Category Archives: Chesapeake Weddings

Chesapeake Weddings – Only $2.79!!!

You can now purchase Chesapeake Weddings at Christianbook.com for only $2.79! Where else can you buy a brand-new 367-page paperback book for less than $3.00??

Purchase multiple copies to use as stocking stuffers! Do your Christmas shopping a bit early and buy my book! You can’t beat that price, and, just in case you can’t recall what my book’s about, here’s the summary:

Relax along Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay as you read about three strong African American women who suddenly face upheaval in life. Monica is caring for her abandoned nephew and trying to pick the proper tutor for him. Emily is struggling to save the family farm when a CPA turns up to do an audit. Karen has been deceived by her fiancé, and now she’s expected to trust a neighbor who knows too much of her business. Can God rebuild their tattered lives with new loves?

Life sends three African American women into a tailspin. Monica’s blind nephew has been abandoned with her. Emily works to save her dairy farm after her father dies. Karen’s fiancé turned into an embezzler. Can these women let God rebuild their tattered hopes when new romances unexpectedly enter their lives?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Indianapolis, Here I Come!

I’m leaving for the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in about an hour! It’ll be good to see old friends and to make some new connections!

I also wanted to share a positive review about Chesapeake Weddings that was recently posted on Amazon.com:
Weddings For Everyone; Spoiler Alert
Cecelia Dowdy wrote a collection of three short stories in the Christian fiction genre based on the lives of three women in unrelated situations, but whose life path ended up crossing at a later point. Monica was forced to take in her blind nephew when her younger and irresponsible estranged sister decides that she wants to chase her dream of traveling the world with her new fiancé under the premise that she wanted to travel the world. After the death of her father, Emily thinks that her biggest challenge is managing an entire dairy farm all alone, but soon finds that she has to fight for the survival of her livelihood once some secrets are exposed that she was never told. Karen had her entire life turned upside down when her fiancé ran off with the church secretary and a large chunk of embezzled funds, leaving her to wonder if her life with the man she was about to marry was a farce.

The title of the book gave the reader the proper expectation for all of the short stories, so there was little opportunity for shock and surprise. This was the first time that I read a book from the ‘Romancing America’ series, but it seems that there are a series of books that highlight a different state in the country and focus the setting of the story on that particular region. To whet your appetite, the author speaks at length about all of the various food selections in that area to the point that while reading, I often wanted the pleasure to taste the dishes myself.

Another impressive point of this story was the obvious research that the author conducted to make her characters’ areas of expertise believable. In Monica’s story, the gentleman that she ended up falling in love with was an agnostic scientist who was able to tutor her blind nephew. In that story, she was able to convey the language of someone who had that background. Emily’s life was based on a dairy farm with an eventual CPA beau that had a drinking problem, and she was able to make the reader feel as if they were actually in a farm setting with all of the proper lingo. Karen fell in love with the man who lived next door to her mother who was a plumber and who had a heart for ministry.

I recommend this for the reader who needs something to just sit back and relax with on a lazy day. It is not a difficult read that requires much active thought. But, I definitely recommend that the serious dieter pass this read by, the temptation is entirely too great with all of the wonderful description of fresh seafood from the Chesapeake.

The book was provided by the author for review purposes.

Shica Robinson
APOOO BookClub

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Tenwek Hospital


A good friend of ours, Ron Johnson, is out with a group of people in Kenya doing missionary work at Tenwek Hospital and the surrounding area. We receive daily emails from his group about their experiences and the emails bring both laughter and tears to our eyes as we read about babies dying and AIDs orphans who receive their first pair of shoes. If you feel led, keep this hospital and this ministry bathed in prayer.

My novel collection, Chesapeake Weddings, received a favorable review in The Examiner.

I’ll be heading to ACFW tomorrow morning. If you’re coming and you see me, stop and say hello, also let me know if you read my blog! I’ve often met my blog readers at conferences. I’ll try and report on what I see and hear at the conference, but, as in past years, I find I do a terrible job at reporting. By the time I get back to my room, I just feel like going to sleep! I usually end up staying awake much later than normal, socializing!

Also, I forgot to mention, about a week ago I submitted one of my old, rejected manuscripts to another publisher. This particular publisher markets their novels primarily to libraries and the pay isn’t much, but, the reject is just sitting there, gathering dust, so I might as well try and make a few dollars from my weeks worth of labor! 🙂 I’ll keep you posted about that!


~Cecelia Dowdy~

Chesapeake Weddings Featured On Lyn Cote’s Blog

My writing friend, Lyn Cote, has featured me on her blog today. She’s placed the first page of Chesapeake Weddings on today’s post. If you haven’t ordered Chesapeake Weddings, I encourage you to do so! Amazon has only one copy left, and copies are still available on Christianbook.com – the copies on Christianbook are a few dollars cheaper than elsewhere. Also, if you buy at least 3 copies from Christianbook.com, the price drops even more – $4.99 per copy! As I’d mentioned in an earlier blog post, the book is out of print and discontinued, BUT, copies are still available in some bookstores and some online stores. I just saw two copies at the Barnes and Noble in Bowie Maryland last Sunday!

Also, you might want to go to Lyn Cote’s website and check out the submission guidelines for most major Christian book publishers. I’ve found this information helpful over the years, and, one time, I used this information to submit to a new line at a publishing house and I ended up landing a sale at that publisher! The publisher didn’t acquire my book for the new line that I was targeting (the one I’d discovered through Lyn’s website), BUT, they did agree to publish my novel for one of their existing lines!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Reader Mail About Bittersweet Memories


A reader recently wrote to Heartsong Presents about my novel, Bittersweet Memories, and my editor was kind enough to pass the message to me. Here’s what Candi had to say about Bittersweet Memories – book #3 in the Chesapeake Weddings collection:

I really enjoyed reading Cecelia Dowdy’s book Bittersweet Memories. I picked it up from a Christian Store, In Kansas City, Mo. I must say I have never in my whole life read a book that was so good. Finished it in one day, that’s how much I loved it. I would like to see more of her books.

Thanks so much for your kind words, Candi! Your compliment has really made my day!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Mother’s Day Gift Idea! :-)


If you’re looking for a nice gift for Mother’s Day, I’d be more than happy to make a suggestion! Stop by Walmart or your local bookstore and pick up a copy of Chesapeake Weddings to give to your mom! It’d be nice to present her with a bunch of roses, a nice hot meal, and a book to read on her day off! The stories in Chesapeake Weddings are appealing to women of most ages, and I think moms and grandmoms alike will enjoy reading the book!

~Cecelia Dowdy~