Yearly Archives: 2008

The Winners!

The following blog readers have claimed these books:
Heaven Sent by Jillian Hart (A Love Inspired Inspirational romance) – Amanda
In High Places by Tom Morrisey (A Christian/inspirational novel that takes place in the seventies) – Tonye
Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge (A Christian novel) – Robin Bayne
Pink by Marilynn Griffith (A Christian romance novel) – Barb C.

There were no takers for the following novels:
The Pastor’s Woman by Jacquelin Thomas (A Kimani Sweet romance)
Married Under The Mistletoe by Linda Goodnight (A Harlequin Sweet romance)

Those two are still up for grabs for anybody who wants them!

Cecelia Dowdy

Free Books!


I’m giving away the following novels. I’ll be doing this with books I have around my house that I’ve already read, but don’t want to keep! I’m running out of room in my house and I need to get rid of these books! I VERY RARELY read books twice.

Here is the partial list. I’ll be listing more later on this week or next week. If you’re interested, just leave a comment on this blog entry about why you want the book, and let me know which book you’re interested in. Limit one per person. I’m also paying the postage to send the books to you, so they are absolutely free to you. Also, you’ll need to leave a way for me to contact you so that I can get your mailing address. Again, these books are NOT new, but used! I’ll choose from the commenters as to who gets the novels:

The Pastor’s Woman by Jacquelin Thomas (A Kimani Sweet romance)
Married Under The Mistletoe by Linda Goodnight (A Harlequin Sweet romance)
Heaven Sent by Jillian Hart (A Love Inspired Inspirational romance)
In High Places by Tom Morrisey (A Christian/inspirational novel that takes place in the seventies)
Boo Humbug by Rene Gutteridge (A Christian novel)
Pink by Marilynn Griffith (A Christian romance novel)

I’ve reviewed MOST of these books on my blog. If you’re interested in finding out more about the titles, just do a search on my blog for the title and the author.

The Rita Award!

There was a large Fed Ex box sitting outside my door when I returned home from work yesterday. It was addressed to me, so I opened it and found the pile of books to judge for the RWA’s annual RITA award contest. I’d forgotten that I’d signed up to judge this contest. A lot of the titles are inspirational. I think I have a total of eight books to read.

I’d better get started if I want to have them read by the deadline! In order to get finished in time, I’ll need to put the novels Flabbergasted, The Whitney Chronicles, and the Brandilyn Collins book aside to finish later.

Cecelia Dowdy

Inquiring Minds Want To Know…

I received the following question from Erica:

What steps should a first time writer take once they’ve completed their manuscript?

This is a very open-ended question. I can only speak from my experiences, plus, what I’ve heard other authors advise at writers’ conferences and on writers’ loops. The first thing you need to do is make sure your manuscript is the best that it can be before you submit it to an editor or agent. Do you have a critique group or partner who can look over a few chapters or the entire novel? Do you have a published author friend who can give his/her opinion? If so, take advantage of those resources to ensure your manuscript is grammatically correct and well-written.

Also, if you haven’t done so already, it would be to your benefit to join a writers organization. If this is a Christian fiction novel, the best organization out there for Christian fiction novelists is American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). ACFW also has some local chapters so you may be able to take advantage of meeting others in your area that share your writing interests. Also, by joining this organization, you may be able to find a critique group or partner who may help you polish your manuscript.

However, if you feel your manuscript is fully polished and ready to submit to publishers, then you need to determine where you’d like to submit your manuscript. The first thing you need to do is check out the submission guidelines for the major publishing houses. Does your manuscript fit the wordcount of any of the publishers? Also, would your story suit the publishers’ needs. For example, you wouldn’t submit a romance novel to a publisher that only publishes fantasy or mysteries. Before you submit to a publisher, be sure to read several books that that publisher has released so that you can get a feel for the tone and type of stories they may be looking for.

You can also glean lots of advice by attending writers conferences. There are several Christian writers conferences all over the US. However, the best one for fiction is ACFW’s annual conference.

