Category Archives: Fiction

5-19-2025 Newsletter

Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC
Simple Pleasure!

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week!

My husband recently commented that we’d not had Krispy Kreme donuts in years. We normally buy them during our North Carolina trips – but had not taken the time to purchase them the last few times. They are also sold at local grocery stores – but we prefer the ones that are freshly made at the Krispy Kreme bakery. We discovered that we could get them delivered from a D.C. location – so we did! They were delicious!

They now have a specialty-themed, limited edition Pac Man donut collection. We wanted to try some of these but they weren’t available for delivery.

Do you have a Krispy Kreme bakery in your area? If so, do you ever indulge?

Hide and Seek

A cool thing about writing historicals is researching. In The Blacksmith’s Bride I have a scene where two people are playing hide and seek. While writing the scene it occurred to me that I wasn’t sure if kids played hide and seek back then – so I had to do some research!

Did you know that hide and seek has been played since ancient times? The method of playing was the same, where one person counts while the others hide. The last person who is found is usually the winner. The first person found is the loser and must be “it” for the next round. If the seeker can’t find everyone, then he/she will call out ” “Olly olly oxen free” and the still-hidden players would then come out. An earlier version of the game was ancient Greek and was called apodidraskinda.

As a child, I often played hide and seek with my friends and with my siblings. How about you? Did you play hide and seek when you were a child?

The Blacksmith’s Bride

I’m still writing The Blacksmith’s Bride – a historical novel set a few years after the Civil War. The Blacksmith’s Bride is the third book in the Romance Bride Series.

I’m enjoying writing The Blacksmith’s Bride as each character goes through an emotional journey of change and faith. Pre-order a copy for yourself and a friend!

Writing Services

As a reminder, I offer services where I work with writers who may need help with their fiction. Interested in working with me? Details here.

Events

I currently have one in-person event – scheduled for June 28th. More information here.

Our Country!

Remember to keep our country in prayer as all/some of these changes take place! At times, transitions do not run smoothly! Also, remember to pray for all that are suffering in our nation! Be sure to check on your friends and loved ones to be sure they are okay!

Enjoy your day!

3-10-2025 Newsletter

DIVINE DESSERTS PUBLISHING, LLC

Getting Creative

I hope all of you had an amazing week.

We have a lot of stuff in our house that we still need to get rid of. While going through things, I stumbled across my son’s old coloring book and crayons. He hated coloring. Even when I colored with him, he simply didn’t like it. The last time this book was used was probably 15+ years ago.

I opened the book and started coloring. I used to enjoy coloring pictures with my son. Coloring can be therapeutic. If you’re blocked while working on a story – a simple task like coloring might help to unlock your mind.

When my son was in kindergarten, the teacher said that coloring helped with the children’s coordination (with their hands.). I believe that coloring can help with mental coordination as well. I’ve noticed over the last decade that adult coloring books have exploded on the market.

Do you color to relax? If so, what do you color? Do you own an adult coloring book?

Paperback Book Bundles

Enjoy reading paperbacks? I’m offering a 30% off sale on my paperback book bundles: The Bakery Romance Series and my Christmas Romance bundle. The books are gift wrapped and come with stickers and other goodies.

The Blacksmith’s Bride

I’m still writing The Blacksmith’s Bride – a historical novel set a few years after the Civil War. The Blacksmith’s Bride is the third book in the Romance Bride Series.

The heroine in The Blacksmith’s Bride is named Francine. You might remember Francine from The Baker’s Bride. Francine was a secondary character and somewhat of a villain in that novel.

She was a socialite. Now, she’s lost her husband and all of her wealth and she’s struggling to make ends meet.

Can you imagine being raised in a wealthy household and never working one day in your life? Then, you lose everything, and you’re struggling to take care of yourself?

When she’s attacked, her plight gets even worse.

I’m enjoying writing The Blacksmith’s Bride as each character goes through an emotional journey of change and faith.

Next Week

I’m looking forward to next week! Our son will be home for spring break! Do you have any exciting plans on the horizon? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Events

I currently have one in-person event – scheduled for June 28th. More information here.

Our Country!

Remember to keep our country in prayer as all/some of these changes take place! At times, transitions do not run smoothly! Also, remember to pray for all that are suffering in our nation! Be sure to check on your friends and loved ones to be sure they are okay!

SOCIAL MEDIA

I’ve started a Youtube Channel! Subscribe and tell your friends!

