Becky Wade's Blog, page 112

Can An Old Dog Learn New Tricks?

My two little granddaughters were here for a visit recently, and I couldn’t help noticing how very different the two of them are. Three-year-old Ayla is not afraid to try new things. When no one was looking, she dashed up to the top of my library ladder like an experienced fireman. She should have been afraid! We have cathedral ceilings in our living room and the bookshelves and ladder go to the very top. The rungs are steep and slippery, and I confess that my knees shake a bit whenever I need to retrieve a book from the top shelf. Ayla just laughed and did a little dance at the tippy-top, then let go with one hand to wave to us.

Five-year-old Lyla, on the other hand, never even noticed the ladder when she was Ayla’s age, much less scaled it. She’s a quiet, thoughtful child who generally doesn’t like change or trying new things. She can be adventurous once she makes up her mind to be, but she always takes a moment to stop and consider before trying something for the first time. She asked for a turn on the ladder after seeing her sister scamper up it. And she was brave enough to climb all the way to the top. But she took her time, was careful with each step, and she hung on tightly. Then she was done, and didn’t ask to climb it again.

I don’t know about you, but because of all the changes that Covid brought last year, I often found myself challenged to try new ways of doing familiar things. I would have liked to be as brave as Ayla and leap whole-heartedly into every new challenge, yet I found, like Lyla, that I don’t really like change. I often needed to be pushed or dragged or encouraged by someone more adventurous than I am before embracing something new.

This past year, I had to learn new ways to launch a book without leaving home. I learned how to research the settings of my books without traveling to the locale in person. I missed driving down to the library and wandering through the non-fiction stacks, but a very patient research librarian taught me how to navigate the internet’s endless rabbit-trails. I learned how to Zoom—and for a technophobe like me, that was like scaling a very tall ladder. Likewise, with converting my office into a recording studio to do live and recorded presentations. I learned a lot of new things the hard way, such as remembering to turn off the telephone so it wouldn’t ring during the final five minutes of my recording and force me to start all over again. And I figured out how to adjust my writing schedule and condense my usual writing style to compose something brand new for me—a novella. And a Christmas one, at that!

The Apostle Paul once claimed, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13), and maybe that should be my motto in changing times. There will be occasions when I must learn to be as daring as Ayla, knowing that God will be right beside me, steadying the ladder. There will be times when I should be as cautious as Lyla, taking time to wait and pray and consider His leading. Above all, I know I can always trust the Holy Spirit to guide me as I’m led into new places.

I can already see more changes ahead in 2022. Ken and I are making plans to travel to new places next year. Our family may be growing and changing, including the possibility of an adoption in the future. My time is being stretched in new ways, too, and so it is with great regret that I’m announcing that this will be my last post with my writing family here at Inspired by Life and Fiction. I have been so blessed by the friendship and special sisterhood we’ve shared. And thanks to the others, I learned how to post my own blogs, here. I’m not going to stop reading their daily posts and staying up-to-date on their writing lives and new releases, so you may see my comments here from time to time. And I know you’re going to enjoy hearing from our newest blogger, the multi-talented Angela Hunt. Welcome, Angie!

I have one final “new thing” to share, and that’s the cover of my next novel, “Long Way Home,” which launches in June 2022. Thanks for joining me here all these years, and for all of your wonderful comments. Blessings to all!

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My Love of the First Snowfall (and a prize pack!)

Can you feel the holiday spirit beginning to sweep across the land? I can! This is the time of year when I love to begin reading Christmas books and watching Christmas movies, so I’m delighted that my friend Jill Kemerer is visiting today and giving away a prize pack that includes her Christmas novel, Thanksgiving dishtowels, and a Thanksgiving notepad and pen set! Welcome, Jill! -Becky

I grew up in the country in the middle of Michigan where snow every year was guaranteed. As a kid, I couldn’t wait for the first snowfall. By the end of October, anticipation would set in of seeing those first flakes. I remember sitting in class, staring out the window while the teacher droned on as I willed the snow to come.