Also, the Christian fiction market is getting extremely competitive. More and more publishing houses are not even looking at submissions unless you have a literary agent. So, depending on the house you want to target, you may want to search for a literary agent. I don’t have an agent right now. I’ve been searching for one off and on for about a year, and the process can be a long and daunting one, however, it may be a necessary step in order to pursue publication. The books that I’ve sold so far, I’ve done it on my own, without having an agent. However, I want to write bigger women’s fiction books. In order to submit to the houses that may want these bigger, more complex stories, I’ll need to have a literary agent.

Another option that some authors pursue is self-publication. I am not a self-published author, so this is not something I can give extensive advice about. However, if you want to pursue this route, the only basic advice I can give is to pursue self-publication after you’ve exhausted all other options. If you’ve had your manuscript professionally edited, and somebody reputable has already confirmed you have an excellently-written project, and you’ve been rejected by all publishers and agents who you thought may like your project, then you may pursue self-publication? (Again, remember, I have no experience with this.) Also, keep in mind that self-publication will require that you use your own funds for publishing your story, and that your marketing efforts will need to be more aggressive and intense since self-pubbed titles aren’t usually included in bookstores unless the author solicits to the bookstore to carry their title.

You might also start another project while you’re shopping your manuscript around. Don’t just stop with one story…write other stories! When you do submit your manuscript around, let the publisher/editor/agent know that you’re currently working on another manuscript. This way, they’ll know that you have more than one book inside of you.

I invite questions and comments about the advice I’ve given.

Cecelia Dowdy

Book Clubs

No, I’m not talking about a group of women getting together and discussing a book. I’m talking about getting a shipment of books from a publisher in the mail every so often since you’ve agreed to purchase the novels.

A weird thing happened to me over the past week. I received a free book from Love Inspired, with paperwork to entice me to rejoin the book club. I used to be a member around the time my novel was to be released.

Then, a couple of days later, I received an snail mail advertisement from Barbour, wanting me to join the Heartsong Presents book club.

Then, the next day, I received another snail mail advertisement from Barbour, wanting me to join the new Mystery book club that just started recently. I blogged about this book club a few days ago.

Well, to top it all off, the day before I received the advertisement from Barbour for their Heartsong Presents book club, I joined both the Heartsong and Mystery book clubs online.

The timing of it all was just weird! I joined both HP and Mystery book clubs on Sunday night, receive snail mailed advertisement to join HP on Monday, and then I received snail mail advertisement to join the mystery book club on Tuesday!

There’s just so many good books out there, and I wish I had time to read them all. Right now, I’m reading a Brandilyn Collins book, and I’m also reading The Whitney Chronicles.

Later!

Cecelia Dowdy

Long Trail To Love by Pamela Griffin


Long Trail To Love by Pamela Griffin
Publisher: Barbour Publishing (Heartsong Presents)

ISBN: 9781597896177

Binding: Mass Market

Pages: 176 pages

From the Heartsong Presents website:
Carly loses her faithless boyfriend, her job, and the respect of people in town, all in one crazy moment. Nothing, it seems, will ever be right again. In an effort to get away, she joins some friends in a month-long hike up the Long Trail from Vermont into Canada. Looking for peace in a world suddenly gone awry, Nate joins the hike at the last minute. Fresh from a breakup of his own, he has no intention of starting a new relationship, so why can’t he keep his mind off the prickly woman in front of him? As their relationship blossoms, obstacles arise, and it seems life will just repeat itself. Can Nate deal responsibly with the decisions he knows he must make? Will Carly stop running long enough to let love catch her?

This is a nice, light, fun read that shows how we really need to keep faith in the Lord when things go awry. Carly is not a Christian, which is the main conflict which keeps these two lovebirds apart. Nate is drawn to her, but knows they can’t be together since it’s a sin to be unequally yoked. Also, the obstacles and problems that a few of the secondary characters face also make the story interesting. The author did a good job of describing the scenery on this trail, and I longed to go there myself to get back in touch with nature! I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a refreshing, God-inspiring read!

