Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

The Face Of The Earth by Deborah Raney

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The Face Of The Earth by Deborah Raney

What would you do if your spouse were suddenly missing? How would you cope?

When Mitchell Brannon returns home from work, he’s eagerly awaiting his wife’s (Jill’s) return from a conference. She’s left a voicemail message, stating she’s looking forward to coming home. However, when Jill fails to return, Mitch is stunned. Where could she be? Reaching out to his kids, his beautiful next door neighbor (Shelley – Jill’s best friend) as well as the rest of his community, he begins searching for his wife. She’s missing – he has to find her.

His situation becomes more complicated when he enlists Shelly’s help even further. He finds himself attracted to Shelley, but, he feels guilty. Jill is still missing. He feels he’s being unfaithful to his wife by having a strong attraction to Shelley.

This book grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn’t let me go. It’s a real page-turner as the mystery of Jill’s whereabouts is unraveled. In spite of Shelley’s and Mitch’s emotional and physical attraction, you do feel sympathy for them. Both are grieving for their lost loved one – they have no idea if Jill is dead or alive and not knowing about someone you love makes it emotionally hard to cope day after day.

I believe this is the first Deborah Raney book I’ve ever read, and I’m determined to read more.

So what would you do if your spouse were suddenly missing? How would you cope? How long would you search for your missing spouse?

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~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

Saturday Matinee! Avatar!

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Avatar – A James Cameron film

If you were paralyzed, would you travel five years into space to live inside a mobile, alien body?

Jake Sulley’s identical twin brother is dead. His twin was supposed to go on an important mission in space, and it takes five years to get to the mission place (Pandora). Since Jake’s twin is no longer available, Jake is sent in his place. Upon arrival, his superiors don’t want Jake as part of their group – he’s had no training, and he doesn’t know a whole lot about what he needs to be accomplishing. When he spots his twin brother’s Avatar, Jake is intrigued, the Avatar looks just like him!

His superiors are after an important, rare mineral that’s kept in an inaccessible place, near a huge tree, in Pandora.

Jake “gets into” his Avatar when he’s asleep. While in this foreign body, Jake finds that he can walk, which is really cool since he’s paralyzed. His coworkers also incorporate their Avatars, while sleeping too. While in the bodies of these foreign blue creatures, they can talk and interact with the native people of this faraway space land. When the foreign people “choose” Jake as a “special person.” He finds that his role drastically changes in this special project.

I really enjoyed this movie. Although I’m not much of a fantasy/sci-fi fan, I still thought this movie was good. The scenery was breathtaking and I loved seeing this foreign land and loved seeing the weird-looking beings who inhabit this place. I also liked how the Pandora beings interacted with plants and animals. The Pandora people could physically link themselves to their animals, mentally giving their animals commands.

If you were paralyzed, could you see yourself taking your twin’s place, in a special project, like Jake Sulley did in this movie?

If you’ve seen this movie, leave a comment – let me know what you thought about it.

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~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

Do Men Read Romance Novels? – From The Blog Archives

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Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received correspondence from two men about my Love Inspired title, First Mates. Both men said that they enjoyed the story and they wanted to know if I had other titles available. One of the men is thirty years old and the other is in his seventies. This recent correspondence gave me the idea for the topic of this blog post.

Do you know any men who read romance novels?

When I think of romance novel readers, I picture women of various ages engrossed in the pages of romance paperback novels. I realize this view may be a bit out-dated so I’d like the opinions of others. If you know of any male romance readers, tell us about them. What do men find appealing about a romance novel? If you are a man who reads romance, please respond and tell us why you read it.

Leave your responses in the comments! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

With Eyes Of Love by Linda S. Glaz

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With Eyes of Love by Linda S. Glaz

What would you do if you returned from the war, disfigured? How would you handle it?

When Barbara and her family are stranded their car at Christmas, endangered, because of a flood, they’re rescued by the Judges, a sympathetic family who takes them in for shelter. When Jackson Judge, a son in their family of rescuers, winks at Barbara, she’s slightly offended yet attracted to handsome Jackson. However, Barbara is engaged to Elliott so it’s not possible for her to act upon her feelings for Jackson.

Barbara returns to the Judges home about two years later, keeping in contact via letters with Betty Judge, Jackson’s sister. She’s become best friends with Betty and she’s returning to be maid of honor in Betty’s weddings. She wonders what’s become of Jackson since Betty seldom mentions her brother in her letters.

However, when Barbara sees Jackson, she realizes he’s suffered a lot of pain and anguish, both physical and mental. Fighting in World War II, amidst Pearl Harbor, he’s been injured. Jackson doesn’t feel he’d be a viable mate to anybody in his current physical and mental state of mind.

I enjoyed this story. Usually in romance novels, both hero and heroine look PERFECT and flawless. Reading a book where one of the characters is not physically attractive on the outside was a refreshing change from the regular romance novel. Overall, this was a good, intriguing read.

