Book Notes: Erin's Ring Wins Two Catholic Press Association Awards

Editor's note: I've read this historical novel by Laura Pearl. It's a YA novel that will appeal to young women 13 and up. Full of links from the past to the present and fascinating historical detail, Erin's Ring will leave the reader looking for more stories of the present-day protagonists as well as the New England mill girls they studied as part of a school project. As to the ring, it's a detail that will surprise the reader at the very end!--Barb

This past June, I got the exciting news that my second novel, Erin’s Ring (published in November of 2014), was the recipient of two book awards from the Catholic Press Association at their gathering in Buffalo, NY: 2nd Place in Books for Teens and Young Adults, and 3rd Place in Catholic Novels. I was both thrilled and humbled by this news, and above all hoped that it might help to get this wholesome, faith-filled novel into the hands of the young readers for whom I wrote it.

A full-time stay-at-home mom since the early 80’s, I never thought I’d write two novels in my lifetime, much less see one of them recognized by the CPA; and I know that I have one Person, and one Person only, to thank for this writing career that was once only a dream of mine. For without Him, none of this would have been possible.

Actually, I have a couple of other people to thank: my wonderful husband, of course—he’s the best cheerleader a gal could ask for; and Cheryl Dickow, the publisher at Bezalel Books, who gave me an offer I ultimately couldn’t refuse.

Bezalel Books had published my first novel, Finding Grace (a pro-life, coming-of-age novel geared at older teens), in July of 2012. Then last spring, Cheryl decided to take a chance on me when she approached me with the opportunity to write a second YA novel for her company. We were heading into a very busy year (the wedding of a son, the birth of a grandson, and travels hither and yon to see our kids and grandkids), and I just didn’t think I had time to write a book; but I prayed about it, Cheryl prayed about it, and my husband had utmost confidence that I could do it. So I took that leap of faith.

The first thing Cheryl did when I signed the contract for Erin’s Ring was to take it to the Adoration chapel at her church. With a start like that, anything was surely possible!

I truly believe that Erin’s Ring, which is part historical fiction and tells the story of the impact a group of 19^th-century Irish-Catholic immigrants had on a small New Hampshire town, would be a perfect addition to the history, religion, or reading curriculum of any Catholic middle school, junior high, or high school. I pray that the CPA recognition will help to spread the word about it, so that it can have a positive impact on Catholic classrooms.

The Kindle version of Erin’s Ring will be coming at a later date. But for now, it is available at Amazon in paperback format only. The beautiful cover artwork makes it a real treat to hold in your hands, and it would make an excellent Christmas gift for the young reader—or even the Catholic mom!—in your life.

Slainté!

About the author:

Laura H. Pearl is happily married to her high school sweetheart, with whom she raised five grown sons. She is the author of two award-winning YA Catholic novels, Finding Grace (Bezalel Books, 2012) and Erin’s Ring (Bezalel Books, 2014). Pearl resides in Dover, NH, the hometown of her boys that provides the rich setting for Erin’s Ring. She thoroughly loves being a “Grammy” and blogs at String of Pearls (http://mumsie2five.blogspot.com).

Be sure to check out our Book Notes archive.

When you purchase Laura Pearl's books through any of the Amazon affiliate links in this post, you support the work we do at CatholicMom.com at no extra cost to you!