I was going to review The Flower Of Grass today, but, I’m too tired. Hopefully, I’ll get to it within the next day or so.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I signed up on Facebook. If you’re a member, look me up here.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Feeling a bit under the weather. Everyone in our house has colds. I read a great book last weekend: Riding Through Shadows by Sharon Ewell Foster. I purchased this novel from Crossings years ago, but never got around to reading it. There’s a sequel and I look forward to purchasing that and reading it.

I’ll post reviews on Sharon’s novel as well as Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins soon.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I received my cover flats for Milk Money from my publisher today! The cover flats are different from my mockup! They changed the cows as I requested! I’m so excited! As soon as I can get a pdf or jpeg of the new cover I will post on this blog and on my websites! I should have my author copies soon!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I visit a variety of blogs daily. If interested, look at the sidebar to the left and you’ll see the list of blogs that I visit regularly.

One of the posts that I read yesterday from Rachelle Gardner’s blog has been on my mind. She had a guest blogger, Editor Sue Brower from Zondervan. Here’s the part of the post that’s been on my mind:
My pet peeve is to see an author turn valuable blog space into a book review site. I know, if you promote Jane Doe’s books to your fans, she will promote your book to her fans. The “blog tour” has become a key component on most marketing plans. I just get frustrated when I want to want to learn more about a favorite author and instead find a commercial for someone else’s book. Do you realize you are spending your precious writing time promoting other people’s books? AND, you’ve lost an opportunity to dialog with your reader when they have proactively sought you out? Think about who you want your audience to be and how you want to interact with them, then blog accordingly.

My first thought was, ouch! Although I am an author, I still spend a lot of time promoting others’ books. I promote my own, also, and my books, as well as my author interviews, have been featured on other authors’ blogs.

I guess I’ve pretty much turned my blog into a book review blog because I don’t have anything else to blog about! I spend a lot of time reading novels (except when I’m on deadline). So, after I read a book, I’m going to blog about it. Also, my life is pretty boring. I mean, do people reading this blog really want to hear about the trials and tribulations I had a few months ago when I was potty-training my son? I go to work as an accountant each day, and my days are pretty predictable.

Sue does have a good point about how to figure on how to interact with readers though. I guess that’s what I’m still trying to figure out. I have a section in the sidebar, where I’ve invited visitors to ask questions about writing or how to get published. I’ve received a few questions, which I will answer soon, but I don’t get enough questions from blog readers to justify spending a lot of blog posts on responses.

If anybody has any ideas on topics to cover on this blog, besides more book reviews, then throw them at me! I’m open to suggestions! Meanwhile, I’ll continue blogging about books and whatever else crosses my mind!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Hubby and I will be heading to the polls mid-day tomorrow. We all need to pray before we cast our ballots.

Don’t you wish that election day was a holiday? Most people have to scramble to get to the polls in the morning before work, or in the evening, after work. We should just get a day off so that the polls aren’t so congested in the early and latter parts of the day! Since both hubby and I work fairly close to one another, and the polls aren’t that far away, we’re gonna take a long lunch break to vote.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Here are some of the winners of my October Book Giveaway!

John’s Quest by Cecelia Dowdy – Elizabeth Mays of Stevensville, MI

Two Heartsong Presents Mysteries as a set:
1.Fog Over Finny’s Nose by Dana Mentink
2.Recipe For Murder by Lisa Harris
WordLily of Siloam Springs, AR

Blue Heart Blessed by Susan Meissner – Katie of Adams Basin, NY

The Quest by Nancy Moser – Abi Buening of Grand Forks, ND

Sanctuary by Molly Noble Bull – Mary Zander of Rochester, NY

I’m still waiting to hear back from the people who won the three Heartsong Presents romance set and the sweet romance With This Child. If I don’t hear from them soon, I’ll be picking another winner for these titles.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sadly, this event, in which I was supposed to participate, has been canceled. However, I do still plan on visiting Durham North Carolina this weekend! I’d already taken off from work to participate in this event, and my husband’s family lives in that area anyway.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Forbes posted this article recently. To sum it up, here are the five best-paid authors in the world:

1. J.K. Rowling
2. James Patterson
3. Stephen King
4. Tom Clancy
5. Danielle Steele

Just thought it was an interesting list.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I’ve been tagged by Robin Bayne to tell six book related things about myself.

1. I’m a book addict. I have more books in my house than I’ll probably ever read in my lifetime. In spite of this, I still purchase books every month!

2. As a child, Laura Ingalls Wilder was one of my favorite authors.

3. Currently, about 90% of the books I read each year are Christian Fiction titles.

4. While growing up, I obtained most of my reading material from the bookmobile that stopped through my neighborhood every two weeks.

5. I ALMOST NEVER read books more than once.

6. My love of writing stemmed from my love of books.

~Cecelia Dowdy~