Becky Wade's Blog, page 105

What Is the Difference Between a Historical and a Historical Romance?

I recently received an email from a student at Colorado Christian University in the Creative Writing program. She asked if I would define the difference between historicals and historical romances.

If you’re a writer or reader, you might have wondered what the difference is at one time too. I’ll give you what I think are the top differences, then be sure to chime into the comments with your thoughts!

Here are three key differences:

The importance of the romance.

For a historical romance, the romance elements are front and center stage. While there may be other external and internal plots going on throughout the story, the romance plot rises above them all. Avid readers of romance will expect it to have all the elements important in the romance genre including likeable hero/heroine, romantic tension to the end, a happily ever after, etc.

In a historical, however, there may or may not be romance. Most authors include at least a little bit of a love interest. But the historical genre as a whole doesn’t have a required expectation of having romance in it. If some kind of romantic relationship is there, it doesn’t have to be a large part of the plot and is often overshadowed by other story elements.

The amount of historical detail woven into the story.

Again, since a historical romance focuses on a developing relationship between the hero and heroine, the historical details a writer includes should all help support that goal. Of course readers who pick up a historical romance love being able to learn about a different era and appreciate accurate historical details woven into the story to add flavor and depth. But readers of romances (historical or otherwise) don’t want other elements to detract from their enjoyment of the romance relationship.

Historicals, on the other hand, have more liberty to explore historical details, to bring them to life with greater depth, and to center the plot on an event, era, or historical happening. The focus is on what is happening historically rather than romantically.

However, I would caution historical writers not to get too carried away with the historical details at the sacrifice of plot and storytelling. A reader once told me: “I tried to start a book, but the long paragraphs of descriptions of their hair, their clothing, the food etc. got me down.” With historicals, readers are still looking for a riveting story, not a textbook description.

The research process.

Those who’ve read my historical romances, know that I do a lot of research for them. I value having a story that reflects the time period and gives readers an accurate picture of what life was like during that era. I want them to walk away from my book having learned new things but in an entertaining way. But again, the research is always for the benefit of the romance and much of it stays below the surface of the story like an iceberg.

However, when writing historicals, I’ve found that I have to dig much deeper, especially since my plot is broader than the romance and encompasses so much that is going on in that particular era. The scope of research is more intense and takes longer but is necessary to add a richer historical perspective. When adding the research into the story, I allow a little more of the iceberg to rise to the surface.

Your turn! What else do you think differentiates historical romance from historicals?

Bookish Valentine Fun

As a romance author, I enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day for the entire month of February. No mere day is sufficient for this sappy romantic. In case you’re like me, I thought I would share some fun opportunities for prolonging your Valentine celebration.

Obviously, we all need to pad our TBR piles with romance novels this month. Here are a couple ways I can help with that.

Enter a Valentine’s Giveaway

This is the perfect time of year to find giveaways that feature romance novels. I just happen to be involved in a great one going on now through Valentine’s Day. You could win 18 Christian novels filled with sigh-inducing romance and guaranteed happy endings.

Click here to enter the contest.

Take Advantage of Romantic Sales

February is a great time to find sales on romance titles. Here are a few being offered this month on books from Bethany House and Revell.

Historical, contemporary, Amish – something for every taste. All on sale for only $1.99!

An Unexpected Love by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller
The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis
You Belong with Me by Tari Faris
A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears
The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

My book, Short-Straw Bride is on sale this month, as well. This book is consistently named by my readers as their favorite. If you haven’t read it and would like like to spice up your February with some laughter, heart-pounding adventure, and a sweet marriage-of-convenience love story, now’s the time to give the Archers a try.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook

Try a Romantic Reading Challenge

In my Facebook group, The Posse, we do a monthly reading challenge where each month has a different reading game to play. For example, last month was the start of 2022, so the challenge was to read a book with To, Too, or Two in the title.

For February, our challenge is to read a book with HEART or LOVE or VALENTINE in the title. Not all of our challenges are related to the title, but they are all broad enough to allow for a wide variety of books to qualify.

If you are interested in joining our challenge, you can join the Posse here. Whether or not you officially join the Posse challenge, you can have fun challenging yourself to read as many books with a Valentine-ish theme as you can this month. Maybe read books with pink/red covers. Or books with lacy design elements. Or maybe re-read all your favorite book boyfriend novels.

