Monthly Archives: May 2009

Redeeming Love?

1 Reply


The following comment was posted on my blog post about The Incredibles:
Anonymous:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. How come that one didnt’ make the list? Just wondering…

I thought about it, and I think my list, and how I came up with the titles may be confusing. The Incredibles is a list of the Christian novels that managed to stay in my mind a long time, and that I’ve READ over the last few years…FOR THE MOST PART. I think the fact that one of the titles, A Moment Of Weakness, has a publication date of 2000, made the titles on the list confusing. Even though A Moment Of Weakness was published in 2000, I didn’t read it until a couple of years ago! So, to me, it’s a recent title.

I didn’t think about all of the Christian titles I’ve read in my entire life. I read so much that I didn’t feel like mentally going through all of the titles I’ve ever read over the last ten or so years! I’d have gone crazy trying to come up with ALL my favorites over that time frame. So I chose to focus on the titles I’ve read recently, like, since I’ve started blogging regularly.

I did read Redeeming Love and enjoyed it. I read it about ten years ago? Here’s the content, and my thoughts about the novel:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (originally published in 1999)

Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Multnomah Books; 1 edition (October 16, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1601420617
ISBN-13: 978-1601420619
Amazon.com Review
In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God’s unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this “soiled dove,” he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best. –Cindy Crosby –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
===
I read this book a long time ago, and I believe it’s considered a classic. I recall that it shows that the Lord keeps forgiving us again and again, no matter how many times we mess up. Angel is a prostitute who had a poor and unhappy homelife. When Michael Hosea spots her, the Lord tells him that Angel will be his future bride. I recall their getting married and their relationship was full of problems. Micheal is a holy man, relying on God. Angel is initially unsaved in the story. It’s a long book, but I recall reading it fairly quickly and enjoying the story. The book keeps getting re-released, so I can assume it’ll probably continue to stay in print for a long time! It’s a wonderful tale that demonstrates God’s grace and forgiveness.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Demon – A Memoir by Tosca Lee

Leave a reply


Demon – A Memoir by Tosca Lee
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: NavPress (May 18, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600061230
ISBN-13: 978-1600061233
From the backcover:
Recently divorced and mired in a meaningless existence, Clay drifts from his drab apartment to his equally lusterless job as an editor for a small Boston press–until the night Lucian finds him and everything changes with the simple words, “I’m going to tell you my story, and you’re going to write it down and publish it.”
What begins as a mystery soon spirals into chaotic obsession as Clay struggles to piece together Lucian’s dark tale of love, ambition, and grace–only to discover that the demon’s story has become his own.

And then only one thing matters: learning how the story ends.

===
See the thrilling book trailer here.

Clay is muddling through life, not enjoying himself. Recently divorced, he’s depressed, daily going to work, barely existing. His life changes when he goes to a restaurant for a mysterious meeting. The Mediterranean-looking stranger knows Clay’s name, and he also knows all sorts of facts about Clay’s childhood. Stunned, Clay wonders why he’s been invited to meet this person. Who is he? Clay even asks if this stranger is some kind of Jehovah’s Witness. He soon realizes he’s received an invitation from Lucian – a demon. Lucian wants to tell his story to Clay so that Clay can publish it.

Clay’s life goes from bad to worse from this first meeting. Lucian continues to appear in different forms throughout the book. Sometimes he’s a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes he’s Black, sometimes White. He tells of how the demons came into existence and about their leader, El.

Since Clay is an editor at a publishing house, Lucian figures Clay can get his story published. Clay is not interested in doing so, but, his numerous conversations with Lucian make him stop and wonder. And he begins looking through the scriptures for himself. He’s also stunned to see that Lucian has great power – even the power to kill.

Clay does pen Lucian’s story…but the story needs an ending as Clay’s life continually spirals downward into an abysmal depression.

This book was kind of deep. Makes you stop and think about Biblical spiritual beings and good versus evil.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Amish Fiction Author Featured On Nightline

2 Replies




If you recall, I blogged about the appeal of Amish fiction in the Christian market a couple of months ago.

Amish Fiction author Cindy Woodsmall was featured on Nightline last night. Here’s the link to view the show. After opening the link, simply click on WATCH: Amish Love in the right-hand sidebar.