I’m sure some of my excitement had to do with the fact that snow signified the start of the holiday season, my favorite time of the year. When the first flakes danced down from the sky, I could barely contain my excitement. I’d spin around outside with my arms wide, face tipped to the sky, mouth open trying to catch each frozen wonder on my tongue.

When my homework was finished, I would gather various scraps of paper—from gum wrappers to construction paper—and cut out snowflakes. Each one would be lovingly placed in a shoebox decorated with Christmas wrapping paper, and as the weeks wore on, I would add to my collection.

One year, my teacher taught us how to make snow ice cream. I don’t recall the exact recipe, but I think it consisted of a bowl full of snow, a raw egg, and a lot of sugar. I, naturally, loved it. Looking back, it kind of grosses me out!

If the snow got deep enough, my sister and I would drop to the ground to wave our arms and legs into snow angels. Then we’d roll balls to make snowmen. We also loved creating snow forts and sledding around the yard. There was a large brush pile behind our old shed, and when the snow covered it, there were little paths to slide down on your bottom. Talk about fun!

Now I live in northwestern Ohio, and we still get snow, but it doesn’t always appear before Christmas. Sometimes it will wait for January. Regardless, the old excitement brings a smile to my face when I see those first flakes floating down.

And I can’t help myself—I get out a few scraps of paper and make paper snowflakes again.

Do you have any special memories of snow?

To celebrate the release of The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope, I’m hosting a giveaway! One commenter (US residents only) will receive a gift package with a signed copy of The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope, a set of Thanksgiving dishtowels and a matching notepad. If an international winner is selected, they will receive an ebook of The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope. I’ll randomly select a winner on Tuesday. Thank you!

He’s learned from his mistakes…
But can he prove he’s changed?

When Sawyer Roth is hired to work on his childhood ranch, he knows he has a damaged reputation to repair. Tess Malone, the new ranch owner’s daughter, is the hardest to win over. But as Christmas approaches, Tess and her toddler son find a way into Sawyer’s heart. He lost everything the last time he put his trust in love. Can he risk it all again?

Click here for purchase links and more!

Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of heartwarming, emotional, small-town romance novels often featuring cowboys. Over half a million of her books have sold worldwide. Jill’s essentials include coffee, caramels, a stack of books, her mini-doxie, and long walks outdoors. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two almost-grown children. For more information, visit her website, jillkemerer.com.

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New Releases and Giveaway

You know what I enjoy at the end of a day? Coming home to my family after a good day at work.

But I also love finding a package with a book waiting for me on the dining room table. In the last couple weeks, my mailbox has been steadily filled with books I am eager to read. Today I wanted to share a few of those books with you in no particular order. You’ll see that they span the spectrum of genres. I LOVE a good story, and these authors consistently deliver that regardless of genre or time period. Have you read any of these yet?

In Every Word Unsaid, Kimberly Duffy takes readers from South Dakota to India in the year 1897. Duffy lived in India for several years, and her deep love for the country shines through in the prose. You can learn more here.

Nancy Mehl’s Kaely Quinn books are intense forays into the dark side of humanity, and the Quantico Files follow in that vein. I can’t wait to read Dead Fall. “He has a deadly endgame in mind–and he’s already chosen each victim . . . including her.“

I loved Natalie Walters’ new book Lights Out so much that I endorsed it. I enjoyed her first series so well, yet this one knocks it out of the park. This is such an intense read jumping from Egypt to DC and all over the US. “CIA analyst Brynn Taylor developed a new program to combat terrorism, and she invited members of foreign intelligence agencies to America to foster cooperation between countries. Now one of them, Egyptian spy Remon Riad, is missing.”

I have loved so many of Katherine Reay’s books and The London House had me at the title. Then at the cover. And it just looks so good. “Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.” I love WWII and London, so this book is at the top of my TBR pile.

With 43 days left until Christmas, I’m finding myself in the mood for some Christmas books. These collections fit the bill. Of course I had to include Christmas in Mistletoe Square. I’m also excited to read all the novellas in It’s a Wonderful Christmas and Under the Texas Mistletoe. All are authored by friends whose writing I adore.

