The winner of the March Book Giveaway is: Aik Yin Chien – Perak, Malaysia
Congratulations, Aik! I hope you enjoy the books!
Winner Of The March Book Giveaway
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Author Archives: 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!
The List by Sherri Lewis
From Sherri Lewis’s website:
Single and satisfied? Not Michelle, Angela and Lisa. These saved but sexy, successful black women think they’re getting too old to keep waiting on God to send their soulmates. Under the protective eye of their more spiritual sistergirlfriend, Vanessa, and the scrutiny of newly saved manhater, Nicole, the ladies go on a hilarious adventure to “be found” by their husbands.
Armed with their list of essential must-have’s, would-be-nice’s, icing-on-the-cake’s, and total-deal-breakers, they start their search – but soon encounter issues specific to the saved woman on the dating scene. Is online dating okay for Christians? How long do you wait before you tell the hottie you just met that you’re celibate and plan to stay so until married? He’s too fine to pass up – how saved does he really need to be? And of course, how do you keep things holy when he’s oh-so-sexy?
It’s not long before they realize they still have to trust God to know what’s best for them and that He loves them enough to send them everything on The List.
This book was awesome! I felt like I was reading about myself! I could really relate to the characters and their quest to find husbands. The online dating scene is not for the faint of heart! I went through the same issues when I placed an ad online several years ago. It’s hard to find that special someone, and this book resonated with me because I found my hubby through an online dating service.
I could really relate to Michelle because of her attraction to Isaiah. I kind of went through the same predicament a long time ago. It’s hard to have feelings for someone who’s NOT financially stable, in spite of his love for the Lord.
The author also addressed the issue of staying celibate before marriage. It is very hard to do that nowadays, even though it is possible.
Michelle works hard at her job at the TV station, and she’s in line to be promoted. However, a bitter co-worker, who’s high in rank, is out to squelch Michelle’s dream job. Michelle gets the green light from her boss to produce a new TV show, Indie Artist. While working on this show, she meets a handsome, sexy musician named Isaiah. It appears Isaiah has everything Michelle wants in a man: good looks, a passion for God, as well as a huge house and a Hummer!
As Michelle becomes more acquainted with Isaiah, she discovers things are not as they appear. With her job on the line, Michelle wonders what God has in store for her. Her attraction to her co-worker Jason makes the story more interesting. Should she date a man in the workplace?
This book addresses many issues that Christians struggle with, including: sex, dating in the workplace, financial security, and problematic relationships in corporate America.
I believe if you read this novel, you’ll see at least one situation that reminds you of your own life experience.
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! 🙂
Christian Speculative Fiction
I wanted to make a correction to one of my previous blog posts. I referred to Eric Wilson’s novels as a Christian vampire series. Here’s what Eric said about his novels:
My novels are not “Christian vampire” stories. They are stories from a biblical worldview that deal with the evil nature of vampires and their counterfeit method of finding life in blood (as opposed to our finding life through the blood of Jesus).
I wish more would give the series a chance, because such concepts are widely explored in the mainstream market. As Christians, we too often surrender the battle instead of dealing with the issues head-on.
I believe our discussion of vampires and creatures of the night would fall into the Christian Speculative Fiction category? Novel Journey recently posted about Speculative Fiction in the Christian market. If interested in this topic, then you should read this post.
I think I’m done with this subject for now. Soon, I’ll be posting a review for The List, a novel by Sherri Lewis.
Health
Vampires In Christian Fiction
One of my blog readers was surprised that I’d mentioned Twilight on this blog because Twilight is about a vampire. Well, coincidentally, I was reading this article yesterday, and discovered that Thomas Nelson, a large, well-known Christian publisher, has a Christian vampire series called Jeruselum’s Undead Trilogy by Eric Wilson. How in the world do you Christianize vampires? I haven’t read these books because, as I stated on this post, I don’t read many vampire/creature-of-the-night novels. If you’ve read this series, I’d be interested in knowing if they’re good, riveting stories? Do the plots draw you in? Here are the book covers and the summary of one of the novels from this series. The covers look pretty scary to me! I’m not sure if I’d want to read this before going to bed at night! I might have nightmares. If you like scary stories with a message, then I think you might want to read these. I might read one of them and then decide if I want to read the other two:
Field of Blood – Jeruselum’s Undead Trilogy Book One
From Barnesandnoble.com
Synopsis
Judas hung himself in a place known as the Akeldama or Field of Blood.
But what if his death didn’t end his betrayal?
What if his tainted blood seeped deep into the earth, into burial caves, causing a counterfeit resurrection of the dead?
Gina Lazarescu, a Romanian girl with a scarred past, has no idea she is being sought by the undead.
The Collectors, those released from the Akeldama, feed on souls and human blood. But there are also the Nistarim, those who rose from their graves in the shadow of the Nazarene’s crucifixion–and they still walk among us, immortal, left to protect mankind.
Gina realizes her future will depend on her understanding of the past, yet how can she protect herself from Collectors who have already died once but still live?
The Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy takes readers on a riveting journey, as imaginative fiction melds with biblical and archaeological history.
Forever Knight, The Trilogy Part Two
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I watched the Twilight movie On Demand yesterday. Surprisingly, I wasn’t intending to watch it. I was going to watch another movie – a foreign film about a cult, but the movie I was hoping to see wasn’t listed On Demand anymore. I’m off from work this week, my husband and child were both out of the house, so I was guaranteed watching a movie with no interruptions. I’d already made my popcorn, and was bummed when I couldn’t find the movie that I wanted to watch. So I decided not to let this movie-watching opportunity to pass me by, so I chose to watch Twilight. It pretty much stayed with the story-line in the novel with a few exceptions.
1. Bella, the main character, is a vegetarian in the movie and her and her dad eat at the diner every night. In the novel, Bella cooked for her and her dad. I don’t recall any scenes at a diner. I kind of liked how they had her cooking meals for herself and her dad. I guess the scriptwriters made her a vegetarian because Edward, the hero, eats animals instead of people, which kind of makes him a vegetarian vampire? This makes both Bella and Edward to have a common bond?
2. The trio of evil vampires don’t appear in the novel until about half or three quarters of the way into the story; when Edward, Bella, and his family are playing a baseball game. In the movie, they added a thread where the evil vampires are killing people in town, eating them. This thread of murders is not included in the book.
3. In the movie, Edward’s family are foster kids to the doctor and his wife. In the book, I don’t recall their being known as foster kids. Everybody was under the impression that they were a natural family?
Those are the main differences that I can recall. I preferred the book over the movie, though. The book drew me in more, and I guess that’s because reading leaves more to the imagination.
If you saw Twilight, and read the novel, which did you prefer, the book or the movie? If you had a preference, could you tell me the reasons behind your preference?
This blog post about vampires has got me to thinking about stories I’ve read in the past that had vampires, but, I’ve come up empty! Vampires and creatures of the night just don’t make my regular list of reading material! Maybe it’s because I used to get scared when I was a little kid when people mentioned vampires! My father, if he came home from work early enough, used to watch a soap opera about vampires called Dark Shadows. I used to cringe when he’d watch it and I hated it when he came home early enough to watch! I wanted to watch The Flintstones, but he’d turn the channel to Dark Shadows! Barnabas Collins (not sure if that’s spelled right) was a vampire in Dark Shadows. This show was on a long time ago, back in the early seventies. I was about four or five at the time.
I also read a novel called Frankenstein by Mary Shelley several years ago. That novel wasn’t very scary, and I recall that the writing was strong, and it’s considered a classic. Frankenstein isn’t a vampire, though, he was a monster.
That’s about all I can say about vampires. The other things about vampires that I’ve been exposed to is stuff you see on TV and in the movies; like using garlic to ward off vampires – weird stuff like that…
~Cecelia Dowdy~
2009 Inspirational RITA Award Nominees!
Congrats to the following Inspirational RITA Award nominees. The RITA Award is given yearly by Romance Writers Of America. A list of finalists for all categories can be found here.
Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist
Bethany House Publishers (ISBN: 1590529286)
David Long and Julie Klasseneditor, editors
Faking Grace by Tamara Leigh
Random House Publishing, WaterBrook Multnomah (ISBN: 978-1-59052-929-4)
Julee Schwarzburg, editor
Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren
Tyndale House Publishers (ISBN: 1-4143-1019-6)
Karen Watson, editor
Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck
Thomas Nelson Inc. (ISBN: 1595543384)
Ami McConnell, editor
Mulberry Park by Judy Duarte
Kensington Publishing Corp. (ISBN: 978-0-7582-2015-8)
John Scognamiglio, editor
The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter
Thomas Nelson Inc. (ISBN: 9781595542588)
Amanda Bostic and Leslie Peterson, editors
The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher
Thomas Nelson Inc., Women of Faith Fiction (ISBN: 978-1-59554-148-2)
Ami McConnell and Leslie Peterson, editors
Where Love Abides by Irene Hannon
Harlequin Enterprises, Steeple Hill Love Inspired (ISBN: 9780373874798)
Melissa Endlich, editor
One of the finalists in the Novel With Strong Romantic Elements is:
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
Random House Publishing, WaterBrook Multnomah (ISBN: 978-1-4000-7456-3)
Shannon Marchese, editor
Question About Ghostwriting
I was asked the following question from Fred:
I’m looking for a ghostwriter. I’ve been working on this book for five years, and I need somebody to help me to put it together and put it out there to the public. I’ve already approached the following person: [FRED WAS ABLE TO SHOW ME A BUSINESS CARD.] and he charges $20,000.00 to ghostwrite my story. I can’t afford that. Would you be interested in the job?
My response:
DON’T DO IT!! The business card you showed to me looked highly unprofessional and I could barely read it! If this guy is serious about drumming up business, he would at least have a professional-looking business card!
