My sister, an artist named Raquel Dowdy Stallworth, has started a blog entitled Easel And Plate. Stop by and check it out. Become a follower if you wish! 🙂
My Sister’s Blog – Easel And Plate
Leave a reply
Question From A Writer
John asked the following question:
I’m interested in themes and plots and directions. I have great characters, settings, dialogs, etc. I’m not so sure how to move it along at a clip a modern reader (and publisher) would like.
I have the same problem. Seriously. All I can suggest is, make something HAPPEN!! Create drama in your characters’ lives and have the other characters to react to it. Death, serious illness, pregnancy, etc. Also, you can have one of your characters to receive a mysterious letter…what’s in that letter is my guess, but the news will rock the world of your main character, and other characters will be shocked to hear about this happening in their friend(s) life. Your story is one large drama and each chapter is a segment containing a mini-drama. Another good thing to do is to study other writers, see what they do and see if you can learn from their examples.
Give your characters a serious flaw. I’ve noticed that it’s easier for me when I write about the themes of financial dishonesty and alcoholism. What issues are you passionate about? What issues are your characters passionate about? If you know your characters well enough, you’ll know what kinds of things could happen to them that would bring them to their knees, seeking God, wanting answers for the traumatic events happening in their lives! I blogged about this subject over at Writers’ Rest Blog awhile ago.
I hope that little bit of information helped. Without knowing more about your characters or your storyline, that’s about all I can suggest to get you started!
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
REMEMBER THE DREAM!!!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
Wonderful Words About Chesapeake Weddings! :-)
La Verne Ford wrote the following comment in yesterday’s blog post:
The Chesapeake Weddings three-in-one collection is wonderful so far. I am now reading Bittersweet Memeories. They are [an] inspiration to me and very encouraging. They have reached the very core of my heart.
La Verne, thanks for the kind words. I’ve heard many positive things about Chesapeake Weddings and I’m glad so many people have enjoyed the stories.
Just wanted to point out that Chesapeake Weddings is still available at christianbook.com. Also, I’m still working on other projects. One is sitting at a publisher, and I’m waiting to hear from them. I’m also talking to a literary agent about another proposal. Hopefully, and prayerfully, I’ll get a contract for another novel in 2011! 🙂
Book Giveaway – YOU MUST FOLLOW THE RULES TO ENTER!
THIS BOOK GIVEAWAY IS OVER. SEE THIS BLOG POST TO VIEW THE WINNER! STAY TUNED FOR OTHER BOOK GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE FUTURE! 🙂
I’m hosting another book giveaway! ONE winner will receive the titles listed above. IF YOU WANT TO ENTER THE DRAWING YOU MUST DO TWO THINGS:
#1. You must join my mailing list! You can join my mailing list here:
If you’re already on my email list, then you can skip step one.
#2. You must comment on this blog post to enter and LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR BLOG POST – IF YOU DON’T LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR BLOG POST, THEN YOU WON’T BE ENTERED INTO THE CONTEST! I need an email address so that I can contact you if you win!
I’ll be drawing the winner within the next few weeks or so! 🙂
Bake Until Golden
Bake Until Golden by Linda Shepherd Evans and Eva Marie Everson
From the Back Cover
Two cups of flour, a cup of sugar . . . and a generous pinch of scandal
The ladies of the Potluck Catering Club may have thought that competing on The Great Party Showdown reality show in New York City would be the biggest adventure of their lives. But they weren’t counting on the strange goings-on they would confront when they returned to Summit View, Colorado.
When a shocking event rocks their small town, the ladies are stunned–especially when the fingers start pointing at one of them. Will old friends stick together through their trials? Or will they be torn apart by tragedy?
Full of mystery, friendship, and faith, Bake Until Golden is the final book in this popular series.
Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson are award-winning authors, successful speakers, radio personalities, and avid readers of fiction. They are the popular authors of The Potluck Club, The Potluck Club–Trouble’s Brewing, The Potluck Club–Takes the Cake, and the Potluck Catering Club series. They’ve also led numerous Bible studies and women’s retreats. Linda lives in Colorado and Eva Marie lives in Florida.
==
My thoughts? This book was well-written, and I could see a lot of people being intrigued by the storyline. You have a group of ladies who run the Potluck Catering Club, and they’re local celebrities in their small town. Each woman is going through an emotional drama. The dramas deal with various topics such as: death of a spouse, a cheating boyfriend, a daughter who has to go to a foreign country to see her husband who’s been in a life-threatening accident, and the murder of an old friend. I found it hard to keep all of the characters straight in my mind. But, this is no reflection upon the writers, it’s just the way that I’m wired as a reader. I usually have a hard time reading novels where you have a bunch of women (more than 2 or 3) and each character has a point-of-view. After awhile, with so many points of view, I can’t remember the names of each character from chapter to chapter, and then I have to try and remember how all these females are connected. I’d recommend this novel if you want a slightly suspenseful read with lots of viewpoints and lots of characters.
On the upside, since this is the Potluck Catering Club, food is mentioned throughout the novel and I loved that! Also, there are many tasty-sounding recipes in the back of the book! I think I’ll keep this book and try some of those recipes! The recipe for Sunshine Cake sounds simply scrumptious! Also, the cover is fabulous! I want a piece of that yellow cake with chocolate icing! Yum! 🙂
Oh, many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing me with a review copy of this novel.
