In light of the next (and I believe final?) Harry Potter book hitting the stores tomorrow, I thought I’d post this link with an article from the Washington Post about Christian Fantasy.
Also, I’ll remind you that I blogged a bit about Harry Potter versus Left Behind a few months ago. You’ll find my post here:
Harry Potter Versus Left Behind
Also, I’m trying to finish up another manuscript, so my blog posts won’t be frequent over the next few days.
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
Bethany House has encouraged all to pass on the information below! If you fill out the survey, you could win a free novel!
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Romance Writers of America (RWA) presented their annual RITA awards last night. The winner of the Inspirational category is:
Revealed
by Tamera Alexander
Paperback
ISBN: 0764201093
Pub. Date: November 2006
Series: Fountain Creek Chronicles Series, #2
Many congrats to Tamera!
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
Okay, I’m going to go off the beaten path today and blog about a secular novel. I don’t read many secular books nowadays since there are so many Christian novels out there and I love reading them so much!
Well, it turns out that actor Blair Underwood has collaberated with some other novelists and has a book out that was released last June. I was shocked. I know that there are a few other Hollywood personalities out there who have penned novels and children’s books, however, I didn’t know Blair had one out. I have to wonder if the book is well written? I’m not sure I can find time in my hectic schedule to read it.
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
Do authors write novels to get over their issues? This thought popped into my head tonight as I was getting my toddler son ready for bed. I’m wondering if authors have problems and issues that they’ve been struggling with, and to deal with these problems/issues, they write novels, letting their characters resolve their problems in the story.
Just a thought….
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
Contemporary Stand Alone:
Winter Birds by Jamie Langston Turner
Paperback
ISBN: 0764200151
Pub. Date: September 2006
Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas: 
The Brethren by Beverly Lewis
Paperback
ISBN: 0764201077
Pub. Date: October 2006
Series: Annie’s People Series, #3
Historical: 
Madman by Tracy Groot
Paperback
ISBN: 0802463622
Pub. Date: April 2006
Lits: 
Sisterchickes in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn
Paperback
ISBN: 1590525051
Pub. Date: May 2006
Series: Sisterchicks Series, #6
Romance: 
The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
Paperback
ISBN: 0764200739
Pub. Date: May 2006
Suspense: 
Plague Maker by Tim Downs
Paperback
ISBN: 1595542353
Pub. Date: September 2006
First Novel: 
Where Mercy Flows by Karen Harter
Paperback
ISBN: 1931722609
Pub. Date: March 2006
Young Adult: 
William Henry Is A Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke
Paperback
ISBN: 0802499732
Pub. Date: October 2006
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (April 3, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736917411
ISBN-13: 978-0736917414
Book Description
IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD—WHICH COULD BE A PROBLEM…
Mark Hogan has it all. The job. The family. A position on the board at church. All he’s missing is a boat. Not just any boat—a 2008 Bayliner 192.
When Reverend Daniel Glory announces that the Rapture is taking place on October 17 at 5:51am, Hogan realizes his boat–buying days are numbered. So he does what any man in his situation would do—he borrows a load of money from the mob.
Not that there’s any risk involved: After all, when the Rapture comes, Hogan will be long gone. The mob will never find him.
But when Jesus fails to come back on schedule, Mark Hogan finds the mob is in no mood to discuss the finer points of end–times theology…
Chris Well’s laugh–out–loud Christian thrillers appeal to the millions of readers who gobble up the rollicking crime fiction of Janet Evanovich and Elmore Leonard.
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This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I’ll probably be reading more in the future. He has a humorous style that’ll keep you laughing, yet he has a deep inspirational message woven into the story.
I think the most important message of all is that we can’t let ourselves be like Mark Hogan and forfeit all aspects of our daily lives because we are certain about the day and hour of Christ’s return.
There were a few aspects to this book that reminded me of a few religions/cults that I’m somewhat familiar with. These aspects include:
1. The prediction Christ’s return. The scriptures state that nobody knows the day or the hour, so it’s wrong to try and prophesy the date of the rapture!
2. Since the rapture is coming, there is no reason to run for office. Reverend Daniel Glory appeared to be opposed to governmental elections since it took away precious time from the work that needed to be done…work that needed to be done before Christ appears in 2007!
3. Mark Hogan was opposed to his son taking the SAT test and going to college. When the rapture fails to happen at Daniel Glory’s predicted date, Mark is stunned and he wonders why his son is still going to school, living his life as if he’s known all along that the rapture was not going to happen. Why did his son not get caught up in the euphoria of the impending rapture?
4. It was just funny and sad at the same time when Mark and his wife haphazardly spend all of their savings and college funds since they will not be needing these things in the rapture. I’ve heard of other religions doing the same thing, selling possessions like houses in order to use up the money since they will not need money in Christ’s kingdom.
The dumb thugs were humorous as well. And I think another lesson we need to learn from this is that Mark Hogan’s zeal about the impending rapture made him lose sight of his Christianity. Amid all of the turmoil, he sinned, big time! He borrowed money from the mob to get his boat “knowing” he would not have to pay it back since the due date for the repayment of funds would occur have he’d been “raptured.” This is equal to stealing if you ask me, and Mark didn’t seem to think of it that way.
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
I just finished Tribulation House. I’ll blog about it later this week or sometime next week.
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
First off, I hope everybody had a great Fourth of July! I visited Barnes And Noble in Bowie Town Center during the holiday, and I’ll be blogging about that visit later this week!
I was gathering some information for a project and found that an interview, which was done by my local paper a couple of years ago, was still archived on their website. I’ve added the link to my website and I’ve added it here. I’ll also be providing some other old media information about myself over the next few days!
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com
I’m sure many of you have heard of Carl Weber. Well, he owns his own publishing company called Urban Books. I recently discovered that my Black Christian Fiction website was missing several great authors that have been contracted by Urban Books as part of their Urban Christian line. I’m familiar with a few of the authors like Vanessa Miller (we sat beside each other at the last Faith-Based Fiction Lovers Weekend during the book signing), and Kendra Norman-Bellamy (I know her from the Faith-Based Arts conferences and I’ve read her novels). However, the other authors are new to me, and some of them have signed their first book deals with Urban Christian.
It’ll be interesting to see how well these books will do. I have a feeling that they will sell quite well! I’ve added the Urban Christian authors to my Black Christian Fiction website!
Cecelia Dowdy
www.ceceliadowdy.com