Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Announcing The Christy Award Winners!!!

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Contemporary Stand Alone:

Winter Birds by Jamie Langston Turner
Paperback
ISBN: 0764200151
Pub. Date: September 2006

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas:

The Brethren by Beverly Lewis
Paperback
ISBN: 0764201077
Pub. Date: October 2006
Series: Annie’s People Series, #3

Historical:

Madman by Tracy Groot
Paperback
ISBN: 0802463622
Pub. Date: April 2006

Lits:

Sisterchickes in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn
Paperback
ISBN: 1590525051
Pub. Date: May 2006
Series: Sisterchicks Series, #6

Romance:

The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
Paperback
ISBN: 0764200739
Pub. Date: May 2006

Suspense:

Plague Maker by Tim Downs
Paperback
ISBN: 1595542353
Pub. Date: September 2006

First Novel:

Where Mercy Flows by Karen Harter
Paperback
ISBN: 1931722609
Pub. Date: March 2006

Young Adult:

William Henry Is A Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke
Paperback
ISBN: 0802499732
Pub. Date: October 2006

Tribulation House By Chris Well

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Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (April 3, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736917411
ISBN-13: 978-0736917414

Book Description

IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD—WHICH COULD BE A PROBLEM…

Mark Hogan has it all. The job. The family. A position on the board at church. All he’s missing is a boat. Not just any boat—a 2008 Bayliner 192.

When Reverend Daniel Glory announces that the Rapture is taking place on October 17 at 5:51am, Hogan realizes his boat–buying days are numbered. So he does what any man in his situation would do—he borrows a load of money from the mob.

Not that there’s any risk involved: After all, when the Rapture comes, Hogan will be long gone. The mob will never find him.

But when Jesus fails to come back on schedule, Mark Hogan finds the mob is in no mood to discuss the finer points of end–times theology…

Chris Well’s laugh–out–loud Christian thrillers appeal to the millions of readers who gobble up the rollicking crime fiction of Janet Evanovich and Elmore Leonard.
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This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I’ll probably be reading more in the future. He has a humorous style that’ll keep you laughing, yet he has a deep inspirational message woven into the story.

I think the most important message of all is that we can’t let ourselves be like Mark Hogan and forfeit all aspects of our daily lives because we are certain about the day and hour of Christ’s return.

There were a few aspects to this book that reminded me of a few religions/cults that I’m somewhat familiar with. These aspects include:

1. The prediction Christ’s return. The scriptures state that nobody knows the day or the hour, so it’s wrong to try and prophesy the date of the rapture!

2. Since the rapture is coming, there is no reason to run for office. Reverend Daniel Glory appeared to be opposed to governmental elections since it took away precious time from the work that needed to be done…work that needed to be done before Christ appears in 2007!

3. Mark Hogan was opposed to his son taking the SAT test and going to college. When the rapture fails to happen at Daniel Glory’s predicted date, Mark is stunned and he wonders why his son is still going to school, living his life as if he’s known all along that the rapture was not going to happen. Why did his son not get caught up in the euphoria of the impending rapture?

4. It was just funny and sad at the same time when Mark and his wife haphazardly spend all of their savings and college funds since they will not be needing these things in the rapture. I’ve heard of other religions doing the same thing, selling possessions like houses in order to use up the money since they will not need money in Christ’s kingdom.

The dumb thugs were humorous as well. And I think another lesson we need to learn from this is that Mark Hogan’s zeal about the impending rapture made him lose sight of his Christianity. Amid all of the turmoil, he sinned, big time! He borrowed money from the mob to get his boat “knowing” he would not have to pay it back since the due date for the repayment of funds would occur have he’d been “raptured.” This is equal to stealing if you ask me, and Mark didn’t seem to think of it that way.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Old Interview In My Local Newspaper

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First off, I hope everybody had a great Fourth of July! I visited Barnes And Noble in Bowie Town Center during the holiday, and I’ll be blogging about that visit later this week!

