Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Fiction Fellowship

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I had a really nice time with my local ACFW members today. We had lunch at the Olive Garden in White Marsh, Maryland. Today’s topic was agents! Our member leader, Dani, interviewed some agents and we discussed the different criteria that agents were seeking for submissions. I was going to bring my camera with me to take a picture like I did the last time:

April, 2007 ACFW Local Meeting

However, I forgot it, so I don’t have a photo for this time.

Interesting that one of the attendees is a Christy award winner! When she told me the title of her book, I proudly told her, “I blogged about that!” She wrote the YA novel, William Henry Is A Fine Name.

Here’s the link with the Christy Award winners:

Christy Award Winners

We also talked a little bit about the upcoming ACFW conference. Since I’ll be attending, I’m hoping that I can blog about it each day. I’m looking forward to this conference!

Cecelia Dowdy

McCormick And Schmick’s Restaurant

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Many of you know that I blog about books, writing and recipes. Since I like talking about different foods, I thought I’d mention a great restaurant that I recently “discovered.” My hubby and I recently celebrated our anniversary. We went out to dinner at McCormick And Schmick’s restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland.

The seafood was awesome! I had a seafood medley dish in a sherry-based cream sauce and my hubby had salmon. It was simply divine!

I highly recommend this place for a nice meal! It’s a bit pricey, but it’s not too expensive. We’ll probably keep it on our list of eating places to use for special occasions.

Cecelia Dowdy

Revising My Manuscript

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I heard from my editor the other day. I need to make revisions on my latest manuscript. This is something most writers have to do. Seldom does a publishing house take a manuscript “as is” and let it go to press.

So, needless to say, I’m going to be busy over the next four weeks. I’m just glad I have a laptop to take with me to the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference next week.

Cecelia Dowdy

Montana Mistletoe

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I blogged about this book in an earlier post when the book trailer was released.

I am pleased to feature the authors of this wonderful novella collection on my blog today! Sit back with a hot cup of coffee and a few cookies and enjoy the interview!

What is the premise of the collection?

DEBBY: This book shows how four friends work toward honoring their pact to find true love by their twenty-eighth birthdays. In my novella, Return to Mistletoe, Deanna’s high school sweetheart Anthony returns to Mistletoe, but she’s not prepared for her own reaction. Fighting the urge to fall in love with him again, she works hard at adding sparks to a relationship with someone else. Anthony continues to show up at the most unexpected times—not only to see Deanna but to help the town he’s loved since childhood.

What’s it like working with three other authors on one story? Challenges, rewards?

LENA: I’ve worked on several novella collections. Some have just been stories about the same theme. With those where the stories are interwoven, authors have to work together more to craft the stories. That often proves challenging—trying to get all the details of the other characters and their personality right in your story. But the rewards are great. A collection where all the stories connect gives a special feel to the book. It’s well worth the extra effort. And this team was a joy to work with. (Waving to Lisa, Debby, and Kim.)

Is there a character who you relate to and who made an impact on your life?

LISA: I always learn from the writing process. In Under the Mistletoe, Madison is searching for that elusive something we all tend to look for at one time or another. Happiness doesn’t always come in a gold-wrapped package or with a better pay check. It comes from the little things around us. Friends, a warm summer day, and knowing God loves us. A good reminder.

What is the number one thing you’ve learned from your writing journey?

KIM: God is in control. This is all HIS timing, and His is much better than mine. The writing life is full of pitfalls, the most painful one (for me, anyway) being rejection. But when you put it all in His hands and allow Him to open the doors rather than depending on yourself, a sense of peace permeates the entire journey. Learning to trust Him with my writing life has carried over into truly trusting Him with ALL aspects of my life–and that’s a great place to be.

Any future plans for your writing you’d like to share? Any specific dreams you’d like to accomplish in the area of writing?

