Monthly Archives: May 2020

A Walk Along The Beach

Has cancer ever affected your life?

I realize that’s a broad question, however, it’s a question that is deeply linked to A Walk Along the Beach. This was one of the strongest, most compelling Debbie Macomber books that I’ve ever read.

Willa happily runs her coffee shop, Bean There, on the beachy shore of Oceanside. Harper, her sister/best friend/roommate, often hangs around the coffee shop, often stepping in to assist Willa when Willa is short-staffed. Harper is happy and she embraces life to the fullest. Harper is also beautiful and has her share of male admirers. Willa is not as pretty as her sister and is often in the background as Harper embraces the spotlight.

Harper and Willa have an unusual relationship because Willa is more of a mother to Harper. Their mom died when they were younger, and Willa stepped in as the role of the mother – especially since their father suffered from alcoholism.

When handsome Sean comes into the coffeeshop, Harper feels that he is the perfect match for her sister. Willa is leery about Harper’s matchmaking skills as she spends time with Sean.

But, when drastic, traumatic and tragic events occur, the lives of all of the characters are drastically altered. Reading this book will make you appreciate your friends and family – be grateful for these relationships because things can drastically change in a short amount of time.

This was a strong, emotional book that I’m sure will be the number one beach read for the summer.

So, has cancer ever affected your life? If so, how?

Cecelia Dowdy

BookBub

Just popping in to say hello. I’ve had some people to tell me that they have more time to read during this pandemic. Bookbub is a cool place to hang out if you’re an avid reader! Sign up for their daily featured-deal email. You pick your favorite categories and each day, you’ll receive an email with cool deals. A lot of the featured deal books are FREE!

So, check out their site and come follow me on Bookbub!

Bittersweet Dreams – Short Excerpt

Bittersweet Dreams

Silently they continued to eat. He finished his coffee and poured another cup. “Would you like some dessert?”

“Dessert after breakfast?” She’d never heard of such a thing. Who ate dessert after breakfast?

He opened the refrigerator and removed a glass bowl covered with Saran Wrap. The bowl contained…well, it looked like perfectly round balls of milk chocolate. He tore the Saran Wrap off the bowl and the amazing lemony chocolate smell practically shouted from the bowl. “These are chocolate lemon buttercreams. I got up extra early and made a batch this morning. I make them quite often.” His deep voice filled with pride as he stared at the bowl of candy.

“You can eat this whole bowl of candy yourself?”

He shrugged. “It stays fresh in the fridge. Sometimes, I take a batch to church to share at meetings. Like yesterday, I made a batch and shared it at a youth group meeting.” Well, that explained why he’d smelled of lemons and chocolate the previous day. She glanced at his shirt and noticed that it was stained with chocolate and yellow. She figured he was messy and spilled chocolate and lemon filling on his shirt when he made the candy. That’s why he smelled so amazing. He pushed the bowl closer to her. “Have some.”

He didn’t have to ask her twice. Curiosity and…something else seemed to erupt within her as she selected one of the balls of candy. She’d never met a man who cooked like Keith Baxter and made his own candy. She bit into the chocolate.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The fresh lemon cream center coated with milky chocolate exploded in her mouth like a cloud of perfect sweetness. She moaned and finished the piece of candy in two bites. Chocolate had melted on her fingers, and heaven help her, she just couldn’t resist.

She licked her fingers.

Keith’s laughter filled the kitchen. His eyes twinkled and his dimples winked as he looked directly at her. She eyed the bowl. In spite of her full stomach, she wanted to select another piece of candy. But, she couldn’t sample another piece. It just wouldn’t be right, especially since she’d been so enamored with the candy that she’d lost her mind and had licked her fingers.

Still chuckling, Keith removed a box of aluminum foil from the cupboard. He tore off a piece of foil and, as if he were reading her mind, he placed half a dozen pieces of candy into the foil and wrapped it up. He then presented it to her. Their fingers touched when she accepted his offering. Warm sparks of delight shot up her palm. Her hand felt so warm that she hoped the candy wouldn’t melt before she got home. Finally, she remembered her manners. “Thank you.”

His eyes twinkled as he quickly winked at her. “You’re welcome.”

Bittersweet Dreams

Milk Chocolate Kisses

https://ceceliadowdy.com/milk-chocolate-kisseslp/

Milk Chocolate Kisses is now available on Amazon. Come and enjoy this delicious, sweet tale today.

For those of you who have been reading my books for awhile, Milk Chocolate Kisses is a re-release of my old novel, Milk Money. I got the rights back from my publisher and am now publishing it under my company, Divine Desserts Publishing LLC.

This story is near and dear to my heart since it deals with the subject of alcoholism. I loved researching dairy farm life for this novel. Come give it a read. It’s on Kindle Unlimited.

https://ceceliadowdy.com/milk-chocolate-kisseslp/