Come check out my interview with Family Fiction! The interview is focusing on The Candy Beach Series! If you’re looking for a sweet, cool beach read this summer then you should check out my series!
My novel, Milk Money, which was published years ago, is out of print. Milk Money was published by Barbour, a Christian publisher, and it was distributed all over the world. I even had a fan to state she’d seen it in an Australian bookstore (Koorong). I received the rights back to that story (meaning Barbour allowed me to publish it on my own since they no longer had any use for it). I republished Milk Money and re-titled it as Milk Chocolate Kisses.
I also revised Milk Money and made it more current – before publishing it as Milk Chocolate Kisses. Anyhow, a reader recently acquired Milk Money and she sent me this wonderful email which I’ve been encouraged to share:
Dear Ms. Dowdy,
At my church we have a book exchange box that several of us share
our reading material. I picked up “Milk Money” on Sunday and stuffed in
my purse to read while my mechanic changed my oil and filter yesterday.
I began reading while waiting – he finished too quickly! I marked my place
and as soon as I got home I picked it back up. It’s the first time in many
months that I really didn’t want to put the book down. I finally realized I
needed to sleep some but finished it this morning.
I believe this is the first of your books I have had the pleasure of reading.
I loved every part about it. I wasn’t blessed to be a dairy farmer but my
Mom and Grandparents were long before I came along. I grew up in a
small town and attended church all my life. God didn’t send my husband
until I was 26 so I spent much time seeking his will for my life. He sent
my husband along after I had surrendered to be single if that’s what HE wanted.
Thank you for writing this book. I will be watching for more from you as
I shop. May God continue to bless your writing and your witness for the Lord.
Mary
Bittersweet Dreams was released on July first! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited! Earlier, I shared an excerpt here.
I’m seeking readers/reviewers for my sweet, inspirational romance novels. I will provide the e-book versions of my books to you for free. If you are able to read the e-book, and you like the story, then you may leave a review on Amazon (and any other place you wish, such as Goodreads, Bookbub, etc.).
Come join if you are interested! If you know of others who are interested in reviewing some sweet, inspirational romance novels, then spread the word! Please share with all of your friends!
The Texan’s Secret Daughter is a book that I briefly mention on this blog post.
This was a nice sweet book. I enjoyed reading it. It’s a book about second chances. The book also dealt with alcoholism, and that is a subject on which I’ve often focused on with my own writing. I thought the hero (Elijah) was so hard on himself regarding his past mistakes. The heroine (Jazmine) has made mistakes as well. I thought the second-chance lesson pertained to Jazmine’s and Elijah’s relationship, as well as our relationship with our Creator. The biggest takeaway from this book is that God gives all of us a second, third, fourth…etc. chance. Forgiveness is also a major lesson learned from reading this insightful novel.
I initially sold a novel (First Mates) to Love Inspired back in 2003. My novel was released in 2005. At the time, Love Inspired did not publish many romances with ethnic characters. There were a few Love Inspireds which were released within the span of a few years, with African-American characters. I only sold one book to Love Inspired. I kept submitting, but was not able to sell another book to them. I was glad to see Love Inspired publish The Texan’s Secret Daughter. If you know of any other Love Inspired novels with ethnic (non-Caucasian) hero or heroine, then please share the titles.
I recently received the publishing rights back to First Mates (it’s out of print) and am re-releasing it as Coffee and Kisses.
This was a nice, sweet story about a billionaire and his young daughter’s live-in schoolteacher. I honestly believe this was the first billionaire romance I’ve ever read. (I’m not counting Fifty Shades – which is not really a romance). Sure, I’ve read countless romances with rich heroes, but, not one with a billionaire.
The billionaire lived in a regular house. He’s renting his current home, waiting for his mansion to be built. So, although you know this guy is mega-rich, with his body guards and successful business, he still lives like a regular guy, otherwise. You don’t see expensive fixtures and tons of servants, as you may see in other rich-hero romances.
There’s also a bit of suspense in this novel. I liked the relationship between the hero and his daughter. He’s a bit overprotective of her, but, given his background his temperament is understandable.
Both of these novels are nice, sweet cozy reads to enjoy at the beach.
