Category Archives: Book Talk

Catching Katie By Robin Lee Hatcher

Hardcover
Publisher: Tyndale (2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739440012
ISBN-13: 978-0739440018

Re-released as a paperback:
Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers; Reprint edition (January 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0842360999
ISBN-13: 978-0842360999

From the inside cover:

Katie Jones is committed to fighting for the cause of women’s suffrage. She has no time for romance, especially not with her best friend Ben Rafferty. But when Katie’s column in Ben’s newspaper, The Homestead Herald, stirs things up, sparks begin to fly. Ben is set on winning Katie over, but Katie is just as determined to stay true to her 1916 feminist ideals. With such strong obstacles in the way, their relationship can’t possibly progress. Unless somehow love finds a way…

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I purchased this book from Crossings a few years ago, but just got around to reading it. I loved this book! The romance was heartwarming, tender, and oh, so good! Not too long ago, I was talking about building believable characters. Robin Lee Hatcher has built a believable character when she created Katie Jones. Katie is educated, smart, determined, and stubborn. She is passionate about the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and feels that God has called her to make a huge difference by helping to provide equal rights for women.

However, she feels that she should not get married in order to properly heed this call. Her desire to not marry, in order to heed her calling provides a perfect conflict for a romance novel.

Ben Rafferty falls in love with Katie when she breezes back into town, demanding he allow her to have a weekly column in his newspaper. All he wants is to see Katie happy, but he finds himself sacrificing his own dreams in order to provide Katie with the happiness that she thinks she wants. Katie soon discovers that she’s unsure of what she wants in order to be happy. Although she fiercly believes in the movement, she’s unsure if this is what God has called her to do.

I was so into this book that it almost made me want to go out and read more about Susan B. Anthony and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement on my own. The book is so good and well-written that I think it could prove to be a useful tool in the classroom when a history class studies women’s suffrage.

Also, this was kind of strange. In the version I was reading from Crossings, Katie is described in the book as having black hair. However, the cover shows her hair as more of a light brown. Since she looks this way on the cover, the mental image I had of Katie in my mind while reading the story was of Kate Winslet (Rose) in the movie Titanic. I don’t think Kate Winslet’s hair was light brown? I think it was red, however, I pictured Kate Winslet with light brown hair whenver I read about Katie Jones. It appears that the cover was fixed for the re-released paperback version. As you can see above, the cover for the paperback version has Katie with dark hair.

I love Robin Lee Hatcher’s books and below, I’ve listed a few others that I’ve read and enjoyed. I can’t give full-blown summaries as I’ve done for the one above since I read them so long ago. However, I just want to recommend these titles. These titles are also good examples to read if you’re trying to break into the Christian romance market with your own work:

Speak To Me Of Love
ISBN: 0842360980
Pub. Date: August 2003

The Forgiving Hour
Series: Heartquest Series
Paperback
ISBN: 1578562775
Pub. Date: February 1999

There are two others I’ve read (maybe more) but the titles escape me. I scrolled through amazon, but there are a lot of titles under her name, too many for me to sort through with my limited time! If memory serves me correctly, I read one of her novels in the Coming To America series! Also I read another that I believe took place on a sheep farm and it’s a historical? I also recall the hero had served time for a crime he did not commit? If anybody can tell me the title of the sheep farm book, let me know, and I’ll gladly add them to this blog entry.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Left Behind

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by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
Paperback
ISBN: 0842329129
Pub. Date: January 1996

From Amazon.com:
Piloting his 747, Rayford Steele is musing about his wife Irene’s irritating religiosity and contemplating the charms of his “drop-dead gorgeous” flight attendant, Hattie. First Irene was into Amway, then Tupperware, and now it’s the Rapture of the Saints–the scary last story in the Bible in which Christians are swept to heaven and unbelievers are left behind to endure the Antichrist’s Tribulation. Steele believes he’ll put the plane on autopilot and go visit Hattie. But Hattie’s in a panic: some of the passengers have disappeared! The Rapture has happened, abruptly driverless cars are crashing all over, and the slick, sinister Romanian Nicolae Carpathia plans to use the UN to establish one world government and religion. Resembling “a young Robert Redford” and silver-tongued in nine languages, Carpathia is named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” (This reviewer, a former People writer, finds this plot twist plausible.) Meanwhile, Steele teams up with Buck Williams, a buck-the-system newshound, to form the Tribulation Force, an underground of left-behind penitents battling the Antichrist.

