We’ll be on the road for the next few days visiting Durham, NC.

Later!

Cecelia Dowdy

In light of the next (and I believe final?) Harry Potter book hitting the stores tomorrow, I thought I’d post this link with an article from the Washington Post about Christian Fantasy.

Also, I’ll remind you that I blogged a bit about Harry Potter versus Left Behind a few months ago. You’ll find my post here:

Harry Potter Versus Left Behind

Also, I’m trying to finish up another manuscript, so my blog posts won’t be frequent over the next few days.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Bethany House has encouraged all to pass on the information below! If you fill out the survey, you could win a free novel!

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We at Bethany House Publishers appreciate our readers opinions about the books we publish. Occasionally, we seek your input about upcoming products.

Currently, we are conducting a survey about the cover image for an upcoming novel. For your time, we are offering a giveaway in conjunction with this survey. You will be able to choose from ten recent Bethany House novels, and there will be ten winners. Winners will be notified within two weeks.
Thank you for your participation, and feel free to forward this email on to your friends or link the survey on your website. The survey will be available through Friday, July 20.

I just finished A Sin And A Shame By Victoria Christopher Murray. I will review it later on this week.

I just started The Visitation by Frank Peretti. So far, the book has held my interest, and I want to keep reading it. It might take me awhile to finish this one, though, since it’s a very long book. The only thing that kind of put me off with this book the burning cross. I’m still unsure as to why this cover was chosen.

Meanwhile, happy reading and writing!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

of this book! The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner. I won this book on Barbour author Lena Nelson Dooley’s blog:

http://www.lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

When I picked up my mail today, I found the pleasant surprise of this book in the mailbox! I won it from commenting on her blog!

Also, I sent John’s Quest, my next contracted novel, into my editor last week! John’s Quest is scheduled to be released in March 2008!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

Some of you know that I’ve added a page for writers on my Black Christian Fiction website: www.blackchristianfiction.com, asking writers to submit questions and I’ll answer them as time permits. I’ve received a question recently from Belva. She wants to know:

I get a good idea for a story, and begin to write. After the first paragraph I am stuck. What do you do when you are stuck?
Belva

Belva, when writing a novel, the first thing you need to know about is your characters. Make sure you’re writing about people you and your readers will get to know and love. Check out my blog archives dated 5/3/07 and 5/7/07. In these blog entries, I talk about character development. There is a fair amount of work involved, and this work should be completed before you even start writing your novel. Once you have a feel for the people, get to know them, it will be so much easier to write about them.

I could go on and on about what else to do when you’re stuck. You might want to skip the scene you’re working on and jump ahead and write a scene that’ll happen later on in the story. You can always fill in the stuff that happens between the scenes later on.

Some authors plot out their story, chapter by chapter, before they even begin writing the book. This outline helps them as they write their novels.

You could also talk it through with another writer friend or a critique partner or group. I blogged about critique groups in my entry dated 3/29/07. Sometimes when you meet with other writers, you can help one another overcome story obstacles.

And sometimes, you just need to put the story aside, let it rest for a day or so before going back to it. Sometimes, when you set the story aside, the ideas will come to you when you are not actively thinking about it. This has happened to me at times. I’ll be watering my flowers, or going inside the grocery store, when an idea hits me, and I know what I need to do to make the story work.

I hope my suggestions have helped you, Belva, and everybody else reading this blog entry!

Happy writing!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

To all of the wonderful fathers out there: HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

I’m off to attend a family reunion this weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’ll be blogging as time permits!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

When I received my Today’s Christian Woman magazine a few weeks ago, they had a nice surprise inside…a Love Inspired romance sampler. I think this is a great way for Love Inspired to promote Christian romance fiction to female readers! I would post the titles and authors advertised, however, I don’t have the sampler in front of me right now, and my cluttered brain can’t recall the information.

On to another subject, on my Black Christian Fiction website, I’ve added a page for writers. On this page, I encourage writers to email me questions about writing and seeking publication, and I plan on answering those questions on my blog, as time permits. I’ve received a question, and I plan on answering that soon. I plan on adding the same question/answer option on my homepage: www.ceceliadowdy.com

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com

I know it’s late May, but in my mind it’s the third week in September….my writing mind, that is. The setting for my latest book is Ocean City Maryland. I’m currently researching different events that occur during the fall and winter months in the beach city! I’ve been to Ocean City a number of times, however, I usually go during the summer, when tons of tourists visit this place!

Sunfest sounded like a great event to highlight in my book! It sounds fun and wonderful!

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com