get excited because I look at it as a way to evangelize about our glorious Catholic Faith.

So today I'm going to tell you about a new Catholic micropublisher that reached out to me not too long ago, called Peanut Butter & Grace.  And because yesterday was Tuesday, and that's book club day...instead of a Grace-filled Tuesdays meeting, we're going to call this one "Peanut Butter & Grace-filled Tuesdays."  (I know it's Wednesday; but it seems that lately I'm always a day late and a dollar short.)

When PB & G asked me to look over their site to see if there was a book I might be interested in reviewing for the blog, I chose their picture book for children titled The Little Flower, A Parable of Saint Therese of Lisieux.  But it was still in production, so they kindly sent me a two-book set instead: Sense of the Sacred, A Coloring Book for Young Illuminators by Dominic de Souza, along with its companion, a book of beautifully-illustrated prayers.

A young illuminator can use the full-color illustrations in the prayer book as a guide and try to recreate them in the coloring book, if he or she so desires.

These books are not only perfect for inspiring young artists, but they also teach many traditional but lesser-known Catholic prayers that they might have never learned before, such as "Mary, Help of Christians," "Prayer Before an Image of the Sacred Heart," "Christ, King of the Universe," and "St Patrick's Breastplate."  This set would make such a great addition to any Catholic school or homeschool art and/or religion curriculum--not to mention any Catholic home with youngsters in it.

I was just getting ready to blog about the Sense of the Sacred books when I got word that a paperback copy of the much-anticipated PB & G children's book about St. Therese was on its way to me.  When we got home from our latest trip south to visit with three of our sons and their wives (and our two grandsons!), it was waiting for me in the mountain of mail that had accumulated while we were away.  I tore through the packaging.  (What can I say?  St. Therese is a saint to whom I am very attached and about whom I get very excited!)

Here it is,  PB & G's The Little Flower, A Parable of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

Look at that sweet cover artwork!  Doesn't it just make you want to find out what's inside?

What's inside is more of the same: dreamy, ethereal watercolor illustrations accompany the story of Therese's childhood aspirations to become a saint.  "She knew that because she was little, she could not do big things for Jesus...Therese wanted to do great things for Jesus, too.  But how could someone so little do great things?"

This engaging and endearing book, lovingly written by Becky Arganbright and beautifully illustrated by Tracey Arvidson, tells young readers how Jesus spoke to Therese's heart, using a parable.  He assured her that in His garden, the humble little pansy is no less important or beautiful than the grand orchid.  Therese realized that she might be little, "but that did not make her any less important to the Gardener."

Children who read this book will learn why Saint Therese is often referred to as "The Little Flower," and they'll come to understand her "Little Way"--a way that even the smallest and humblest among us can follow.  They will realize that every kind of flower has its place in God's garden and know that no matter how small they are, Jesus sees them and appreciates the unique gifts they have to offer.

I just visited the PB & G website and saw that if you order The Little Flower, A Parable of Saint Therese of Lisieux by December 14, you could receive your copy in time for Christmas gift-giving.  So if you have a young reader/saint-in-the-making on your list, head on over there now, before it's too late.  (The book is also available on Amazon.)

(Quick plug here: you could also get Erin's Ring, a Catholic novel for the YA crowd and up, in time for Christmas.  Head on over to Amazon and order your copy now!)

Before I sign off, I want to thank the kind folks at Peanut Butter & Grace from the bottom of my heart for sending me these inspirational books, which I plan to share with my growing brood of beloved, book-loving grandchildren.  It has been my privilege to share the good work you're doing with my readers.

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #10): Catholic Mom Article

I am WOEFULLY behind when it comes to keeping up with this blog.  Life on the road is not conducive to blogging, I've decided.  And this travelin' Grammy has been on the road a lot lately (but what's new about that?!).

If String of Pearls is to be a well-kept eScrapbook that chronicles my family's important life events (which is one of the main reasons I started it in the first place), I have to do a better job of covering those events! There were some very important birthdays in our family on Sept. 30, and another important one yesterday; and I have plans for a birthday post of epic proportions (truly, it will be epic--wait until you see it!). 

But that birthday extravaganza is going to have to wait until tomorrow; because another thing I'm behind on is my online book club, Grace-filled Tuesdays.  I'm not sure it has any members, besides the usual suspects (hi, husband!) who check in here religiously, but I'm determined to keep up with it nonetheless!  For aside from cataloguing my family's memories, this blog is also one of the few marketing weapons I have in my arsenal; and I feel I have a duty to try to get the word out about my two Catholic novels, Finding Grace and Erin's Ring.

I still sometimes can't believe that I was able to get those two books written, and that they were actually published.  I am well aware that those things wouldn't have happened if God hadn't meant them to.  And because both of my Catholic YA novels show the beauty of the Faith and give glory to Our Lord and His Blessed Mother, I believe they can be a positive influence in the lives of young readers.  But they can only do good in the world if people know they exist.  So as much as promoting my own work goes against the shy and introverted grain of my God-given personality, I am here today to humbly implore you to help me spread the word about Finding Grace and Erin's Ring.

