Becky Wade's Blog, page 111

We’re Thankful for You Giveaway

My mind is spinning that we’re already at the end of November and today is Thanksgiving. This year has flown by in a blur. Has it felt the same for you? Are you ready to sit down to a table overloaded with turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and fresh rolls? Maybe there’s an apple or pumpkin pie ready to be eaten while you watch a football game or play card games with friends and family. We love sitting around the table with all kinds of games stacked to the side and spend time flipping through them. Trying different games and egging each other on. My family is so hyper-competitive!

This year, as every year, I’m grateful for you.

Thank you for reading our books.

Each and every one of us on this blog could not do what we do if you didn’t give your hard-earned dollars and precious time to step into our story worlds and get to know our characters. That is a gift that none of us take lightly. The quote above is so very accurate and true.

Each journey into our story worlds starts with the turning of a page. Thank you for investing your reading time in our books this year. It truly is a gift that we highly value. Probably more than you’ll ever understand.

Thank you for telling other readers about our books.

For posting about them on Facebook or Instagram. For posting quick reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

For asking your libraries to buy our books so that others can discover them.

Each and every one of those actions mean the world to us.

To thank you, I’m going to give away at least two books. One will be the winner’s choice of one of my books. The other will be from my TBR pile. All you have to do to have an opportunity to receive one of these books is use the form below.

What are you thankful for this year?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writerly Gratitude

Hi friends,

Happy Wednesday! I always look forward to spending today with you! Thanks so much for dropping by. It’s the season of thankfulness and gratitude, but instead of doing a ‘traditional’ list of what I’m grateful for, I thought it would be fun to share some things I’m thankful for as a writer. I will give a disclaimer. Several of these pictures were taken many years, wrinkles and pounds ago.

I’m thankful for my editor.

My elusive editor is third from the left in the back row. Hint–he’s the only guy there

Dave asked to see my first three chapters after I basically rushed him after a Spotlight session he gave at ACFW back in 2010. He mentioned during the talk that he was looking for romantic suspense. So, as soon as the talk was over, I bolted to him and shared that I wrote romantic suspense. We chatted. He asked if I had a one-sheet, which I did but in my room. He asked if I had a business card, which I did…in my room. You’re getting the picture. Yet, he graciously gave me his card and said I could send my first three chapters of a manuscript called Submerged. Since then, Dave has supported, encouraged, and championed my work for twelve novels and two novellas. I’m so grateful for him.

I’m thankful for my agent.

I first met Janet when I was a hostess for a workshop she gave at ACFW. (Are you sensing how important ACFW has been in my publishing journey?) I listened to Janet and her agency partner, Wendy Lawton, give a wonderful workshop several years before I sold Submerged. I was so impressed by her knowledge of the industry, her kind—yet professional—manner, and she is a stunning dresser. I know the last isn’t something you traditionally look for in an agent, but it just spoke to what a classy person she is, and I loved that. She had spunk! Years later, after I sold Submerged to Dave and I wanted an agent, I reached out to Janet, knowing she was my dream agent. She was gracious enough to sign me and here we are nearly a decade later. I’m so grateful for her.

I’m grateful for my writing friends.

Writing can be an isolating journey, but I’ve been blessed with lovely writer and sweet reader friends along the way. We support each other, encourage each other, and give one another a kick in the pants when needed.

Reader Question: If you’re a writer, what are you grateful for? If you’re a reader, what’s something you’re thankful for in the reading world?

Blessings,

Dani

The Mystery of Mysteries

My 18th novel, Shadows of Swanford Abbey has begun releasing into the world. (Official release date is 12/7, but some pre-orders are already being delivered.) Release time is always exciting, as well as nerve-wracking, as we authors wait to see how a new book will be received.

My publisher describes the novel as “Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen,” which I have to say I love since I greatly admire both of those authors. Weaving together a convincing whodunit wasn’t easy but I enjoyed the challenge. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I was recently asked by an interviewer, “Why did you decide to dip your toes into the mystery world?”

One of the reasons is that I love a brain puzzle. My Dad was a super-smart man who excelled at crossword puzzles and Sudoku and even created treasure hunt clues for parties. I don’t pretend to be as smart as he was, but my brain enjoys a puzzle as well.

