Category Archives: Heartsong Presents

Great Amazon Review For Milk Money!

Here’s another great four-star review on Amazon for Milk Money:
The Man . . . The Milk . . . Where’s The Money?, April 8, 2009
By Tavares S. Carney “Inspire, Motivate & Encourage” (Michigan) –
Author, Cecelia Dowdy’s novel, Milk Money, invites readers into the world of Emily Cooper, a twenty-something young woman who has not seen much outside the small town of Monkton. Reared on her family’s farm, farming is basically all Emily knows and is familiar with, besides being an active member of her local church congregation, of course. With the recent passing of her father, Emily must quickly learn that there’s more going on around her than her eyes can physically see.

An intriguing romance burgeons when Franklin Reese, initially an uninvited Certified Public Accountant, enters into Emily’s world to assess the Cooper farms’ worth. In spite of the reason for Franklin’s presence, it is through Emily and Frank’s close interactions they realize an attraction for one another. However, because of things past, the two find themselves apprehensive of taking their relationship to the next level. The two main characters, Emily and Franklin, are faced with issues of death, gambling, alcoholism and spirituality in this novel.

I liked the fact that the author held me in suspense of Laura’s, Emily’s stepmother’s, motives as far as finances and living arrangements were concerned. Ms. Dowdy did not give away too much too soon. The imagery throughout the novel was great. I actually felt like I’ve visited a town like Monkton before. I was able to imagine a rural, farm town not too far from the hustle and bustle of a big city where there is open land and greenery abound. The title is very fitting of this novel and readers that aren’t already aware of the importance of paying attention to detail when it comes to finances will definitely be enlightened after reading this selection. I was also pleased with the way the novel ended and was glad to see all work out for both Emily and Franklin’s good. This was a relatively, short easy read and I would consider reading future novels from this author.

Thanks for the great review, Tavares!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Bittersweet Memories Is On Sale Now!

Bittersweet Memories is on sale now on the Heartsong Presents website or by calling 1-800-847-8270. For only $2.97 you can enjoy this novel. Also, you can order up to twelve copies and pay the same amount in postage! This would be a perfect story for book club discussion groups! I hope all of you will keep Bittersweet Memories in mind when searching for a good, romantic read!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Bittersweet Memories Is Here! Enter To Win!


I received my author copies for Bittersweet Memories today!

I’m giving away five copies! Leave a comment if interested in winning! Leave your email address so that I’ll have a way to contact you if you win – ONLY CONTINENTAL US MAY ENTER TO WIN! Sorry, I can’t afford foreign postage! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

For The Love Of Books by Donna Reimel Robinson

For The Love Of Books by Donna Reimel Robinson

Publisher: Heartsong Presents – Barbour
ISBN: 9781602603028
Binding: Mass Market
Pages: 176 pages

From Heartsong Presents website:
Callie Brandt thinks she’s destined to be her town’s next spinster librarian. But a gorgeous newcomer is hiding a secret, and Callie aims to find it out. Lane Hutchins has been living a double life for years, and nothing bad has ever come of it. Until now. in tiny Ft. Lob, Wyoming, he unexpectedly falls in love with Callie Brandt.

This was a sweet story. Callie, an attractive librarian whose looks are hidden behind thick prescription glasses, finds satisfaction from working in the small town library. She knows she’ll never find a man, and she’s accepted that she’ll always work in the library among the books. Although her sour-natured boss and nosy townspeople bother her, she still feels somewhat settled in the library. However, all of that changes when Lane Hutchins strolls into town, spending an inordinate amount of time in the library researching Yellowstone National Park.

Lane is smitten with Callie and is amazed when she shares her dreams with him. However, Lane has a secret…a secret he’s not even sure he can share with Callie.

Like most Heartsongs, you can read this book in a few hours. It’s a nice, sweet, heartwarming story that’ll make you smile.

I’ll probably be including this novel in my next book giveaway.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Amazon Review For Milk Money

Enjoy the following review posted on Amazon.com:
The loss of a loved one is enough to create a myriad of emotions for the average person. For Emily Cooper expressed emotions are something she has little time for. The necessity to keep the business running after the loss of her father is her major focus.

Author Dowdy’s detail for life on a dairy farm and the ease in which dialogue is exchanged is both insightful and engaging. Her ability to create conflict without over-the-top familiarity was refreshing.

Throughout the pages of Milk Money you are shown how God will use what you may consider too hard or hopeless as an example of what is possible when we get out of the way.

Reviewed by Dr. Linda Beed
On Assignment Reviews

Feel free to post your own thoughts about my novels via comments on my blog, or on amazon.com!

I will be posting the March Book Giveaway sometime this weekend! Visit often so that you won’t miss it!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Milk Money – First Wild Card Blog Tour

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:

and the book:

Milk Money (Maryland Wedding Series #2)

Barbour Publishing, Inc (2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cecelia Dowdy is a world traveler who has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. When she first read Christian fiction, she felt called to write for the genre.She loves to read, write, and bake desserts in her spare time. Currently she resides with her husband and young son in Maryland.

