Becky Wade's Blog, page 109

Christmas Books Giveaway!

Love Christmas books? Happily, authors love writing them. I wanted to tell you about this fun giveaway featuring twelve Christmas romances….

You can enter here:

Two Ways to Cope with the Stress of the Holidays

The holiday season is full of demands. We have our to-do lists that run longer than a novel—baking an old-fashioned fruit cake, mixing fresh snow into ice cream for the kids, and hand-embroidering a Christmas stocking for the pet hamster.

Okay, so not really!

But most of us DO feel the increased pressure in one form or another during the Christmas season. There’s the decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping gifts, writing Christmas cards, concerts, parties, and more.

Even without the added holiday activities, we already struggle to keep up with the demands of work, family, and life. It just doesn’t seem possible to add in ONE more thing. But during December we’re expected to add in a DOZEN!

We either live in a state of constant stress, hardly enjoying anything because of how busy we are. Or we give up, plop down on the couch, and wallow in depression and anxiety.

We may ask ourselves how can we do anything effectively when life turns into such a chaotic race of running from one thing to the next.

Once a friend asked me: Please tell me your secret for keeping up with your writing, your family, social media, and all the other things you do.

My secret? Hmmm. . .

Here was my initial answer: I really have no secret and constantly struggle with how to keep up. I think there comes a point where we just can’t keep up with everything anymore.

After thinking about “my secret” for a few more days, however, I realized there are two things I already do to an extent but need to do more often.

1. Show Grace. We need to show grace to ourselves. We have to realize it’s physically impossible to keep up with all of the demands life (and writing). We can only do so much, and sometimes we just have to sit back and say, “I did enough. I wasn’t perfect. But it was enough for now.”

I’ve always had a Christmas to-do list that was a mile long. And in recent years, I’ve begun to shorten that list. But even with a sparse list, I still can’t do everything perfectly, the way I’d like. I can’t make homemade gifts. The family Christmas picture is amateur. I don’t send nearly as many Christmas cards. And I can’t spend a lot of time shopping.

I have to give myself permission not to do it all. To only do what I can. To give myself a break from the high expectations (that usually come when I compare myself with others!).

2. Evaluate Priorities. Sometimes we need to show ourselves grace, but then there are times we need to give ourselves a lecture on the value of hard work, put our head down, and get busy doing what needs to be done. It’s all too easy to moan instead of working diligently with our whole heart on the things that need to be a priority.

But what things should be a priority? Obviously that answer will vary from person to person. But we can’t let ourselves get side-tracked by those good, but lesser important priorities. At this stage in my life, my priorities are my family and my work.

How do you handle the pressure to keep up with all of the demands? Do you need to give yourself a break from the pressure to keep up?

Grace Changes Everything with Pepper Basham

I’m so delighted to welcome Pepper Basham today. I just finished reading her marvelous book, The Mistletoe Countess, and I was so captivated by her delightful heroine, that this book has climbed to the top of my list for Best Reads of 2021. Such a fun story! The heroine is a sun-shiny book nerd and absolutely adorable. This story has is all: whimsy, humor, mystery, and lots of romance. All at Christmas. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you grab a copy. You won’t regret it!

Here’s Pepper to tell us more about the inspiration that led to this marvelous story . . .

The Houses of The Mistletoe Countess

Have you ever toured a grand house? Do you have a favorite one?

I LOVE visiting grand houses, whether in the U.S. or abroad. In fact, my Christmas novel, The Mistletoe Countess, started during one of my regular visits to Biltmore House, a beautiful country estate house in Asheville, North Carolina. Since I live in Asheville, visiting Biltmore is a regular part of my month and, as usual, I had to stop by one of my favorite rooms of the house: The library.

The library is a two-story space with books cover three walls. The fourth wall is comprised of large windows that overlook the view of the distant mountains. There is also a massive marble fireplace, spiral staircase, elegant furnishings, and…a secret stairway.

Oh yes! What would any grand house be without a few secrets, right? Actually, the staircase isn’t super-secret, but it’s not easy to see or find. The “secret” stairway is hidden behind the marble fireplace and leads to a stairway to a second-floor bedroom hallway. Fun, right?

On one particular day, while I was touring the house and walking down that second floor hallway, I stopped at the bedroom that sits right beside the “secret” entrance to the library. It’s called the Sheraton Room. A gorgeous space, like all the other elegantly furnished rooms of this “chateau” in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Biltmore

While I stood there, a question popped to mind: What sort of person would want their room to be as close to the library as possible? (Just in case they need to sneak down, unobserved, for a clandestine meeting with a book?)

