Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Cake Mix Banana Bread! :-)

I discovered this recipe yesterday and thought it was WONDERFUL! We had some ripe bananas and I wanted to bake some banana bread for my family for breakfast. I was tired, and didn’t feel like measuring out all of the ingredients. Recalling the yellow cake mix I had in the cupboard, I wondered if I could use the cake mix to make banana bread, and I could! Using Google, I found the following recipe.

Cake Mix Banana Bread

1 (18 1/4 ounce) box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
3 -5 mashed bananas
1 cup chopped pecans (I eliminated the pecans because I didn’t have any on hand, but, the bread was still delicious!)

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Grease and flour 1 loaf pan or 1 large Bundt pan.
3 Mix all ingredients together until well blended and pour into pan(s).
4 Bake for 30-35 minutes (45 minutes, approximately for the Bundt pan) or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I had to bake my loaves for MUCH LONGER than 35 minutes!)
5 Remove from oven to cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
6 Cool completely on wire rack.

Do you like fiction and food? Then join my email list and enjoy novels that are so delicious that they’ll make you hungry!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Saturday Matinee! – Oz, The Great And Powerful

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If you were held in bondage by someone wicked, could you rely on a mortal man to save you?

Well, the people of Oz were waiting for a real wizard to save them from the wicked witch. This movie was entertaining, and it contains some elements from the classic Judy Garland film. Also, there were elements taken from the novel, The Wizard Of Oz.

Oscar (Oz) is a con-man/magician in Kansas. He breaks ladies’ hearts, while doing magic tricks in a carnival. He jumps into a hot air balloon to escape the wrath of the carnival’s Strongman. He’s then swept away into the land of Oz in the midst of a cyclone.

The people in Oz have been waiting for him, they see him as their savior since it’s been prophesied that he would come. Of course there are witches, both good and evil, but, the movie had an strange twist with the witches. If I told you more about them, it would spoil the story.

The Wizard had some special people to accompany him while he searched for the wicked witch. One of his companions was a China doll who had broken legs. The China doll was not in the original Wizard of Oz film, but, I do recall in The Wizard of Oz novel, that Dorothy and her friends traveled through the land of China – where everything was made of China and the people and objects were breakable. The Wizard’s other companion was a winged, talking monkey.

The special effects for this movie were amazing, and it was the perfect prequel to the The Wizard of Oz classic. The film was also laced with a small amount of humor, too.

I kind of felt like the people of Oz: The Quadlings, The Tinkers, The Munchkins, etc. viewed The Wizard as if he were God, Jesus Christ himself, coming to save them from the throes of Satan (the Wicked Witch).

Overall, a good movie. Have you seen this movie? If not, are you planning on seeing it? How do you think this movie compares to the classic?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Selling My Soul by Sherri Lewis

Saturday Matinee – A Walk To Remember

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A Walk to Remember

A Walk To Remember

Have you ever dated somebody who is a total opposite?

This was a sweet movie about two teenagers who are total opposites. Landon is a popular guy in high school. When a prank against a fellow student goes totally wrong, he’s forced into punishment by the principal. The punishment includes tutoring other students, assisting the janitor, and participating in the high school play. He finds himself working with Jaime in the play, by playing the lead role opposite hers.

Jaime is not well-liked at school. A preacher’s daughter and a loner, she finds solace looking at the stars and having goals and dreams about her life. Jaime also has a deep faith in God.

Jaime and Landon’s lives take an interesting turn when he goes to her for help in learning his lines for the high school play. They find themselves attracted to one another, which causes a sticky situation in Landon’s life since it doesn’t help his image to be seen with a girl like Jaime.

However, there’s a startling, unique reason why Jaime should not fall in love.

I enjoyed this movie. I especially liked how this movie showed how two opposites can become attracted to one another. If you’ve seen this movie, I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!

Have you ever dated somebody who is a total opposite of yourself? If so, what happened? Please share with a comment!

***I also wanted to add that this movie reminded me of the young adult books written by Lurlene McDaniel. It also reminded me of a novel I read a LONG TIME ago called P.S. I Love You.

