I was featured in the local paper of my old hometown, Northeast Maryland. The paper is the Cecil Whig. The article was published today. Here’s the full text of the article:
Here’s the full text of the story:
Local author set to release fifth novel
By Rebecca Sewald
rsewald@cecilwhig.com
Published: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 7:05 PM CDTBy day, 42-year-old Cecelia Dowdy spends her time crunching numbers as an accountant in the Washington, D.C.-area. But by night, the former Cecil County resident can often be found engrossed in a fictional world of romantic interludes, where good always triumphs and happy endings are a must.
In her spare time, between tending to her 3-year-old son and spending time with her husband of five years, Dowdy writes fiction stories, several of which have been published.
“I write Christian romance fiction,” the Greenbelt, Md. woman said. “The stories always involve a man and a woman meeting and falling in love, and there’s always a faith journey.”
Most recently published is her novel, “Milk Money,” which was released in January and inspired by a visit to a Cecil County farm.
The book tells the story of a young woman, Emily, who is left to tend to the family dairy farm after her father suddenly passes away. The task seems manageable until the day Franklin Reese, a certified public accountant, arrives to audit the business. It’s not long before Franklin falls for Emily, but he must come face-to-face with his own personal issues before he’s able to win her heart.
“The book itself is not set in Cecil County – it’s set in Monkton (Md.) – but I did go to a dairy farm in Cecil County during my research for the book,” Dowdy said. “I had to go there to get a better feel for dairy farming. They showed me how to milk cows and all the other things they have to do. It’s grueling work.”
As always, Dowdy’s story offers an inspirational message to readers, this time demonstrating faith as a means of overcoming addiction.
“Franklin, the accountant, is an alcoholic, and as the story goes on, he learns to beat the addiction. … He doesn’t know Jesus, but he ends up going to a church-sponsored alcoholic support group. He actually ends up finding Jesus in the story, which helps to give him the faith to overcome the addiction,” she said.
Dowdy, a 1984 graduate of North East High School, is awaiting the release of her fifth novel, “Bittersweet Memories,” which is set to hit bookstore shelves in June.
“That book is set in Maryland, also,” she said. “The heroine (Karen) is engaged to a fiancé (Lionel) that isn’t very nice – he’s stealing money from the church, which causes a big uproar.”
But when Karen returns home to Annapolis to live with her mother, she meets handsome plumber Keith Baxter, who just happens to be her new neighbor. Keith grows smitten with the girl next door but must face his troubled past before he can move forward.
Other books Dowdy has had published include “John’s Quest,” “First Mates” and “Promises to Keep.” The author has also produced more than 30 short stories, which have been published nationally in multiple women’s magazines.
“I have always loved to read books. That was my favorite pastime. I think I feed a lot off that,” Dowdy said.
She was 28 years old when she first began having serious thoughts of writing a book.
“I was at work on a lunch break, and I didn’t have a book to read, so what I did was start writing, and I’ve been writing ever since,” she said.
Though it took her more than five years to get her first book published, she never gave up on writing.
“I like creating the characters and their issues and helping them work through them by their faith in God so that everything is fine in the end,” Dowdy said.
As a result of her stories, the author has received a large amount of positive feedback from readers, several of them revealing that her books have strengthened their faith.
Dowdy said she plans to continue writing in the future and hopes to one day make it a fulltime career.
For those aspiring writers out there, she has one word of advice: write.
“Join a professional writers’ group that meets regularly either online or in person. Ask for advice and write,” she said. “Some people say they want to write a book, but they don’t do it. You have to actually sit your butt in the chair and write. It’s easier said than done, but it’s just what you have to do if you’re serious about it.”
For additional information about Cecelia Dowdy or to purchase one her books, visit her Web site at www.ceceliadowdy.com.