Also, in a quest to find audiobooks and televisions shows that my husband and I would both enjoy, we began listening to mystery audiobooks on car trips, including titles by Agatha Christie. We also watched several seasons of Christie’s Hercule Poirot and other British mysteries. (Our own D’Ann Mateer wrote about her love of mysteries earlier in the month. If you missed it, you can read her post here.) Somewhere along the line, I was struck with the idea of trying a “locked door” mystery myself (when a person locked alone in a room is killed and no one can figure out how). And being a writer, I was intrigued with the idea of the victim being an author who is perhaps not all that his public persona appears to be.

Here’s a description:

The book is about a young woman staying at a Medieval abbey-turned-hotel, rumored to be haunted. There, Rebecca Lane begins noticing strange things, including a figure in a hooded black gown gliding silently through the abbey’s cloisters. She also encounters Sir Frederick—magistrate, widower, and former neighbor—who long ago broke her heart. When an author is murdered, the two work together to solve the mystery. Sir Frederick quickly discovers that several people held grudges against the man, including Miss Lane and her brother. Haunted by a painful betrayal in his past, Sir Frederick searches for answers but is torn between his growing feelings for Rebecca and his pursuit of the truth. For Miss Lane is clearly hiding something….

What about you? Are you a mystery reader, too? Do you have any favorite series or show to recommend?

Is it too early?

When you’re a person who almost always takes down your Christmas decorations on December 26, you like to put them up early. I know some people prefer not to hear anything about Christmas until at least Thanksgiving is past, so if that’s you, just click away from this post now.

I actually put the Christmas tree up about a week ago, but last night I found a whole box of ornaments and other decorations that I’d missed, so I piled those on, including draping our “Joy to the World” garland across the tree like a Miss America sash. The garland always hung on our mantel in the last two houses, but the mantel in this house is lower and smaller and just didn’t look right. I think I love it on the tree!

We’ve never gone all out with Christmas decor. The tree is usually the star of the show and then I set just a few other Christmas touches around the house. Here, I added a few Christmas-y boxes to the stack of hat boxes that lives here year round.

It’s still nice enough on the screened porch that we’ve been spending time out there, so for now, the Fisher-Price nativity lives out here and our younger grandkids have played with it several times. I love seeing how they’ve arranged all the animals and characters.

I’ve been trying to decorate a bit outdoors too, slowly replacing the plants in flower pots with pinecones and other wintery things, but we still have a geranium and begonias blooming their hearts out on the front porch, so I’ll wait until they succumb to a freeze before replacing them!

I was so tickled to find this adorable little ceramic reindeer that little Amy Buhrman (the daughter of one of my dear Club Deb friends) gave me when I was the library story hour teacher about 20 years ago. Amy is Amy Turner now, and a wife and mama of five sweet kids now. I thought my little reindeer was lost forever as it hadn’t shown up in the decoration boxes for quite a few years. Turns out I’d wrapped it with the breakable nativity set that I haven’t gotten out since we’ve had toddler grandkids. Anyway, he’s back without even so much as a chip out of him and I smile every time I see him and remember Amy’s sweet gift!

It has been such a joy to be near two sets of our grandkids all through the holidays these last three Christmases. (And oh, how we miss our Texas kids and grandkids and our Kansas family!) But we’ve enjoyed hot chocolate parties, playing with the nativity set and ringing bells on the screened porch, and just cuddling by the fire with these precious kids.

And, if you’re still with me, while I’ve added Christmas cups and pulled all the red and green mugs front and center, that Happy Thanksgiving wish at the top of our coffee bar is for YOU! Truly, I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are able to celebrate together this week and give thanks to our loving Father for the amazing blessings He bestows on us all year round. And you, dear friends, are among the blessings I am counting this year! Happy and blessed Thanksgiving! I’d love to hear how you are celebrating the holidays!

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.

Welcome, Angela Hunt

Readers were already told in Lynn Austin’s parting blog post that Angela Hunt is joining the family of bloggers here on Inspired by Life and Fiction. But this is our official welcome and introduction.

You can read Angela’s bio by visiting her author page, but I wanted to share something a little more personal.