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Blogging about the rapture a couple of days ago made me think about Left Behind, the story that began the series that was a major coup for Christian fiction. I read this book several years ago, but I recall I enjoyed it. When I read it, I think about the book of Matthew. There’s a scripture in Matthew that hauntingly reminds me of Left Behind.
Matthew 24:36-44
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,[e] but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour[f] your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

When I read Left Behind, it reminds me of the scripture quoted above. It’s hard for me to comment extensively about this book since I read it so long ago. I just know it was kind of spooky when all of those people were left behind and you have older teenaged children running around without parents(that subject in covered in the Left Behind YA series). People who were raptured were gone, leaving behind eyeglasses, tooth fillings, contact lenses, these types of things were left in the spot where the person was sitting/standing while they were raptured.

Cars were crashing into each other since there are now several driverless vehicles on the road. Imagine the horror of the people left on this earth if you’re driving down the highway and the car near you no longer has a driver, and is going sixty or seventy miles an hour!

I read a lot of the books in this series, but never got around to reading all of them. I believe I read the first three or four. I actually purchased The Mark at the now-extinct Mid-Atlantic Christian Writers Conference. Jerry Jenkins was the keynote speaker at the first Mid-Atlantic conference and he signed the book for me!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Tribulation House By Chris Well

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Product Details
ISBN: 0736917411
ISBN-13: 9780736917414
Format: Paperback, 272pp
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
From the Publisher
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 book sounds interesting. I’ve ordered it from Amazon, and will post a review about it when I get around to reading it. Hogan’s actions, borrowing money from the mob since the rapture is coming, remind me of the actions of a religious organization that I’ve heard a lot about. I’d heard of one religious organization that predicted Christ’s second coming for 1975. I heard that people sold their homes, using the proceeds for ‘the cause’ in light of Christ’s return, only to be disappointed. The Bible says to beware of false prophets, and I think trying to predict the second coming of Christ and the rapture is a definite no-no!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

White Chocolate Moments By Lori Wick

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No, I have not read this book, so I can’t review it, but doesn’t the cover look scrumptious? I love white chocolate and I usually indulge in a white chocolate bunny during Easter, yum!

I’d said I would post a sample of a character sheet filled out for one of the characters in my published novels.

However, it’s late, and I’m downstairs using the wireless network on the new laptop I purchased with part of my advance money. Needless to say, I don’t have the character sheet stored on this laptop.

I will post the character sheet within the next couple of days.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

In High Places By Tom Morrisey

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Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Bethany House (March 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764203460
ISBN-13: 978-0764203466

From the inside cover:
A breath from tragedy, a whisper from glory.

For Patrick Nolan, every climb tells a story. And now maybe it’s his own…He’s right at the rim, staring over the cliff’s knife edge and wondering how things went wrong so quickly.

It all started after arriving home from a weekend climbing trip with his father, Kevin. That’s when word reached them. In a silent moment, they’d lost the person most important to them — her death raising unanswerable questions and dangerous doubts.

Launching a new life in a new town to escape their pain, son and father find themselves in danger of being torn apart forever. As his father seeks a route to solace on the dangerous high face of the rock, Paterick finds a path to hope with the unlikeliest of allies — a pastor’s daughter. Together they must discover the one answer that can bring Patrick and Kevin back from the brink of the precipice.

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I really enjoyed this book. I’m not much into rock climbing, or any type of sport for that matter, but the book was a good read. After Patrick’s mother’s sudden death, him and his father, Kevin, open a rock-climbing store in West Virgina.

I really liked the twist near the end.(SPOILER BELOW, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT YET READ THE BOOK)
The twist I’m talking about is when we discover that Patrick’s mother’s death may have not been a suicide. Also, since I’m a romance novelist, I enjoyed reading about the flourishing romance between Patrick and Rachel, however, I wish I could have changed the ending, and made it so that they were together at the end! I was so disappointed that they hooked up with other people!

Patrick’s faith was something he had to learn late in life on his own since neither of his parents ever attended church. When he accepted Christ, and then was baptized by Preacher, and started going to Rachel’s church regularly, made it a book truly worth reading. Then his newfound relationship with Christ caused a rift between him and his father, a rift that did eventually iron itself out, somewhat, however, we’re left wondering if his father really did accept Christ before his tragic death.

I also loved how Patrick and Rachel accidentally came across his deceased mother’s Bible, and they found evidence that she had, indeed, accepted Christ before her untimely death. I was relieved when I read that part. I know these people are not real, but when a writer does a great job with developing his/her characters, I sometimes forget that I’m reading about fictional people.

Oh, another unique thing about this book, which I loved, is that it takes place in the seventies! I grew up in the seventies, and hope to write a book of my own one day that takes place during that timeframe!