Also, you need to research this man! What clients has he booked in the past? Talk to his clients and get feedback about their experiences with this “ghostwriter”. Look at some of the projects he’s ghostwritten – are they quality products that prove this man’s talent? If you can’t find past clients, and he won’t provide them to you, then you need to be very leery about him. Also, if you’re his first client, then he doesn’t have the right to charge $20,000.00 for his services.
To answer the second part of your question, no, I’m not a ghostwriter, and it’s not a subject I know a great deal about. I’m busy with my own projects, plus I work full-time, which limits the time that I have to spend on writing.
Another thing I’d like to mention is, you said you wanted to get your book out to the public? I’m assuming you’re planning to self-publish? I’ve never self-published, so I’m not one to give advice about what you need to do. The little bit that I do know about it I’ve seen and heard on other blogs and at writers’ conferences. If you do pay somebody to ghostwrite (or edit) your novel for you, and you then decide to self-publish, you’ll need a plan on how to sell copies of your novels since distribution is usually limited with self-pubbed books.
If you decide to commercially publish, well, that’s a whole different subject. Just look up the submission guidelines for publishers that you feel may be interested in your work. Do your research to see which publishers have released books that remind you of your own work.
Hope my suggestions helped!
Guest Blogger – NY Times Bestselling Author Beverly Lewis!
Last week I focused on Amish fiction, and I invited a number of Amish fiction authors to respond to my question about why Amish fiction sells so well. I posted my results here. I received a response from New York Times Bestselling Amish Fiction Author Beverly Lewis yesterday. Her words were very insightful so I’m featuring her as a guest blogger today!
Beverly Lewis’s novels were the first Amish fiction I recall seeing and reading. Surprisingly, I didn’t purchase her novels myself. My sister saw them in the now-closed Crown Books store. This was probably ten years ago, I guess? My sister purchased them for me, knowing how much I loved Christian fiction. When she gave them to me, I looked at the cover and said, “What’s up with the bonnet? Are they Amish or something?” I recall the main character in one of the novels was blind.
Here’s Beverly Lewis’s comments about Amish Fiction:
How very nice of you to invite me to post on your blog. Here are my comments for your site:
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Wonderful discussion here, Cecelia. And thanks for inviting me to post.
I receive hundreds of letters each week from readers who share “the draw” to my Amish novels, so I understand why your blog is so popular, as well. It would appear that what has been lost to us as modern people (“fancy folk”) and what the exotic and cloistered society of the Plain has to offer those caught up in the frenetic “English” world is a slower (happier?) pace of life, an ability to thrive on face-to-face relationships (as opposed to cyberspace relationships such as IM, FaceBook, SecondLife, texting, and email, etc.), and the Amish are masters at the art of conversation!–as well as a yearning in readers for a sense of belonging. Community is core and key to the Amish fiction appeal, I believe. So many people seem lost and what Amish settings and characters offer is literally a “place to belong.”
My own particular interest in the Amish people comes from my family heritage…my maternal grandmother having experienced a heart-breaking shunning that lasted her entire life (from age 17 onward), when she opened her heart to a relationship with the Lord Jesus and married a ministerial student (outside the Plain community). This man became my grandfather (Omar Buchwalter) and he and my courageous grandmother Ada Ranck Buchwalter pastored churches in WA, FL, and later returned to their homeland of Lancaster, PA, where my mother and her 8 siblings grew up. Because of Ada’s bold move toward a personal relationship with Christ, I am one of the many benefactors on the whole vast side of Ada’s and Omar’s family tree. THE SHUNNING, which has been said to have launched an entire genre for inspirational women’s fiction, was published in May 1997 and I’m told has presently sold upwards of 1.3 million copies.
All of that to say, there is truly an amazing draw to Amish fiction currently and has only recently become noted by CBA publishers and others outside the Christian booksellers industry. Many view this genre as a way to interweave spiritual themes in a natural way, without being accused of having a platform or being preachy. The simple truth of Amish fiction is that they embrace the Sermon on the Mount literally (thus the reason the Nickel Mines bishop led the way and offered forgiveness following the Amish schoolhouse shootings). They take what Scripture they are permitted to read “straight up,” without parcing, studying, or memorizing it. Please remember I’m talking only of the original settlement of Old Order Amish in Lancater County, PA, where I was born, grew up, and know (and have lived with) many Old Order Amish families. There are other Amish communities where their church ordinances reflect a more liberal Anabaptist approach to Scripture, similar to some Mennonite groups, and are not reticent about saying they are “saved” or accept the assurance of salvation by grace. The vast majority of Lancaster County Amish would not declare such a thing, viewing it as the heighth of pride (one bishop said, “If you say you’re saved, then you most certainly are not.”)
Just a few of many of my observations over the many years of my close ties to PA Amish.
Blessings on your day, Cecelia and thanks for your beautiful blog!
~ Bev Lewis
www.beverlylewis.com
Thanks for your thoughts and insight, Beverly! I’ve enjoyed featuring you on my blog today!