What bookish Valentine fun do you plan to get up to this month?

Cover Reveal x2

As you know, I’m re-releasing my Anne Mateer books under my real name—D’Ann Mateer. Same books, new author name, new covers. 

I’m so excited to share the next two with you, both designed by author extraordinaire, Roseanna White. 

It’s funny, but reading these books back to back (and for the first time in over 10 years!) to get all the typos, etc, made me realize how similar the stories are. And yet the heroines—and their heroes—are completely different! One is decidedly more my personality. The other . . . is not! Can you guess which is which? 

Both of these beauties will pop up on Amazon this spring. How will you know when? A good way is to sign up for my newsletter. Not only will you get a heads up when books release, but you get a link to new blog posts and a peek and what I’m reading. And when you sign up, you get a free short story to download. Besides all that goodness, this year I’m choosing a random subscriber every quarter who will win a copy of one of my books and/or other surprises!

You can find my newsletter sign up on www.dmateer.com. Scroll down the main page to where it says “Let’s stay in touch!”

Is there a new book cover that has captured your attention lately? What appealed to you about it? 

Voices that resonate

In a world of voices demanding to be heard, here are three that I count as huge blessings in my life, that really resonate.

1

Paige Brown’s the Study of 1 Samuel (aka: It’s the heart, Stupid!)

If you’ve not taken one of Paige’s studies before, get ready to be blown away by God’s Word and the breadth and depth of his love and compassion for you.

Livestream every Wednesday. Just jump in and hold on! God is on the move!

2

Kristi McLelland‘s New Podcast PEARLS

Kristi continually teaches me that God is better than I ever knew, and teaches me how to read the Bible through a middle eastern lens

3

Lisa Harper’s BACK PORCH THEOLOGY New Podcast

Lisa keeps me in stitches as she shares real life and real struggles, all packaged in vivacious Southern grace and beauty

Have you listened to any of these yet? Do you have voices in your life that resonate with you? That draw you closer to Christ?

I’ve got room on my podcast list, so please share!

Happy Tuesday!
Tammy

Also…check out Robin’s newest book!
RELEASES FEB 14

Words Matter: Prayers from a Writer’s Heart

Robin Lee Hatcher shares her heart in this slim volume of prayers. The book got its start in 2009 when she was asked to post prayers in an authors’ email group. These are prayers for anyone who loves Jesus and wants to serve Him. They are prayers that Robin needed to say for herself as well as for others. Above all, they are prayers from her heart, and perhaps they will reveal a little of who she is to those who read them.

Finally, if you haven’t seen Redeeming Love in theaters, please do! I’ve seen it twice and can’t wait to go back again. I posted my thoughts when the movie first released, but here are friend and author Tricia Goyer’s responses to this fabulous movie.

Inspired by Scripture

This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashVerseoftheDay.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with Scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.

The Things That Inspire Readers to Try a New Author

A while back, I asked this question on my Facebook page. “What inspires you to try a new author?” I received so many fascinating responses, that I decided to count them and create a pie chart.

#1 (with 27% of the vote) – Recommendation from a fellow reader

There is still no substitute for readers recommending books to fellow readers. “Word of mouth” will always be the very best form of discoverability.

#2 (with 21% of the vote) – Cover and title

A huge number of readers will try a new-to-them author if they’re drawn in by the book’s cover and title. This one is harder to get right than you might think! A great cover/title is appealing to the eye and also clearly communicates the book’s sub-genre and tone. It takes a well-thought-out concept + a skilled graphic designer to pull this off.

#3 (with 19% of the vote) – Recommendation from an author

Until I ran this poll, I hadn’t realized that readers valued recommendations from authors so highly. This one made me smile because Christian fiction authors do a great job of spreading the word about books. In the above example, Rachel Hauck is telling her Instagram followers about Katherine Reay’s The London House.

#4 (with 17% of the vote) Plot line

This is another one that is difficult to get right! I quail each time I try to boil my entire novel into a blurb that will hopefully give away just enough detail to make a reader think, “Ooh! I want to read that.” Like with the cover, book summaries are best when they communicate the sub-genre and tone accurately. The fact that this ranked so high on the list affirms that this piece of the puzzle is worth a great deal of time and effort.

#5 (with 11% of the vote) – Miscellaneous

I called this category Miscellaneous because it’s a catch-all for a wide range of answers. For example, Bookstagram. Goodreads. Kindle suggestions. Reviews (like the one above for Dani Pettrey’s The Crushing Depths.)

