Category Archives: Fiction

Milk Money – only 99 cents – A Sweet Romance – ebook!

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My romance novel, Milk Money, is currently available for 99 cents – that’s less than the price of a cup of coffee!! Download it today! You can also loan this e-book to your friends, too! If you like it, please leave a review on Amazon! It’s available on Kindle, Nook, and possibly other e-readers! Don’t have a Kindle or a Nook? You can always download and use the free Kindle App on your Smart Phone or PC!

Have you already read Milk Money? You could always gift this book to your friend(s)! If you’ve read my novel and you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Christianbook.com, or anyplace else that allows book reviews!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Do Men Read Romance Novels? – From The Blog Archives

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Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received correspondence from two men about my Love Inspired title, First Mates. Both men said that they enjoyed the story and they wanted to know if I had other titles available. One of the men is thirty years old and the other is in his seventies. This recent correspondence gave me the idea for the topic of this blog post.

Do you know any men who read romance novels?

When I think of romance novel readers, I picture women of various ages engrossed in the pages of romance paperback novels. I realize this view may be a bit out-dated so I’d like the opinions of others. If you know of any male romance readers, tell us about them. What do men find appealing about a romance novel? If you are a man who reads romance, please respond and tell us why you read it.

Leave your responses in the comments! 🙂

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

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The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

Have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?

When teenaged Ellie’s mother has an affair with a famous country-western singer, her father goes ballistic. Once discovering his wife is pregnant, he throws her out of the house, telling his daughter Ellie that they’re moving from Georgia to California. Ellie runs to her best friend Nolan, crying about her plight. Initially, Nolan is not sure what to do – after all, he’s determined to marry Ellie someday. Nolan and Ellie write a letter to one another, then place the unread letters in a tackle box and burying them near their favorite tree at the local park. Nolan states that in eleven years, they are going to meet under that tree on that day to read the letters – this will give them a chance at being together since Ellie will be moving so far away.

The book continues eleven years later and you see Ellie’s life change drastically. Her relationship with her overbearing father crumbles, and she never hears from her mother.

This book was somewhat emotional, as you see Ellie and Nolan pine for one another. You also see the Lord working with some of the secondary characters like Ellie’s father, mother, and Payton (the country western singer). Although the story was good, I thought there were a LOT of conveniently coincidental things that happened which kept Nolan and Ellie apart for all of those years.

Many thanks to Howard Books for providing me with a free review copy.

So, have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?

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~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

Grounds To Believe by Shelley Bates

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Grounds To Believe by Shelley Bates

Have you ever been involved in a cult, or, known someone who’s been involved in one? What happened when you (or whomever) was involved with that group?

Ross Malcolm has a young daughter and he’s desperate to find his child. Years ago, he was involved with a woman (the mother of his child) who ran away with his daughter to join a cult. Ross has not seen his child in years, and wonders about her fate. A Christian, Ross is determined to investigate cults, hoping to stop their unreasonable practices.

Ross is alerted to investigate a cult when a pattern of mysterious children’s deaths becomes suspicious. When he rolls into town on his motorbike, he meets Julia, a member of The Elect, the cult he’s been called to investigate. He finds himself attracted to the beautiful plain-dressed woman. His ruse requires him to act as if he’s interested in becoming one of the Elect – the Elect feel that they are the only saved ones on this earth – all other religions are worldly and influenced by Satan.

I really loved this book because I saw several elements that were familiar in the cult environment. For example, The Elect don’t believe in having a personal relationship with Jesus – their salvation depends upon their Shepherd and his rules – God only speaks to them through their Shepherd and he decides their fate, not God. Also, they watch one another, if one rule is broken or bended, you could be Silenced, scorned for life, doomed to a life of Hell. Makes me wonder how one can stay enmeshed within a cult for so long – but, I suppose after being in it for so long and it’s all you know, you become close to the other members, and they’re like your family. It’d be kinda hard to give all that up if you don’t have others in the world in which to turn. The members of the Elect kinda reminded me of the Amish and the Shakers with their judgmental attitudes.

