Category Archives: Heartsong Presents

First Wild Card Blog Tour – John’s Quest

John’s Quest is being featured as a First Wild Card Blog Tour today.

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:

John’s Quest (Maryland Wedding Series #1)

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.

Don’t miss the second book in the Maryland Wedding Series, Milk Money!

Visit the author’s website and blog.

Product Details:

Mass Market Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602600066
ISBN-13: 978-1602600065

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

The loud banging at Monica Crawford’s front door awakened her. Forcing herself out of bed, she glanced at the clock and saw it was two in the morning.

“I’m coming!”

She ran to the door. Looking through the peephole, Monica saw her little sister Gina smiling at her.

Her heart pounded as she opened the door, gripping the knob. “What are you doing here?” Playing an internal game of tug-of-war, she wondered if she should hug her sister or slam the door in her face. Humid heat rushed into the air-conditioned living room. She stared at Gina, still awaiting her response.

“It’s nice to see you too, sister.” Gina pursed her full, red-painted lips and motioned at the child standing beside her. “Go on in, Scotty.”

Gina had brought her seven-year-old son with her. Dark shades hid his sightless eyes. “Aunt Monica!” he called.

Monica released a small cry as she dropped to her knees and embraced him. “I’m here, Scotty.” Tears slid down her cheeks as she hugged the child. Since Gina had cut herself off from immediate family for the last two years, Monica had wondered when she would see Scotty again. “You remember me?” Her heart continued to pound as she stared at her nephew. His light, coffee-colored skin glowed.

“Yeah, I remember you. When mom said I was going to live here, I wanted to come so we could go to the beach in Ocean City.”

Shocked, Monica stared at Gina who was rummaging through her purse. Gina pulled out a cigarette and lighter. Seconds later she was puffing away, gazing into the living room. “You got an ashtray?”

Monica silently prayed, hoping she wouldn’t lose her temper. “Gina, you know I don’t allow smoking in this house.”

Gina shrugged. After a bit of coaxing, she dropped the cigarette on the top step and ground it beneath the heel of her shoe. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Scotty entered the house and wandered through the room, ignoring the adults as he touched objects with his fingers. After Monica fed Scotty a snack and let him fall asleep in the guest bedroom, she confronted Gina.

“Where have you been for the last two years?”

Gina strutted around the living room in her tight jeans, her high heels making small imprints in the plush carpet. “I’ve been around. I was mad because Mom and Dad tried to get custody of Scotty, tried to take me to court and say I was an unfit mother.”

Groaning, Monica plopped onto the couch, holding her head in her hands. “That’s why you haven’t been speaking to me or Mom and Dad for two years?” When Gina sat beside her, Monica took her sister’s chin into her hand and looked into her eyes. “You know you were wrong. Mom and Dad tried to find you. They were worried about Scotty.”

Jerking away, Gina placed a few inches between herself and Monica. “They might have cared about Scotty, but they didn’t care about me.” Gina swore under her breath and rummaged in her purse. Removing a mint, she popped it into her mouth.

“They were worried about you and Scotty,” Monica explained. “You were living with that terrible man. He didn’t work, and he was high on drugs. We didn’t want anything to happen to the two of you.”

Gina’s lips curled into a bitter smirk. “Humph. Me and Scotty are just fine.” She glanced up the stairs. “You saw him. Does he look neglected to you?”

She continued to stare at Gina, still not believing she was here to visit in the middle of the night. “What do you want? What did Scotty mean when he said he was coming here to live?”

Gina frowned as she toyed with the strap of her purse. “I want you to keep Scotty for me. Will you?”

Monica jerked back. “What? Why can’t you take care of your own son? Did that crackhead you were living with finally go off the deep end?”

Gina shook her head. “No, we’re not even together anymore. It’s just that. . .” She paused, staring at the crystal vase of red roses adorning the coffee table. “I’m getting married.”

Monica’s heart skipped a beat. “Married?”

Gina nodded, her long minibraids moving with the motion of her head. “Yeah, his name is Randy, and he’s outside now, waiting for me in the car.”

Monica raised her eyebrows, suddenly suspicious. “Why didn’t you bring him inside? Are you ashamed of him?”

Gina shook her head. “No. But we’re in a hurry tonight, and I didn’t want to waste time with formalities.”

“You still haven’t told me why you can’t keep Scotty. Does your fiancé have a problem with having a blind child in his house?”

Gina scowled as she clutched her purse, her dark eyes darting around the room. “No, that’s not it at all.”

“Uh-huh, whatever you say.” She could always sense when Gina was lying. Her body language said it all.

