Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Sunday Brunch – Remember Jesus’s Sacrifice

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I wanted to wish everybody a happy and joyous Easter. During this sacred holiday, we need to remember that Jesus died for our sins. He’s our Savior and he suffered so that we could gain eternal life.

We also need to remember to remind our children that this holiday isn’t really about eggs and bunnies and candy…it’s all about Jesus…

Happy Resurrection Day!

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Saturday Matinee – The Hunger Games – A Book/Movie Comparison

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Have you seen The Hunger Games? If so, what’d you think?

I went to see The Hunger Games yesterday. I enjoyed the book much more than the movie. However, the movie did follow the book’s storyline, for the most part, with a few added changes.

Just like in the book, the 12 districts randomly selects a boy and a girl during the reaping, to play in the Hunger Games. A total of 24 kids, aged 12-18 will fight in The Hunger Games until there is supposedly one lone survivor. I’m not going to bother repeating the plot since I already talked about this, in depth, on the link above when I reviewed the novel.

The movie made a few significant changes. The Gamemaker played more of a role in the movie than in the book. I don’t recall seeing the Gamemaker very much in the first book. (Although, the new Gamemaker is a prominent character in the second book.) Also, there’s a number of scenes with the Gamemaker and President Snow in the movie. I don’t recall seeing much of President Snow in the first book. (Although, you do see him a number of times in the second and third books.)

I felt that the character of Rue was not as deep or developed as in the book. However, in their defense, I know it’s hard to place every little thing from the book into the movie.

Also, there were a number of scenes that they added to the movie which showed the people controlling the game. I don’t recall seeing this in the book – the Gamemaker and his underlings, actually seeing them put things like fire and wild dogs into the players world. We see the book totally through Katniss’s point-of-view, so all of this background/behind the scenes stuff is not shown in the book.

The movie was just okay. I thought it had some suspenseful moments, but, I doubt I’d want to see it again. If I had to make a recommendation, I’d say to read the book before seeing the movie. The book has much more depth – more meat – in the story than the movie.

Have you seen The Hunger Games? If so, what’d you think?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

SPOILER:

I was surprised that they didn’t have Peeta to lose his leg at the end of the movie. This happens in the book.

Catching Fire And Mockingjay – Books 2 and 3 In The Hunger Games Series – Secular Titles

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Have you read The Hunger Games series? If so, feel free to share your thoughts with a comment.

I finished book three in the Hunger Games series last night. Since I read books 2 and 3 back to back, I figured I’d blog about them together. After Katniss and Peeta win the Hunger Games in book one, they still have problems. The Capitol/President Snow feels threatened, Katniss has power that causes fear within Snow. Katniss’s attempt to swallow the poisoned berries in the arena has caused a definite stir within the oppressed people in the districts. She goes on tour with Peeta as the victors in the Hunger Games and for the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell), President Snow announces that the players will be former Hunger Games winners. Peeta and Katniss, as well as a host of other victors, both young and old, are sent back into the arena to fight one another for their lives.

Due to a pre-determined planned, the Games have been rigged and Katniss and some of the other victors are rescued from the Game and taken to the supposedly extinct district 13. Katniss is worried about Peeta’s safety since he’s been taken by the Capitol. Katniss loses her mind as she’s “nominated” by District 13 to be the Mockingjay, a spokesperson/support person for the war. She’s seen enough blood and guts to last a lifetime, and the gory details of book three are too numerous to mention in this blog post.

Although both of these books were riveting stories, and I felt compelled to read books one, two, and three back to back, I still felt that it was written from the viewpoint of somebody who has little/no faith/belief in God. I felt that the characters in all three of these books were functioning in a Godless, cruel world. There was so much danger, blood, guts, negativity in the stories, that I felt that most people, when in such an oppressed society would call upon God. But, it was almost as if religion doesn’t exist in this futuristic 13-district North American world. However, it’s possible that I feel this way because I read so much Christian fiction that it’s second nature for me to seek a faith element in a story.

I do think these books are thought-provoking. The novels make you think about morals within our society. It also makes you think about war, and about how the actions of war can affect innocent people, like unarmed women and children.

I also felt that these books were too dark to be marketed as young adult novels. I feel they were marketed as such because the characters were so young.

I did enjoy reading these stories, because they are very compelling and you can really feel for the characters, especially with all that they lose in the war. I plan on seeing the movie soon.

Have you read these books? If so, did you like them?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Do You Prefer Male Or Female Novelists? – From The Blog Archives

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Which do you prefer, male or female novelists?

I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, but, when I think back in time to the stories I’ve read in my life, it appears that I seem to be partial to female authors. This isn’t intentional, but, when I think about the stories that I’ve read, about 90% of the authors are female and about 10% are male. Why? I don’t know. I guess since I’m a woman, maybe I can relate to the stories of romance and women’s fiction – which are usually written by females, more so than the novels penned by males.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’ve read a lot of great books by male authors over the years, but when I’m in a bookstore, scanning the shelves, looking for great books, or, when I’m on Amazon or Barnes And Noble.com, looking for a novel to purchase, I usually end up purchasing a female author!