So, what would you do if you returned from the war physically disfigured? How would you cope?

Congrats To The Christy Award Nominees!

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Join me in offering a hearty congrats to all of the Christy Award nominees!

Contemporary Romance/

The Breath of Dawn

by Kristen Heitzmann (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Lethal Legacy

by Irene Hannon (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Wildflowers from Winter

by Katie Ganshert (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas/

Two Destinies

by Elizabeth Musser (David C Cook)

You Don’t Know Me

by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)

Waiting for Sunrise

by Eva Marie Everson (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone/

The Air We Breathe

by Christa Parrish (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Borders of the Heart

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

Not in the Heart

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

First Novel/

Into the Free

by Julie Cantrell (David C Cook)

Tangled Ashes

by Michèle Phoenix (Tyndale House Publishers)

Wedded to War

by Jocelyn Green (River North, an imprint of Moody Press)

Historical/

Flame of Resistance

by Tracy Groot (Tyndale House Publishers)

Wedded to War

by Jocelyn Green (River North, an imprint of Moody Press)

A Wreath of Snow

by Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

 

Historical Romance/

Against the Tide

by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Be Still My Soul

by Joanne Bischof (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Love’s Reckoning

by Laura Frantz (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/

Downfall

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

The Last Plea Bargain

by Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers)

Rare Earth

by Davis Bunn (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Submerged

by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

*This category includes four nominees due to a tie in scoring.

Visionary/

Daughter of Light

Daughter of Light

by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press)

Soul’s Gate

by James L. Rubart (Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Starflower

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Young Adult/

Child of the Mountains

by Marilyn Sue Shank (Delacorte Press, a division of Random House)

Failstate

by John W. Otte (Marcher Lord Press)

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words

by Rachel Coker (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Have you read any of these books? If so, which ones?

Love At Any Cost by Julie Lessman

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Love At Any Cost

“Available April 15, 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Cassidy McClare travels to San Francisco to spend the summer with her rich cousins. She needs to heal from her broken heart – her ex has broken up with her – and she realizes it’s because she’s no longer wealthy.When she arrives in San Francisco, she literally slams into gorgeous Jaime McKenna! They start off on the wrong foot – Cassidy can’t trust Jaime, after all, he’s a good-looking man and she knows how dangerous a good-looking man can be. Cassidy doesn’t need a man in her life, after all, she’s a cowgirl – all she needs is a lasso and the open range to be happy.

However, Jaime finds himself smitten with Cassidy – he’s determined to marry her. After all, she’s rich, and he needs a rich wife to help fund the surgery for his crippled sister. Jaime has a lot of emotional baggage – he blames himself for his sister’s unfortunate accident, and he doesn’t need God in his life. Why should he trust in God since God’s never been there for him during the rough  times, especially when he was a poor youth living in the slums.

This book was TOTALLY awesome! From the first page I was hooked, and kept reading. The attraction between Jaime and Cassidy literally jumped off the page, and you could see how drawn they were to one another. Also, the conflict between this couple was so deep. Jaime is not a Christian, and, Cassidy is in love with him, yet, it’s against her faith to be romantically involved with a non-Christian.

I think Jaime’s character was so deep – he had lots of layers of emotional angst – anger, depression. He can’t forgive himself for something that happened a long time ago, he wants to take all of his problems and solve them himself, not relying on God. I think, by reading this book, it just shows that we can’t solve all of our problems on our own, we have to rely on HIM, God, to help us through all our troubles. Also, we need to remember that He has already forgiven us for all of our sins, so, feeling guilty for years and years will not help, only relying on God and accepting His gift will help us through our pain and turmoil.

Like the rest of Julie’s books, I loved the passion and the physical descriptions of the characters! Also, I felt like I was really there, the sights, smells, and descriptions of the characters were so realistic!

If you want a good, passionate, emotional Christian read then you should buy this book!


Many thanks to Baker Revell for providing me with a free review copy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

 

Simple Pleasures! – From The Blog Archives

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What’s your favorite dessert?

When I write my stories, I notice that I habitually tap into the senses of smell and taste – especially taste! I’ve had a number of readers to say that they get hungry while reading my stories. I love writing about different foods, but I’m very passionate about sweets. I love eating them, describing them, making others crave a nice piece of buttery pound cake, or a dense slice of cherry-coated cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes with you today. I’ve had at least two people tell me that this is the best pound cake they’ve ever eaten. It’s simple and it’s oh-so-good! When you bite into this pound cake, the tart lemon glaze is a stark contrast to the buttery lemony pound cake, and it’ll just make you close your eyes and enjoy bite after bite! 🙂

If you try this pound cake, let me know if you enjoyed it. I know I shared this recipe with one of my former co-workers and she said when she made it, it didn’t taste as good as mine…not sure why?