And that’s how Gracelynn Ferguson Percy began to find her way onto the page. I didn’t know she’d turn out to be one of the most delightful characters I’d ever written. Her joy and innocence, her honesty and optimism, made each scene with her a delight. But what I enjoyed also was that, though she was young and naïve in many ways, she didn’t back down from confrontation and wanted truth to prevail. I suppose I see her as a practical dreamer, because, though she lived within her love of stories, she was quite capable of dealing with real-life situations too.

Unfortunately, Biltmore is, usually, not too keen on folks using their lovely house in fiction, so I located another grand home within the Blue Ridge Mountains and used it as my “model” for Whitlock, the estate house in the U.S. where the story first begins. The real home is called Swannanoa Mansion and is a beautiful Italian Renaissance Revival villa on the outskirts of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. You can find out more about it here (plus, just like in The Mistletoe Countess, it was built by a doting husband for his beloved wife).

Swannanoa

Then, I fashioned the English estate of Havensbrooke after Tyntesfield, a lovely Victorian Gothic Revival house in North Somerset, England. (Though Havensbrooke has a darker, broodier feel than Tyntesfield).

TyntesfieldClick here to purchase from Amazon.

Aren’t these places lovely?

Pairing the “brighter” American house with Grace to the “darker” English house with Frederick was a visual for one of the main heart questions of this story:

What happens when grace (or Grace) comes into our lives?

If you’ve been shown grace, you know.

Grace brings hope, joy, light, and life.

It’s one of the reasons we celebrate Christmas, right? Light shone into a dark world and brought hope. Peace. Life.

Grace.

So that’s just another reason why I love this story.

Grace.

Because Grace changes everything.

Counting Down to Christmas

As we get closer to the day on which we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the frenzy of parties and gift-buying, school programs and charitable drives dies down, leaving days in which it is finally possible to enjoy some seasonal delights. While our Christmas Day celebration will be very subdued this year with all of the kids elsewhere, there are still some of my favorite things to look forward to as we countdown to Christmas.

Lights

My decorated house!

I love Christmas lights. In fact, I’ve always dreamed of having my house lit up for the season, and it finally happened this year! The growing calm in our schedule during the last few days before Christmas finally afford us the leisure to drive through nearby neighborhoods, Christmas music on the radio, and gawk at the bright displays. Of course none of them can compare to our 18-year-old nephew’s Christmas lights show in Pennsylvania, which we’ve never seen in person. He has been putting on his light shows—including writing the computer program to set the whole thing to music—since before he was a teenager! This year his creation is even up for a local award.

Movies

Always our Christmas eve movie!

I always intend to watch Christmas movies throughout December, but the truth is we usually binge them as the calendar clears closer to Christmas. We cycle through the oldies-but-goodies such as White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, Miracle on 34th Street, then add in the newer classics like Home Alone, Elf, The Santa Clause, Christmas with the Kranks, and The Holiday. We always end with It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.

Candlelight Service

We didn’t go to Christmas Eve service when I was growing up because that is my dad’s birthday. We celebrated him on the 24th, Jesus on the 25th. But when we had children, each of my siblings and I chose to take our families to a Christmas Eve candlelight service and celebrate our dad’s birthday either after church or on a completely different day. I love the singing of Christmas carols, the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and angels, the kings and the star. And when the lights dim and the candles are lit, all of us singing praise to the Lord amidst the sea of tiny flames, my heart swells to bursting.

I can’t wait to settle into these things over the next ten days, even without kids around to enjoy them with us, because each of these activities reminds me of the miracle of Jesus born in a manger. His coming lit up our darkness. He came to redeem us and to restore relationships. And He is the reason we walk in unity, all of us holding His light bright, shining together in our dark world.

Merry Christmas, y’all! See you in 2022!

♫♪ It’s the most event-full time of the year ♪♫

It has been one week since the release of my latest novel, Shadows of Swanford Abbey. It’s been a busy time of preparing for the in-person launch party as well as participating in online chats about the new book, and writing a talk I will be giving at a women’s Christmas event in a few days. All good things and I’m thankful (and a wee bit tired ).

Bookstore crowd

Hosting an in-person launch after two years apart was a wonderful blessing. I was so grateful for everyone who joined me, some traveling a significant distance to do so. I loved meeting new readers and seeing family, old friends, church friends, publishing friends, and author friends like Erica Vetsch, Gabrielle Meyer, Andrea Christenson, and Stephanie Landsem.

Gabrielle Meyer, me, Erica Vetsch

During my talk, I described the book’s origins, theme, and setting. I also mentioned Erica Vetsch’s new book, The Debutante’s Code, which released that day as well.

I make funny faces when I talk.Then again, so does my husband.

And finally, if you missed the launch party, join Abigail Wilson and me tonight (7 ET/6 CT/4 PT) for a fun chat about our new novels, hosted by the fabulous Rachel McMillan. Event link here!