I highly recommend this book as a good, satisfying read. It’s a little bit different than most of the books that I read, but different in a good sort of way. Also, it’s told in the first person, which is not something I see in books very often nowadays.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Ransomed Dreams By Amy Wallace

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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Multnomah Fiction (April 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159052747X
ISBN-13: 978-1590527474

I am pleased to post the following interview about author Amy Wallace! Enjoy!

1. Tell us a little about Ransomed Dreams.

Ransomed Dreams is about answering two questions: “Can dreams be redeemed?” and “What does forgiveness look like?”

Gracie Lang is being watched by a man who will stop at nothing to hide the truth from her. Having lost the only man she ever loved and the children who were her world, the truth is all Gracie wants – an explanation for what really happened. She longs to move forward but is bound by chains of fear. Then she meets Steven Kessler, a Crimes Against Children FBI agent assigned to uncover an international plot to kidnap the British Ambassador’s daughter. Steven awakens more than memories; he revives the possibility of a life Gracie desires. A life where healing and peace crowd out the nightmares. But his case and her past are dangerously connected. Suddenly, Gracie must decide if she’s able – let alone willing – to pay the required ransom to redeem dreams and restore hope.

2. Why write about FBI Agents and children?

I wanted to be an FBI profiler after I graduated college. But that’s not the path God intended for me. Instead I get to interview, read about, and then write about people I admire~ without having to do all the pushups. LOL

Why children? I adore my children and am passionate about them being a gift to treasure and helping tired moms (what mom isn’t tired?) remember that.

3. The Defenders of Hope website has a page with resources for protecting children. Can you tell us more about that?

It’s often been said that children are our future and our most valuable asset. They’re also incredible blessings from God. Ones we as parents want to protect. On the Protecting Our Kids page there are website links, safety tips, articles and statistics to help parents be armed with the knowledge and practical strategies to help keep children safe.

One of the most important things we can do is to pray with and for our children.

The next is to educate ourselves and them about internet usage and staying safe strategies. Netsmartz http://www.netsmartz.org/ and America’s Most Wanted kids http://www.amw.com/kids/ are two of my favorite resources.

4. This is obviously something very close to your heart. Can you explain your passion and what you hope to achieve?

My best friend says that when we’re at a mall she’s looking for great shoes while I’m monitoring the exits. I totally resemble that statement. Growing up military behind the Iron Curtain, I used my imagination early to dodge “spies” and concoct stories of what would happen if. Now as a mom and a suspense writer who does tons of research, my imagination takes me places I hope to never go in real life. I’m painfully aware that we don’t live in a safe world. So I want to share all I’ve learned with other moms as well as to encourage parents to not walk by fear, but be armed with knowledge tempered with faith in an all-powerful God.

5. With homeschooling your children, what does a typical writing day look like?

A typical writing day looks like a Saturday. 🙂 That’s the day I work from 9am to after midnight and get the majority of my writing done. I attend to edits and business things during the week while my children have afternoon quite times and then I also work after bedtime.

6. Who inspires you?

My children. They love life and they love God unapologetically. They work hard, play hard, and get back up when they mess up. They also forgive easily and love deeply. I want to grow up to be more like them.

7. How do you create your characters?

I don’t really hear my characters like a lot of my writing friends do; I see them. It’s like having a movie reel playing all the time in my head. Often that’s incredibly distracting. But the cool thing about the way I’m wired is that as I see these stories and characters, that’s a way the Holy Spirit speaks to me. Many times God touches on areas where I’m weakest or leads me to explore my greatest fears. In telling the best and most intense story I can, I walk it through with my characters and I’m changed. I love that part of being a writer. Especially when I don’t have to get shot at to learn!

8) Why is April 23rd a special day?

On this day 36 years ago, a little baby boy’s first cry changed my world. I wouldn’t realize that fact until twenty-three years later when a gorgeous, blond-haired, blue-eyed missionary stepped into my line of vision and smiled. Two month later he asked me to be his wife. I said “yes” and eight months later we said “I do” in a beautiful mountain chapel.

Now with over 12 years of marriage and three precious girls, it’s become a little hard to find something unique to do for his birthday. So I thought I’d share with you all some things about my hubby and ask you to help me wish him an extra special Happy Birthday!

Top Twelve Reasons Why David Wallace Rocks:

1) He fears not for his life when he says I’m beautiful right after I step off the scale scowling. And he does this often.

2) David not only cleans the house on Saturdays so I can write, but he’s also a fantastic cook. (Sorry gang, I’m keeping him!)

3) My hubby doesn’t just support my homeschooling, he jumps in and tackles being math teacher so my kids don’t have to know how truly math-challenged mommy is.

4) He agrees with me that chocolate is a vital daily nutrient.

5) He’s a great basketball player and will occasionally let me win a game without making it too obvious. Same goes for ping-pong matches.

