Yearly Archives: 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I won’t be blogging over the next few days since I’ll be out of town at a Thanksgiving celebration. You know, in my lifetime, I’ve never had to cook Thanksgiving dinner! I’ve always enjoyed the holiday with friends or family. I’ve never cooked a turkey before in my entire life!

However, I was asked to contribute desserts. Sweet potato pies are baking in the oven right now, and tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn, I’ll be making one of my favorite treats, lemon pound cake!

I did sign the contract for Barbour and put that into the mail, so I was glad to get that done. I should be seeing some advance money shortly!

Here’s to all the people reading this blog entry: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cecelia Dowdy

Sticks And Stones By Susan Meissner

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Sticks and Stones (a Rachel Flynn Mystery) by Susan Meissner

(Paperback)

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Pub. Date: January 2007
ISBN-13: 9780736919159
300pp

From Amazon.com
Book Description

Critically acclaimed author Susan Meissners Rachael Flynn mystery series started with the popular Widows and Orphans. In the second serving of intrigue, Sticks and Stones, lawyer Rachael Flynn receives an unsigned, heart-stopping letter:

They’re going to find a body at the Prairie Bluff construction site. He deserved what he got, but it wasn’t supposed to happen. It was an accident.

When the body is uncovered, Rachael and Detective Will Pendleton discover that the fifteen-year old victim, Randall Buckett, had been buried twenty-five years before. Is the letter writer and the killer the same person? Why would someone speak up now? And why are they telling Rachael?

Susan Meissners ability to weave a fascinating tale will leave readers wanting more.

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To tell you the truth, I don’t believe I’ve ever read a cozy mystery. I’m not sure if this would be categorized as a cozy, but it reminds me a little bit of the way a cozy is defined.

This book was good, and it was suspenseful without being too scary. Also, although the characters were Christians, it wasn’t a very preachy book. I think people who read secular fiction would enjoy this book a lot, too.

One thing that happened in this story reminded me of the Brandilyn Collins novel, Eyes of Elisha – Rachael has a supernatural ability from God to sense danger, it’s an ability she realizes she’s received since the birth of her child.

As you read the story, you’ll find yourself sympathizing with the children Bucky tormented twenty-five years ago. You’ll find yourself drawn into the story, mesmerized, wanting to know who sent Rachael the three letters tipping her off about the death a quarter of a century later.

There are also some secondary characters that provide comic relief to this serious mystery. You have Trace, Rachael’s artistic husband, as well as Trace’s artistic cronies. Trace and his friends give their opinions using words and drawings to imagine what might have happened to Ronald Buckett.

Rachael’s uncanny ability is tested when she realizes that something dreadful has happened in the cellar of a house in Bucky’s neighborhood. The house has been burned down long ago, and is now replaced by another dwelling. However, although the serious crime happened long ago, Racheal can still sense that there was pain and anguish behind Bucky’s death.

This is a good read to grab for a rainy day, when you just want to curl up in front of the fire with an intriguing and suspenseful story.

Cecelia Dowdy

African-American Novels By White Authors

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I came across these books in my messy basement. They’re old Heartsong Presents titles that I read years ago, back when I was still in the Heartsong Presents book club. Although these books have African-American characters, the authors are Caucasian. I recall I enjoyed them back when I read them, and I thought the authors did a great job of portraying the African-American characters.

The reason I’m blogging about this is because I’m just expanding on what I blogged about a few days (or was it a week?) ago about Marilynn Griffith (an African-American Christian fiction author) writing a novel with Asian characters.

I feel it takes a fair amount of talent to write a novel having main characters of another race.

I’m planning on reading through my contract over the next day or so and get that in the mail to my publisher. Only reason I haven’t gotten to it yet is because of the line edits I had to do for my manuscript. I’ve sent that in. Hopefully I won’t have to read the book again, but we’ll see.

***Update added March 20, 2009. I don’t have this novel in my possession, but an email from a reader prompted me to update this post. Heartsong Presents also published a novel called Soft Beats My Heart by Aleesha Carter – this is a pen name for multi-published inspirational White romance author Loree Lough. Loree’s great! She helped me out with my writing when I submitted my novel to Steeple Hill Love Inspired years ago! I even mentioned her in the dedication!