Before I met Angela, I read one of her early novels as a judge in a contest. (Loved it.) That was in the early to mid-1990s. Around the same time I was asked to join an email group of Christian writers who were all members of Romance Writers of America. Angela was a part of that group, and we became acquainted. I believe our first time to meet face-to-face was in 1996 or 1997.

Although she didn’t know it at the time (because I didn’t know it at the time), Angela—along with the other wonderful women in that small group—was a big part of what God was doing in my life as He led me into writing Christian fiction. And over the years that followed, as we exchanged emails and as we spent time together at conferences and retreats and were roommates a time or two, she became a very special friend.

I love Angela’s books, especially her biblical fiction. But her creativity flows into so many other areas besides writing, including photography and painting. I look forward to her posts on the first and third Mondays of the month. I know she’s going to be a blessing to us all.

WELCOME, ANGELA!!

~robin

How Far Will You Read Before Giving Up on a Book?

One of my daughters got a book in the mail and squealed with excitement over the new book.

Sadly, once she started reading the new squeal-worthy book, it fell into the book graveyard. It had a gorgeous, captivating cover. A catchy title. An interesting blurb. And it promised to be a fun, light read.

So why did it die and get buried?

After she read the first chapter, I asked her how she liked it. She sprawled out next to me on the couch and said, “It’s boring.”

“Oh no.” My heart sank because I’d been looking forward to reading the book too but now wasn’t sure if I would. “Why’s it boring?”

“All she does in the first chapter is talk on the phone.”

Sure enough, as I paged through the book, the phone conversation was the primary scope of the first chapter.

Should my daughter have persevered? Was it possible the story would have held her interest better as it progressed? She never gave it the opportunity to find out.

Obviously, most authors search deep to find the right scene to start the book—something exciting or dangerous or unusual. We also try to find circumstances that alter the character’s comfortable life, knocking them off the easy path they’ve been on and forcing them in a new and different direction.

But no matter how hard authors attempt to craft a creative opening, the story won’t always jive.

How far will most readers go before giving up? A page or two? A chapter? The middle of the book? Does some of it depend on whether the reader paid for the book, feeling the need to persevere and get her money’s worth? Is it easier to toss the book aside if it’s a library book, loan, or Kindle Unlimited? I know it is for me.

So where does that leave opening hooks? Is the beginning really all that important or not?

On the one hand, I think a book needs to have something that hooks us into reading it right from the start. But on the other hand, even if a book has an exciting hook it can still fail to deliver the rest of the story.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that while I like a heart-stopping opening, something that grabs me and dumps me into the middle of the story and conflict, I’m also able to overlook a slightly slow beginning if the story itself grips me.

I personally think a book should attempt to do both things: entice me at the beginning AND sweep me along with the story. After all, some people (like my daughter) won’t read on if an author doesn’t do BOTH.

But if I had to choose a fantastic beginning or a sweeping story, I’d pick the sweeping story. I can overlook a slow start, but I can’t overlook a slow book. I might be able to wallow through the first few arduous pages, but if the story doesn’t grip me, then I usually can’t persevere.

Dear readers, what’s more important to you? Do you NEED a captivating opening hook to keep reading? Or do you persevere past a slow opening if the story is promising enough?

A Sale, a Giveaway, & an Extravaganza

Do you enjoy giving books as Christmas gifts? I do. My daughter and husband usually end up with books beneath the tree. My boys are not really book people, so they get computer gear instead. This year, several extended family members will be receiving books as well. I couldn’t resist. As much as I enjoy giving books, I am a hard person to buy books for, because I tend to be really picky. My reading time is limited, so I choose my books with care. Because of that, I tend to buy my own books, no matter the time of year.

The Sale

If you like to pick your own books as well, I have a sale you might enjoy. Or you can gift it as an early Christmas present to a friend or family member.

Readers often ask me which hero is my favorite of all the books I have written. The question is nearly impossible to answer. However, when push comes to shove, the hero who gets the slightest edge is Levi Grant from To Win Her Heart. Maybe it’s because he’s a big, burly blacksmith who loves to read. Or maybe it’s because he’s a reformed bad boy who has a thing for the local librarian. Or maybe it’s because he’s the kind of man who takes pity on scraggly mutts and social outcasts. Or maybe it’s because he challenged me as an author with the lisp he was determined to hide by never speaking a word with the “s” sound. I’ve never worked so hard on a character’s dialogue!