This was a good read over all! So have you ever been involved in a cult, or known someone who has? What happened? Tell me about the experience by leaving a comment!

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Need a good, emotional romance? Try John’s Quest, on sale now for 99 cents!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Pink By Marilynn Griffith – From The Blog Archives

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Could you accurately portray characters of another race in a novel?

***This is a repeat of an old blog post.

Pink (Shades of Style)

by Marilynn Griffith

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Revell (February 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800730402
ISBN-13: 978-0800730406

From Amazon.com
Book Description
Meet Raya Joseph, the creative head designer at an up-and-coming new fashion design firm. Like employees of any fledgling company, Raya and her fellow designers face a variety of challenges–especially when it comes to bringing in business. So when they are hired to design a million-dollar wedding gown, these talented and animated designers are thrilled. But there’s one catch. The new customer is the woman who stole Raya’s fiance. Meanwhile, Flex Dunham, an athletic trainer who coaches a charity basketball team, needs team uniforms and soon finds himself in Raya’s shop. Raya hasn’t looked at a man since her engagement fiasco, so when Flex walks into her office, things get a little complicated. The entertaining first novel in the Shades of Style series, Pink offers a perfect mix of likeable characters, sweet drama, humor, and a little bit of romance.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I also loved the way the author made the reader aware about how AIDS really affects our lives. AIDS/HIV is something that I don’t really read much about in Christian fiction.

Raya is hurting. She’s been jilted by her ex-fiancé and she’s also estranged from her wealthy parents. As she desperately tries to make a living as a fashion designer, her friend, Chenille, introduces her to Flex: a personal trainer and a Christian man. The sexual tension between this couple is very strong, and Flex has issues of his own that he’s dealing with. Also estranged from his wealthy parent, both Flex and Raya are trying to make a living on their own, without using the vast wealth of their fathers.

Raya and Flex’s love grows during her early morning training sessions at the gym, and while she assists Flex with coaching his boy’s basketball team. Raya joyously spends time with the young men and especially connects with Jay, an AIDS orphan. As the story unfolds, you’ll find that Flex and Raya are connected in a very unique, surprising, and God-filled way!

Here’s something I never do when I talk about a book. I’m going to quote a couple of sentences from the book that I loved! I guess I loved these sentences because I love sweets so much? I’m not sure, but I love the way the author described this sunset.

From page 254:
The sun dipped below the horizon like a lemon cookie in a bowl of rainbow sherbet. Hues of melon and pink spread across the sky as though God was painting by number.

Those sentences were amazingly tasty and picturesque! I wanted to eat the sun!

Also, if you recall, I blogged about Cami Tang’s book awhile back. I’d mentioned that was the only Christian fiction novel I’d read with Asian characters.

Well, book two in the Shades Of Style series, Jade, has Asian characters.

Which brings me to another topic, people of different nationalities writing about different races. Marilynn is African-American and her second Shades Of Style book has Asian characters. As a matter of fact, each book focuses on a person of a different race:

I remember Marilynn spoke briefly about this at the ACFW 2006 conference in Dallas. It was an interesting discussion. I think it would be hard for me to write an entire novel where the main characters are Asian. I’m not sure if I could portray him/her authentically. However, I’m pretty sure I could pen a novel with Caucasian characters fairly easily. If anybody has read any of the books in the Shades Of Style series, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about them. I enjoyed the first one, and I’ll probably be reading the others sometime in the future.

So, could you accurately portray characters of another race in a novel? Have you read the Shades of Style series? Leave a comment!

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~Cecelia Dowdy~

Me, Myself, And Him

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Me, Myself, And Him by E.N. Joy

Locksie, a hairdresser, is living in sin with her boyfriend Dawson. Dawson is a personal trainer at the gym, and he’s the first man with whom she’s ever had intercourse. Locksie has been feeling guilty about her relationship with Dawson and her saved Aunt Mary tells her that she needs to develop a relationship with Jesus – her guilt stems from the sin that she’s committing.

