My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Cecelia Dowdy's book giveaway

Welcome to the sixth day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Cecelia Dowdy.

She's here to give away one of her books!

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a little bit more about Cecelia and her books ...

Author Bio:

Cecelia Dowdy has been an avid reader of romance novels since she was a teenager. 

She’s an accountant by day and a romance novelist by night. She also loves to watch romance movies, especially movies on the Hallmark Channel. 

Baking is another one of her passions. She loves to create mouthwatering desserts in her spare time. She also loves visiting new places and listening to old tunes with her husband. 

Currently, she resides with her spouse and teenaged son in Maryland.

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Back Cover Blurb for Chocolate Dreams:

Overnight, Monica Crawford finds her neatly organized world turned upside down. 

Her sister abandons her blind son, Scotty, leaving him on Monica's doorstep. Caring for a child was not in Monica's carefully-laid plans, after all, she's working on her MBA while pursuing a marketing director position. However, caring for a handicapped child brings unexpected conflict-but unexpected joy as well. 

When John French volunteers to tutor Scotty, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Monica. But John and Monica are very different. She is a strong believer, determined to live her life for Christ. John is an agnostic who wants nothing to do with God. 

Will John see the light? Will Monica realize that sometimes letting go of a dream is the way to achieve it? 

Only in full surrender will either of them be happy- whether they end up together or alone.

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Connect with Cecelia:
Website - http://ceceliadowdy.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/cdnovelist
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CeceliaDowdyAuthor/

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fall into Love: Cecelia Dowdy's story

Finding Love Online
A Fall into Love story by Cecelia Dowdy

When I was in my thirties, I’d been hearing about online dating. One of my roommates had signed up for online dating so, I decided to give it a try. I set up a profile on Match.com. I met some interesting people on that site, but, I didn’t really click with any of them. When I received a response from a man named Christopher Toomer, I was intrigued. He literally lived down the street from me and we had a lot in common. We listened to the same kind of music and both of us also loved reading.

He gave me his phone number and I called him on the phone. We started talking about music, work, things that were interesting to us.

The conversation kind of paused when he said, “I’m totally blind.”

I said, “What?” I’d thought I’d misheard him.

He then explained that he’d been born blind. He even mentioned how he’d trained with a seeing eye dog one summer but never completed the training. The dog pooped on his shoes and he’d had to leave the training facility early because his mom had broken her hip and he was needed at home.

I was stunned. I honestly didn’t know if I wanted to date someone who was totally blind. But, he was independent, owned his own home, and he had a good job at the IRS as a computer programmer.

So, during our initial conversation, he told me he had to go because he was on his way to the grocery store. He said he was going to Safeway, right down the street from us. So, curious, I went to Safeway to observe him. After all, I could see him but he could not see me. He walked into the store, grinning, swinging his cane back and forth. One of the supermarket employees met him at the door. He gave her a list of groceries that he needed to purchase. So, she went to get the groceries while he sat down and patiently waited for her.

So, afterwards, I admitted about what I’d done, going to observe him without his knowing. After that, whenever we talked on the phone, our conversations would last for hours. The first time we went out, I went to pick him up in my car and we went to Starbucks.

We started seeing each other regularly after that. He’d come over to my place or I’d go over to his. I made him a dinner of fried fish and when we slow-danced to James Brown, that’s when I knew I was in love!

We got engaged about a year later. He took me out to dinner at a romantic restaurant called Paul’s. He asked me to marry him and I said, “Yes.”

Our wedding was perfect! Some of the wedding guests told us that ours was the best, most romantic wedding they’d ever attended. We uncaged a dozen doves into the air. The dancing, the food, the love…it was so wonderful – a day that I’ll always remember!

We’ve been married for fourteen years and we have a 12-year-old son. Our lives are full and complete! We are truly blessed!

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Author Bio: Cecelia Dowdy has been an avid reader since she learned to string letters together to form words. 

While pursuing a business degree in college one of her professors tried to convince her to get an English degree since he felt she was a great writer. Years later, after receiving her B.S. in Finance, she took her former teacher's advice, and started pursuing her literary career. 

She loves to read, write, and bake delicious desserts during her spare time. She also loves visiting new places and listening to old tunes with her husband. Currently, she resides with her spouse and young son in Maryland.

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Blurb for Sweet Dreams (book) by Cecelia Dowdy: Misty Stewart found Christ shortly after the birth of her baby, causing her to make drastic changes in her life. Short-tempered and street-smart, she realizes being around her un-saved, dysfunctional family is draining her, so she feels the Lord wants her to distance herself from her relatives. She hopes this distance from her family will allow her to deepen her faith, making it possible for her to raise her two-year-old daughter, Jennifer, in a better environment. 

Struggling to raise her daughter alone, she bonds with her new neighbor, Sterling Richards. She’s drawn to kind-hearted Sterling, but wonders about the deep sadness that he harbors. Sterling has familial problems that run deep, and romance is the last thing on his mind.

Sterling Richards, a professional baker, is grieving over the recent death of his father/business partner. Since his father left him as the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy, his relationship with his identical twin brothers is strained. Why would his father fail to include his twin sons as part of the inheritance? He now struggles to mend the relationship with his brothers, struggling to run his father’s bakery alone.

Can Sterling and Misty find the courage to love one another?

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Connect with Cecelia:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdnovelist
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeceliaDowdyAuthor/

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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