Visit the author’s website and blog.

Product Details:

Mass Market Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602602557
ISBN-13: 978-1602602557

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Dumbfounded, the accountant gazed at a cow giving birth. He dropped his briefcase when he saw the feet of the baby sticking out of the mother’s canal. A rope was looped around the legs of the young animal, and a brown-skinned woman pulled so hard that the muscles in her slender arms flexed. Her eyes squeezed shut while she grunted, reminding him of the noises people made when they bench-pressed weights.

She opened her eyes.

“Casey, hold on,” she cooed. When he watched the birth, his sour stomach worsened, and the bagel and cream cheese he’d managed to eat for breakfast felt like a dead weight in his belly. Her tears mingled with the sweat rolling down her face. She continued to pull and glanced in his direction. “Oh, thank God you came. Come and help me.”

A plethora of unfamiliar scents tingled his nose. He swallowed, losing his voice. What was he supposed to do? She continued to look at him, pulling on the rope periodically.

“I already left a message on your answering service that it was coming out backward.” Pushing the door open, he entered the room adjoining the barn, still hoping he wouldn’t throw up. She nodded toward the rope, still tugging. “With both of us pulling, maybe we’ll be able to get the calf out.”

“Okay.” He swallowed his nausea and pulled, mimicking the way he used to grunt when bench-pressing heavy weights. He followed her example, keeping tension on the rope and pulling each time the cow had a contraction. She grunted also, and their noises continued until the calf exited the birth canal minutes later. She dropped the rope, and he rushed behind her to look at the young animal. He touched the newborn,

awed by the birth. She glanced at him as she cleaned gunk off the calf ’s nose and mouth.

Her sigh filled the space when she noticed the animal was breathing. “Aren’t you going to examine the cow and calf?”

Before he could respond, a young man holding a large black plastic tote entered the pen. “This the Cooper farm?”

Confusion marred her face when she glanced at Frank. Then she focused on the new arrival. The newcomer rushed to the baby cow and began examining it. “I’m Dr. Lindsey’s son. I’m taking over my daddy’s practice this week since he’s on vacation. He told you that, didn’t he?”

She nodded, still looking confused. “I left a message on your answering service earlier.”

The vet grunted. “I was down the street at the horse farm helping out with another birth, so I couldn’t leave.”

“Are the cow and calf okay?”

“They both look fine.” He stopped his examination and looked at them. “I’m glad you had somebody helping you. You might not have gotten him out in time if you’d been pulling him on your own.” He pulled a tool out of his bag. “You have antibiotic on hand for the calf, right? If not, I’ve got some.”

The attractive woman nodded, her dark hair clinging to her sweaty neck as she promised the vet she would give the new calf the medicine. Frank watched, mesmerized by the whole process. A short time later, the newborn nursed from the mother. “Thank you, doctor,” said the woman, patting the man on the shoulder.

The doctor shook his head, placing his tools back into his bag. “Don’t thank me. You two got him out in time.” He told Emily he would send her the bill, and then he left the farm.

Emily glanced at Frank, as if taking in his khaki slacks and oxford shirt. Noticing his bloody hands, she beckoned him over to a room containing a sink and a large steel tank. After ripping off the long plastic gloves covering her hands and forearms

and dropping them into the trash can, she turned the water on, pumped out several squirts of soap, and washed. “I thought you were the vet,” she said, continuing to scrub her hands and forearms. “I’ve never met Dr. Lindsey’s son, so that’s why I

assumed you were him.” After rinsing, she pulled paper towels from a dispenser and gestured for Frank to use the sink.

Frank shrugged and walked to the sink, placing his hands under the running water. “Sorry. I helped you out, but I didn’t have any idea if I was doing it right. It’s probably good I showed up when I did. It looked like you’d been trying to help

that cow for a long time.”

She shook her head. “Cows are tough. They can be in labor for hours before giving birth. When you came, I’d just started pulling the calf out with the rope.” She continued to stare, frowning. “Well, if you’re not Dr. Lindsey’s son, then who are

you?”

He offered his recently washed hand, glad the nauseous feeling had evaporated from his stomach. “I’m Franklin Reese, Certified Public Accountant.”

Barbour Publishing And Other Things





Lloyd asked me the following question:

Why can’t I find your book in bookstores? I saw it featured on the Black Christian fiction site, and I was going to purchase it for my wife. The store said the only book they had for you on file was something called First Mates. Also, I saw your book on amazon.com, but it was a used copy for $99.99!! Do I have to order your book directly from the link you provided to your publisher?
My response…

I’m not sure what to say about the high price of Milk Money, available as a used book on amazon.com. I noticed the high price a long time ago, though. I guess somebody thinks my book is worth close to one hundred bucks?? The price has been coming down, slowly, in recent weeks. So, I’ve got to skip the question about the used price of my novel on Amazon and move on to your next topic.

