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Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy
Wedding Every Weekend
Have you ever been afraid to pursue your dreams?
Brooke is dissatisfied with her life. She’s a physical therapist. She’s unhappily dating her boss. When she breaks things off with him, things get awkward for them at work. I can imagine that it must be hard to work side by side with someone with whom you’ve recently broken up.
Brooke meets Nate while she’s shopping for a coffee machine for her workplace. Neither Nate or Brooke are interested in dating. Brooke has proclaimed that she’s going to take the summer off from dating. She wants to spend time focusing on herself, doing whatever she needs to do to be happy.
When Nate hurts his knee, he finds himself in need of Brooke’s healing skills. Both of them surprisingly find out that they have a LOT of mutual friends in common as they attend the same weddings during the entire summer.
Since Brooke feels awkward around her boss, she finally decides to pursue her dream, and open her own business. She has some obstacles to overcome before she can make this happen.
The feelings between Brooke and Nate were so vivid … so real.
Nate restores old cars. He’s inherited his business from his dad. He was so supportive of Brooke. He encouraged her to pursue her dream of opening her own physical therapy business. She admitted that she was afraid of failure.
One of the strongest scenes in the movie was when Brooke’s discovers a busted pipe in her home. This is a huge mishap since Brooke had been planning on spending her extra money on opening her new business – not fixing her busted pipe. When Nate arrives, he says, “Brooke, I’m so sorry.” There’s so much depth and emotion in his voice. You know he’s falling for Brooke, especially when she replies, “I’m just glad you’re here.”
He responds, “Me too.” They share a look, a look of, well…a look of two people who are attracted to one another!
After they were thrown together at each wedding, well…their feelings developed even more, in spite of their apprehensions.
I thought it was brave of Brooke to pursue her dreams.
As is typical of Hallmark, Brooke overhears Nate’s conversation – but she doesn’t hear the entire conversation – so she mistakenly thinks that Nate is not romantically interested in her.
I thought this movie would’ve been more realistic if Hallmark hadn’t used the convention of Brooke not hearing Nate’s entire conversation. The reason why I say this is because, well, the movie would’ve been so much STRONGER, if Brooke had simply confronted Nate about what she’d “heard.” I mean the man actually helped her with her dream by restoring her car for her and finding a buyer for it. Brooke needed that money and Nate really came through for her.
The way Brooke’s character was portrayed….well…I think she’d be stronger and more forthcoming near the end. After she “heard” Nate, I would’ve had a heart to heart talk with him that evening. Brooke should’ve said, “I heard what you said earlier about wanting to stay single. Not wanting somebody telling you what to do. What’s up with that?”
Then Nate could’ve told her that she’d not heard the entire conversation! Know what I mean?
It was sweet – Nate purchasing Brooke’s restored car, instead of selling it to the interested buyer.
So have you ever been fearful in pursuing your dreams?
Cedar Cove – The Series – 1
Do you enjoy stories about small towns?
I love stories about small towns! Cedar Cove is a Hallmark Channel series. It went off the air years ago. I recently watched it, for the second time, via Amazon Prime. This TV show is based upon the characters in Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3.
I love beaches and there’s just something so nice, quaint, and romantic about a town that’s on a beach (or in this case, a cove).
I read some of the Cedar Cove books several years ago. So when I make comparisons to the books, the details will be somewhat sketchy.
I enjoyed this series more than the Hallmark Channel romance movies. I think the reason why I enjoyed it is because, it reminded me of a sanitized version of the soap operas that I used to watch. Years ago, I blogged about the following topic: Should Christians Watch Soap Operas?
Although Cedar Cove doesn’t have religious overtones, it reminded me of a soap opera that was cleaner than the ones shown on daytime TV.
I loved the setting. If you’ve read some of my books, you’ll know that I’m a fan of beaches! There’s just something so nice, holy, and…well…beautiful about a sandy shore and water. Cedar Cove is set right on the beach and the residents have to take a ferry into Seattle whenever they want to leave town. I loved seeing folks eating at Moon’s or seeing the characters dine where they had a nice view of the water. Cedar Cove is the perfect setting for romance!
The characters really resounded with me.
There’s Olivia Lockhart. She’s a judge. I thought it was a really cute and inspiring idea to have a woman to be a judge in this small town. She’s strong, respected, and intelligent. Almost everyone loves Olivia Lockhart. No, she’s not perfect, but, she’s honest, trustworthy, and tries to live her life the best that she can. She’s had her share of pain. She’s divorced and she lost her son (Jordan) years ago. She still misses her son and she’s close to her daughter, Justine (Jordan’s twin sister).
I felt that Olivia’s character in the series closely mimicked the character in the books.
Olivia’s attraction to Jack was refreshing and realistic. These two are total opposites. Jack is a news reporter for the Cedar Cove newspaper. He’s a recovering alcoholic. He’s hesitant about acting on his attraction to Olivia because this is the first time he’s dated someone as a sober man. He goes to AA meetings and has a sponsor who helps him out during his rough times. I think Jack likes Olivia so much because she’s nice, sweet, and sympathetic towards others. She’s a gem of a woman and Jack realizes he’s picked a winner.
That’s why their romance gives him cold feet. Jack has lots of trials during this 3-season series. He falls off the wagon and is approached by his ex-wife about a news reporting opportunity in Seattle. Jack struggles with his pain as he tries to reconcile with his son, Eric, whom he hasn’t seen in a long time.
Alcoholism is a subject that I explore in my own writing. It’s a problem that has been in my family for years, and it touches me to see someone struggling with addiction. I believe this is one reason why I was so drawn to Jack’s character.
There’s so much I want to say about this series that I have to break it up into several blog posts. This will be the first post of many.