Follow me on Tiktok!

Do you like to discuss romance movies? I’ve started a new Romance Movie Review Facebook Page where I post videos about my favorite romance movies! Come join me!

Read my winter stories for some emotional, heartwarming entertainment! Most of my titles are in Kindle Unlimited.

Butterscotch Bliss

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful compliments about Butterscotch Bliss. Currently, the eBook version is only available for those joining my email list. I recently placed the paperback version onto Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I slightly changed the cover for the paperback version. If you feel inclined – please leave a review – only if you enjoyed the book!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

The Bakery Romance Series

Loving Luke Raspberry Kisses Shades of Chocolate Sweet Dreams

Sugar and Spice Southern Comfort Sweet Delights Cinnamon Kisses

The Candy Beach Series

Caramel Kisses Chocolate Dreams Milk Chocolate Kisses Bittersweet Dreams Coffee and Kisses Rocky Road Dreams

The Romance Bride Series

The Baker’s Bride The Doctor’s Bride The Blacksmith’s Bride

Signed Paperbacks

Christmas Book Bundle – $40 (free shipping) – continental US – on sale for a limited time

The Bakery Romance Series – $75 (free shipping) – continental US – on sale for a limited time

The Candy Beach Series – $70 + postage

3-3-2025 Newsletter

Divine Desserts Publishing, LLC
Gardening

I hope all of you had an amazing week.

It’s the beginning of a new month. Amidst all that’s been on my mind lately, I just realized that I never started my garden. I usually start the seeds indoors and then plant outdoors weeks later. I’m hoping to start planting indoors this week.

Are you planting a garden this year? If so, what are you going to plant?

The Blacksmith’s Bride

I’m still writing The Blacksmith’s Bride – a historical novel set a few years after the Civil War. The Blacksmith’s Bride is the third book in the Romance Bride Series. I’m still researching while I write my novel. In an earlier newsletter, I described a formal ball that may have occurred in 1867 Philadelphia.

Another cool thing that I researched was the formal ball invitation. Such an invite may have been printed on thick, high-quality cardstock. The cardstock was likely ivory or cream-colored. The ink was dark – usually black or sometimes navy blue, and the letters were slightly raised. There may have been a decorative floral border. Sometimes there could be a monogram. Such an invite may have looked similar to this:

Moist Yellow Cake

I made the most delicious, moist, buttery yellow cake recently. Whenever I feel down, a good piece of cake will cheer me up! Here’s the recipeIf you make it, let me know how it turned out!

Events

I currently have one in-person event – scheduled for June 28th. More information here.

Our Country!

Remember to keep our country in prayer as all/some of these changes take place! At times, transitions do not run smoothly! Also, remember to pray for all that are suffering in our nation!

Be sure to check on your friends and loved ones to be sure they are okay! A friend of mine recently had a heart attack and is scheduled for surgery. If you have friends who are sick or hospitalized be sure to visit or call them to be sure that they are okay!

Butterscotch Bliss

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful compliments about Butterscotch Bliss. Currently, the eBook version is only available for those joining my email list. I recently placed the paperback version onto Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I slightly changed the cover for the paperback version. If you feel inclined – please leave a review – only if you enjoyed the book!

SOCIAL MEDIA

I’ve started a Youtube Channel! Subscribe and tell your friends!

Follow me on Tiktok!

Do you like to discuss romance movies? I’ve started a new Romance Movie Review Facebook Page where I post videos about my favorite romance movies! Come join me!

Read my winter stories for some emotional, heartwarming entertainment! Most of my titles are in Kindle Unlimited.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

The Bakery Romance Series

Loving Luke Raspberry Kisses Shades of Chocolate Sweet Dreams

Sugar and Spice Southern Comfort Sweet Delights Cinnamon Kisses

The Candy Beach Series

Caramel Kisses Chocolate Dreams Milk Chocolate Kisses Bittersweet Dreams Coffee and Kisses Rocky Road Dreams

The Romance Bride Series

The Baker’s Bride The Doctor’s Bride The Blacksmith’s Bride

Signed Paperbacks

Christmas Book Bundle – $50 + postage

The Bakery Romance Series – $95 + postage 

The Candy Beach Series – $70 + postage

Divine Desserts Publishing | c/o Cecelia Dowdy 7600 Ora Glen Drive, Box 951 | Greenbelt, MD 20768-0951 US