I was gathering some information for a project and found that an interview, which was done by my local paper a couple of years ago, was still archived on their website. I’ve added the link to my website and I’ve added it here. I’ll also be providing some other old media information about myself over the next few days!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Urban Christian Books

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I’m sure many of you have heard of Carl Weber. Well, he owns his own publishing company called Urban Books. I recently discovered that my Black Christian Fiction website was missing several great authors that have been contracted by Urban Books as part of their Urban Christian line. I’m familiar with a few of the authors like Vanessa Miller (we sat beside each other at the last Faith-Based Fiction Lovers Weekend during the book signing), and Kendra Norman-Bellamy (I know her from the Faith-Based Arts conferences and I’ve read her novels). However, the other authors are new to me, and some of them have signed their first book deals with Urban Christian.

It’ll be interesting to see how well these books will do. I have a feeling that they will sell quite well! I’ve added the Urban Christian authors to my Black Christian Fiction website!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Author Interview With Suzanne Woods Fisher

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Copper Star
Paperback: 292 pages
Publisher: Vintage Romance Publishing (June 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0979332745
ISBN-13: 978-0979332746

Author Bio:
A contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today magazine, Suzanne has been published in numerous magazines, including Worldwide Challenge, Parent Life, Marriage Partnership, among others, and has contributed to five non-fiction books. She lives with her husband, four kids and a steady stream of puppies that she raises for Guide Dogs for the Blind in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find Suzanne on-line at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

About Copper Star:

Copper Star is a World War II love story set in 1943, as theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer smuggles a young resistance worker, Louisa, out of Nazi Germany. Louisa waits out the war in a dusty copper mining town in Arizona but can’t leave her resistance skills behind. Soon, she turns the town upside down, uncovering a mystery that leads her back to the Nazis and her war-torn country.

Released on June 30, the film rights of Copper Star are under consideration by a major motion picture studio. A contract for the sequel was offered to Fisher before Copper Star released. Pre-release orders have driven the book on Amazon’s sales rankings down into low digits.

Copper Star is already garnering rave reviews: Round Table Reviews writes, “The action in the story is moving quickly, and the character of Louisa is a lovable, somewhat feisty young woman who does not mind the taste of shoe leather… A wonderful book that is highly recommended for all readers.” Historical Novels Review notes, “Copper Star’s plot builds in conflict and excitement, and its tender romance warms the heart.”

A thorough researcher, Fisher’s can’t-put-it-down tale is woven with historical accuracy. A refreshing element of cultural deafness is portrayed through a deaf child, who learns to lip-read and speak through correspondence classes from the John Tracy Clinic, founded in 1942 by Louise and Spencer Tracy. “We are thrilled that our history coincides so beautifully with your story,” says Barbara Hecht, President of John Tracy Clinic, Los Angeles, California in her endorsement of Copper Star.

Author Interview with Suzanne:

Q: What’s the best thing about writing?

A: All of life is material. It’s all grit for the oyster.

Q: What’s the worst thing about writing?

A: I still only make a dime an hour.

Q: How have you used your gift of writing for God?

A: For most of my adult life, I could relate to that one-talent miser in Jesus’ parable (Luke 19:11-17). Plenty of other writers had been given five or even three talents. I seemed to have been dispensed a measly one. Who would even notice if I kept it buried, risk-free?

To give that a writerly twist, if I couldn’t write a bestselling, knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark book, then I probably shouldn’t even try to write a book at all.

Slowly it dawned on me that I had completely missed the point of that parable. God wasn’t asking for THE best, but MY best. Finally, I felt the freedom to try to use my one talent for His glory, regardless of its success. That was when I started this novel, Copper Star.

I’ve really enjoyed this interview! Suzanne has shared a wealth of knowledge from which all writers can benefit!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Ice Cream!

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!!! Today I had my toddler son outside and the ice cream man appeared in his musical truck! My son had never purchased anything from the ice cream man before, so we hurried inside and got some money to purchase a cool tasty treat.

Now, I haven’t purchased ice cream from the ice cream man in many years! The first thing I noticed was the prices!! What a hike! The cheapest was $1.50 and the most expensive was $4.00!!! The ice cream man suggested I purchase the cheapest item for my son since it was popular for kids his age! It was a small container of popsicle pellets in a rainbow of fruit flavors. He ate them all, and as we were sitting outside, and he was eating his fruity treat, I couldn’t help but recall the fond memories I’d had as a child when I purchased fare from the ice cream man!

