Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Shopping And Snow

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I did a little Christmas shopping today. I hate shopping, so I did not have a good time. It’s supposed to snow tonight and continue snowing this weekend! We don’t get much snow up here, so people have been talking about it a lot! When it snows, especially as much as they’re predicting, things shut down…businesses, stores, etc. And, it’s rare for it to snow, especially a predicted record-breaking snow, in December! If we get a sizeable amount of snow, it’ll usually occur in February or maybe January!

It’ll be interesting to see how the weekend pans out…getting so much snow around Christmastime in Maryland is a rare event, indeed!

Does it usually snow in your area during the Christmas season?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Chesapeake Weddings And Coach

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Chesapeake Weddings is about to go to press! I have to read through the galley and it’s due back to Barbour Publishing by January 6th. And, if you’ve read any of my Heartsong Presents titles – John’s Quest, Milk Money or Bittersweet Memories, feel free to leave a review on the link above! Chesapeake Weddings is a re-release of all three of those titles!

On another note, on this blog post, I wrote about the new Coach purse I’d received for my birthday. Since I carry the same purse around for years, I usually use a Coach since they are a high-quality handbag. Well, Coach comes with a life-time warranty. If your Coach purse becomes damaged from natural wear and tear, you can send it to the Coach factory and they’ll fix it. This used to be free, but, in recent years, you have to send a check for $20.00 to cover postage.

Well, the reason why I wanted a new Coach purse is because my old one had a broken zipper. The zipper was worn, right where the teeth of the zipper are located. I didn’t think they’d be able to fix my zipper because Coach zippers are stitched right into the leather. I couldn’t imagine them taking the stiches out of the leather, removing the old zipper, and replacing it with a new zipper while allowing the purse to still look the same.

Well, awhile back, Coach sent me a letter, stating that they couldn’t fix my purse, BUT they were offering me any item in their catalog for 40% off. I was telling my coworker about it, and I mentioned that I’d rather have a free small item, like a wallet or a change purse instead of getting a new item at 40% off. After all, I’d just gotten a new Coach purse, and I don’t switch purses, thus I didn’t really need another item just to use the 40% off offer. My coworker suggested I call Coach and explain that I already got a new purse and I didn’t need another one, so, might they give me a small item for free instead?

So, almost a week ago, I called them, stating my dilemma – I was sure to let the Coach employee know that I’d recently gotten a new Coach purse and didn’t need another. The lady put me on hold for a LONG TIME. She then asked for the reference number on my letter. She said that they were going to refund the $20.00 I’d paid for the repair, and they would send me a gift card for $107.20! I was excited! My coworker gave me a high five!

I just used my gift card a couple of days ago! I was able to get 3 small Coach items:
This wristlet was $58.00, and it matches the purse I received last summer!

This Skinny Mini was $38.00!

This pack of paper was $10.00

$58.00
$38.00
$10.00
$106.00 = total

With tax, I ended up spending only five or six bucks of my own money. The shipping was free since the order is over $75.00. And…my refund check from Coach for $20.00 came in the mail today!

Isn’t that great?!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Thirsty By Tracey Bateman

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Thirsty by Tracey Bateman

From the back cover:
There’s no place like home, they say.

“Hello, I’m Nina Parker…and I’m an alcoholic.”

For Nina, it’s not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina’s feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

==
I purchased this novel because it was about two subjects that garner my interest: alcoholism and vampires. I’ve blogged about vampires a few times because of the Twilight series, and I’ve also included the subject of alcoholism in my own novels.

I thought Bateman did an excellent job of describing the difficult road to sobriety for an alcoholic. Nina has struggled with this addiction off and on for most of her adult life, and the addiction is in her blood – her father has suffered from alcoholism, too.

Thirsty also talks about familial disharmony: Nina’s relationship with her daughter is strained because of Nina’s abuse of alcohol. Nina’s relationships with her parents are strained because of her troubled childhood. When she returns home, she’s been gone for several years, and this is the first she’s seen of her parents in a long while. Plus, she’s recently divorced, although she still loves her husband.

Although two of the characters are vampires, I thought the story could have easily been re-written by portraying the two bloodsuckers as satanists or occultists or something?

Overall I thought the book was a good, suspenseful, intriguing read and it was a page turner.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Cheap Stocking Stuffer Idea

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If you want some cheap options to stuff your Christmas stocking, then you should consider purchasing some Heartsong Presents titles. They’re only $2.97 each and you can order them directly from the publisher. I’ve ordered directly from Barbour myself, and I always received the books a few days after I ordered them.

You can find titles here – select the Books tab to get a full selection, and you can also order by calling (800) 847 8270. You can order up to twelve Heartsongs and still pay the same amount in postage. My titles are John’s Quest, Milk Money, and Bittersweet Memories. But, you can find a whole slew of available titles, both contemporary and historical, for a reasonable price. If you order soon, you should receive your novels before Christmas, in plenty of time to stuff your stockings!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Chesapeake Weddings

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I removed Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer from The Christmas Box and placed it into the DVD player tonight for my four-year-old son to enjoy. He watched Rudolph for awhile and then came upstairs whining and upset. He was afraid of the Abominable Snowman! How could he be afraid of The Abominable? He watched the movie over and over last year, we almost had to force him to put it away once Christmas was over. Now, how is he going to watch it this year and be scared? Did the scariness kick into his brain sometime between three and four?