#6 (with 3% of the vote) – Excerpt

Some readers run in terror, shaking their arms over their heads, and yelling, “Nooooo!” at the prospect of reading an excerpt in advance of a book’s release. But a significant number of readers love them. So much so that it seems worthwhile to make advance excerpts available. ….If you’re not someone who runs in terror, you can read the excerpt for Stay with Me (pictured above) here.

#7 (with 2% of the vote) – Facebook group

Many of you enjoy participating in Facebook groups! They’re a great gathering space for like-minded readers who enjoy offering suggestions to readers searching for a particular type of book, gushing over a novel they loved, and connecting with one another.

That’s a wrap! THANK YOU to those of you who recommend books to others. That makes a world of difference. Thank you, too, for leaving reviews, posting on Bookstagram, rating books on Goodreads, interacting in reader Facebook groups, and all the other things you do. Christian fiction exists because of your support.

What did you think of the results? Do these answers reflect the things that inspire YOU to try a new author?

Travel in a Book Giveaway

Can I be honest? It’s always a little stunning to me when authors and publishers ask me to consider endorsing a book. Two of the above books I was asked to do that. Yep. I’m even on the back cover of Lynette Eason’s Life Flight . Say what?!?!

@Cara_Putman is sharing reviews of @lynetteeason @tonieshilohwrite @reginajennings with #giveaway
Click To Tweet

I also love to preorder books to support my writing friends. Baker Bookhouse is my favorite place to do that. They run great preorder specials! Because I do that and then my friends mail me copies of their books, I have extras of each of these, and I want to share them with you! Be sure to go to the end to enter a giveaway for one of these great novels. Here are why I think they’re so great: Ready for a book that is a race from page one to the end? Then you need to read the latest from best-selling author Lynette Eason. The pages race from a life flight that crashes in the North Carolina mountains to a race against time against a serial killer. Laced throughout are enough additional plot lines to keep the characters racing to figure out how to stay one step ahead. Layer in a blossoming romance, and this book has all the ingredients for a story I could not put down. I highly recommend Life Flight for those who love romantic suspense with enough twists to keep the most astute reader guessing.

Proposing Mischief was a book that had me literally laughing out loud as I read it. Maisie has to be one of my favorite heroines of all time! She is the most individual heroine I’ve read in a while. On the surface, she seems completely mismatched with Boone, the hero. Yet both need each other to achieve a certain level of freedom. The plot is charming, with great supporting characters and enough hints of mystery to add spice to the historical romance. I enjoyed this book so much! If you love historical romance with humor and threads of mystery, then this is a book you’ll want to read. (Regina joined me on the Book Talk podcast here.)

The last book I wanted to share today is Lights Out by Natalie Walters. Readers who pick up Lights Out should prepare for a book that will keep them turning pages long past their personal lights out. It is a compelling story of international intrigue and implications. It’s also a story of second chances if the hero and heroine are willing to embrace them. This novel will satisfy readers who love romantic suspense with threads of thrilling international intrigue. I highly recommend it. (Natalie Walters joined me for Book Talk here.)

A bonus book that I loved

and am giving away a copy of courtesy of the author is Toni Shiloh’s next book In Search of a Prince. Princess diaries blends with Wakanda in this sweet Romance with international flavor. Bri discovers that she’s not who she thought — she’s much more. Before she can settle into the new identity she has to decide whether to release her old life to step into the new. This novel will warm the heart of every woman who wonders what it would be like to be a princess…while understanding our true identity comes from within. I very much enjoyed it. (Toni joined me on Season One of Book Talk, and will be back as my guest on Monday, February 14. Yep, Valentine’s Day!)

If you’re looking for a book to read, you can’t go wrong with any of these.

What have you read lately that you loved?

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Encouragement for the Dull Days

Hi friends! Happy Wednesday. I’m excited to have the fabulous Jaime Jo Wright sharing with us today. I love her encouragement, and really, who can’t use a little encouragement for those dull days! Hope you enjoy her thoughtful post.

It’s that time of year again. It rolls around once every six months. That moment I stare at a blank screen, cursor blinking, and a new story trolling around in my brain.

That’s me today. I have the general gist of what the story is about, but now it’s time to fill in all the blanks in between. The scenes, the conversations, the characters.