6) He’s a great daddy who tells his little girls silly stories to make them giggle and prays for them every night.

7) He never stops trying to grow.

8) David has a heart for the high school seniors he teaches at church to show them how to reach for their dreams by walking intimately with God.

9) He’s quick to admit when he messes up and will humble himself before co-workers, friends, family, and especially me and our daughters to ask forgiveness.

10) David tells everyone who will listen what an incredible writer his wife is, and he totally believes that even if I don’t.

11) He’s always there to brainstorm and listen to my wild ideas, and he tells me they’re wonderful, even when I’m pretty sure they need tons of work.

12) My husband teamed up with God to push, pray, and provide my way onto the writing path. It was his cheering and total confidence in me that propelled me to type that first sentence that would become Ransomed Dreams some five years later. David was also the one who never gave up hope, even after one too many rejections or tough edits saw me wanting to quit and never type again. He’s always believed in me and encouraged me to do what he knew God had called me to do.

So for all these reasons and more, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY! I love you to infinity and beyond!!! 😉

Care to join me in wishing my hubby a happy birthday? Please leave a note in the guestbook. He’ll treasure it and I’ll treasure the smile you’ll help me bring to his now 36 year old gorgeous face.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this interview as much as I have! Oh, what a romantic man!
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Chocolate Beach

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ISBN: 0764202618
ISBN-13: 9780764202612
Format: Paperback, 336pp
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Author: Julie Carobini

No, I have not read this book. However, the title intrigued me. I saw it advertised in the recent issue of Today’s Christian Woman magazine. The book was appealing to me because I love sweets (especially baked good like cookies and cakes) and I love beaches. I prefer pretty beaches with blue water and white pretty sand. Examples of some places I’ve visited with great beaches are: Hawaii, Tahiti, Cozumel, Cancun, Bahamas, Jamaica, and the Caymen Islands.

I might purchase this book and read it. I think the cover is really cute! If I do purchase this book, I’ll be sure to blog about it once I’m done!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Harry Potter Vs. Left Behind

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No, they’re not literally going against each other, however, I found the article above quite interesting. Although the Left Behind series has taken off, peaked, and slowly declined(although it’s still popular), I’d still like to see it take off with the same magnitude as the Harry Potter Series. I’ve noticed there are people out there, Christians, who are totally unaware of Christian fiction. There are Christians who feel that fiction and novels are bad because they consider it lying, and God frowns upon lying. There are others I’ve heard of who only read Christian non-fiction because they feel that when they read something, they want it to be a book that’ll make an impact on their daily Christian living, and Christian walk (like the Purpose Driven Life. I know I haven’t blogged about that in awhile since I’d forgotten all about it until recently. As time permits I’ll go back to blogging about the chapters in The Purpose Driven Life.)

As far as Christian fiction goes, I just wish that there were a way to make more people aware of its existence. Some people might pick up a Christian fiction novel and be surprised that they actually enjoy the content! Perhaps God has a plan, though. Perhaps He doesn’t want the Left Behind series to be as big as the Harry Potter books because LaHaye and Jenkins would not be able to handle that kind of fame and fortune?? I’m totally speculating here, but in my lifetime I have seen an increase in Christian fiction. Back when I was growing up, there was no Christian fiction market available, with the exception of the classics like Tolkein. I believe Janette Oake’s books have been around for a long while, as well as the Grace Livingson Hill books. When I started writing back in 1994, I don’t think there was a Christian market. When publishers found this untapped market, then I guess they decided to start acquiring more books to fill this need. Harlequin created their Steeple Hill imprint and Barbour created their Heartsong Presents imprint. Currently, Christian fiction is so huge that any reader can find a number of titles to fill their days and nights with pleasurable reading because the magnitude of titles released has increased so much.

So it’s nice to hear that the final installment of the Left Behind Series is going to be released. Their popularity is something worth noting in the history of Christian fiction.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

First Mates For $118.00 on Amazon???

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Just in case the link I provided above stops working, or changes, here is the text on amazon.com that draws my interest:

First Mates (Love Inspired) by Cecelia Dowdy (Paperback – 2005)
1 available offer from $118.00

Now why in the world would anybody want to purchase a paperback copy of my book, published back in February 2005 for $118.00?? It’s a Love Inspired Christian romance released by Harlequin’s Steeple Hill line. You can get a used paperback copy for a penny, and, I’m sure there MAY be a few new copies still floating around someplace!

Somebody, please enlighten me! Why would somebody post my book on Amazon asking for $118.00? I guess it doesn’t sound too dumb if the seller actually gets somebody who will purchase the book for that inflated price!

I know it won’t be me buying it!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com