AN INTERVIEW WITH CECELIA DOWDY

This month, I’m chatting with Cecelia Dowdy, author of Chesapeake Weddings, an anthology.

Welcome, Cecelia! I’m so glad you’re here.

Can you share what it was like for you growing up as the child of an Army man?

Well, unlike most military children, we didn’t move around very much! We stayed on the Aberdeen Proving Ground military base and we moved when my dad retired from the Army. I was ten at the time he retired.

Has any of your world travel influenced, or figured into your writing?

Hmm. A little bit. In my second novel, First Mates, it takes place on a cruise ship, so I kind of think I got that idea from going on three cruises while I worked at the travel agency.

Your bio states one of your college English teachers advised you to switch your major from Finance to English because you’re a great writer. Since you didn’t take that advice then, what made you later decide to become a serious fiction author?

I was bored one day during my lunch break and I didn’t have a book to read. I started writing a book, and I’ve been writing ever since.

Cecelia, please tell us about Chesapeake Weddings.

Here’s a brief summary of the three stories:
Relax along Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay as you read about three strong African American women who suddenly face upheaval in life. Monica is caring for her abandoned nephew and trying to pick the proper tutor for him. Emily is struggling to save the family farm when a CPA turns up to do an audit. Karen has been deceived by her fiancé, and now she’s expected to trust a neighbor who knows too much of her business. Can God rebuild their tattered lives with new loves?

In a letter at the front of the book, you state that a lot of scientists work in the building where you work, and wondering if any of them were believers led to the story idea for John’s Quest. Did any of these scientists read your books?

Nope. I never even told them about why I’d thought of the story. The idea formed years ago, and a lot of the scientists that I was thinking about at the time no longer work there. I know at least one of the scientists was a believer, but I’m not sure about the rest of them.

How did the idea for the compilation of your books for the anthology come about?

Barbour likes state-themed books or books with strong geographic settings. They do this so that they can re-release them into one volume using a geographic setting. When John’s Quest was acquired, it was originally set in Virginia. But the contemporary Virginia state was already taken, so they suggested that I choose another state, so I chose Maryland since I live here and I grew up here.

What can we expect from you next?

Currently, I’m working on a women’s fiction title that has a blind male protagonist. It’s not contracted, but I’m hoping a publisher will pick it up!

Cecelia, where can readers find you on the internet?

www.ceceliadowdy.com
www.ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com

Just one more question. In a pod cast interview, you stated your husband works for the IRS. Did both your fields of employment bring you together?

No. I met my husband on the Internet on an online dating service!

That’s all for now, Cecelia, and we certainly appreciate your taking the time from your busy schedule for this interview. We wish you all the best with this and all future books!

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