Need a good, emotional romance? Try John’s Quest, on sale now for 99 cents!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

African-American Books – From The Blog Archives

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Do you read books by African-American (AA) authors?

Many African-Americans will only read books by AA authors. Also, most bookstores have a separate section for AA books.

While I was growing up, there were few AA authors, so I read ANY NOVEL that I could find, the race of the author didn’t matter to me! I was joyous when the publishing scene exploded with lots of AA books (I was an adult by this time.)

My question to all of you is, if you are NOT African-American, do you mind reading African-American fiction? Do you feel that AA books are only written for other African-Americans? If you go to a bookstore, and see the AA section, would you go to that section and browse, or do you feel that those books are only for AA readers?

And if you are AA, do you ONLY read books by AA authors, or do you read books by people of all races? Over the years, I’ve met several African-Americans who tell me that they’ll only read AA authors.

I’ll start by responding to my own question. I’ll read a novel as long as it’s well-written and enjoyable. I don’t care if the author or characters are AA or not, I’m gonna read the book regardless. If I don’t like it, I won’t finish reading it!

I doubt that God would want us to separate our reading tastes like this. I’d think he’d want us to be open-minded and read books by authors of all races.

Leave your responses in the comments! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Grounds To Believe by Shelley Bates

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Grounds To Believe by Shelley Bates

Have you ever been involved in a cult, or, known someone who’s been involved in one? What happened when you (or whomever) was involved with that group?

Ross Malcolm has a young daughter and he’s desperate to find his child. Years ago, he was involved with a woman (the mother of his child) who ran away with his daughter to join a cult. Ross has not seen his child in years, and wonders about her fate. A Christian, Ross is determined to investigate cults, hoping to stop their unreasonable practices.

Ross is alerted to investigate a cult when a pattern of mysterious children’s deaths becomes suspicious. When he rolls into town on his motorbike, he meets Julia, a member of The Elect, the cult he’s been called to investigate. He finds himself attracted to the beautiful plain-dressed woman. His ruse requires him to act as if he’s interested in becoming one of the Elect – the Elect feel that they are the only saved ones on this earth – all other religions are worldly and influenced by Satan.

I really loved this book because I saw several elements that were familiar in the cult environment. For example, The Elect don’t believe in having a personal relationship with Jesus – their salvation depends upon their Shepherd and his rules – God only speaks to them through their Shepherd and he decides their fate, not God. Also, they watch one another, if one rule is broken or bended, you could be Silenced, scorned for life, doomed to a life of Hell. Makes me wonder how one can stay enmeshed within a cult for so long – but, I suppose after being in it for so long and it’s all you know, you become close to the other members, and they’re like your family. It’d be kinda hard to give all that up if you don’t have others in the world in which to turn. The members of the Elect kinda reminded me of the Amish and the Shakers with their judgmental attitudes.

This was a good read over all! So have you ever been involved in a cult, or known someone who has? What happened? Tell me about the experience by leaving a comment!

Need a good, emotional romance? Try John’s Quest, on sale now for 99 cents!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Love Letters – From The Blog Archives

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by Cecelia Dowdy

This is a repeat of an old blog post! I thought I’d re-post since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow!

Do you remember your very first love letter?

My blog post about my childhood pen pals made me think about other forms of written communication from my childhood, mainly, my first love letter.

The first time I received a love letter was when I was in the sixth grade and I was eleven years old. I sat at my assigned desk during math class. When I was about to leave, I looked down and saw a piece of notebook paper under my seat. I picked it up and was shocked to see the words from a secret admirer…my secret admirer! I don’t remember what the note said, BUT, I do remember that this person had taken a piece of masking tape and attached a nickel to the note as a gift for me!

Believe it or not, I never did find out who wrote me that letter! I recall being kind of upset that he’d only left me a nickel…it was the seventies and there wasn’t much that you could purchase at the store for five cents! I recall wishing he’d left me a dollar instead!