The novel dealt with a cast of realistic characters with realistic issues. You have Drake, Dawson’s brother, who’s a saved man who has a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. Dawson finds himself lusting after another man’s wife and he prays, wanting God to forgive him and lift his unhealthy desire.

There’s also Hannah, who is married to Elkan. Hannah is a light-skinned Black woman, she’s so light that people think she’s a White woman. Hannah has issues in her marriage because Elkan cheated on her, and had a baby by his one-time mistress. This distresses Hannah since she’s unable to conceive.

This story reminded me of a soap opera, a soap opera with a Christian message. This novel was full of drama and snappy, realistic dialogue, and it showed realistic characters struggling with realistic issues that affect their faith journeys. It was a highly engaging read and I look forward to reading more novels by this author.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Food In The Church – From The Blog Archives

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Do you remember the events at your church (both past and present) that involved food? If so, what were your favorite dishes?

Growing up, I don’t really recall having many events in my congregation that involved us enjoying food. I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness and at the congregation where my family attended, I only remember a couple of picnics with hot dogs and hamburgers – there may have been other JW food events, and it’s possible that it’s escaped my memory, that was so long ago. These JW events were never at the place of worship, but usually at a park.

Later, as an adult, I initially joined an AME church and they served us spaghetti on the day that they hosted the new member class. I recall, I thought the spaghetti was just okay and the church ladies prepared it in the church kitchen in the basement. The AME church also sponsored an annual picnic every fall. I only attended this picnic one time and it was catered. The food was just okay. I recall eating a hamburger, hot dog, and baked beans.

Later on, right before we got married, my husband and I joined a Baptist church – we still attend this church. The only food event that our church sponsors each year, which we attend, is their annual picnic. Like the AME church mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Baptist church picnic is catered. We didn’t enjoy the food much this year – the burgers were underdone. I hate seeing pink meat in my burger.

What’s the point of this blog post? Well, over the years when I’ve had conversations with people, they’ll sometimes reminisce about church/pot luck suppers sponsored by their church. They’ll also recall certain dishes prepared by the parishioners that were their favorites. Usually it was a favorite dessert (pie, cake or cookies), or a favorite casserole dish. I’ve never had this kind of experience within the church and I wondered if any of you blog readers have? I enjoy talking about food and as you know, I’ve also shared recipes on this blog.

So, do you remember any favorite church events, past or present, that involved food? What kind of event was it? What were your favorite dishes? Were any of these events catered, or did the parishioners provide the food?

Leave your responses in the comments!

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~Cecelia Dowdy~


Christmas Belles Of Georgia

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This is a nice novella collection to read over the holidays. You can purchase Christmas Belles of Georgia from Amazon for only $1.99! Download it onto your Kindle!

From the backcover:

They were sisters once—identical quadruplets—given up for adoption at birth. Now each receives a letter advising her to claim her inheritance and the family she never knew. . .at Christmas. Holly feels betrayed when she learns she’s adopted, while Carol prays for a loving family. Starr thinks it’s all a hoax, and Noelle needs a break from a hopeless situation. There are more surprises in store as each young woman gets just the gift she wants—and needs. You’ll be warmed by love in these interwoven tales of the ultimate Christmas gift. . . .

~Cecelia Dowdy~

 

Connecticut Shooting

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My heart breaks for all the children and adults killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. I can’t watch it on TV for very long, I always get teared up. I can’t sleep. It’s giving me nightmares. I keep imagining somebody holding a gun to the head of my seven-year-old and shooting him! 🙁

Please remember to keep all the victim’s families as well as the surviving students and teachers of Sandy Hook in your prayers. Lord, please let your Holy Spirit rain upon all of those affected by this tragedy, please comfort them and help them heal. Amen.

~Cecelia Dowdy~