Nine for the New Year

Over on my Facebook page, I host a giveaway every month–sometimes it’s a piece of art, sometimes it’s books, sometimes it . . . well, you never know.

December’s giveaway is nine books–some by me, some by my friends, some about family, some about dogs . . . and entering is as easy as telling someone you love them.

Here’s the link to my FB page, so just scroll down until you see “Nine for the New Year.” There you’ll read details, a description, and the link to the rafflecopter.

Enjoy! And have a wonderful Christmas season!

~~Angie

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.

Christmas Bookie Exchange Giveaway

Have you ever participated in a Christmas cookie exchange? Several of my author friends and I re-imagined that concept as a “Bookie Exchange” for readers. Authors are offering daily individual prizes, plus we’ve joined forces on a grand prize.

Follow the schedule (and the hashtag) to find the daily giveaways. Head here to enter the grand prize!

My Recipe for Christmas Romance

As far as I’m concerned, Christmas novellas are the Christmas cookies of the literary world. Small, sweet, and affordable! Since this is the time of year when we love to make favorite old recipes as well as try new ones, I thought I’d share the recipe I used when baking up my Christmas novella, You and Me.

I started with a generous amount of the hero, Connor. I envisioned Connor first as a middle school kid — awkward, pale, redheaded, sweet, shy. I imagined this tongue-tied boy falling head over heels for a girl in his class who was confident, sporty, and outspoken.

Fast-forward sixteen years. Connor’s heart is steadfast and that same girl is still the one for him. The difference? He’s now a grown man who has no idea how appealing he truly is….

Then I added an equal portion of the heroine. Shay’s a stationery shop owner brimming with natural, girl-next-door beauty. She’s bubbly and magnetic and at long last she’s between boyfriends, so Connor sees his chance to win her heart.

Next, I mixed the two together with a proposition. Connor asks Shay if she’ll serve as his dating consultant and help him win the heart of the girl he loves. She agrees, not realizing that he’s kept one important detail secret. Shay herself is the one he loves.

I then added several tablespoons of setting. Namely, a charming mountain town at Christmastime.

I stirred in a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

And followed that with a dash of ice skating.

Disclaimer: Connor and Shay’s ice skating in NO WAY resembles this photo.

I added a pinch of live nativity and some besotted sheep.

Then I seasoned the mix with romance, shopping, peppermint white chocolate popcorn, banter, and hot chocolate.

I put the whole thing in the editing oven and here’s the final result….

I loved writing this story! You can escape to wintry Misty River and Connor and Shay’s love story here. It’s free to read on Kindle Unlimited, $2.99 for the ebook, and it’s also available in print.

What do you enjoy most about Christmas books and movies? Have you read You and Me?

My Favorite Covers of 2021

Hi friends,

Happy Wednesday! Are you ready for Christmas? It’s hard to believe we’re only a couple of weeks away! It’ll be New Years before we know it. Before we flip the calendar to 2022, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite covers of 2021.

Vision, creativity, and great attention to detail are trademarks of designing stunning book covers. While many publishing houses are gifted with talented art departments, I sincerely think Bethany House has the best. The art director, Paul, puts so much of his heart into crafting every cover he designs.

Until I was published, I didn’t realize the great significance a cover plays in the life of a book. They are the first thing a reader sees. Before they read a word, before they flip a page, the cover either grabs their attention or it doesn’t.

Not only does each cover have to be unique, but if it’s part of a series, all the covers in the series need to tie together in a cohesive unit. Paul did a magnificent job with my Coastal Guardian series. Each cover has unique and varied elements—going from just the outline of a woman on The Killing Tide, to a side profile on The Crushing Depths, to a full face on my upcoming release, The Deadly Shallows. But, while each cover possesses unique elements, they are all united in tone and style.

There were so many stunning covers released in 2021, but I’ve forced myself to pick my favorite top three.

Number One

Elizabeth’s cover for The Prince is Spies is absolutely breathtaking! Not a single detail is left untouched from the white carnation in his lapel to the timepiece in his pocket and the gilded mirror in the background. It’s sophisticated, elegant and with only a slight portion of the hero’s face visible, I want to crack the book open and find out what he looks like through the beautiful prose that Elizabeth pens.

Number Two

T. I. Lowe’s cover is imaginative, beautifully balanced and there’s no way I’d walk past this cover and not pick it up.

Number Three

Jody always has stunning covers and Come Back to Me is no exception. The red hair with the sensation of it in motion grabbed me right away. I love the title font and color and how it hints at the novel’s tone, and the background scene whispers for me to know more.

Reader Question: What are your favorite covers of 2021?

Blessings,

Dani