To Win Her Heart hasn’t been promo-priced for several years, so I’m excited to offer the e-book version to you for only $1.99 (or less) through the end of November. Amazon and Christianbook have it for only $1.59. WooHoo!

Amazon | Christianbook | Barnes & Noble

The Giveaway

Another way I enjoy mixing books with Christmas is to read Christmas-themed stories from the day after Thanksgiving through the end of the year. If you would like to pad your TBR pile with some Christmas reads and get a few extra goodies thrown in to increase the merry in your mistletoe, here is a fun giveaway you will love.

I’ve paired up with Janine Rosche and Pepper Basham to offer a delightful prize package filled with mistletoe fun. Since all three of our Christmas releases feature the word Mistletoe in the title, we couldn’t resist joining forces.

One lucky reader will receive three bundles compiled by the authors. Mistletoe-themed goodies include three fabulous Christmas books, a scented candle, decorative tea towel, Christmas sign, fuzzy socks, and a custom sweatshirt.

Click here to enter.

The Extravaganza

Whispers in Wyoming is a FB group hosted by a group of sweet western romance authors whose stories are set in Wyoming. Every year they host a giant Christmas Extravaganza where they bring in guest authors to post throughout the 3-day event. There are 45 authors participating this year, including me. Each participating author will give away individual prizes to readers who comment on her posts. In addition, 4 grand prize winners will receive $100 Amazon gift cards. Just in time for Christmas! I will be participating on Saturday, December 4 between 1-5pm and will be giving away an audiobook copy of Under the Texas Mistletoe along with a few other goodies.

If you are interested in participating, you will need to join the Whispers in Wyoming Facebook group before December 2. Then pop in several times during the event and comment on the posts to be entered to win the individual prizes. There will be a link to the main giveaway contest on the site as well. I’d love to see you on the afternoon of the 4th!

What is your favorite bookish holiday tradition?

Guest blogger–Erica Vetsch

Hey, y’all! D’Ann here. I’m 2 weeks from my book deadline and a week from Christmas/Thanksgiving with all my kids, so meet the lovely Erica Vetsch! (Her books are great, by the way.)

“You have to follow your own voice. You have to be yourself when you write. In effect, you have to announce, ‘This is me, this is what I stand for, this is what you get when you read me. I’m doing the best I can—buy me or not—but this is who I am as a writer.’” ~ David Morrell

That Elusive Writer’s Voice

Something you’ll hear bandied about quite often in writers’ circles is the exhortation to “Find Your Voice.” I heard it at my first writers’ conference and at every one since, and in my early days as a pre-published author, it was one of the most frustrating terms. Thrown out cavalierly, but no one could give me a solid definition of a writer’s voice nor how to discover where mine was hiding.

So, what is an author’s voice, and why is it so important?

An author’s voice is that combination of word choice, vocabulary, speech patterns, rhythm, pace, sentence structure…that makes your writing sound uniquely you! In the words of agent, Rachelle Gardner, “It’s you on the page!”

But, if it’s just me on the page, why is it so hard to find?

Most writers, when they start out, write pastiche or homage style. We’re greatly influenced by writers we love, and when we first start writing, we tend to write in the styles of those authors. The first book I proposed to an editor at a writer’s conference…the response was, “It reminds me of Violet Winspear.” Now, Violet Winspear was a Harlequin author in the 1960s and 70s, and though I had never read a Violet Winspear, my favorite author of all time is Essie Summers, who, you guessed it, was a Harlequin author of the 1960s and 70s. I was writing in Essie’s style, even though I didn’t know it.

In order to cure this pastiche/homage writing and discover your own voice, you have to write. And write, and write, and write, and write some more. You need to experiment with first and third point of view, with different genres, and with different types of characters. As you try new things, you’ll find your groove, what suits your voice best. You’ll hone your voice, though you may not realize to what extent, which is where other people and time come in.

I didn’t know I had found my voice until one of my critique partners told me. I had entered a little contest online, judged blind, and my critique partner, unbeknownst to me, was one of the judges. She said she knew the entry was mine even though my name wasn’t on it. It sounded just like me.

I had a friend from church who read one of my books not long ago say that even though the book was set in the 1800s and felt authentic to the time period, she could hear the story told in my voice, as if I was the one reading it to her. The cadence and vocabulary and the humor of the story matched the cadence, vocabulary, and quirky sense of humor of my speech patterns.