“Really, it’s not Scotty’s blindness that bothers Randy. It’s just that—he’s a trapeze artist in the National African-American Circus and they’re traveling around constantly.” Her dark eyes lit up as she talked about her fiancé. “This year they’ll be going international. Can you imagine me traveling around the globe with Randy? We’ll be going to Paris, London, Rome—all those fancy European places!” She grabbed Monica’s arm. “We’d love to take Scotty, but we can’t afford to hire a tutor for him to travel with us.”

“You’re going to marry some man and travel with a circus?!” Monica shook her head, wondering when her sister would grow up. At twenty-seven, she acted as if she were still a teenager. Since Monica was ten years older, she’d always been the responsible sibling, making sure Gina behaved herself.

Gina grabbed Monica’s shoulder. “But I’m in love with him!” Her eyes slid over Monica as if assessing her. “You’ve never been in love? I think it’s odd that you’re thirty-seven and you never got married.”

Monica closed her eyes for a brief second as thoughts of her single life filled her mind. Since her breakup with her serious boyfriend two years ago, she’d accepted that God wanted her to remain single, and she spent her free time at church in various ministries. She filled her time praising God and serving Him, and she had no regrets for the life she led. But whenever one of the church sisters announced an engagement, she couldn’t stop the pang of envy that sliced through her.

Forcing the thoughts from her mind, she focused on Gina again. “This discussion is not about me. It’s about you. You can’t abandon Scotty. He loves you.”

Gina turned away, as if ashamed of her actions. “I know he does, and I love him, too. But I really want things to work out with Randy, and it won’t work with Scotty on the road with us. He needs special education since he’s blind.”

Her heart immediately went out to Scotty. She touched Gina’s shoulder. “Scotty knows you’re getting married?”

Gina nodded. “I didn’t tell him how long I would be gone, but I told him I’d call and visit. Please do this for me.” Her sister touched her arm, and her dark eyes pleaded with her. She opened her purse and gave Monica some papers. “I’ve already had the power of attorney papers signed and notarized so that you can take care of him.” She pressed the papers into Monica’s hand.

“How long will you be gone?” asked Monica.

“The power of attorney lasts for six months. Hopefully by then me and Randy will be more settled. I’m hoping after the world tour he’ll leave the circus and find a regular job.”
Monica frowned, still clutching the legal documents.

“Please do this for me, Monica,” she pleaded again.

She reluctantly nodded. If she didn’t take care of Scotty, she didn’t know who would.

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Bittersweet Memories – The Prologue

What does chocolate have to do with today’s post? Absolutely nothing! However, when I think about the title for my next novel, Bittersweet Memories, the first thing I think about is chocolate. The word bittersweet reminds me of chocolate, although, chocolate has NOTHING to do with the story! I received the author galley for Bittersweet Memories yesterday, and I have to have it read and returned back to Barbour by February 16. Below, I’ve copied and pasted the prologue for you to enjoy.

PROLOGUE
Karen burst through the church doors, tears streaming down her face. “Pastor Smith, I can’t believe Lionel is still missing!”

The reverend and his wife, Candace, pulled the hysterical woman into a hug, patting her back. After they released her, Candace stroked Karen’s hair. “Honey, thanks for coming as soon as we called. The police detective is in the boardroom, waiting to talk to you. Are you sure you’re up for this?”

Karen wiped her eyes, struggling to gather her thoughts as the events from the past couple of weeks played through her mind like a nonstop movie. Her fiancé, Lionel Adams, had been fired as church treasurer after being accused of stealing thousands of dollars from their megachurch. And it was rumored that the assistant treasurer, Michelle James, who had recently resigned, had aided him with the theft.
Like the rest of the congregation, Karen had been shocked when the allegations against Lionel were announced at church two weeks ago. And since Lionel had left town the day before, she hadn’t been able to contact him to find out what was going on.

Karen turned toward Candace, her trembling lips attempting a smile. “I’ll—I’ll do the best I can to—to answer his questions.”

The threesome began walking slowly down the hallway, toward the boardroom. A moment later, the pastor stopped outside a closed door, placing his hand on Karen’s shoulder. “Karen, Michelle is missing also.”

Karen gasped, stepping away from the pastor. “That. . .that can’t be true.”

He nodded. “Unfortunately, it is.” Speaking softly, he said, “The church leadership team is concerned for both her and Lionel’s welfare. We want to find them, but we can’t ignore what’s happened.”

Candace took her hand. “Honey, we have to do all we can to locate them. What if there was foul play involved? Don’t you want to make sure Lionel is safe?”

