Monthly Archives: May 2012

The Shepherd’s Voice – From The Archives

The Shepherd’s Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher – From the archives – this is a repeat of an old book review. I read this novel several years ago and recall really enjoying this story by Robin Lee Hatcher. I encourage you to give this book a try! Download it onto your e-reader today!

Convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, Gabe Talmadge returns to his hometown of Ransom, seeking the love denied to him by his father Hudson Talmadge. Instead of finding the love of his forsaken father, he finds the love of Akira Macauley, owner of the sheep farm, Dundreggan. Gabe also discovers the love of another father, his Heavenly Father. Akira teaches Gabe about love and faith, and he realizes his biggest mistake was forsaking the Lord, several years ago. When he’s again mistakenly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, his faith in God is tested, and he learns that it’s imperative to always lean on the Lord.

Have you ever read any novels by Robin Lee Hatcher? If so, which one was your favorite?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Ride Of Her Life By Lorna Seilstad

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The Ride Of Her Life by Lorna Seilstad

Lilly is a widowed mother who is financially struggling to raise her son (Levi) alone. Ben, her deceased husband, was a well-to-do lawyer from an upscale family. Ben’s parents are determined to take their grandson (Levi) away from Lilly. They even call the sheriff to help them get custody because Lilly is living in a tent at Lake Manawa with her son since she can’t afford her own house. Lilly makes other living arrangements, but, she’s determined to purchase a home of her own – it’s her dream to have her own house.

Lilly works hard at Thornton’s Lunch Counter, making breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day for Nick (the crew leader) and his rollercoaster crew. Nick hates that Lilly’s in-laws are trying to take her son away to send him to boarding school, so, he’s determined to help Lilly in any way that he can. He even becomes a father figure to Levi. Levi is a classic boy who enjoys climbing trees, chasing frogs and having pet snakes. However, Lilly finds herself wondering what’ll happen when the summer comes to an end and Nick’s roller coaster crew leaves when the construction of the roller coaster is done? Will Levi be crushed because Nick, his father-figure friend, will be leaving Lake Manawa? Lilly doesn’t want her son to get his feelings hurt, however, Levi is not the only person that Lilly wonders about.

Lilly finds herself becoming smitten with Nick. She enjoys his company a little too much. However, she’s hesitant on starting another relationship with a man since she’s still struggling to raise her son alone after the death of her husband. Does she really need to get emotionally involved with another man right now? Will Nick be dependable?

Nick suffers from his own scars. He’s spent part of his childhood in an orphanage and he’s lost his little brother. Plus, he had a broken engagement. It’s kind of hard for him to trust others, too. He’s out to prove his worth by making sure his roller coaster project is a success. He works hard to complete the roller coaster in time for the summer season. However, it appears that someone is out to sabotage his project and he’s determined to defeat whomever is trying to make him fail.

This story was refreshing and I found it interesting that the author showed a roller coaster being built during a historical time. I also liked the setting. Lake Manawa is a vivid, pleasant place to spend the summer. I also enjoyed reading about Lilly cooking food for Nick’s crew. I loved reading about the different meals she prepared and I also liked how she taught Eugenia, her kitchen assistant, how to cook. I enjoy reading stories that are set in a kitchen because food is one of my favorite subjects to read about in a novel! Overall, this was a good, intriguing, and slightly-suspenseful read.

Thanks to Baker/Revell for providing me with a free review copy.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Booksigning Event – August 4, 2012 – Manassas, VA

Sunday Brunch! Locusts And Wild Honey? From The Blog Archives

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Locust photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos.

***This is a repeat of an old blog post.

Matthew 3:4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Locusts and wild honey? I’ve always wondered about this. I wish there were more details. John The Baptist wandered around the wilderness dressed in a garment made with camel’s hair, preaching the gospel and he ate locusts and wild honey? I’m wondering if the locusts were alive when he ate them, or if he cooked them over a fire before eating? How does one eat a locust? I’m wondering how easy it was to gather the locusts and wild honey for his meals? If you have any knowledge about this, feel free to share. It just doesn’t sound like an appetizing diet to me. I’m thinking he had other things to eat, but it appears that he may have eaten the locusts and wild honey quite frequently?

Share your thoughts with a comment! I hope everybody has a blessed Sunday!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Blogging Break

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Most of the blog posts that you’ll see over the next month will be pre-scheduled repeats from old blog posts. I have a project that I’m trying to finish up, so I have to focus on my writing for awhile.

I do have one book review that I’ve agreed to do, but, other than that, I won’t have time for regular blog posts for several weeks.

Are you enjoying this spring weather? Our household has been suffering from allergies this year – more than usual! I’ve also planted seeds earlier in the season and I’ve seen my pretty flowers popping out of the ground!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Predator By Terri Blackstock

Saturday Matinee! Revolutionary Road

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Can you imagine packing up your family and relocating to Paris – without having a job? Would you do it?

That’s what April suggests to her husband Frank. Frank loves Paris, and has dreamed returning to that European city. Frank hates his office job, so April suggests they pack up their two children, sell their house, Frank can quit his job, and they can relocate to Paris. April offers to work while Frank “finds himself” by discovering what he wants to do once they move.

