Hello there,

Welcome to another Tuesday Talks author interview. Today we’ll be hearing from Cecelia Dowdy.

Cecelia is an experienced writer with several published works under her belt. Her latest book, The Underground railroad Bride Collection: 9 Couples Navigate the Road to Freedom Before the Civil War. Cecelia is one of nine authors collaboration on this one incredible book.

Hi Cecelia, tell us a little about yourself and how you were raised.

I was raised in Maryland. My dad was in the Army. I was ten when he retired. I was actually raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. I changed my beliefs during college. I was so glad to accept Christ into my life.

What’s your favorite genre to read and write? Who’s your favorite author?

I don’t have a favorite author, per se. I love to read Christian romance. I also love Christmas stories! My plan is to release a new Christmas romance novel (or novella) every year.

What age did you realize you loved books? When did you start writing?

I’ve loved books since I was a kid. I started devouring books when I was in first grade. I loved them. I started writing when I was about twenty-eight. I started writing novels in long-hand before I purchased a computer. It was an old computer that used DOS (this was before the days of Microsoft Windows). Yes, that was a long time ago!

Tell us about this book. What did you learn about yourself through writing it?

The Bakery Bride is a novella in The Underground Railroad Brides Collection  My story is about Ruth, a recently freed slave who relocates to Philadelphia to make a fresh start in her life. She works for Joseph in his bakery. They also work together to support the abolitionist movement. I really loved researching and writing about working in a bakery during historical times.
I also learned that I could write a historical! For several years I was simply too fearful to write a historical. I’ve never been a history expert and whenever I spoke to other historical authors, they just seemed to have this vast wealth of knowledge that was second nature to them! I threw my fears aside and wrote my novella. I did lots of research and I got another historical author to review my work before submitting it to be published.
I honestly think that The Bakery Bride is the strongest story that I’ve ever written.

Do you normally use an outline for the books you write, or do you just start with a few ideas?

I have a rough outline for my story before I start writing it.

Is there a special place you like to write?

I usually write in my office or sitting in bed!

What was something that surprised you in the way this book unfolded? What character do you like best?

Well, it was really surprising that I could actually write a historical [novel]. I’d never thought of myself as a historical author before. I liked Ruth the best because she had a lot of pain in her past, but, she was still courageous and she stood up for herself. She’s also helpful, too. She wanted to help others escape from the pain of slavery.

What advice would you give a new author?

Keep writing! You can’t get a book published until you write it. Also, attend a writers’ conference. You can gain a wealth of information from a writers’ conference.

What project are you working on now and how do we find your books?

I’m working on a novel entitled Southern Comfort. It’s about a blind man who falls in love with the owner of a Southern-themed bakery.

My books are available on Amazon.

Thank you, Cecelia!

You can follow Cecelia Dowdy on Twitter and Facebook.

 

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