Tears rushed from Karen’s eyes, and she wiped the moisture away. Her head pounded as she leaned against the cool wall, the contact bringing relief to her heated skin.

“Are you okay?” asked Pastor Smith.

Pulling herself away from the wall, she silently prayed, God, give me strength. “I–I’m okay now.”

The pastor’s kind dark eyes offered comfort. “The detective is in here. We called you to be questioned first since you know Lionel so well.”

Karen glanced at Candace. “Nobody told the congregation exactly how much money Lionel may have stolen. We just know it was thousands of dollars. How much cash was
missing?”

The woman released Karen’s hand and looked at her husband, frowning. In a calm voice, the pastor paused before speaking. “Fifty thousand dollars.”

Karen’s head started spinning. With a muffled sob, Karen turned away, wiping her eyes. “Lord, please help me deal with this pain.”

“We’ll take this one day at a time,” Candace said. “The Lord will see us through.”
Karen looked back at the closed door, hesitating. “Is it okay if I go to the restroom be–before talking to the detective?”

“Of course,” Candace said with an understanding smile.

Leaving the couple, Karen walked to the bathroom, pushed the door open, and entered the room, desperately seeking a private moment with the Lord. Her heart skipped a beat when Tara Baker, the church secretary, dressed in an immaculate cream-colored suit and sporting stylish hair and polished fingernails, stepped out of the stall. Spotting Karen, her dark eyes widened.

While the secretary wordlessly washed her hands, Karen regarded her own worn jeans and faded T-shirt before touching her hair, which she’d pulled into a ponytail in her
haste to get to the church. She suddenly felt rumpled and dowdy. “I always thought Lionel and Michelle were up to no good,” Tara finally mumbled, drying her hands with a paper towel while glaring at Karen.Karen gritted her teeth, shocked at the rudeness of a woman who’d once flirted with Lionel.“I find it hard to believe that you had no clue what your fiancé was doing behind your back,” Tara said then turned on her heels and strode out of the restroom.

Waves of pain floated through Karen’s head as she struggled to blot out the secretary’s words. Turning her focus to the Lord, she prayed, “God, please help me. Help us to find Lionel and Michelle. And keep them safe. Amen.”

Somewhat soothed, she rejoined the pastor and his wife. Pastor Smith gestured toward the now-open door. “Karen, I’m so sorry about this.”

Karen gave him a halfhearted smile then entered the room, praying for strength. The detective sat in a chair near the front of the room.

The minister spoke, his voice full of kindness, “Detective Ramsey, this is Karen Brown.”

“Good morning, Karen,” greeted the detective.

“Good morning,” Karen mumbled, taking a seat near the detective. She turned to her minister. “Can you stay here with me, Pastor Smith?”

The clergyman touched her arm, gazing at the detective. “Is that okay with you, detective?”

Ramsey shrugged, opening his notebook. “If she wants you to stay, that’s fine.”
Pastor Smith settled into the empty chair beside her.

The investigator asked his first question. “Do you know where Lionel is?”

“I. . .” She paused, chewing on her lower lip. “The day before the church announced he was fired, he told me he was going to go out of town to visit his cousin. I haven’t talked to him since, and th–that was two weeks ago.” She paused, gripping the arms of the chair. “I—I haven’t been able to contact him since he left.” She took a deep breath. “He won’t answer his cell phone. I figured he wanted some time alone and I would see him when he returned for his hearing.”

The detective looked up from the notes he was writing. “Where does his cousin live?”
As Ramsey’s questions went on and on, Karen felt overwhelmed with worry, fatigue, and nausea. Hot tears flowing down her cheeks, she prayed, Lord, will I ever feel normal again?

Her head pounded with pain, and she began rubbing her temples.

Pastor Smith touched her elbow. “Are you all right?”

“My head. . .hurts.”

“Detective, is it okay if we stop the questioning for a few minutes while I get Karen some aspirin?”

“I don’t mind at all,” said Ramsey.

Karen heard Pastor Smith’s retreating footsteps as she closed her eyes and rubbed her aching head. Her pain worsened as she leaned back into the chair. And then the world faded out.

I hope this prologue whets your appetite for the rest of the novel! Purchase it today! 

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Dreaded Query Letter

As some of you may know, I will occasionally answer questions that I receive about writing and pursuing publication. I received the following question from Cynthia recently:
I would like to ask your opinion concerning the Dreaded Query Letter. For the life of me I can’t seem to write one that sounds interesting…..Please help, what does one have to do to make it jump off the page?