My cat Foo is staring at me from his slothful existence on my bed. (Actual photo) He does this often. A look of sheer exasperation at me. “Really, is writing that difficult?”

Yes. Yes, it is, Foo. Sometimes, in fact, like today, dragging words from my brain is about as insurmountable as climbing Mt. Everest without oxygen. Imminent death.

I think we all can relate. Really. Because whether you’re a writer or something else, we, as humans, must produce. It’s part of daily life. A production line intended to feed our creativity, pay our bills, keep our mini-humans alive, and so on. The idea of coming up against a day where you really just want to crawl back into bed and sleep is not a strange idea to any of us.

So! How do I combat days like today?

I SLEEP! No joke. You all think I’m kidding, don’t you? Nope. Not at all. I just took fifteen minutes and laid down, with Foo, and snuggled. I closed my eyes. Rested. Allowed myself the freedom to just not produce anything but zzz’s. Was it enough time? No. Do I feel better for it? Yep!I Push myself. Yep. We all do that, I think. But it helps me to map out what I need to do versus what I want to accomplish. Once I’ve written that down, then I attack the things I need to do so if that’s all I get done, at least I’m not going to bed tonight stressed.

Really, it’s not a rocket science two-step process. I guess the point of this blog post is more to say, I GET IT! I really, really do. We aren’t alone in our dull days. So let’s pull together and encourage one another. That’s my goal for 2022. To be as big of an encouragement as I can be to others!

How may I encourage you today?

New Books to Start the Year off Right

There’s nothing quite like book mail, is there? I thought I’d start 2022 off right by ordering some new-to-me books (from Baker Books and Christian Books). Here’s what I ordered and why:

Jesus Always by Sarah Young:  I kept seeing a woman I follow on Instagram posting pages from this book with many meaningful phrases highlighted—phrases that struck me so hard I found myself taking screen shots, and then decided I needed to order the book for myself. Bonus—the cover is as beautiful as the contents.

An Endless Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti: I love Cynthia but am woefully behind on reading her books. When a local friend posted that this book is set in and around Stillwater, MN (one of our favorite nearby towns), I knew I needed to read it. Who says Christmas novellas are only for December?

Pudge & Prejudice by A. K. Pittman: I have been meaning to read this Pride and Prejudice reimagining for some time now (perhaps partly inspired by the extra pudge I’ve been carrying after these last two years). This Booklist quote helped too: “In this retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in 1984…Pittman wonderfully reimagines Austen’s classic with a modern twist that features many issues facing adolescents today: body image, social status, romance.”

Last night’s reading (& Mojo)

The London House by Katherine Reay: I’ve fallen behind on Katherine’s books too, but I’ve enjoyed those I’ve read. And since I’m missing London and all-things-England right now, I knew I had to visit London through Katherine’s skilled storytelling.

A Woman Who Trusts God, Finding the Peace You Long For by Debbie Alsdorf: Anyone else longing for peace? A sister-writer I met recently, Christine Trimpe, recommended this book, so I bought it. (Isn’t word of mouth the best?) Christine is also a Christian health coach, so if any of you, like me, want to get healthier physically and spiritually this year, I’d recommend taking a look at her resources and coaching options, starting here. Also, in a fun serendipity, the book’s author Debbie Alsdorf just became an agent with Books & Such, the literary agency who represents me—and now Christine as well. Based primarily on the book of Philippians, Debbie encourages us to live one day at a time, to rejoice and not to worry, and to give thanks to God in all circumstances of life, especially during difficult times. Sounds like just what I need. You too?

I have started reading three of these and so far, so very good. (My good friend snapped up Pudge and Prejudice and The London House to read first). Have you read any of these titles? What books are on your “To Be Read” pile this month? Hope your 2022 is off to a great start!

A “typical” week in the life of a novelist

One of the things I love most about my job is that there is really no such thing as a typical week. My work tasks and workload change from week to week, depending on where I am in the deadline process, and I love the variety and the fact that—unless I’m on a tight deadline—I’m able to choose my hours and rearrange my schedule to fit in lunch with a friend, babysitting our grandkids, or an impromptu daytrip with my husband.

Here is a sampling of what an average week might look like when I’m on deadline with a book (but not in the final do-nothing-but-write throes of that deadline).