Did you know that Erin's Ring wouldn't have ever seen the light of day if the president of Bezalel Books, Cheryl Dickow, hadn't approached me with the offer to write a second YA novel for her company?  It was not a book I intended to write; I had decided that I was probably a one book wonder (and I use the term loosely, because "wonder" implies that my first novel, Finding Grace, was a monster hit that earned me fame and fortune, which is certainly not the case!).  But God had other plans for me.

If you're interested in learning more about how Erin's Ring came to be, on Sept. 25 the folks at CatholicMom.com posted a short article I submitted in the "Book Notes" section of their website. Here's a link to that article if you're interested.

Erin's Ring is tailor-made for Catholic classrooms (there's even a glossary in the back!).  Just ask these happy campers, a group of Chicago fourth-graders I had the pleasure to meet last May.

Perhaps your Catholic school or homeschool would like to add this sweet historical novel to its reading, history, or religion curriculum, too.  Depending on the time and the distance, I might even be persuaded to come and talk to the kids.  (Gulp!  Yes, I just volunteered to speak in public...)

Now before I go, I want to announce a giveaway.  Leave me a comment by Oct. 31, and you could win a free signed copy of Erin's Ring.

Meeting adjourned!

Grace-filled Tuesdays (Book Club "Meeting" #9)



It's book club day!  Welcome!

So, to start things off...I just visited the Barnes & Noble website and came across this 5-star reader review for Erin's Ring (written by a gal who goes by "Catholicmum"--love it!).  Apparently, it was posted 143 days ago, but I saw it for the first time this morning.  I thought since it's book club day, I'd share it here at the blog:

Laura Pearl writes a wonderful novel that will be enjoyed by both adults and teens alike.
She blends in the rich history of life in a New Hampshire town in 19th century America and then describes life for a 13-year-old Molly, a member of a large, Irish Catholic family.
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There's joy and sorrow interwoven in the pages, and of course, there's the mystery surrounding the Claddagh ring. Mrs. Pearl possesses a wonderful, heartwarming ability to tell a story, keeping the reader's attention. I look forward to additional novels from her.

Mrs. Pearl also describes the importance of faith and its role in people's lives. The beauty of the friendship between Molly and  Theresa highlights the importance of opening one's heart to others, particularly people who are undergoing trials.

Reviews like that completely warm my heart, I'll tell you. They remind me that it doesn't matter if my books sell a lot of copies or if they garner a lot of accolades; if they touch the heart of just one reader, that's enough.

When I started writing Finding Grace in 2007, I had a different sort of story in mind than you'd find in most modern mainstream novels.  I wanted to leave something behind for my grandchildren, something that would show them the beauty of their Catholic Faith and hopefully inspire them to swim against the tide and fight the good fight in an increasingly secular world.  I was going to run off copies for them; that was the extent of my ambition.  But my husband and one of my sons had bigger plans for that book, and they encouraged me to send the manuscript to Bezalel Books, where it was published in 2012.  And without Finding Grace,  there would be no Erin's Ring, because the first book led directly to the second.

Sometimes I'm completely amazed that I've had two books published. (I'm pinching myself--and OW!--I guess I'm awake.  So my wildest dreams have come true, and then some.)  But I know it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't meant to happen, if God didn't have some special plan in mind for those books.  I may not ever know what that plan is during this lifetime, but I believe there is one.

In the meantime, I have been given marching orders by Cheryl Dickow, the publisher at Bezalel; knowing my reticence when it comes to the marketing and promotion of my work, she has encouraged me to "be brave, be bold."  It's not about me, she reminds me; it's about using fiction as an evangelization tool.  It's about trying to spread the Word of God through the medium of an entertaining story. So...

Okay then, now I'm going to show you how brave and bold I am:  If you are a teacher or a parent of middle school, junior high, or high school students, and you think your school would be interested in using Erin's Ring in their religion, history, or reading curriculum, I might be able to work it out so that I could come for a classroom visit.  I did this for my niece's fourth-graders last May, and it was a wonderful experience.  I am able to travel more easily than your average Joe, due to the perks of my husband's job; and since becoming an empty-nesting grandmother, I have overcome a formerly crippling fear of flying.  My husband and I do a lot of traveling to see our kids and grandkids--but I just might be able to squeeze in a side trip to most locations in the Continental US.

Please notice the "Commas Save Lives" t-shirt in the background!

Just thought I'd throw that out there.  :)  :O

Okay, before I go, here's a book club question for you: what's your favorite genre of fiction (YA, historical fiction, romance, sci-fi, etc.)?  I love historical fiction and 19th-century literature--and actually, just about any genre but sci-fi or fantasy.

Until next time, happy reading!