I have Cindy’s book in my ever-increasing TBR pile!

Enjoy the show!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Bittersweet Memories! More Reviews!

4 Replies

Reviews for Bittersweet Memories are up here on Goodreads. You may need to be a member of Goodreads in order to look at these reviews. I’m not sure. That’s why I’m providing the link AND I’m copying and pasting the content from the Goodreads reviewers below:
Erin gave Bittersweet Memories 4 stars!
Bittersweet Memories by author Cecelia Dowdy was my first christian fiction romance novel. I must say, thoroughly enjoyed this book.

As I started reading, I learned about Karen Brown and how her fiance had embezzled money from their church and ran off with his assistant. This left Karen feeling heartbroken, abandoned, and confused. Overall, leading her to return home to her childhood home with her mother in Annapolis, Maryland. After returning home, she comes to realize lots of things have changed.

If you are looking to read something good and wholesome, this is the book for you.
I personally enjoyed getting to know each character, seeing their weaknesses, and following their walks with God through the thick and the thin.
***
Janet gave Bittersweet Memories 4 stars!
Bittersweet Memories is the first book that I have read by author Cecelia Dowdy. From her writings, I can appreciate the bond of family, friendship and forgiveness. Karen and many of the characters were in a close relationship to the Lord. I liked that the characters prayed and did so on a regular basis.

Karen’s fiancé breaks her heart after she learns that he embezzled money from their church, has a secret affair and runs away with the church assistant. Feelings of abandonment, being over-whelmed by pain and embarrassment, she runs home to her mother in Annapolis, Maryland.

I don’t want to give away all the details of this wonderful read. If you enjoy Christian romance novels, then I suggest you read this one. I enjoyed getting to know Karen and her new friend Keith. I think you will too.
***
Renee gave Bittersweet Memories 4 stars!
This is a nice sweet love story. Girl’s heart is broken, tries to escape by leaving town, meets new guy (but won’t admit she’s falling for him), obstacles in the way and a resolution of them living happily ever after. Sometimes I just really enjoy a happy story with a happy ending with no big surprises.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed

9 Replies


***Note that this is a non-fiction title. I haven’t talked about a non-fiction title on my blog in a long time.

I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed – Tales from a Jehovah’s Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams

From Amazon.com:
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Given that Abrahams is now a stand-up comic and spoken-word poet, it makes perfect sense to begin her very funny memoir with her performance debut at the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Kingdom Hall, at age 8 (her presentation was about freedom from demon possession). She describes the children’s books she read as a child as a cross between “Dr. Seuss rhymes and tales of how sinners would scream and gnash their teeth at Armageddon.” In her world, Smurfs were “little blue demons” and yard sales were enticements from Satan. As a bored teenager with OCD, she didn’t know what to do with herself or how to make sense of the world. On the verge of 18, she married a 24-year-old part-time college math teacher because, even if his interest in her was, at best, halfhearted, she wanted a boyfriend and didn’t know any other Jehovah’s Witnesses who liked her. Anyway, she reasons, “this is what adults did, and I was an adult.” It wasn’t long before she longed to be out of the marriage. Between threats of suicide, she tried to be “disfellowshipped,” or shunned, by her congregation, which proved surprisingly difficult to accomplish. Abrahams is a natural writer whose prose flows effortlessly as she easily mixes throwaway humor and painful memories in a compelling narrative. –June Sawyers

===
I spent a great deal of my Memorial Day weekend reading this book. I purchased it about a month ago, but due to other reading commitments, just got around to reading it last Saturday.

Kyria was raised in The Truth (this is what the Jehovah’s Witnesses call their religion). She became active in the Theocratic Ministry School (when JW’s give skits about preaching door to door and “witnessing” to others) when she was eight, and continued to be active in the religion until her early twenties.

During the course of her life, she had a lot of issues to deal with. Her parents were unhappily married, and half of the time her father did not work. Wanting to escape her unhappy homelife, she quits school at seventeen and marries another JW who’s in his mid-twenties. She doesn’t love this man, but no longer wants to remain living at home.

As she struggles with OCD, alcoholism, and self-mutilation (cutting herself) Kyria realizes that The Truth is not working for her and takes steps to leave the controlling religion.