My calendars all show Sunday as the first day of the week, but I’ll begin with Monday, since it is the beginning of my work week, and I tend to view Saturday and Sunday as the weekend, grouped together as days of rest and time away from the work of being a writer.

Monday-Thursday:

I grew up on a farm, and my days still begin early. I rarely set an alarm, but usually pop awake at 4:45. Morning is my favorite and most productive time of day. I make a cup of coffee and take my laptop to a cozy chair by the fireplace. There I read my morning devotionals, answer e-mail, work on blog posts (like this one!), update my calendar and my website, work on my newsletter, schedule social media posts, balance the checkbook, and a myriad of other little tasks, most of which have to do with the promotional and business facets of being a writer.Around 6:30, Ken and I go for a walk or bike ride, usually driving to a biking trail or park or to the Mississippi riverwalk we love. If we’re driving more than a few blocks, we’ll do our morning prayers together in the car. If not, we pray and read one chapter of the Bible together when we get home around 7:30 or 8. (Over the years, we’ve read through the entire Old and New Testaments together several times.)After we’re showered and dressed, we make breakfast together—usually scrambled eggs, bagels, yogurt and granola, oatmeal, or if Ken can talk me into it, French toast or pancakes. We visit about what’s ahead in each of our days before Ken heads downstairs to his office and I head down the hall to mine.Mornings at my desk are more for the business aspects of work—packaging books to ship, posting promotions on social media, e-mails or phone calls with my agent or editor, proofing files from my audiobook producer or narrator, critiquing chapters for my critique partner (our own Tammy!). This is also when I make research phone calls or do internet searches for the scenes I’m about to write.After lunch at my desk, I’m ready to write in earnest. My usual “rule” is that I write until I have at least 1000 words. Sometimes I’m able to accomplish that in a couple of hours. Other times it takes me until 6 or 7 p.m. I used to write until late into the night, but I’ve learned that I need to take a few hours off in the evening or I’m burned out before the next day even begins!If we don’t have an evening commitment for church or a grandson’s ballgame to watch, we usually head downstairs to the family room to watch a movie or a couple of episodes of a TV series. We both enjoy movies and find inspiration in the visual and storytelling aspects of them. (I always have my laptop with me while we watch. If I’m not looking up details about the movie or actors, I’m scrolling through Facebook or Instagram posts while I watch.)   

Friday:

Friday is our date “night” except our date begins around 7 a.m. when we grab coffee (hot chocolate for Ken) and go garage sale-ing together. We’ve been doing this for ten years now! How it all began is a story for another blog post, but it’s my favorite time of the entire week! Our county in Missouri doesn’t do garage sales or even many estate sales through the winter, so instead we explore thrift shops or antique stores during those months. Sometimes we just go out to breakfast together.Friday afternoons are business as usual, starting with making up for lost time answering email and doing promotional posts for social media.

Saturday:

The Bible says, “Six days shalt you labor and do all your work…” so Saturday isn’t exactly a day off for me, but unless I’m on a tight deadline, I don’t usually write on Saturday. Instead, I might deep clean part of the house, work in the yard, repot and water my many houseplants, rearrange furniture, read something for research, or maybe bake and cook for company or so we’ll have leftovers to eat the following week.  

Sunday:

We attend church and Sunday school every week. Because we attend a rather large church we feel it’s important to be part of a Sunday school class and other small groups to fellowship with and grow in knowledge of God’s Word.We also belong to a Bible Science Fellowship group and a supper club from our church, that meet once a month for teaching and fellowship.We like to either grab takeout after church, go to a restaurant with friends from church, or have our Missouri kids over for pizza.Sunday afternoon always involves literal rest for me. I LOVE my Sunday afternoon nap. During the week, I might “rest my eyes” for fifteen minutes in the afternoon, but on Sundays it’s not unusual for me to sleep hard for an hour or even two.If the weather is nice, we sometimes go for a walk or bike ride after our naps. Then we’ll come home to read, eat leftovers or snack-y food, and maybe watch a movie or Skype with our Texas kids. 

That’s a typical week, but if I wrote down everything I do next week, it would probably look completely different, especially these last few years that we’ve been doing some traveling. I know some people thrive on a more predictable routine, but for me, one of the best things about being a writer is the variety. My days are never boring!

Do you have a typical week, a set routine, in your job or career? Or is there a lot of freedom and variety in your week? Which way do you prefer life and work to be and why? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments below!