Cynthia, the best way to answer your question is to provide a query letter I sent to my current publisher, Barbour Publishing, for John’s Quest (formerly titled Healing Hearts), the novel that was released last May. I’m pasting the letter below, with my comments on what to do to develop your own query letter in brackets:

***SAMPLE QUERY LETTER***
EDITOR NAME [BE SURE TO ADDRESS YOUR SUBMISSION DIRECTLY TO AN EDITOR’S NAME. DO NOT ADDRESS IT TO “EDITOR”]Barbour Publishing
1810 Barbour Drive
PO Box 719
Urichsville, OH 44683

Dear [EDITOR’S NAME]:

My name is Cecelia Dowdy, and I am a multi-published CBA author with books released by two major houses: Harlequin Enterprises (under the Steeple Hill Love Inspired imprint) and The Doubleday Book Club (under the Crossings Christian Book Club). I have enclosed copies of my published novels for you. [If you have publishing credentials, this is a great place to mention them. My sending the editor copies of my published novels is not necessarily standard. However, I’ve done this with other publishers so that they can see some of the work that I’ve had commercially published. If you are not published, you might want to begin with the summary of your novel after your introduction.]

I recently heard that Barbour is seeking longer, multi-faceted plotline romance novels. The following project, Healing Hearts, is completed, so contact me if you would like to see sample chapters or synopsis. [Be sure to tell the editor which line/imprint you are targeting with your submission. Also, if you’re familiar with the line/imprint, you can let the editor know this here, and maybe name some of your favorite authors of that line. I did not do this in my query letter because the line I was targeting was new, and no books had yet been released for this line.] Here is a brief summary of the story:

Monica Crawford is stunned when her irresponsible younger sister, Gina, abandons her blind seven-year-old son, Scotty, into her care. She discovers her nephew has behavioral and academic problems. When she acquires a handsome tutor to help Scotty, named John French, she finds herself attracted to the compassionate and caring man.

Even though John has deep feelings for Monica, he discovers she does not feel they should date since he is not a Christian. His agnostic views prevent them from having a fulfilling relationship, and Monica stresses that they cannot become emotionally involved unless he accepts Christ.

As John takes a religious class at Monica’s church, he does discover the joy of salvation. However, after his baptism, when he decides to leave to go into a long-distance specialized ministry, he has to decide which is more important: his relationship with Monica or his desire to proclaim his newfound salvation to others. [When you provide your summary, make it brief, but be sure the important elements of the story are highligted. Also, if your story deals with a certain issue, you might want to mention any knowledge you have about the subject. For example, if your novel deals with a social worker trying to help an abused child, and you are a social worker, then you might want to mention that shortly after your summary.]

As I’m sure you are aware the African-American Christian fiction market is growing steadily, and new and upcoming authors are being published by various houses. Also, my novel includes two secondary characters, who are Monica’s best friends. I plan on developing this story into a three-book series, based on the best friends. [It’s good to mention any unique knowledge about the industry that might help the editor see the merits of your project. Also, if you’re thinking of developing the story into a series, let the editor know.]

I am a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Currently, I am the secretary of the Faith Hope and Love Inspirational Chapter of RWA. [If you are a member of any professional writers organizations, you can list them here. Being a member of writers groups shows how serious you are about developing your craft and networking with others within the industry.]

I enjoyed working on this project, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Cecelia Dowdy
Christian Fiction Author

===
Even though I sold this book to Barbour, they didn’t want it for the line/imprint that I referenced in my query letter. They wanted it for their Heartsong Presents line. This will happen sometimes. When I sold a book to Steeple Hill, I’d submitted it for their then-new women’s fiction line and they acquired it for their Love Inspired line. Usually, if an editor likes your writing, and they feel the story is better-suited for another imprint within their publishing house, they’ll usually let you know, and you can still make a sale.

Let me know if you have other questions about this blog entry or anything else about writing…

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Courting Disaster by Andrea Boeshaar