It’s hard to talk about all that happened in this book without giving away spoilers. Overall, the book was funny while talking about seriously depressing issues, giving the story a bittersweet tone.

Kyria also has a humorous glossary in the back with various JW terms. I didn’t notice the glossary until I was almost finished with the book, but didn’t really need to refer to it since I was already familiar with most JW terms.

While reading this book, I felt like I was taking a step back in time. I was raised a JW until I was twelve – when I was abruptly stopped from going to the Kingdom Hall(this is what JWs call their church). While away at college, I hooked up with JWs again, still erroneously thinking they were the “true religion.”

I became a Christian after college, while still in my twenties, after discovering all sorts of things about JWs that I did not like – too many things to discuss within this blog post.

Anyway, Kyria’s book depicts the life of JWs very realistically. The details and descriptions of the meetings, the Kingdom Hall, the programs, going out in service, and the terminology is accurate. If you want to really know what it’s like on the inside, being a JW, then this book will give you an accurate picture of life in The Truth.

However, if you read this book, you’ll have to remember that Kyria had a lot of problems with her OCD, alcoholism, and self-mutilation. Although being a JW certainly contributed to her problems, I felt that she still would have led an extremely troubled life even if she were Catholic, Baptist, or any other religion. I didn’t think that JW’s caused ALL of her problems, but, she did make some crazy decisions that she probably would not have made if she hadn’t been a JW.

I could really relate to her experiences with education. Her husband is a college professor, a job the congregation frowns upon since JWs don’t advocate higher eduation. They don’t see the benefit of preparing you to take care of yourself financially for the future…because there is no future…Jesus will be here any day now and we must preach the good word and not worry about going to college and getting a good job to support ourselves!

However, I’ve heard their views on education have changed in recent years.

I thought the book ended rather abruptly. It appears that the author never finds another religion. She doesn’t talk about becoming a Christian, so the reader is left unsure about Kyria’s religious beliefs. You’re kind of left hanging about what happens next.

Oh, just wanted to end this blog post by stating this: If you’re an active JW, don’t think The Society has the power to decide your salvation…they don’t. Read the Bible (NOT THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION) for yourself, ask lots of questions, and think about the Word independently of the Watchtower and Awake.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

On The Run by Bill Myers

2 Replies


I blogged about this a few days ago here.

This book was okay. It’s geared toward a young crowd – ten to twelve-year-olds, I guess. A mute boy named Elijah has special powers. When a TV camera catches Elijah on film, healing a dog (the dog was hit by a car), Elijah’s enemies see the footage, placing his life in danger. There’s a society out to steal him from his family, and as a result, the family has had to move a lot since Elijah’s birth. In this book, young Elijah and his brother and sister escape from their home alone, seeking refuge from those who are hunting them down.

If you have a young boy (or girl) they might find this book enjoyable. It’s VERY easy reading, and you can breeze through the story fairly quickly.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Unconventional by J.J. Hebert

5 Replies


Unconventional by J.J. Hebert
This book won’t be available until July 2009, but I’ve had the opportunity to read it and I thought it was a great story! Here’s the summary of the novel:
YOUNG JAMES FROST just knows, deep in his bones, that he’s a writer. He writes far into early mornings, after his wearying hours of scrubbing toilets and sweeping floors. He loves writing that much.
But it’s not only the joy of words that keeps him grinding; it’s his desire to retire the janitor’s mop. He sees being published as the key to living an improved life. James has another deep-seated conviction: that he’s not good enough. He secretly longs to be accepted. However, the conventional others in his life seem all too willing to remind him that he’s wasting his time.

Then he meets and falls in love with Leigh, the one bright spot in his endless misery of self-doubt. A quiet but resolutely religious girl, she has to fight off disapproval of her own from overly critical parents, whose insults are countered by James’s often-voiced admiration of her. Likewise, Leigh’s faith in his talents begins to build his confidence, eventually allowing her to introduce him to a different way to help himself: relying on God.

Ultimately, James’s newfound faith is sorely tested to the point of doubt when his dream to be published seems to melt into a mirage, smothered by countless rejection slips from agents and publishers. His faith is also battered by having to fight highly emotional battles and suffer fear and loss. Just when James appears hopelessly sapped by devastating events, one last door opens, and he’s rocked by an epiphany.