After that, I don’t really recall writing love letters very much, but, I remember my female friends in high school and college writing letters and secret notes to guys that they had a crush on. The only time I remember exchanging love letters was with my husband and it was via email. We met through an online dating service and while we dated we sent several emails to each other. As a matter of fact, we still exchange emails! 🙂

So do you remember writing or receiving your first love letter? Who was it from? To whom did you address your first love letter?
Leave your response in the comments!

Need a good, emotional romance? Try John’s Quest, on sale now for 99 cents!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Interview On The Christian Author Network Blog!

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I was interviewed on the Christian Author Network blog today! Read the interview and leave a comment!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Question From A Poet

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To whom it may concern:

My name is R.B. and I am a poet. I’ve been writing since the age of twelve and I’ve had several of my poems published. What I would like to do is publish a book of inspirational poems based on my life & the things I’ve been through. I’m well aware of the fact that most publishing companies only pay to publish the books of well known authors and celebrities. I may not be a celebrity, but my Heavenly Father is and I believe that my testimony displayed in each and every one of my poems can touch people in a special way. I perform my pieces at church programs and everyone keeps asking me when they can purchase my book. All I need is for someone to take a chance on me and my work. I am very aware that anything worth having is worth working for and I am willing to put in the work if given the opportunity. Investing in me would be a blessing to me as well as all the people I will reach through my book. Please seriously consider my proposal. Please and thank you in advance. God bless you.

R.B.

My response:

R.B., thanks for writing to me and for visiting my blog! I appreciate getting questions from writers. I know very little about publishing poetry, so, I’m going to give you advice based upon limited experience. If I were you, I’d self-publish my book of poems. If you’re doing regular performances at churches, then you already have a built-in platform! I think it’s awesome that you’re using your gifts to glorify God’s Kingdom!

I’m not sure which publisher I’d recommend that you use, though, since I’ve never self-published a book. I’d assume you’d want to search for somebody as an editor to help with editing your work before you get it published. You might also want to make your poems available as an e-book, too. However, I’d definitely get paper copies of your books printed because it appears that you’d be able to move/sell a lot of copies after your performances. Also, make sure that your book has a nice, professional-looking cover.

From what I’ve heard over the years, publishers rarely offer book contracts for poetry. It just doesn’t sell very well. That’s why I feel it’d be best if you paid to have your work published (by self-publishing your poems). I’m not sure about the cost of getting your work published, but, with your regular performance engagements, I’d imagine it wouldn’t take long for you to earn your money back when you sell your copies to your audience.

You’d mentioned the following:

I’m well aware of the fact that most publishing companies only pay to publish the books of well known authors and celebrities.

This is simply not true. I’m certainly not famous or well-known and I’ve had five books published. This is a myth that needs to be broken. I guess there is some truth to that statement if you are specifically referring to biographies and true-life stories – in those cases, you’d probably have a better chance of getting a book contract if you were famous/well-known.

From the tone of your email, I sense that you think that I am a publisher. I’m not a publisher, I’m an author, however, I do answer questions on this blog from other writers.

I hope you found my advice helpful, and I hope you have a blessed day!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – Why Do Different Races Worship Separately?

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Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Do you worship at a mixed-race church, or, is your church predominantly one race?

Whenever I read the above-quoted scripture, I think about how we worship. Why do you think African-Americans and Whites worship separately? Are we presently separated in the church by race because African-Americans were forced to be separated in the past (through slavery and segregation)?

Or, are we separated because of differing worship styles? I realize some separation in the church is obviously due to do differed religious beliefs. However, in this blog post, I’m focusing on racial separation within the church.

I’ve worshiped in different race environments. As a child, the Kingdom Hall where I worshiped had mixed races. After I broke away from that faith, as an adult, I began worshiping at an AME church (African-American Episcopal). Currently, my family and I worship at a mixed race Baptist church. However, I don’t consider myself a Baptist or an AME, I consider myself a CHRISTIAN.

So, is your church a mixed-raced church, or, are the members predominantly one race? What was the racial makeup of churches where you worshiped in the past!

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