On my this blog, I do book reviews. If you scan through the old posts, you’ll see that most of the books that I review are by female authors.

So, what’s your preference, male or female novelists, and why do you believe you have a preference? Please share your responses with in the comments!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Hunger Games – A Secular Title

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Have you read this book or saw the movie? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

I read this book because everybody keeps talking about it and now that the movie’s been released, they’re talking about it even more. This book was highly disturbing, but, I did think the story and the writing were amazing. The reason why the story was disturbing to me is because I could actually imagine this happening – the story was not that far-fetched.

North America is now divided into Twelve districts. Katniss, a female hunter who poaches game from a forbidden woods with her friend Gale, now finds herself having to play the Hunger Games. The world is different, much different, than the way we know it today. The government doesn’t care about the suffering of its’ people and when Katniss’s father dies, and her mother suffers from mental anxiety, she finds she must take her dad’s bow and arrow to hunt, or her family will starve to death. Starving is something that happens a lot in District 12.

The Hunger Games is a “sporting event” that the Capitol throws every year to keep their districts in line – to remind them of the Capitol’s power. Each district chooses one boy and one girl from a lottery and, the 24 subjects chosen from the 12 districts are forced to play a survival game in a large arena, killing one another in an effort to survive, the last person alive is the winner. This “game” is televised and most of the people in the 12 districts watch the event. When Katniss’s little sister’s name is drawn from the bowl, she snaps, volunteering to take her sister’s place. The boy chosen from District 12 is Peeta, a boy who has shown Katniss great kindness in the past. The age range of those chosen to play the Hunger Games are 12-18.

It’s troubling to see young people warring against one another on a televised event, however, the premise of the story is written in such a way that you want to finish the novel. When the kids are in the arena, there’s a host of things in the wild that can hurt them other than their competitors. Sometimes water is scarce, and there are wild animals in the forest, too. In the beginning, the tributes (people playing the Hunger Games) may pair up and work together for survival.

Another thing that bothered me was the age range and sex of the competitors – 12 – 18? Boys and girls? How can a small 12 year old girl fairly compete against a strapping 18 year old boy?

I did enjoy reading how Katniss travels to the Capitol for the Hunger Game event. She’s never been outside of District 12 and when she travels on the train and arrives to the Capitol, she’s treated like royalty. This is the first time she’s had enough food to eat, and she’s able to taste “delicacies” like, wine, orange juice, and lamb stew. A hot shower is something she’s never experienced before coming to the Capitol and she’s appalled about how some of the Capitol people are pudgy since most have had enough food to eat their entire lives. The glowing Capitol buildings are also a sight for her to see – the contrast in setting is stark and vivid – such a strange contrast to experience right before you’re thrown into an arena to fight for your life.

I plan on reading the other two book in the series, since I did enjoy reading this book because I wanted to see what happened, in spite of the dark subject matter.

Have you read this book or saw the movie? If so, what are your thoughts about it?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Writers Conferences – From The Blog Archives

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Have you ever been to a writers’ conference?

I found the publisher for my first book through a direct contact at a writers’ conference. I used to attend the Romance Writers of America Conference every year and I met Tracie Peterson (the former editor of Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line). Although Tracie didn’t offer me a contract for my story, when her former colleague, Stephen Reginald, was looking for an African American Christian Fiction author to write a novel for a special 3-in-1 collection for Crossings Book Club, he contacted Tracie for suggestions and she gave him my name. As a result, I landed the contract for Someone For Toni, my first book in the novel collection entitled Promises To Keep that was released back in 2002.

My second romance was sold through the direct contact at a conference hosted by a local Romance Writers of America Chapter (Washington Romance Writers). I met with a Harlequin editor who referred me to Krista Stroever, who was a new editor for Love Inspired at the time. I submitted and made a sale to Love Inspired three weeks later.

I now attend conferences sponsored by American Christian Fiction Writers. I’ve sold three more romance novels since I’ve begun fellowshipping with this wonderful group of writers and they have a conference each year that is totally awesome! I recommend attending this event if you’re serious about pursuing commercial publication.

Also, at writers’ conferences, you have the luxury of forming new friendships with fellow writers and you’ll get to meet some best-selling authors that you may have admired for years, and meeting these authors is a treat!

So, have you been to a writers’ conference before? Which one did you attend? Was it a positive experience? Tell us about it in the comments section!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Pastor’s Wife

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The Pastor’s Wife by Reshonda Tate Billingsley

Terrence Ellis is the pastor of a thriving church. He’s thirty and he’s single, and the parishionhers are starting to wonder why he’s still unmarried. Terrance’s parents are deceased, so he was raised by his three aunts – they want to make sure that their nephew has a wife before the big Christmas event so that the congregation can stop gossiping about Terrance’s singleness.

