I wanted to tell my blog readers about two sweet romances that I just finished reading. Both are from Harlequin’s Heartwarming line. Although they’re not Christian books, they are sweet and Christians can read these stories without being offended.

Hometown Sheriff by Cheryl St. John

Ryanne returns to her hometown and moves into her mother’s empty house – right next door to Nick, her childhood good friend. When Nick walks into her mother’s house, thinking she’s an intruder, Ryanne shoots sparks of fury toward her former good friend. Now Nick feels apprehensive around Ryanne – why can’t they be comfortable and close as they used to be.

Ryanne has some secrets, one of her secrets is she’s broke. Her former husband has stolen the funds from their business and has disappeared, and now Ryanne is stuck re-paying the IRS for back taxes. Hopefully, if she stays at her mother’s house, rent-free, maybe she’ll be able to find a job and come up with the cash for the Feds.

Nick has his own secrets. One of his secrets is, he suffers from insomnia, and he’s still grieving over the loss of his brother. While dealing with his problems, he’s raising his young son alone, feeling bad that his son has no mother.

I really liked this book a lot. It was a sweet, heartwarming story that’ll touch your heart. Ryanne initially seems like a tough gal in the beginning of the story, but, as you get to know her, you find that she’s soft and lovable, and you want her heal from her past experience and move on. I also loved Nick. He’s such a strong man and has so many problems to overcome. He loves his son, and it’s great to see him interact with his child.

I highly recommend this book.

A Little Learning by Margot Early

Rory is hired by her father to be an instructor in his Mountain School. She’s desperate to prove herself to her dad, after all, he was never around when she was growing up and she craves his approval. Rory has a hard time keeping jobs because she has a smart mouth – she speaks before she thinks – and as a result, she’s gotten fired from a lot of former jobs. She wants to keep this job to prove she’s a competent employee.

However, Rory’s competence is put to the test when she’s assigned Seamus and his four children as her students. She’s smitten with Seamus, and Seamus finds Rory attractive. However, there are certain things about Seamus that make Rory wary – he’s distant from his children, not having a close relationship with them. His behavior towards his children reminds Rory of her own father’s behavior towards her. Also, Seamus is still reeling from the violent death of his wife. Can he move on, raise his children, and get over his wife’s death.

I thought this book was kind of interesting. I thought it was unique that Rory was a fire dancer. I also thought it was kind of neat seeing a hero who developed manga characters for comic books. I liked seeing Rory interacting with Seamus’s children, building a relationship with them. Overall, it was a good, sweet romance story.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Mothers, what are you doing to celebrate this special day?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Love Finds You In Poetry Texas

Have you ever dated someone from a newspaper (or online) ad? If so, what happened? Did you end up having a long-term relationship, or was your relationship short (or non-existent)?

Belinda sets herself up as a marriage broker in the small town of Poetry, Texas. Reading through newspaper ads, she pairs up eligible bachelors with potentially future wives. Only problem is, some of these matches are NOT successful. What’s Belinda to do? Should she abandon the idea of being a marriage broker and just let God lead husbands to their future wives?

Belinda pairs up Georg Kaufman, the town’s barber, with a potential bride. But, why does Belinda feel funny about setting Georg up with a mate? She wants Georg to be happy, but, why does seeing Georg with his potential mate bother her so much?

This book was a sweet, delightful read. Getting to know the characters residing in Poetry was very interesting. They’re an eclectic group of people. One man is a poet and he owns a bookstore, and he aids some of the bachelors by penning poetry for their love interests.

So, have you ever dated anybody after reading their newspaper (or online) ad? If so, what happened?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Face Of The Earth by Deborah Raney

What would you do if your spouse were suddenly missing? How would you cope?

When Mitchell Brannon returns home from work, he’s eagerly awaiting his wife’s (Jill’s) return from a conference. She’s left a voicemail message, stating she’s looking forward to coming home. However, when Jill fails to return, Mitch is stunned. Where could she be? Reaching out to his kids, his beautiful next door neighbor (Shelley – Jill’s best friend) as well as the rest of his community, he begins searching for his wife. She’s missing – he has to find her.