I had a hard time getting into this movie. I thought it was kind of slow – slow and a bit confusing. Granted, I was sick with a temperature while I watched it, so, maybe that affected my opinion. There were some flashbacks, and I was kind of confused when I saw that April was an actress at the beginning of the movie. Then, I’m assuming it flashes back in time to April and Frank meeting at a party. April’s acting career is not mentioned again, which is odd. (Unless, I missed their mentioning it.)

April and Frank are not a happy couple. They argue all the time, but, it’s hard to pinpoint their source of discontent. They have two children and live in a quaint home on Revolutionary Road. They’re living the American Dream, and others think highly of April and Frank Wheeler. They even become friends with their real estate agent and her adult psychotic son – a son who has the ability to accurately guess people’s problems and emotions.

This movie reminded me of a foreign film. I’ve noticed that foreign films don’t always make a lot of sense. I know that Frank and April are not happy, but, it’s hard to figure out why. Frank is disgruntled with his job, so he finds solace with a girl in the typing pool. April is a suburban housewife who takes care of the house. Her love for Frank has dwindled – she also finds brief solace in the arms of her next door neighbor. It appears this movie is about lost dreams? I felt there should have been an event….or SOMETHING to explain why this couple is so unhappy.

I was also confused about the ending. April and Frank have a HUGE ARGUMENT, and then, the next morning, April is acting like the perfect wife, making Frank’s breakfast, as if the events of the previous night never happened. Weird…

When I saw April acting totally different than she had the night before, I thought…”Ahh, she’s scitzophrenic.” I figured she had a split personality and that would explain the whole reason of discontent within their marriage – she was really TWO personalities. That was a totally wrong assumption!

Another thing I noticed, which was also a bit weird – Frank and April’s children are not shown very much. You see them breiefly, maybe, two times?

I’m thinking that if I read the book, some of the loose threads in the story could be explained? Such a tragic story, tragic and sad. I doubt I’ll watch this movie again.

I felt that the author of the book/movie was trying to get his point across that the American Dream is not all that it’s cracked up to be. I wish I could’ve written a better movie review, but, this is the best that I could do considering I felt the movie was very incomplete. I only watched Revolutionary Road because I loved Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. I was very disappointed in Revolutionary Road. This movie was a far cry from Titanic.

Have you seen Revolutionary Road or read the book? If so, what’d you think about it?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Belong To Me – A Secular Title

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Belong To Me by Marisa de los Santos

Please note that this is a secular title.

If you didn’t know your biological father, would you search for him so that you could meet him? That’s one of the story threads in this book.

I enjoyed reading this book, to a certain extent. I’m not sure if this is classified as literary fiction. It was written in a way that I’m not used to reading.

Cornelia and her husband Teo relocate from the city to a small town. She’s currently not working and her husband is a doctor – an extremely good-looking doctor – a fact that the female neighbors notice immediately. I had a hard time liking some of the characters in their new town. It appeared that they were concerned about liking/disliking people at the drop of a hat – some of their conceptions based upon the way a person looked or dressed. For example, Piper, one of Cornelia’s neighbors, initially doesn’t like Cornelia because of her short, petite stature and her choice of dress for a welcome-to-the neighborhood party. Also, the neighborhood women seemed to have too much time on their hands – none of them worked full-time, and it appeared they were more concerned about appearances and who was doing/saying what in their neighborhood moreso than running their household and raising their children, or minding their own business.

You also have Elizabeth, Piper’s best friend who is dying of cancer. Piper takes care of Elizabeth, placing her own health and family on the back burner so that she can minister to her friend. When you see Piper caring for her friend, she doesn’t seem to be so cold-hearted, which endeared me to the story a little bit.

Cornelia and Teo are childless, a fact that bothers Cornelia. They “mentor” a thirteen-year-old girl, Clare, who is like a daughter to them. Cornelia is also befriended by Lake, the mother of a thirteen-year-old genius boy named Dev. Lake has also recently moved to the area so that Dev can attend a school for highly-intelligent children.

As the story unfolds, you discover Lake’s real reason for moving to the area. You also see a deep friendship form between Dev and Clare. Dev has always wondered about his father, so Dev and Clare “play detective” and search for Dev’s dad, hoping to clear up Dev’s questions about his parentage.

Dev also befriends two kids at his new school, one of his new friends, a girl named Lyssa, has serious mental and emotional problems and he supports her during her difficult times. Dev is also befriended by his school mate Aiden, and they go into business together raking leaves.

This book was not written in a simple, straight-forward manner – which is why I had mixed feelings about the writing style. The story would often go off on a tangent, giving paragraphs of background detail, before getting to the point at hand. I found this style a bit bothersome since I’m not used to reading books written like this. The story itself was mesmerizing, however, it does have a little bit of graphic language.

So, if you didn’t know your biological father, would you search for him so that you could meet him, like Dev did in this book?

Have you read this book, if so, what’d you think about it?

~Cecelia Dowdy~