UNCONVENTIONAL is designed to inspire readers to reach for their dreams. Buy this book. Read it. Share it with everyone you know. You—and they—will be glad you did!
===
The characters in this novel had so many issues to work through and that’s what made the story so engaging to me. James Frost wants to get his Science Fiction/Fantasy novel published. He spends his free time writing a book and he works for his father’s janitorial company. He hates being a janitor. If he has to clean up after one more person, young James feels as if he’d lose his mind! He wants to be a writer!

He meets attractive Leigh online. When they meet in person, James is smitten by the pretty woman, and wonders what she sees in him. He has no money, a beat-up car, plus his teeth are decayed! Leigh does have feelings for James and while they date, her affluent parents object to their relationship. James wonders if Leigh’s parents will ever accept him.

Leigh is a Christian and her influence prompts James to go on a spiritual journey while he tries to get his novel published. James also develops a friendly relationship with an old female novelist that gives the story a unique twist.

This novel had a young adult flavor to it. I enjoyed it, and I could see teens relating to the young characters in this story. The author deals with the subjects of salvation, alcoholism, and following your dreams.

I guess one reason that I really loved this book is because the author has an alcoholic secondary character in the story. If you’ve read enough of my novels, you know that’s a subject that I repeatedly place into my own work. Also, James is a young janitor – When I was around the age of James Frost I worked as a student housekeeper during the summers while in college. It gets kind of gross cleaning up after people – especially those all-male dorms! Yuck! It definitely wasn’t a job that I enjoyed and those dormant memories came tumbling back into my mind when I read J.J. Hebert’s novel.

Here’s my quote on the back cover:
“I loved UNCONVENTIONAL, a stirring love story and spiritual journey that will surely touch your heart. You’ll remember James Frost for a long time!”

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Incredibles!

7 Replies


No, I’m not talking about the Disney animated movie! I’ve decided to use that term to describe the four books mentioned in this blog post. These four novels are the best I’ve read in the last few years. What makes them incredible? Various reasons. Keep in mind that I didn’t scroll through my blog, making a decision about the top four books. For the MOST PART, these are books that keep coming to my mind, long after I’ve read them, over and over. I’ve read a TON of great books over the last few years that come to mind, however, all books don’t come to mind as frequently as these.

You’ll have to understand that if I keep thinking about a book nowadays, it has to be a great read! My mind is very cluttered with my full-time job, our son, my husband, making dinner every night, trying to write my own books, being on deadline, etc.! You get the picture! If somebody is able to write something that I keep remembering, crossing into my cluttered brain, then that’s an accomplishment! So here’s Cecelia Dowdy’s list of The Incredibles!:

1.
A Moment Of Weakness by Karen Kingsbury

I think one reason why this book made my list is because I actually stayed up half the night reading it! As I get older, I don’t stay up late very often. If a book can interrupt my beauty sleep, then it’s a great read! 🙂 The story line wasn’t even very complex or original in this novel, but, the writing grabbed me and I had to finish the book, losing sleep!

2.

A Touch Of Grace by Linda Goodnight

This book made my list because it was a very emotional read that’ll make you cry. Also, it’s a Love Inspired, and when I started reading it, I had certain expectations since it is a category romance. I felt this story was more emotionally intriguing than any other Love Inspired I’d ever read. I felt it should have stayed on the shelf for a long time, not just one month! (For category romances, you’re only the shelf for a month, and that’s it! Most Harlequins are removed and replaced by new titles monthly, kind of like magazines!)

3.
The Shape Of Mercy by Susan Meissner

This book made the list because it’s different, unusual, and it crosses my mind occasionally! I think the subject matter made this book really stand out, as well as the great writing!

4.
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman

I have never read Christian fiction quite like this. I’m not saying other titles like this don’t exist, but, I just haven’t found another author that I can compare to Julie. Her book is spicy spaghetti (explained in yesterday’s post) and I KNOW I’ll remember and think about this book for a long time!

What are some of YOUR favorite Christian fiction titles over the last few years? Why are they your favorites? Please share your recommendations!

~Cecelia Dowdy~