His situation becomes more complicated when he enlists Shelly’s help even further. He finds himself attracted to Shelley, but, he feels guilty. Jill is still missing. He feels he’s being unfaithful to his wife by having a strong attraction to Shelley.

This book grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn’t let me go. It’s a real page-turner as the mystery of Jill’s whereabouts is unraveled. In spite of Shelley’s and Mitch’s emotional and physical attraction, you do feel sympathy for them. Both are grieving for their lost loved one – they have no idea if Jill is dead or alive and not knowing about someone you love makes it emotionally hard to cope day after day.

I believe this is the first Deborah Raney book I’ve ever read, and I’m determined to read more.

So what would you do if your spouse were suddenly missing? How would you cope? How long would you search for your missing spouse?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Avatar – A James Cameron film

If you were paralyzed, would you travel five years into space to live inside a mobile, alien body?

Jake Sulley’s identical twin brother is dead. His twin was supposed to go on an important mission in space, and it takes five years to get to the mission place (Pandora). Since Jake’s twin is no longer available, Jake is sent in his place. Upon arrival, his superiors don’t want Jake as part of their group – he’s had no training, and he doesn’t know a whole lot about what he needs to be accomplishing. When he spots his twin brother’s Avatar, Jake is intrigued, the Avatar looks just like him!

His superiors are after an important, rare mineral that’s kept in an inaccessible place, near a huge tree, in Pandora.

Jake “gets into” his Avatar when he’s asleep. While in this foreign body, Jake finds that he can walk, which is really cool since he’s paralyzed. His coworkers also incorporate their Avatars, while sleeping too. While in the bodies of these foreign blue creatures, they can talk and interact with the native people of this faraway space land. When the foreign people “choose” Jake as a “special person.” He finds that his role drastically changes in this special project.

I really enjoyed this movie. Although I’m not much of a fantasy/sci-fi fan, I still thought this movie was good. The scenery was breathtaking and I loved seeing this foreign land and loved seeing the weird-looking beings who inhabit this place. I also liked how the Pandora beings interacted with plants and animals. The Pandora people could physically link themselves to their animals, mentally giving their animals commands.

If you were paralyzed, could you see yourself taking your twin’s place, in a special project, like Jake Sulley did in this movie?

If you’ve seen this movie, leave a comment – let me know what you thought about it.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received correspondence from two men about my Love Inspired title, First Mates. Both men said that they enjoyed the story and they wanted to know if I had other titles available. One of the men is thirty years old and the other is in his seventies. This recent correspondence gave me the idea for the topic of this blog post.

Do you know any men who read romance novels?

When I think of romance novel readers, I picture women of various ages engrossed in the pages of romance paperback novels. I realize this view may be a bit out-dated so I’d like the opinions of others. If you know of any male romance readers, tell us about them. What do men find appealing about a romance novel? If you are a man who reads romance, please respond and tell us why you read it.

Leave your responses in the comments!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

With Eyes of Love by Linda S. Glaz

What would you do if you returned from the war, disfigured? How would you handle it?

When Barbara and her family are stranded their car at Christmas, endangered, because of a flood, they’re rescued by the Judges, a sympathetic family who takes them in for shelter. When Jackson Judge, a son in their family of rescuers, winks at Barbara, she’s slightly offended yet attracted to handsome Jackson. However, Barbara is engaged to Elliott so it’s not possible for her to act upon her feelings for Jackson.

Barbara returns to the Judges home about two years later, keeping in contact via letters with Betty Judge, Jackson’s sister. She’s become best friends with Betty and she’s returning to be maid of honor in Betty’s weddings. She wonders what’s become of Jackson since Betty seldom mentions her brother in her letters.

However, when Barbara sees Jackson, she realizes he’s suffered a lot of pain and anguish, both physical and mental. Fighting in World War II, amidst Pearl Harbor, he’s been injured. Jackson doesn’t feel he’d be a viable mate to anybody in his current physical and mental state of mind.