Stay Tuned….
I will be posting a book giveaway soon. Stop by over the next few days for details…
Tandem By Tracey Bateman
As obsession and loss become dark partners, how far must the people of Abbey Hills go to survive?
Six months ago, brutal murders shook the small Ozark town—murders that stopped after a house fire reportedly claimed the killer’s life. Lauryn McBride’s family auction house has taken responsibility for the estate sale of one of the victims—the enigmatic Markus Chisom. Submerging herself in Chisom’s beautiful but strange world, Lauryn welcomes the reprieve from watching Alzheimer’s steal her father from her, piece by piece. She soon realizes that centuries-old secrets tie Abbey Hills to the Chisom estate and a mysterious evil will do anything to make sure those secrets stay hidden. Even the man who grew up loving her may not be able to protect Lauryn from the danger.
When Amede Dastillon receives an unexpected package from Abbey Hills, she hopes it might be the key in tracking down her beloved sister, long estranged from her family. Visiting Abbey Hills seems the logical next step in her search, but Amede is unusually affected by the town, and when mutilated carcasses begin turning up again in the small community, the local law enforcement isn’t sure if they are confronting a familiar evil or a new terror.
Two women brought together by questions that seem to have no answers. Can they overcome the loss and darkness threatening to devour them—or will their own demons condemn them to an emotional wasteland?
===
This book is the sequel to the novel, Thirsty. Lauryn is the owner of an auction house business. Markus, a vampire who was killed in a fire, has an estate that needs to be settled. Lauryn forwards some old letters found in Markus’s house to Amede, a member of an old family who has ties to Markus. Amede comes to Abbey Hills seeking more familial heirlooms, but, in reality, she needs to find her estranged sister, Eden, who did not die in the fire with Markus, as most of the town assumes.
I think I enjoyed Thirsty more than Tandem. I’m not sure why. It could be because Thirsty dealt with an alcoholic and that’s a theme that I like to read about in novels. I think the author did a great job with the characterization with Lauryn and her battle with caring for her ill father. As her father’s Alzheimer’s gets worse, it’s hard for Lauyrn to accept that she may need to let her father go if she’s not able to care for him any longer. The battle of caring for an older parent, for an only child, is something that lots of people struggle with, but I felt that the father in this story was a bit selfish. I sensed that he didn’t want his daughter to be happy with anybody…except himself. But, that could’ve just been my interpretation of the situation. I didn’t think Lauryn’s dad wanted to see her happily married with children, and that’s kind of sad when you think about it.
There’s a deep, dark mystery woven into this story as people and animals are killed, in an almost ritualistic way. The killings are being done by a vampire, but, it’s a mystery as to which vampire is doing the killing. I think it’s a bit hard reading about vampires in a Christian novel because such creatures don’t exist, but in the book, they do exist, yet, you know they’re not a true part of God’s creation.
The theme of unrequited love pops up when Billy, the preacher’s son, appears, complete with a bi-racial daughter who looks exactly like him. Lauryn has had a crush on Billy since elementary school and that crush has never developed into a full-blown romance. Billy abandons Lauryn on graduation night and she doesn’t see him again until his recent appearance. Bits and pieces of backstory are thrown into the book regarding Lauryn’s upbringing and her “romantic” moments with Billy.
Also, you’ll see the main characters in Thirsty make a few cameo appearances in Tandem, which was nice.
This is definitely a chilling, mysterious book and I recommend it to those who’d want to read a book about the supernatural with a Christian message.
Favorite Books About The Craft Of Writing
I’m blogging over at Writers’ Rest today about my favorite books on the craft of writing! Stop by and leave a comment!
David And Goliath
#DavidandGoliath #HouseofDavid #ceceliadowdy #oldtestament #Sundayschool #Bible #Biblestudy
I was reading the story of David and Goliath to my five-year-old son a couple of days ago. When I was finished, I thought: something’s missing. It clicked that I was reading the children’s version. Since the Old Testament can be brutal, we must sanitize children’s Bible school stories so that we don’t traumatize our youngsters.
After my son went to bed, I got my Bible out and read the story of David and Goliath. David cuts off Goliath’s head with a sword…how sharp that sword must’ve been to sever Goliath’s head! It sounds so bloody and brutal. Plus, in the Bible I was reading it kept referring to David as being a boy…I wondered how old he was? Around fifteen or sixteen, maybe? Then, I kept thinking of David walking around holding Goliath’s severed head in his hand…
What’s the point to this blog post? I’m not sure! I know I keep thinking about this story and I have no idea why. Maybe because when people talk about it, they don’t recall the brutality of what happened. The Lord was with David and gave this youngster the power to overcome this giant whom everybody feared, but, it was so grotesque and bloody…I don’t think people recall that part of the story too much. I’m not sure when kids will be old enough to know the full story of David and Goliath…How old do you think kids should be before they hear the full story of David and Goliath?
I’ve copied and pasted a few verses from 1 Samuel chapter 17 below.
1 Samuel 17: 48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled…. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”
And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”