I thought this book was a drama-filled page-turner. However, I thought that even though the book was set in the church, the only character that seemed intent on doing God’s will was Terrance. His aunts were busy-bodies who seemed like they had a lot of time on their hands with judgmental attitudes towards other members of the church. Also, as can be found in some churches, the parishioners were extremely judgmental toward one another. Terrance does develop feelings for Savannah – a parishioner with a bad reputation. When his aunts find out about his interest in Savannah, they go ballistic, trying to set their nephew up on blind dates. Also, Savannah stoops to low levels in order to claim Terrance as her significant other. Terrance harbors a secret, a secret that nobody knows about. This secret creates a unique turning point in this story.

If I were Terrance, I doubt I’d be able to lead such an openly judgmental church. I felt kind of sorry for him since he was only following his calling and trying his best to do the Lord’s work. I could easily see this drama-filled, page-turning novel being turned into a movie. Overall an exciting read.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola

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Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola

***This review has a minor few spoilers.

Shiloh Jacobs is an American working as a reporter in Japan. She has a handsome Latin fiancé and she loves living in Tokyo. Her life takes a dramatic turn when her fiancé suddenly takes on a female roommate and she misses her deadline for a story at her job. She rectifies the situation at work dishonestly, and her actions affect her life later in the story.

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Shiloh’s mother also dies and she finds it hard to deal with all of these events happening in her life. Due to her estranged mother’s death, she must leave Japan and travel to the South (in rural Virginia) to attend the funeral. It’s hard for her to attend the funeral and meet some of her mother’s friends – Shiloh has not spoken to her mother in years and she had bad, vivid memories of her dysfunctional childhood with her mom.

Shiloh loses her job in Japan, so she must remain in the South, living in the home she’s inherited from her mother. She meets an interesting cast of country-accented people while living in Virginia. She is befriended by Adam, a professional landscaper who’s taking care of his amputee brother who was injured in Afghanistan. She also meets Tim and Becky, a country couple who have been dealing with infertility issues. There’s also Faye, one of her mother’s closest friends, who gives Shiloh a lot of details about the recent years of her mother’s life.

Shiloh has a hard time understanding the strong Christianity of her new friends. Unsaved, she’s still trying to figure out the meaning of being a Christian. She also doesn’t understand why Christians suffer, but still praise Jesus.

This book was a good, heartwarming read that portrays Shiloh’s physical journey as she relocates to rural Virginia from urban Tokyo, Japan. It also shows her emotional and spiritual journey as she discovers friendships with her new Christian friends, and she also learns more about the mother’s salvation. I highly recommend this book – it’s a wonderful, emotional story that will bring you both laughter and tears.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Favorite Books About The Craft Of Writing – From The Blog Archives

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I thought I’d mention two of my favorite books about the craft of writing. The first is Self Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I recall this book giving a good foundation for the basics of writing. I recommend this book to those who are just beginning the writing process and they long to pen a novel. The book also contains writing exercises, which is nice. Self-Editing covers subjects like “show, don’t tell” and other topics that beginning writers need to know. I no longer have my copy and I’ll probably purchase another. I loaned my copy to somebody and they never gave it back.


The second book I wanted to mention was Stephen King’s book On Writing. WARNING, THERE’S SOME PROFANITY IN THIS BOOK, BUT IF YOU CAN GET PAST THAT, THE BOOK GIVES GOOD, SOUND WRITING ADVICE. This book is a memoir that tells about Stephen King’s journey to publication and it also talks about his life. The book even tells about his problems with substance abuse. He also gives good, solid writing advice that most writers need to follow if they want to seriously pursue publication. I read this book several years ago and I still recall passages where Stephen talks about his pre-writing days, about how he’d be at work or doing a task and a scene from a novel would come into his mind. I was mesmerized by this book and I’ve often recommended it to aspiring writers.

What are your favorite books about the craft of writing? Please share those titles with us in the comments section!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Sunday Brunch – Jesus Heals A Demon-Possessed Man – From The Blog Archives!

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Luke 8:26-39

Today, I took the liberty of posting a bit of a different blog entry on Writers’ Rest. I felt compelled to talk about Jesus. When I read the New Testament, I am amazed at the power of our Lord as he went about the earth, healing others.

Luke 8:26-39 is a powerful scripture, and I’ve copied and pasted it below if you wish to read it. Everytime I read this, it stays in my mind for a long time. It kind of reminds me of a Peretti novel. I could imagine Frank Peretti doing a biblical fiction piece about this demon-possessed man.

Plus, the fact that Jesus made those evil spirits to come out of the demon-possessed man, and then allowed them to go into the swine, thus causing the swine to drown in the water, just proves what God can do.

I can’t imagine being possessed by a legion of demons, so much so that one can’t even live among society, but up in the tombs, separated from others….

Just makes me stop and think, and be a little afraid, but to come to appreciate God’s power…

What thoughts come to your mind when you read this scripture?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Luke 8:26-39 NEW KING JAMES VERSION
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.