Cecelia Dowdy

Tired



I had a fairly hard day at work today, then when I got home, I had to cook dinner. I did take a few moments to finish reading Long Trail To Love by Pamela Griffin. I’ll be blogging about that book soon.

Check out the following review of my novel, First Mates, that was recently posted on Amazon.com:

The Epitome of a Biblical Love Connection, December 20, 2007
By Nedra Smith

Cecelia Dowdy’s FIRST MATES is a lovingly written I Corinthians 13 type of love story that never stoops to baser levels to show the realistic affection and connection that Rainy and Winston have.

I enjoyed watching them connect on the cruise, disconnect more than once, and reconnect, over things that really DO make a difference if a relationship is to be both faith-based and lasting.

The characters were real. Winston told the truth about part of his past but Rainy has to learn another part of it, a part that she thinks is important, later and through Dowdy’s wonderful character, Aunt Gladys.

This was more than a love story. Everyone grew in believable ways, not just in ways that would make for a happy ending. Even the minor characters grew in some small way either because of Winston and Rainy’s direct example or because of learning from their own mistakes.

Also, the book wasn’t preachy, but quite fun. Remember, it starts on a cruise so there’s lots of eating. FIRST MATES made me hungry both for food and for what would happen to the couple next.

Throughout the story, we’re aware that God is in control. That’s all that matters.

Also, last night I stayed up and watched a movie entitled Meet Joe Black. It’s a secular movie, however, I just loved the chemistry between the two characters! I saw it on the Sci-fi channel. I stayed up until midnight watching a movie! Do you know how seldom I stay up that late? Let alone stay up that late to watch a movie??? Hardly ever happens!

Later!

Cecelia Dowdy

My Soul Cries Out by Sherri Lewis

My Soul Cries Out
By Sherri Lewis
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Urban Books (July 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1893196976
ISBN-13: 978-1893196971

Monica Harris Day’s perfect world begins a downward spiral the day she comes home to find her husband in bed with another man. After confronting Kevin, her husband of two years, Monica discovers he’s had a lifelong struggle with homosexuality that began at the age of ten, when he was molested by a deacon in the church.

For years, Kevin has sought deliverance, crying out to God to make him straight. He explains his deceit by saying he truly thought he had been delivered when he married Monica, but was afraid to share his past with her for fear she wouldn’t marry him. Kevin begs Monica’s forgiveness and wants to save their marriage. He is convinced that God has indeed delivered him from the spirit of homosexuality and that the one time mistake was just his past coming back to haunt him. Their pastor offers them marital counsel but Monica suspects that his real concern is in maintaining his mega-ministry. The membership has grown to 10,000 since Kevin became the minister of music.

When the pastor swears them to secrecy and urges Monica to stay in the marriage, she thinks Bishop Walter isn’t willing to risk the potential scandal and church division that would result if the truth is leaked to the congregation. My Soul Cries Out is a compassionate look at the issue of Christians struggling with homosexuality and the redemptive power of God to bring deliverance.

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What made this story so riveting is the fact that Sherri Lewis broke all the rules for Christian fiction! She chose a highly controversial subject matter, a matter that affects a lot of women: homosexuality. I’ve heard about this on shows like Oprah, where the woman finds out her husband/boyfriend is actually gay/bisexual and they’re living “on the down low.”

I feel Lewis portrayed this story realistically, and that Monica really had to go through a lot of changes before she is finally able to confront her husband in a forgiving manner for what has transpired between them.

Kevin also has some healing to do on his own. He has to face his past, and break away from the ghosts that have driven him to this lifestyle.

I highly recommend this book if you want a good, riveting, and edgy story. This is the first Urban Christian fiction book that I’ve read, and I’m wondering if Urban gives their authors more freedom with the content they can place in their stories? I’ll be sure to read more of the Urban Christian Fiction novels in the future.

Cecelia Dowdy