So, do you like stories about small towns? If so, have you watched Cedar Cove? Which of these characters did you like best: Jack or Olivia?
Today is my Birthday!
Hallmark – New CEO
Wonya Lucas was named the new CEO at Hallmark Channel! I’m glad to see an African-American woman in this role. Until the last couple of years a lot of the Hallmark Channel movies and series had mostly White actors/actresses as the main characters. I think this is their way of bringing more diversity to their staff. Diversity has been discussed on a national level over the last few years. Diverse discussions have escalated this year, given all of the discrimination that has been going on in the United States.
My sister used to work at Discovery Channel and she remembers working with Wonya a long time ago. Kudos to Hallmark!
Christmas, Candy, and Christ
Mega apologies in advance. I realized I had a technical glitch with my website a few days ago. After I posted about The Candy Beach Series, I realized that my links weren’t functioning properly. So, I deleted my original Candy Beach Series post and am now re-posting.
It’s summer! So hard to believe! With Covid and everything going on in the world today, it’s so hard to sit back and relax and have a good time. I hope you can take some time during your summer and read a nice, emotional and delicious romance. I have summer titles as well as winter titles! Not only is it summer but it’s also Christmas in July!
Come and enjoy a hot or cool summer treat! My books are delicious and some of them are only 99 cents! My books have often been compared to Hallmark romance movies, so, if you like Hallmark movies, then you’ll enjoy my romance novels!
One of my Hallmark movie blog readers, also an old acquaintance, was confused about my Hallmark movie blog. She didn’t realize I blogged about movies, but, thought I blogged about Christian romance novels and the Bible.
I had to point out to her that I have two blogs. On my other blog I write book reviews about Christian fiction books, and I also blog about the Bible. Both my Hallmark Movie blog, and my Christian Fiction blog, don’t have a regular schedule. I blog when I feel like it.
For example, I’m working on a blog post for my other blog about The Bachelor TV Show – I’m comparing that TV show to the Old Testament. Don’t laugh. I’m NOT a huge fan of The Bachelor TV Show, but, made myself watch one season. I wanted to figure out the appeal. The show has been on for about two decades. When I watched it, I kept comparing it, mentally, to the Old Testament when men had multiple wives. My Biblical blog posts are unique and insightful. I will be sure to mention when my Bachelor TV Show blog post is completed.
I also blog about Jesus on my other blog. So, if you’re interested, come check out my Christian fiction blog, if you feel inclined.
Have an awesome weekend. Hallmark has been showing lots of Christmas in July movies! Which one is your favorite?
Love on the Sidelines
Christmas Next Door
Have you ever had trouble completing a project?
Writers’ block. I could so relate to that. In Christmas Next Door famous writer Eric Redford (played by Jesse Metcalfe, and, as usual, he’s as cute as ever!) is struggling with his next book proposal. He’s an author of bachelor-style books and amidst his writing struggle, he receives an unexpected phone call from his mom. She’s “sick”. She can’t take care of his niece and nephew during Christmas so Eric has to step in and take the youngsters over the holidays.
Eric’s life is so carefree. He’s dating a pretty lady and he’s free to hang out with his buddies. However, Eric needs to get to know himself better and you get the sense that his mom is trying to help him. I think she knows her son is unsettled and she realizes he needs some changes in his life – so she orchestrates the visit with his niece and nephew.
Eric is struggling to take care of the two youngsters, so, he solicits help from April, his attractive violin-playing neighbor. April is used to teaching music to kids and she’s getting ready for a big audition. She gets along with Eric’s niece and nephew and slowly shows Eric that Christmas is not so bad.
However, April is leery of Eric. She’s employed as a violinist at a fancy restaurant and runs into her handsome playboy neighbor. She’s offended by his comments, but, deep down, she knows she’s attracted to him. But, Eric has a girlfriend and he supposedly loves his bachelor lifestyle. He’s obviously not a good match for her….or is he?
I enjoyed hearing April play the violin. I did some research online and discovered that the actress who plays April does not really play the violin. The violin-playing was staged, but, it was still, oh-so lovely.
I thought it was cute when Eric kept finding Christmas decorations in his yard! He mistakenly suspects April is the culprit – secretly leaving decorations in his yard at night. It was sweet when his niece and nephew trick him into purchasing a huge Christmas tree. Eric is a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas, but, his niece and nephew, as well as April, show him that the holiday can be oh-so enjoyable! That turkey he made near the end looked delicious!
What I liked most about this movie is that Eric finds out that bachelorhood is not all it’s cracked up to be. He finally finds the “cure” for his writers’ block – he writes a different kind of story, a story that’s the total opposite of what he’s written in the past.
As stated earlier, I could relate to Eric’s writers’ block. I’ve suffered from that occasionally in the past and it is NOT fun! I could also relate to Eric meeting with his agent. I’ve worked with a literary agent in the past and the process can sometimes involve a meeting of three minds: author – agent – publisher; working together to create a wonderful project that the readership should enjoy!
So, have you ever suffered from writers’ block – or something similar – in the past? What did you do about it?
Try Loving Luke – a sweet Christmas romance that you are guaranteed to enjoy – only 99 cents!
The Good Witch
Bittersweet Dreams – A Delicious Hallmark-Style Romance – Now Available!
Do you like the taste of good, sweet candy?
Bittersweet Dreams was released on July first! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited! Earlier, I shared an excerpt here. Bittersweet Dreams is the perfect romance for Hallmark movie fans! Hallmark movies often feature treats – like chocolate candies – and reading this romance will whet your palette for more! Grab your copy today! Be sure to tell all of your Hallmark movie friends, as well as your romance-reading friends!