Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

New York Times Bestseller List

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I was skimming the New York Times Bestseller Lists for both print and e-book combined for fiction from April 2012 – July 2012. I only looked at the top 15 titles, I didn’t view the extended list. It was interesting to see two self-published secular titles listed as bestsellers. Do you know of any other NY Times Bestsellers that are self-published titles? Far as I know, the author of On The Island got a major seven figure deal with a traditional publisher.

ON THE ISLAND, by Tracey Garvis-Graves. (Tracey Garvis-Graves.) An English teacher and the teenage boy she has agreed to tutor are stranded on an island when the seaplane taking them to join his family in the Maldives crashes in the Indian Ocean.

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, by Jamie McGuire. (Jamie McGuire.) A college girl in search of a new beginning makes a bet with an attractive but dangerous man.

This was the was the only Christian title that I saw on the list for those months in the top fifteen for those months:

LOVING, by Karen Kingsbury. (Zondervan.) Bailey Flanigan must decide: Will she spend her life with Brandon in Los Angeles, or will her heart draw her back to Cody in Indiana?

It’d be great to see more Christian fiction titles in the top fifteen regularly. Wouldn’t it be great if Christian fiction could dominate the list?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Cooking The Books by Bonnie S. Calhoun

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Cooking The Books by Bonnie S. Calhoun

Sloane Templeton is grieving. Her mother recently died and she’s now the owner of her deceased mom’s bookstore. Sloane never considered herself “into” books, but all of that changes when she leaves her Cyber Crime job to work in the store. A strange cast of characters lurk in the store, including Barbara, a crazy woman who has terrible mood swings and Fifi, the elderly store manager who was also her mother’s friend. Barbara is currently homeless, and appears to find solace spending time in the store with her laptop.

Sloane’s life is full of drama – her ex-boyfriend, Trey, who’s also a gangster, is having a hard time accepting that she’s now involved with a White Greek man, Andreas. Trey’s threatening nature intensifies, making Sloane fear for her safety. Also, somebody wants Sloane dead. When scary, cryptic messages start showing up on the computers in the bookstore, she tries to find the source of the problem by relying on her computer skills as well as the skills from her old co-workers. Also, Sloane receives a special delivery of a smelly dead rat. The mystery intensifies when two men fight over purchasing an ancient, mystical book in Sloane’s possession. This mysterious book was acquired by her mother and having this book causes more turmoil in her complicated life.

When her fears worsen, she learns to shoot with a group of old people who often come to her store, but rarely read or buy books. The Granny Oakley Club escort Sloane to the shooting range, since she’s extremely dangerous handling a gun since she doesn’t know how to shoot.

In small snippets of comic relief, Sloane finds herself playing referee to her Aunt Verline. Aunt Verline can’t cook, and the few times she does, it turns into a disaster! The food is never edible and the fire department has made several trips to Verline’s house since she manages to burn down her kitchen when she tries to cook!

I really enjoyed this mystery. Sloane is a strong woman, but, I don’t think she initially realizes the depth of her strength. Like most Christians, she’s made some bad choices in her life, choices that come back to haunt her. The book leaves you wanting to read more mysteries starring Sloane Templeton.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Pen Pals – From The Blog Archives

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

by Cecelia Dowdy

Note, this is a repeat of an old blog post.

Does the title of this blog post bring back memories? Have you ever had pen pals? If so, do you remember their names and where they were from? How long did the writing relationship last?

Pen pals is a somehwat “archaic” term. The reason I say this is because with the advancement of the internet, I don’t think people write letters to one another anymore using pen, ink, envelope and stamp. When I was growing up, I believe my fascination with pen pals was one of the indications that I’d become a writer when I got older.

I recall reading the Archie Comic books and there was a list of people from which to choose pen pals listed in the book. Also, you could send in money to the comic book people and they’d mail you the address for a pen pal. I recall taping approximately 75 cents onto the order form and mailing it out to the comic book people. In return, I received pen pals.

