Category Archives: Fiction

E-Readers


I was talking to one of the parents at my son’s daycare today. He told me that he wanted to get his wife an e-reader and that she wanted a Kindle. However, he mentioned that Barnes And Noble just released their new e-reader today, and he wondered if he should get that for her instead.

The conversation got me to thinking…I’ve never tried an e-reader before! I love books, the feel, the smell, the look…I can’t imagine reading a book on a screen. I’m old-fashioned and I enjoy the actual, honest-to-goodness paper product in my hand. Maybe I’ll need to borrow someone’s e-reader one day just to see what all the hoopla is about!

Do any of you use an e-reader? Do you like it? Which one do you use and what are the benefits of the different e-book readers available? Do you miss the feel, smell, and look of a print book? Inquiring minds want to know!

Click on the image above to enlarge! I think it’s beautiful!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Brady Bunch!


TV Land is hosting a Brady Bunch Marathon this weekend for the 40th anniversary of the show! I’ve been having a blast of a time looking at those episodes. Although I do recall seeing them weekly in the early seventies when I was like, five or six, (I recall it coming on either on Friday or Saturday night), I really grew to love the show watching re-runs over the years. I’ve seen them so many times that I can even recite the lines on a lot of the episodes. The show is corny, but I love watching it!

Pure nostalgia!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Should Christians Watch Soap Operas?

SHOULD CHRISTIANS WATCH SOAP OPERAS PODCAST

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy soap operas then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

Will Melanie give him a chance?

Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

***Update – 9/22/2019 – see the end of this blog post for the update

The other day, my husband sent me this link to an article stating that the soap opera, The Guiding Light, will be canceled after 72 YEARS ON THE AIR…this soap opera pre-dates television (I’m assuming it started as a radio show)! He sent me the article because he knows that I used to watch soap operas – but I’ve never watched The Guiding Light.

A few years ago, I blogged about soap operas here.

After I wrote that blog post (I was mostly talking about The Young And The Restless on that post) I stopped watching soap operas. I got into a time crunch and the soap operas didn’t make my TO DO list.

I started watching soap operas in high school because I was bored. I lived in a remote rural area. During the summertime, there was really no place to go. My mom didn’t drive, my dad was at work all day, I had no money, and I had no car to drive. I spent my summer days walking around the neighborhood, reading books, and watching soap operas! Since I read books so quickly – I practically inhaled them, I got most of my titles from the bookmobile that came to town every two weeks. I also fondly remember watching General Hospital while Luke and Laura fell in love and out of love. I recall watching All My Children when Greg and Jenny fell in love and evil forces strove to keep them apart. I also remember Jessie Hubbard and Angie getting together and falling in love. I’d get freaked out when these storybook romances would end, but watching these stories gave me something to do during those boring hot summer days. To top it off, I’d spend the rest of my day reading romance novels. It’s hard for me to get into the soaps nowadays, I guess, because the stories never end. They go on and on…imagine, a 72-year-old story like The Guiding Light?

I’ve sometimes dreamed of having a Christian soap opera on the air where people can talk about finding faith and forgiving others.

Do any of you watch soap operas now, or did you used to watch them? If so, which ones did you watch? Why do you like them? How long have you been watching the soaps? Do you think Christians should watch soap operas? I’ll start by saying I don’t see anything wrong with watching them as long as you don’t get too carried away…it’s kind of like, reading a secular novel or watching a movie. It’s entertainment and overall, soaps aren’t any better or worse than a lot of the other secular entertainment out there.

I enjoyed the soaps because they were entertaining and I’d get caught up in the characters’ lives. Sometimes they were placed in perilous situations and I just wanted them to get rescued! If they were hurt and in the hospital, I wanted them to recuperate and get better! But, if they died, it’s possible they could come back from the dead later! LOL!

Feel free to answer these questions and to throw in any other opinions you have about soap operas. I’m kind of anxious to hear what others have to say!

***Update 9/22/2019 – There have been two soap opera style shows on Hallmark Channel. These “soap operas” are clean and Christians can watch them without getting offended. The shows to which I’m referring are Chesapeake Shores and Cedar Cove (which is now off the air). 

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy soap operas then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

Will Melanie give him a chance?

Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

SUBSCRIBE TO CECELIA DOWDY’S HALLMARK MOVIE BLOG

 Rocky Road Dreams

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Far Behind…

I’m so far behind in my reading for this blog. I have the following novels in my to-be-read pile:
Sins Of The Father by Angela Benson
What The Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy
and a Robin Jones Gunn novel – can’t remember the title to that one.

As you know, I do read some secular fiction occasionally. I couldn’t resist starting New Moon (the second in the Twilight Series). I read the first one awhile back, and I purchased the whole set since I enjoyed the first one so much. I enjoyed New Moon until about the last 1/3 of it, and I doubt I’ll finish it word by word. I’ll probably skim the rest. Didn’t find it overall as intriguing as Twilight. My eyes started glazing over around the time they made the trip to Italy to save Edward. Don’t know when I’ll get around to reading the other two books in the series. After I’ve read them all, I’ll probably do a giveaway. I seldom keep books once I’ve read them.

I’m hard at work on a manuscript, plus, I’m getting a proposal together with three other authors. My plate is so full, don’t know how I’m going to do all that needs to get done!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

My New Coach Purse!!

I blogged about my birthday awhile back, and, also, last December, I told you what I thought about purses. Well, my hubby got me a great gift this year and I’m thankful for it! I’d been meaning to blog about this for awhile…I even took some pics, but never got around to posting them.

It was time for me to get a new purse. This is the first purse I’ve gotten in years! The last time I got a new purse, I wasn’t even married yet, and I’ve been married for awhile! I usually get a Coach purse because I REFUSE TO CHANGE PURSES AND COACH PURSES LAST FOREVER!! I carry the same purse everyday because I don’t have the time or desire to change it. So, now it’s time for a new one. The zipper for my old Coach purse broke and since it was around my birthday, I told hubby it was time for a new one. I’m going to send the old purse away for repair – Coach repairs purses but you still have to pay a $20 fee!

This is my old Coach bag! The thing is almost SEVEN YEARS OLD, and it still looks good! With a repair, it’ll make a great backup purse!

My new Coach purse came with this nifty little sack to store my purse when I’m not using it. But, ya know what? Since I don’t change purses, I guess I’ll use this to store my backup purse!

This is the back-side of my new purse!

This is the inside!! Such a nice inside pocket and what a beautiful purple lining!

Another pocket at the side of my purse!





Here’s the little Coach emblem on the front! Isn’t it cute?
Well, I’m hoping to enjoy this purse for many years! I hope you enjoyed my pics!

~Cecelia Dowdy~