So, what’s your favorite dessert? Leave a comment and feel free to share the recipe with us!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

OLD FASHIONED LEMON POUND CAKE

1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Fresh lemon juice from one lemon (I use one of those bulb-shaped, cheap plastic juicers that people use for orange juice in order to juice my lemon. You get more juice that way. Be sure to remove any seeds. )
Grated lemon rind from one lemon
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup evaporated milk

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan. Beat butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar ½ cup at a time, creaming well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lemon extract, juice and rind. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir thoroughly after each addition. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. If cake is not done after 70-80 minutes, bake longer, until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes; remove from pan.

GLAZE:
Sift one cup of confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Squeeze juice (or use a a juicer – mentioned above) of one lemon into a separate bowl. Remove seeds from the lemon juice. Mix lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar and drizzle over cooled cake.


Enjoy! 🙂

Congrats To RWA’s Rita-Award Finalists!

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Join me in congratulating the Romance Writers of America Rita award finalists in the Inspirational category! The winner will be announced at the annual RWA conference in July 2013!

Inspirational Romance Finalists

Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden
Baker Publishing Group, Bethany House Publishers
Raela Schoenherr, editor

Betrayal by Robin Lee Hatcher
Zondervan
Sue Brower and Leslie Peterson, editors

An Heiress at Heart by Jennifer Delamere
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Lauren Plude, editor

A House Full of Hope by Missy Tippens
Harlequin, Love Inspired Books
Emily Rodmell and Rachel Burkot, editors

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade
Baker Publishing Group, Bethany House Publishers
Sarah Long, editor

Naomi’s Christmas by Marta Perry
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Trade
Ellen Edwards, editor

The Soldier’s Wife by Cheryl Reavis
Harlequin, Love Inspired Books
Tina Gavin, editor

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Ami McConnell, editor

 

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

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The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

Have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?

When teenaged Ellie’s mother has an affair with a famous country-western singer, her father goes ballistic. Once discovering his wife is pregnant, he throws her out of the house, telling his daughter Ellie that they’re moving from Georgia to California. Ellie runs to her best friend Nolan, crying about her plight. Initially, Nolan is not sure what to do – after all, he’s determined to marry Ellie someday. Nolan and Ellie write a letter to one another, then place the unread letters in a tackle box and burying them near their favorite tree at the local park. Nolan states that in eleven years, they are going to meet under that tree on that day to read the letters – this will give them a chance at being together since Ellie will be moving so far away.

The book continues eleven years later and you see Ellie’s life change drastically. Her relationship with her overbearing father crumbles, and she never hears from her mother.

This book was somewhat emotional, as you see Ellie and Nolan pine for one another. You also see the Lord working with some of the secondary characters like Ellie’s father, mother, and Payton (the country western singer). Although the story was good, I thought there were a LOT of conveniently coincidental things that happened which kept Nolan and Ellie apart for all of those years.

Many thanks to Howard Books for providing me with a free review copy.

So, have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?

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~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

Saturday Matinee! A Beautiful Mind

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A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe

Have you ever dealt with anybody who suffered from schizophrenia?

John Nash is brilliant math graduate student at Princeton University. He’s pressured into publishing works, however, he can’t think of a great idea for his paper. He finally comes up with a new concept which he publishes and garners him a spot at MIT. While at Princeton, he becomes friends with his roommate, Charles, and later, he meets Charles’ niece, Marcee.

He also dates his student, Alicia, and they fall in love. John also works for the secret service, trying to decipher cryptic codes in magazines and periodicals. He’s obsessed with breaking these codes and the walls of his office are covered with newspapers as he tries to decipher these messages while trying to escape from the Russians.

***SPOILER

 

Then, John has a breakdown and it’s discovered that he has schizophrenia. His wife, Alicia, wrongly believed that Charles and Marcee were real people since John spoke of them so often. John has to suffer through intense therapy and finally decides to stop his medication – although he still sees these “people” (Charles, Marcee, the government workers/agents, etc.) he realizes these people are not real and are figments of his imagination.

This movie really made me think about schizophrenia. I wondered about the human mind and the way it worked…how can you imagine somebody so hard that you actually see them, talk to them, think that they’re real over a number of years – not realizing that you were talking to no one? I wondered if the part of our brain that controls dreams and imaginations – well, if that part of our brain, goes haywire/wrong, then, maybe that would make your mind really “see” things/people who are not real?

John even shook hands with Charles and he hugged Marcee. He could touch these imaginary people, too?

Just knowing that you can see, touch, and feel people whom are not there blows my mind. When people witnessed John talking to his “friends” they just saw him talking to dead air.

Overall the movie was pretty good, but, I probably won’t watch it again anytime soon.

So, have you ever dealt with schizophrenia in your life – either yourself, or known someone with this illness? What happened? Did the treatment work?