I recall two of my pen pals quite well. One was named Karen G. (I won’t reveal the last name, but I remember it.) and she lived in Jacksonville, Florida. The other one was named Tammy K. and she lived in…Maine, Montana, Massachusetts? I only recall that Tammy’s home state started with a M. I exchanged pictures with both of them. Karen had short curly dark hair and Tammy had long brown straight hair. Sometimes, we’d exchange gifts. Tammy sent me a necklace once and it had a pendant in the shape of a chocolate ice cream cone! 🙂

I wrote to these girls for about a year or so? Then, the relationship just tapered off to nothing. The letters stopped suddenly and when I wrote, I finally received no response from either of them. I wonder where these ladies are today and if they even remember writing to me back in the seventies.

So, have you ever had pen pals? If so, do you remember their names and where they were from? How long did the writing relationship last?

Don’t forget to leave a comment!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Gifted by Ann H. Gabhart

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The Gifted by Ann H. Gabhart

Could you imagine falling in love at first sight?

Jessamine Brady is taken to the Shaker village after her grandmother dies, when she was still a child. Now, she’s almost 21 – the age where most young Shakers sign a covenant to become an official member of the religious sect. Jessamine feels that something is missing in her life, and she struggles with her choice of signing the covenant. She’s a writer and writing stories and idle words are not allowed in the Shaker village. She loves to dance and enjoys gazing at God’s wonders, but, the Shakers allow little time for idleness. Jessamine’s life changes drastically when her and another Shaker sister find a handsome wounded man in the woods. Once they bring the wounded man back to their village, it’s discovered that he’s lost his memory, however, he manages to give them a fake name, Philip Rose. Jessamine soon finds his name is Tristan Cooper, and she longs to be with him, learn more about him, and to love him.

Jessamine struggles with the deep attraction she shares with Tristan. However, the Shakers feel that marriage is a sin, which is why they live secluded lives, with the sexes in separate dormitory-type rooms. The men and women only see one another during their eating and worship times, and even then, the sexes remain separate. They also dance and shake during worship, trying to stomp the devil out of their lives.

Tristan also struggles with his attraction to Jessamine. After all, he’s engaged to another – his mother is “forcing” him to marry privileged Laura so that their union will allow Laura’s father to save Tristan’s family from financial ruin.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is written in an intriguing way and it also only covers the span of a few days. Could you imagine falling in love at first sight? I felt that Jessamine and Tristan fell in love extremely quickly since they barely had time together in the Shaker village. Although they do spend time together later in the book, I still think they fell in love fast, but the story was written in a way that their love was believable and strong. This was a good read that’ll teach you a lot about Shaker life. Many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing me with a free review copy.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – From The Blog Archives – Clothing Filled With God’s Spirit

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

***This is a repeat of an old blog post!
Do you think the early Christians had deeper faith than the present-day Christians?

I’ve been talking about the early Christians. The church was so much different back then – at least different from the churches of which I’ve been a member. The miracles that happened within the early church were truly amazing. I’d like to take this moment and share some scriptures that show clothing filled with God’s spirit. I blogged about this first scripture years ago, but, thought it’d be good to talk about again since this scripture pertains to the early Christians, mainly, the Apostle Paul:

Acts 19:11-12
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

That’s so cool, awesome and totally amazing! Can you imagine, an apron or handkerchief that had touched Paul could be taken to a sick person and the item could cure his/her illness and drive out evil spirits! Man….like, wow!!!

Paul’s miraculous miracles, stored in clothing items that he touched….

Wow!

I was talking to my husband about this last night and he reminded me of the following scripture – when the bleeding woman touched Jesus clothing and was healed:
Luke 8:43-48
43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

I would like to witness something like this happening myself. Yes, I do realize that it’s still possible for this to happen today, people can get healed, but, I wish I could travel in a time machine and go back to the days of Jesus and the Apostle Paul and witness these healings as descibed in the above-mentioned scriptures.

So, do you think the early Christians had deeper faith than the present-day Christians?

Leave a comment.

I’d also like to mention that my novel collection, Chesapeake Weddings, is still available for a low price of $2.79 on Christianbook.com.