Okay, I don’t know if all of my blog readers know about my Black Christian Fiction website. About, maybe, five years ago I saw that the domain name blackchristianfiction.com was available, so, I bought it and set up a site with the links of a bunch of African-American Christian fiction authors. Reason being, there are a lot of African American readers who only read novels by AA authors (I’ve blogged about this in the past) and I thought this would be a great marketing tool for my novels, as well as for other AA authors. The books that are featured on this site are mine since it’s my website, and I pay the fees plus I develop the site. However, as I said, I do provide links to other AA authors’ websites, and it’s great to provide a little free publicity to the other authors.

Now, on to the next part of your question: Thanks for looking for my book in the bookstore. But the way Barbour Publishing works is, when the Heartsong Presents titles are initially released, they’re mailed directly to all of the book club members. The book club members subscribe to the Heartsong Presents novels, receiving a shipment of four books per month. So, when the book is initially released, the only place it is available is through direct order through Barbour Publishing. However, maybe, eight or nine months later, the Heartsong Presents novels are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble directly from the publisher.

I tell people when they order my books from Barbour, they’re only $2.97 plus $4.00 postage. BUT, you can order up to 12 books and pay the same amount of postage! So I advise people to order both of my books, and since the books are less than $3.00 each, buy 12 books – you can easily choose twelve different titles from the Heartsong Presents website if you don’t want to order multiple copies of my novel. I also advertise about the fact that these books make great gifts for friends and book club members.

Most of the Heartsongs are then re-released as a three-in-one book with a state theme. For example, my three novels: John’s Quest, Milk Money and Bittersweet Memories will be re-released sometime within the next year or so with a Maryland-themed title. A majority of the Heartsong Presents romances AND Heartsong Presents Cozy Mysteries will be re-released this way. When they are re-released as a 3-in-1, they are available immediately from bookstores and on websites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also pre-order the 3-in-1s from Amazon before they are released.

I also want to add that the women’s fiction single title novels are NOT handled like the Heartsongs. When the single titles are released, they are available for order through Amazon and they are immediately available in bookstores.

If you go to Family Christian Bookstores, you’ll see a number of Barbour’s re-released three-in-one-state-themed collections and women’s fiction titles on the fiction shelves.

My second published novel, First Mates, was released by Harlequin Enterprises under their Steeple Hill/Love Inspired imprint back in February 2005. Currently the paperback version is out of print and only available used, but it’s also available new as a hardback, large print title. Since First Mates was not a Barbour title, it was released into bookstores and department stores immediately.

I hope that answers your question, Lloyd!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Out Of The Blue by Janice A. Thompson


Out Of The Blue by Janice A. Thompson
Heartsong Presents #806
Publisher: Heartsong Presents (Barbour Publishing)
ISBN: 9781602600577
Binding: Mass Market
Pages: 176 pages

From Heartsong Presents website:
Will Katie ever stop running? Katie Walken has been running most of her life – from her Amish upbringing, from her family’s expectations, and from an arranged marriage to her childhood friend, Karl Borg. Now a successful real estate agent, Katie feels she finally has the life she always wanted. . .or does she? Karl Borg lost his love when she fled from their future in Amish country. Leaving home, too, he became an attorney specializing in real estate law. But his heart remains with the girl who ran away. When Katie and Karl are reunited out of the blue they seem to have a second chance at love. But then tragedy strikes Katie’s family and a real estate venture sets Katie and Karl on opposing sides. Will they allow God to help them face their past while still looking toward their future?

====
This is a sweet, endearing love story that will give you a taste of the Amish life. Katie escaped her Amish home when she was eighteen, leaving her future fiance Karl behind. Now, they meet again, and their romance practically resumes in the face of a major tragedy that hits Katie’s family. Karl comes to Katie’s aid, wanting to help her during this difficult time. Although it’s hard for him to forgive her past actions, he finds that he still has feelings for Katie, in spite of her past mistakes. Karl has also left the Amish community and made a career of his own. Both Karl and Katie learn about forgiveness as travel back to their Amish roots.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Milk Money – More Reviews


From Amazon.com – A five-star review and Good Reads:

romance and running a farm alone as a woman, February 19, 2009
By squiresj (Wasola, Mo)

I really was amazed at this book and recommend it to everyone. A lone woman running a farm after her father’s death, an accountant, and more. It is amazing to read how God brings opposites together and works things out between couples. I could see a lot of issues dealing with overcoming alchol that Franklin Reese had to deal with. My husband used to drink before he got saved but got delivered from all of it. All through our 30 years of marriage he has never once had a desire to go there again. Franklin had lost his wife and it was hard for him and he turned to achol to handle his grief. Emily Cooper on the other hand handled her father’s death with the help of God. Yet even if we handle things different God works in our lives to what will reach us. I throughly enjoyed this book and it kept my attention.

~Cecelia Dowdy~