On another note, if you’ve read any of my three stories: John’s Quest, Milk Money, or Bittersweet Memories and you enjoyed them, I’d appreciate it if you’d post a review for it on the Christianbook.com link for Chesapeake Weddings. Chesapeake Weddings is a re-released volume of all three stories, so, even if you’ve only read one of the three, you can still post your review for that story on this link under the Customer Reviews heading.

Hope the holiday season is going well for all of you!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Christmas Box!

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I opened my closet last weekend and pulled out my Christmas box! What’s in it? Christmas CDs and DVDs to enjoy for the holidays! Here are the selections in my Christmas box!

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas CD and DVD – this thing has been on TV for as long as I can remember! What a heartwarming story that’s still a hit today!

Original Christmas Classics DVD set which includes:

2. Frosty The Snowman DVD
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town DVD
4. Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer DVD
I can remember seeing all three of these shows on TV every year since I was a kid!

5. The Polar Express DVD – this selection is what I consider “new”. My hubby and I went to see this in the theater and this was before we had a child.

6. The Vanessa Williams Christmas Collection CD – I mostly listen to this while traveling in the car!

7. Jackson 5 Christmas Album – My four-year-old son LOVES listening to this! He especially enjoys Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer!

8.

The Nutcracker CD – my husband doesn’t care for this, but I love the music! If I play it in the car, it’s usually when I’m alone!

Do you have a Christmas box or Christmas music and DVDs that you enjoy every year? If you do, what are your selections? I’d love to know!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Hershey’s Soft And Chewy Cookies

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You can use any kind of chip or baking piece in this recipe, but I used milk chocolate chips, and they are OH SO GOOD! 🙂

What’s different about this recipe is you use corn syrup in the dough. The corn syrup gives these cookies a nice texture! This recipe is a real keeper!

1 cup Butter (no substitutes)
¾ cup Packed light brown sugar
½ cup Granulated sugar
¼ cup Light corn syrup
1 Egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
2½ cup All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 pack HERSHEY’S Chips or Baking Bits (any flavor; 10-12 oz) – I used milk chocolate chips!

Heat oven to 350’F. In large mixer bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add corn syrup, egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in chips or bits. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and almost set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Cookies will be softer the second day.

FOR CHOCOLATE COOKIES: Decrease flour to 2 1/4 cups and add 1/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S European Style Cocoa. For best results use HERSHEY’S/REESE’S Baking Chips and HERSHEY’S Cocoa.

So, pour yourself a nice, tall, cold glass of milk…

and ENJOY! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Face By Angela Hunt

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The Face by Angela Hunt

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira (November 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778327272
ISBN-13: 978-0778327271

From the back cover:
Product Description
Orphaned and severely deformed, from her earliest moments Sarah Sims has been kept hidden away in a secret CIA facility—until an unexpected discovery gives her an opportunity to make a life for herself at last.
Now Sarah has an ally, a long-lost aunt who has discovered her true identity. Aided by this brave psychologist, twenty-year-old Sarah must find the courage to confront the forces that have confined her for so long. And the strength to be reborn into a world she has never known.

==
This book was a bit different than my usual reading. Born without a face, Sarah Sims has lived her life in captivity, on a remote island near Spain. Brilliant, she’s a successful computer hacker working for the CIA. Orphaned, her contact with the outside world has been minimal, and she has no desire to set foot outside of her own little world due to her deformed appearance. However, when her beautiful Aunt Renee, a psychologist, shows up on the island to perform an analysis on her niece, Sarah soon learns that she longs to see the world, outside of her remote island.

Renee has just learned about her niece, believing Sarah was brought into the world as a still-born child. Renee’s arrival on the island causes strife, turmoil, and joy, which makes this an exciting read. You also have interesting secondary characters on the island like Judson, the legless blind man who’s maimed by working for the CIA, Dr. Kollman – a CIA plastic surgeon who’s smitten with Renee, and Dr. Mewton – the CIA employee who has raised Sarah after she was orphaned.

The ending of this book was bittersweet, and something totally unexpected happens near the end.

This book reminded me a little bit about a secular novel I read several years ago. It was called Butterfly by Kathryn Harvey and I just looked on Amazon and it appears it was re-released through iUniverse a few years ago. In Butterfly, the main character, Rachel, was physically ugly. She wasn’t deformed like Sarah, but she was obsessed with the beauty of others and she has plastic surgery to “fix her face.” At least half of the novel deals with the struggles she endures from having a face that most do not consider attractive.

The Face reminds us about how we view physical appearance in society. I think the way that we look can have a huge impact on our lives.

~Cecelia Dowdy~