We’d hear that bell ringing throughout the neighborhood, and we’d yell, “Mom, it’s the ice cream man!!” We’d jump around, get excited, want to get our money to go out there and get a popsicle or an ice cream bar. I remember that I loved the Good Humor Chocolate Eclairs, Strawberry Shortcakes, and Toasted Almonds. I also loved to get a plain vanilla or a plain chocolate ice cream bar enrobed in a chocolate shell! Yum! I always preferred ice cream over popsicles, though. I remember a popular treat with some of my friends was a Bomb Pop. It was red white and blue! Also, I recall another popsicle-like treat that my friends enjoyed that was shaped like a cone, and there was a ball of bubble gum at the bottom of the cone!

Just going out to the ice cream truck with my son tapped into some nostalgic memories for me! These are the kind of wonderful, sweet emotions we need to tap into and then translate into the stories we create!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

The Synonym Finder By J. I. Rodale

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Paperback
ISBN: 0446370290
Pub. Date: August 1986

I’ve noticed when I go through the drafts of my manuscripts, that I have a huge problem with repetition(using the same words over and over). What’s helped me a lot when I do second and third drafts is a book entitled The Synonym Finder. It’s great! It think it’s a must-have for all writers!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

A Sin And A Shame By Victoria Christopher Murray

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Paperback
ISBN: 0743287371
Pub. Date: May 2006

From the back cover:
Jasmine is back! The scandalous diva from the bestselling novel Temptation returns to stir up trouble in New York City.

After fleeing Los Angeles when her attempt to break up her best friend’s marriage fails, Jasmine is now a changed woman…and a Christian. She vows to attend church every Sunday, swears off married men, and begins her search for the soul mate she is sure God has for her. Now living in the Big Apple, she has shed twenty-five pounds, shaved ten years off her age, filled her expensive apartment with designer clothes…all to begin her man-finding mission.

She quickly meets her dream mate — a preacher — who falls head over heels in love with her. Surely, God is good! But things start slipping when another man from Jasmine’s past refuses to stay there, and an unexpected pregnancy threatens to sabotage all of her dreams. Will Jasmine’s lying and scheming continue? Or will she finally learn that honesty is the only path to redemption?

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I loved this book! However, a word of warning, there are a few sex scenes in this book, although the story does have an inspirational message.

I wanted to bop Jasmine upside the head throughout the book. Although she did grow and become a stronger Christian **spoiler ahead!!** I still did not understand why she never told her husband about all of the lies she’d told him! There was still a lot of things she’d done that she didn’t reveal to her husband, or to her husband’s father. Although she professed to being a Christian, I still found her behavior needed much improvement. The way she threw herself at Hosea’s father really got on my nerves!

Although, she finally does admit to loving Hosea, and I do believe she really loves him, I still think their marriage would be in deep trouble because, sooner or later, the truth about all of her lies will be revealed! Her husband doesn’t know her true age, he doesn’t know how she’s made several advances to his father, and the list goes on!

I’m wondering if the author is planning on doing a sequel to this novel? If so, that would explain why Jasmine never tells Hosea the truth about all of the lies she told. That might be explored in the sequel which may show Hosea and Jasmine having marital problems?

One scene that really caught my attention was when Frances Mae, Jasmine’s neighbor(an atheist) brings over dinner for Jasmine. It reminded me of one of the scenes I read in the anthology, Have A Little Faith. The story in this anthology involved an angel(or ghost) named Maybelline Brown who brought pies to her sad and depressed neighbor named Olivia. Although Frances Mae is no angel, she brings a lot of spice and mystique to the story.

Other books that I’ve read and enjoyed by Victoria Christopher Murray are:

I recommend all of the books! They tackle some tough issues, and they are enjoyable reads.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Current Reading

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I just finished A Sin And A Shame By Victoria Christopher Murray. I will review it later on this week.

I just started The Visitation by Frank Peretti. So far, the book has held my interest, and I want to keep reading it. It might take me awhile to finish this one, though, since it’s a very long book. The only thing that kind of put me off with this book the burning cross. I’m still unsure as to why this cover was chosen.

Meanwhile, happy reading and writing!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com