Raspberry Kisses is FREE for the next couple of days! The rest of The Bakery Romance Series and A FEW TITLES from The Candy Beach Series are 99 cents! Grab all of them before the price goes up!
I’m now offering critique and writing advice on a limited basis. Details are here.
I realize that’s a broad question, however, it’s a question that is deeply linked to A Walk Along the Beach. This was one of the strongest, most compelling Debbie Macomber books that I’ve ever read.
Willa happily runs her coffee shop, Bean There, on the beachy shore of Oceanside. Harper, her sister/best friend/roommate, often hangs around the coffee shop, often stepping in to assist Willa when Willa is short-staffed. Harper is happy and she embraces life to the fullest. Harper is also beautiful and has her share of male admirers. Willa is not as pretty as her sister and is often in the background as Harper embraces the spotlight.
Harper and Willa have an unusual relationship because Willa is more of a mother to Harper. Their mom died when they were younger, and Willa stepped in as the role of the mother – especially since their father suffered from alcoholism.
When handsome Sean comes into the coffeeshop, Harper feels that he is the perfect match for her sister. Willa is leery about Harper’s matchmaking skills as she spends time with Sean.
But, when drastic, traumatic and tragic events occur, the lives of all of the characters are drastically altered. Reading this book will make you appreciate your friends and family – be grateful for these relationships because things can drastically change in a short amount of time.
This was a strong, emotional book that I’m sure will be the number one beach read for the summer.
Just popping in to say hello. I’ve had some people to tell me that they have more time to read during this pandemic. Bookbub is a cool place to hang out if you’re an avid reader! Sign up for their daily featured-deal email. You pick your favorite categories and each day, you’ll receive an email with cool deals. A lot of the featured deal books are FREE!
So, check out their site and come follow me on Bookbub!
Silently they continued to eat. He finished his coffee and poured another cup. “Would you like some dessert?”
“Dessert after breakfast?” She’d never heard of such a thing. Who ate dessert after breakfast?
He opened the refrigerator and removed a glass bowl covered with Saran Wrap. The bowl contained…well, it looked like perfectly round balls of milk chocolate. He tore the Saran Wrap off the bowl and the amazing lemony chocolate smell practically shouted from the bowl. “These are chocolate lemon buttercreams. I got up extra early and made a batch this morning. I make them quite often.” His deep voice filled with pride as he stared at the bowl of candy.
“You can eat this whole bowl of candy yourself?”
He shrugged. “It stays fresh in the fridge. Sometimes, I take a batch to church to share at meetings. Like yesterday, I made a batch and shared it at a youth group meeting.” Well, that explained why he’d smelled of lemons and chocolate the previous day. She glanced at his shirt and noticed that it was stained with chocolate and yellow. She figured he was messy and spilled chocolate and lemon filling on his shirt when he made the candy. That’s why he smelled so amazing. He pushed the bowl closer to her. “Have some.”
He didn’t have to ask her twice. Curiosity and…something else seemed to erupt within her as she selected one of the balls of candy. She’d never met a man who cooked like Keith Baxter and made his own candy. She bit into the chocolate.
Oh. My. Goodness.
The fresh lemon cream center coated with milky chocolate exploded in her mouth like a cloud of perfect sweetness. She moaned and finished the piece of candy in two bites. Chocolate had melted on her fingers, and heaven help her, she just couldn’t resist.
She licked her fingers.
Keith’s laughter filled the kitchen. His eyes twinkled and his dimples winked as he looked directly at her. She eyed the bowl. In spite of her full stomach, she wanted to select another piece of candy. But, she couldn’t sample another piece. It just wouldn’t be right, especially since she’d been so enamored with the candy that she’d lost her mind and had licked her fingers.
Still chuckling, Keith removed a box of aluminum foil from the cupboard. He tore off a piece of foil and, as if he were reading her mind, he placed half a dozen pieces of candy into the foil and wrapped it up. He then presented it to her. Their fingers touched when she accepted his offering. Warm sparks of delight shot up her palm. Her hand felt so warm that she hoped the candy wouldn’t melt before she got home. Finally, she remembered her manners. “Thank you.”
His eyes twinkled as he quickly winked at her. “You’re welcome.”