DEBBY: Since I truly love Christian romance, quirky mysteries, and from-the-heart women’s fiction, I’d love to continue writing in these areas. My dream is simple. I want to entertain readers with uplifting, Christ-focused stories that leave them satisfied at the end.

If you want to learn more about the authors of Montana Mistletoe, check out Marjorie Vawter’s blog on September 14th at http://www.marjorievawter.blogspot.com

Winners! Winners! Winners!

Want a chance to win a FREE copy of the book and a $30 gift certificate to ChristianBooks.com? For more information, visit the official Montana, Mistletoe blog at http://montanamistletoe.blogspot.com by October 1st!

www.lenanelsondooley.com www.debbymayne.com
www.kimvogelsawyer.com www.lisaharriswrites.com

I enjoyed having all of you on my blog today!

Cecelia Dowdy

Sandy Cove Christian Writers Conference 9/30/07-10/3/07

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I’ve never attended this conference, however, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. North East, Maryland is my hometown, and I recall some of my high school buddies would work at Sandy Cove during Christian conferences and retreats to make extra money.

I am also acquainted with some of the people on the staff, and they’ve told me how much they enjoy working as faculty at the Sandy Cove conference each year.

If anyone goes, I’d also recommend a side trip into downtown North East. I’m using the term of downtown extremely lightly. The town is a main street with a few side streets, but since I left this town, when I went away to college, it has grown a bit. They’ve added a lot of quaint, interesting shops, and I understand that North East is now appealing to tourists.

Cecelia Dowdy

God Still Don’t Like Ugly by Mary Monroe

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I know this book is not a Christian title, but I couldn’t help blogging about it because the novel kept referencing God, and about how people would get their comeuppance when they died for their sinful lives. There was one part of the book that reminded me of Frank Peretti’s, Tilly. When Annette, the main character, has a dream, she dreams about a baby she’d had aborted. The baby is a little girl and the baby claims that she is fine now and that there were others in the place where she went after death, who’s parents decided not to keep them(other aborted babies). This was the first secular title I’ve read in a while, but, just as when I read secular titles, I kept thinking of ways that I’d have made it into an inspirational title as I read it.

I thought the book was gripping and well-written. I spent a good part of my weekend just reading this book.

Cecelia Dowdy

Heaven Sent By Jillian Hart

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Heaven Sent By Jillian Hart
Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0373871503
Pub. Date: July 2001
Series: Steeple Hill Love Inspired Series

I’ve decided when I talk about the books I’ve read on my blog, that I’d provide a handy link to the author’s website. I just started doing this recently, however, from my limited searching on the internet, I could not find a website for this author.

This book has been on my shelf for a long time, and I’m not sure when or where I purchased it. It’s a Love Inspired title released back in 2001, and I couldn’t find a good cover image to upload from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

When Hope Ashton’s grandmother is injured, she rushes from Italy to her small Montana hometown to help care for her. Hope is a renowned photographer who comes from a privileged background. She’s had some negative experiences in high school with Matthew Sheridan. When Hope returns to Montana, Matthew becomes her knight in shining armour when he rescues her from her broken down car in the rain.

She has experienced a lot of pain and heartache in her lifetime, and she has medical problems that are caused by her constant relationship worries. Hope feels that the Lord is telling her to remain single. Her parents had an unhappy marriage, filled with lots of pain and arguments, and she’s suffered through a broken engagement. She doesn’t feel she should trust her heart to anyone, not even hot and sexy Matthew Sheridan.

Matthew has been through some pains of his own. He’s raising toddler triplet boys alone (what a job!) and his wife died two years ago. He’s still grieving, and is unsure about the new feelings he has for Hope Ashton. His love grows as he finds his triplets becoming attached to Hope, and he finally can see that maybe she would make a good mother to his boys, and a loving wife for him.

I thought this as a sweet book, and I felt the author did a good job with using words to appeal to the senses. She describes the scenery very well, making me want to hop on a plane and ride down to Montana!

Cecelia Dowdy