I enjoyed this story. Usually in romance novels, both hero and heroine look PERFECT and flawless. Reading a book where one of the characters is not physically attractive on the outside was a refreshing change from the regular romance novel. Overall, this was a good, intriguing read.

So, what would you do if you returned from the war physically disfigured? How would you cope?

Join me in offering a hearty congrats to all of the Christy Award nominees!

Historical Romance/

Against the Tide

by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Be Still My Soul

by Joanne Bischof (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

Love’s Reckoning

by Laura Frantz (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/

Downfall

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

The Last Plea Bargain

by Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers)

Rare Earth

by Davis Bunn (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Submerged

by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

*This category includes four nominees due to a tie in scoring.

Visionary/

Daughter of Light

by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press)

Soul’s Gate

by James L. Rubart (Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Starflower

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Young Adult/

Child of the Mountains

by Marilyn Sue Shank (Delacorte Press, a division of Random House)

Failstate

by John W. Otte (Marcher Lord Press)

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words

by Rachel Coker (Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

Have you read any of these books? If so, which ones?

Love At Any Cost

“Available April 15, 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Cassidy McClare travels to San Francisco to spend the summer with her rich cousins. She needs to heal from her broken heart - her ex has broken up with her - and she realizes it's because she's no longer wealthy.When she arrives in San Francisco, she literally slams into gorgeous Jaime McKenna! They start off on the wrong foot - Cassidy can't trust Jaime, after all, he's a good-looking man and she knows how dangerous a good-looking man can be. Cassidy doesn't need a man in her life, after all, she's a cowgirl - all she needs is a lasso and the open range to be happy.

However, Jaime finds himself smitten with Cassidy - he's determined to marry her. After all, she's rich, and he needs a rich wife to help fund the surgery for his crippled sister. Jaime has a lot of emotional baggage - he blames himself for his sister's unfortunate accident, and he doesn't need God in his life. Why should he trust in God since God's never been there for him during the rough  times, especially when he was a poor youth living in the slums.

This book was TOTALLY awesome! From the first page I was hooked, and kept reading. The attraction between Jaime and Cassidy literally jumped off the page, and you could see how drawn they were to one another. Also, the conflict between this couple was so deep. Jaime is not a Christian, and, Cassidy is in love with him, yet, it's against her faith to be romantically involved with a non-Christian.

I think Jaime's character was so deep - he had lots of layers of emotional angst - anger, depression. He can't forgive himself for something that happened a long time ago, he wants to take all of his problems and solve them himself, not relying on God. I think, by reading this book, it just shows that we can't solve all of our problems on our own, we have to rely on HIM, God, to help us through all our troubles. Also, we need to remember that He has already forgiven us for all of our sins, so, feeling guilty for years and years will not help, only relying on God and accepting His gift will help us through our pain and turmoil.

Like the rest of Julie's books, I loved the passion and the physical descriptions of the characters! Also, I felt like I was really there, the sights, smells, and descriptions of the characters were so realistic!

If you want a good, passionate, emotional Christian read then you should buy this book!

Many thanks to Baker Revell for providing me with a free review copy!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

What’s your favorite dessert?

When I write my stories, I notice that I habitually tap into the senses of smell and taste – especially taste! I’ve had a number of readers to say that they get hungry while reading my stories. I love writing about different foods, but I’m very passionate about sweets. I love eating them, describing them, making others crave a nice piece of buttery pound cake, or a dense slice of cherry-coated cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes with you today. I’ve had at least two people tell me that this is the best pound cake they’ve ever eaten. It’s simple and it’s oh-so-good! When you bite into this pound cake, the tart lemon glaze is a stark contrast to the buttery lemony pound cake, and it’ll just make you close your eyes and enjoy bite after bite!

If you try this pound cake, let me know if you enjoyed it. I know I shared this recipe with one of my former co-workers and she said when she made it, it didn’t taste as good as mine…not sure why?

So, what’s your favorite dessert? Leave a comment and feel free to share the recipe with us!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Enjoy!