Cecelia Dowdy

Michael Hauge Workshop

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Yesterday, one of my local writers groups, Washington Romance Writers (WRW) hosted a workshop with screenwriter Michael Hauge. Although his techniques are for scripts, you can also incorporate these techniques into novels. I learned some really great stuff and I took PAGES of notes. I look forward to using the stuff I learned when I pen my next novel.

Since I received my rejection last Friday, I decided to go fishing.

Cecelia Dowdy

Terri Blackstock’s Cape Refuge Series

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I found some old books lying around my basement. This was one of them:

I enjoyed reading this book, and the others in the series. If you like a good suspenseful book then you should check out this series. The stories grabbed me, and didn’t want to let me go! I read them a long time ago, so I can’t give a full analysis like I usually do. Just suffice to say that there’s usually a murder or dead body in each story! So check out Terri Blackstock’s Cape Refuge Series. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Enjoy!

Cecelia Dowdy

Mark 16:9-20

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While doing my daily Bible reading, I read the following recently. I thought this scripture was powerful (Mark 16:9-20):

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

The Great Commission

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Christ Ascends to God’s Right Hand

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Pink by Marilynn Griffith

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Pink (Shades of Style) (Paperback)
by Marilynn Griffith

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Revell (February 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800730402
ISBN-13: 978-0800730406

From Amazon.com
Book Description
Meet Raya Joseph, the creative head designer at an up-and-coming new fashion design firm. Like employees of any fledgling company, Raya and her fellow designers face a variety of challenges–especially when it comes to bringing in business. So when they are hired to design a million-dollar wedding gown, these talented and animated designers are thrilled. But there’s one catch. The new customer is the woman who stole Raya’s fianc. Meanwhile, Flex Dunham, an athletic trainer who coaches a charity basketball team, needs team uniforms and soon finds himself in Raya’s shop. Raya hasn’t looked at a man since her engagement fiasco, so when Flex walks into her office, things get a little complicated. The entertaining first novel in the Shades of Style series, Pink offers a perfect mix of likeable characters, sweet drama, humor, and a little bit of romance.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I also loved the way the author made the reader aware about how AIDS really affects our lives. AIDS/HIV is something that I don’t really read much about in Christian fiction.

Raya is hurting. She’s been jilted by her ex-fiancé and she’s also estranged from her wealthy parents. As she desperately tries to make a living as a fashion designer, her friend, Chenille, introduces her to Flex: a personal trainer and a Christian man. The sexual tension between this couple is very strong, and Flex has issues of his own that he’s dealing with. Also estranged from his wealthy parent, both Flex and Raya are trying to make a living on their own, without using the vast wealth of their fathers.

Raya and Flex’s love grows during her early morning training sessions at the gym, and while she assists Flex with coaching his boy’s basketball team. Raya joyously spends time with the young men and especially connects with Jay, an AIDS orphan. As the story unfolds, you’ll find that Flex and Raya are connected in a very unique, surprising, and God-filled way!

Here’s something I never do when I talk about a book. I’m going to quote a couple of sentences from the book that I loved! I guess I loved these sentences because I love sweets so much? I’m not sure, but I love the way the author described this sunset.

From page 254:
The sun dipped below the horizon like a lemon cookie in a bowl of rainbow sherbet. Hues of melon and pink spread across the sky as though God was painting by number.

Those sentences were amazingly tasty and picturesque! I wanted to eat the sun!

Also, if you recall, I blogged about Cami Tang’s book awhile back. I’d mentioned that was the only Christian fiction novel I’d read with Asian characters.

Well, book two in the Shades Of Style series, Jade, has Asian characters.

Which brings me to another topic, people of different nationalities writing about different races. Marilynn is African-American and her second Shades Of Style book has Asian characters. As a matter of fact, each book focuses on a person of a different race:

I remember Marilynn spoke briefly about this at the ACFW 2006 conference in Dallas. It was an interesting discussion. I think it would be hard for me to write an entire novel where the main characters are Asian. I’m not sure if I could portray him/her authentically. However, I’m pretty sure I could pen a novel with Caucasian characters fairly easily. If anybody has read any of the books in the Shades Of Style series, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about them. I enjoyed the first one, and I’ll probably be reading the others sometime in the future.

Cecelia Dowdy