Also, my novel, First Mates, is available on Kindle as well as other e-readers for the low price of $3.99.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Love Finds You In Carmel-By-The Sea

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Love Finds You In Carmel-By-The-Sea by Sandra D. Bricker

Annie needs a job. She’s recently moved in with her grandmother, a retired film star, who lives in the California town of Carmel By The Sea. When she finds a job as a private investigator’s assistant, she meets Nick, who will be running the PI office since her boss, Deke, is having surgery. Nick is a cop and when he literally runs into Annie at the movie theater, he finds himself attracted to her.

Annie has a friend named Evan – Evan is kind of like an old, comfortable shoe. They’ve been dating for years, but, their relationship has not moved forward. Annie has a hard time deciding what she wants to do. She knows that Evan has always been there for her as a friend, and she enjoys his company, yet, she finds it hard to admit to herself that she’s attracted to Nick. She doesn’t have the courage to enter into a real relationship that’s based upon love. Annie’s and Nick’s feelings intensify as they work together each day. You also see Annie doing some PI work, investigating supposedly cheating spouses and boyfriends for her clients.

Annie feels somewhat intimidated by her perfect little brother. Her parents dote about her sibling because he’s done everything right – he has a high-powered job, a perfect wife, and a baby on the way. Why can’t Annie get her act together and find a perfect job and a perfect husband? Most of Annie’s friends and relatives don’t understand why she wants to be a PI assistant.

This book was light and refreshing. I’m not a huge fan of old movies, but, if you are, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the references to the old-time flicks. Annie even meets Doris Day, which proves to be a highlight for her. If you like light, sweet, funny romances, then you should give this book a try. The story proved to be charming and entertaining.

As an aside, I just wanted to point out that I visited Carmel several years ago and I enjoyed the quaint town. I have a vaguely good memory of my trip to Carmel and I felt this author did a great job with depicting the setting.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Promises To Keep – From The Archives

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Promises To Keep by the late Jane Peart

Can you think of a book that creates a strong, vivid response from you? If so, please leave a comment with the title of an emotionally-charging novel(s).

***Note, as a reminder, I’m still working on my writing project. Until I’m finished, I’ll be posting old stuff from the archives. Feel free to leave a comment! I love hearing from blog readers!

I read this book several years ago and I recall that the story stirred up lots of deep vivid emotions for me. I encourage all to download a copy onto their Nook, Kindle, or other e-reader.

When Valerie’s husband is imprisoned for a white-collar crime, she feels as if her world is falling apart. She must now learn to support herself, plus raise her young daughter alone. Garth, her handsome next door neighbor, is smitten with her, and he offers her love and comfort. She feels torn about accepting Garth’s love when her husband is still in prison. She is also struggling in dealing with her daughter’s gradual hearing loss.
When her husband gets out of prison, she has to make a choice, should she take her husband back, for better or worse, or should she pursue a future with Garth.

This book was highly emotional, and I was anxious to see what choices Valerie made when faces with big, life-altering decisions. I highly recommend this book for those who want to read an emotional tale.

 So, can you think of a book that stirs strong, vivid emotions for you? If so, please leave a comment with the title of the emotionally-charging novel. 

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Shepherd’s Voice – From The Archives

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The Shepherd’s Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher – From the archives – this is a repeat of an old book review. I read this novel several years ago and recall really enjoying this story by Robin Lee Hatcher. I encourage you to give this book a try! Download it onto your e-reader today!

Convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, Gabe Talmadge returns to his hometown of Ransom, seeking the love denied to him by his father Hudson Talmadge. Instead of finding the love of his forsaken father, he finds the love of Akira Macauley, owner of the sheep farm, Dundreggan. Gabe also discovers the love of another father, his Heavenly Father. Akira teaches Gabe about love and faith, and he realizes his biggest mistake was forsaking the Lord, several years ago. When he’s again mistakenly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, his faith in God is tested, and he learns that it’s imperative to always lean on the Lord.      

Have you ever read any novels by Robin Lee Hatcher? If so, which one was your favorite?

~Cecelia Dowdy~