I can also check that I’ve stayed in “my voice” when I’m editing something I’ve written. I’ll be reading along and think, “Oh, I should say something like this…” only to find three lines later that I did. That’s a great indicator of being in the correct voice.

Finding your writing voice isn’t complicated, but it does require work. It requires you to shed the voices of those you’ve read and let your own storytelling style emerge.

Once you do, you’ll find the words come both easier and harder than before. Another of those writing conundrums summed up by Thomas Mann: “A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
But once you find your writing voice, you’ll be able to garner the attention of agents, editors, and especially readers who will come to your work because they can’t find anything else like it.

Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/groups/inspirationalregencyreaders where she spends way too much time!

Releasing 12/7/21!
Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series

Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn’t spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They’ve been living double lives as government spies–and they’re only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family’s legacy.

Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors–not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents’ last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?

Life in pictures

Do you take a lot of pictures? I do. I save a ton of pictures sent to me too.

Aren’t we grateful we live in a day and age where we have the ability to snap so many precious moments of life for safekeeping? Think about how much more we might have known about the past if our ancestors could have taken pictures of their lives so readily. So here we go…

In no certain order, these are pictures taken since the first of the month. Let’s see if you have any similar pics on your phone!

Last night’s sunset. Truly, if creation this side of heaven (that’s groaning and longing for renewal as Romans 8 tells us) is this beautiful, what is heaven going to be like?!

Every Wednesday in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), our group leader Kim Pressley puts one of these delicious little cookies in our chairs. Did I say they’re delicious? This may sound sad, but I look forward to these cookies every week. I don’t routinely eat sugar, so these are the BOMB!

Well, last week I sat beside group member Susie Connolly who is apparently FAR more disciplined than I am because she said, “Here, take my cookie. I don’t eat sugar.” Of course, I said, “Oh no, no, no. You eat it. They’re so good!” To which she said, “No really, take it. And I have a couple more in my purse, take those too.” Then she proceeded to shove them all into my purse. Me, being the kind person that I am, didn’t want to hurt her feelings so… : )

What I didn’t know is that she stuffed not one, not two, not three, but FIVE of these yummy little delights into my purse. I kept finding them each time I dug into my bag for my keys or my phone that day. LOL It was such fun! And yes, they were all gone by that afternoon. #noshame #lifeisshort #myjeansaretight

LOVE YOU, SUSIE!!! And KIM, you too, for bringing them to us in the first place!

Next, our three kids pictured below (our son Kurt and his wife Kellie, and our daughter Kelsey) flew to Orlando last weekend and ran the Disney Half Marathon. Here they are with their medals!

Here are Kellie and Kelsey during the marathon. This must have been before all the pain kicked in at mile 10. : }

And here they are at the after party that night in Epcot with all the fireworks. Have you ever seen the fireworks at Disney? Talk about gorgeous!

Next, Joe had a Bday last week (#62) so we went to Uncle Julio’s in Brentwood to celebrate. Mexican food is among our favorites and we had such a fun time. We grabbed a pic on the way out. Love these guys!

Last week I got to spend some fun time with Malcolm, Kurt and Kellie’s dog, over at their house when they were gone. He is one GIGANTIC Double Doodle! But he’s so sweet, so lovable. And this is his favorite chair, can you tell?

A couple of nights ago as I was writing in bed, I turned to see Murphy sleeping on Joe’s pillow. Sweet boy… For the most part, Murphy and Bailey are good little writing buddies. But they do have their moments. ; )

Finally, sunrise the other day was so pretty. I just LOVE early mornings when the house is still quiet and that first sip of coffee is so good—and the Word is always rich and life-giving.

So do you have any similar pictures on your phone from this month so far? Any of family or friends? Sunrises or sunsets? Gifts someone has given you (aka: shoved into your purse)? Did anyone celebrate a birthday?

Please share!

Blessings on your Tuesday,

Tammy

MONTHLY GIVEAWAY

Speaking of heaven, have you read ALL THINGS NEW by John Eldridge? It’ll rock your world—and your understanding of the forever Home that awaits every believer in Christ!

ENTER TO WIN TODAY