Courting Disaster by Andrea Boeshaar
Heartsong Presents #798
Publisher: Barbour Publishing (Heartsong Presents)
ISBN: 9781602600324
Binding: Mass Market
Pages: 176 pages
From Heartsong Presents website:
Caregiver or crook? Cadi Trent knows personal tragedy firsthand. As a child, her family was swept away in a flash flood, and only she survived. As an adult, she’s an EMT who devotes her life to helping others. When her team, Disaster Busters, is called to a crisis in a nearby town, Cadi is baffled by the hostility she receives from an intriguing sheriff’s deputy. As a law enforcement officer, Frank Parker has seen it all. But he wasn’t savvy enough to see through the deception wrought on his community by a “charitable organization” after a tornado ripped through town three years ago. Now, older and wiser, he’s determined not to trust anyone. Not even Cadi, the lovely Disaster Buster he can’t seem to avoid. How can Cadi love a man who has no confidence in basic truths about her? Only God can help Frank learn to trust-and live-again.
===
This story is a nice read to take up some time on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Cadi spends her free time serving others via Disaster Busters, the community service organization that she’s created. The trauma of losing her family in a flood causes her to be empathetic to the plight of others. Her time spent serving other disaster victims wreaks havoc with her social life and it doesn’t appear that she can find a mate who agrees to play second fiddle to her career. She’s stunned when lawman Frank Parker is hostile towards her rescue organization. Frank has been duped by a similar community service team, and he’s hesitant to accept that Disaster Busters is a legit operation. However, trouble arises when a disgruntled victim accuses Disaster Busters of a crime. Can Frank really trust Cadi and her crew?

This book is book #2 in the Iowa series. If Barbour follows their usual pattern with Heartsong Presents novels, this should be re-released as part of a 3-in-1 volume for the state of Iowa.

I’m giving this book away as part of my January Book Giveaway.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

No More Sea by Gloria Brandt

Barbour Publishing
Heartsong Presents
ISBN: 1-57748-548-3
Publication date: 1999

This book takes place on the Titanic, so, knowing what happens to the Titanic, the last third of it was somewhat predictable.

This book was different than most HP books I’ve read. First of all, the heroine, Esther, spends about half of her scenes with someone other than the hero! The story is somewhat of a love triangle since Philip, a non-believer, boards the ship and Esther is his stewardess. Intoxicated, Philip attacks Esther, and she escapes. She forgives him and a great deal of the first half of the book is Esther spending time with Philip, desperately trying to bring him to Christ.

John is actually the hero in the story. Esther has known him for years and they work together on the ship. She’s upset because he hints at marriage, but after six years of false promises, Esther is tired of waiting for John to pop the question.

As you can imagine, John gets jealous when he sees his beloved spending so much time with Philip, a rich boy from America. He is further angered when he sees her leaving Philip’s cabin in the middle of the night. He wonders what is going on between them, and as you read the story, you discover that Philip is an unhappy alcoholic who is practically borderline suicidal. Esther truly cares about what happens to Philip and she merely wants him to accept God’s grace for his sins.

Philip misinterprets Esther’s caring nature since she’s the first woman who has moved him so deeply. When he asks her to marry him, Esther is shocked, wondering if the Lord really wanted her to pursue Philip’s salvation so diligently.

The story does take on an unusual twist between John and Philip when the ship goes down, and since it is a romance, you can imagine how it ends.

Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com

Little Shoes And Mistletoe By Sally Laity

Little Shoes And Mistletoe
By Sally Laity
Published By Barbour Publishing
Heartsong Presents Imprint
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 1-57748-699-4

When Eliza escapes to New York City to live with her widowed, elderly aunt, she’s hoping to erase terrible memories from her mind. Weston, her fiancé has abandoned her. To make matters worse, he’s abandoned her for the company of her best friend! Eliza tries hard to be a Christian as she makes a serious effort to forgive her former best friend, and her ex-fiance, Weston, but it takes a lot of time and prayer for her to finally accept her fate.

However, Micah, a young man whose mission includes finding homes for all of the orphans in New York City’s slums, makes her acquaintance. Through Micah, she discovers the plight of two young orphaned girls that need a home. She joins Micah in his fight against the plight of the homeless orphans in New York. However, as she does this, she finds herself facing a bigger problem. Ana, Micah’s fiancee, works closely with Eliza, becoming her close friend. Ana does not share Micah’s passionate mission to save homeless children, and this causes a serious rift in their relationship. Since Eliza and Micah share a common goal, and a deep emotional and physical attraction, they find it hard to put their feelings aside due to Micah’s engagement.

I loved this book! I read it in only a couple of days. I’ve had this HP title on my shelf for years, and I have a number of others that I never got around to reading. I used to be a member of the book club, but with my writing time crowding in on my reading time, I found that reading so many books per month was overwhelming!

Until next time,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com

Announcing John’s Quest

I’ve just discovered that Heartsong Presents (an imprint of Barbour Publishing) is going to publish my next novel, tentatively titled John’s Quest. The tentative release date is set for March 2008. The story is about an agnostic who falls in love with a Christian. Of course there’s major conflict involved since the scriptures speak against being unequally yoked. I’ll post more details about my upcoming novel as the release date approaches. In the meantime, if you are curious about this imprint, feel free to visit their website:

www.heartsongpresents.com

Until next time,
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.blackchristianfiction.com