Have you read any of these? If not, which one looks like a book you need to read? Use the form below to be entered to receive one of the books from my leaning TBR pile.

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For the Love of Moose

Hi friends and happy Wednesday! I hope you were able to catch last month’s guest post by the uber-talented Kristy Cambron who shared about peace—something we can all use more of, and sweet reader friend Joy Tiffany who shared about being a Book Fairy. Both friends kindly offered to share with you while I was in my writing cave finishing up revisions on The Deadly Shallows—Book 3 in my Coastal Guardians series. I’m so excited to share Noah and Brooke’s story with you and in my post on the 24th of this month here, I’ll be sharing the cover. It’s so cool!

But, today, I’m flashing back to my second novel in my Alaskan Courage series—Shattered.

If you haven’t read it yet, it features Piper McKenna, the spunky youngest McKenna sibling, and Landon Grainger. To this day, they remain my favorite couple. I fashioned Piper in a few ways after my youngest daughter—her long brown hair, big eyes, and preserving spirit. However, there is one thing Piper and I share and that’s a love for moose. Yes. Moose. They are my favorite animal, and Piper adores them.

Something else Piper and I share is a love for all things coffee. So, what better than a pairing of the two? Here’s Piper’s recipe for Moose Madness Extreme. I hope you enjoy!

Check out my website for more about Piper and Landon as well as clicking here for the rest of the recipes from Shattered!

Reader Question: What’s something you love or collect?

Best always,

Dani

Falling Back; Looking Forward

A few weeks ago I looked at my desk calendar and, mildly alarmed, pleaded, “Slow down, October!”

October didn’t listen.

View on my daily walk; View at my desk (calendar photo by my talented friend, Suzy)

I was rushing to get my rough draft into decent-enough shape to give to my first reader by November 1st. (I managed it by the 2nd). But I wish the days would slow for another reason, too. This has been such a beautiful autumn, with warm, muted colors: maple reds, golden-oranges, bright yellows. My walks and drives around the area have each felt extra special, like moving through a painting. I’ve relished it, especially living in the north, when many years it feels like we go right from summer to winter. Not this year. I will miss these mellow, colorful days!

Mojo and Socks are enjoying autumn as well—especially all the birds and squirrels swarming the feeders before winter!

As much as I want to slow down time, I am also looking forward to an event coming up in just four weeks. The release of my next (my 18th) novel, Shadows of Swanford Abbey. My publisher has dubbed it, “Agatha Christie Meets Jane Austen,” which I take as quite a compliment as I am an ardent admirer of both those authors. The new romantic mystery is being offered at a great pre-buy discount from the lovely people at Baker Book House.

Finally, I thought I’d share a short video filmed by agent & author Cynthia Ruchti when we spent time together at a recent publishing conference. In it, I talk about the setting and inspiration for the new novel:

Now, I’m going to go gaze out my window again and enjoy the autumn beauty while I can. If the frenzy at the bird feeder is any indication, winter will be here all too soon (at least in the northern hemisphere! :))

What about you? Are you sad to see autumn wind down, or are you looking forward to the change in season?

A confluence of confluences

As I type this post, Ken and I have just finished packing up our 1998 Chinook camper for a short trip—short in time we’ll be gone and short in the distance from home we’re traveling. That’s one of the wonderful things about living in a new-to-us state: there’s so much to explore that we’ve never seen before and much of it is only a few miles up or down the road! As you read this, our adventure has just begun!

The idea for this trip came this past August when we attended the Christian Product Expo at the convention center in St. Charles, Missouri. We had to get home the same day, but as we were leaving St. Charles, we just happened to drive through the historic downtown area. After seeing the charming old town, we knew we had to come back!

St. Charles County is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers just north of St. Louis. As many of you know, Ken and I live close enough to the Mississippi River that we often take our morning walks along the river walk in Cape Girardeau, Missouri with gorgeous views like these:

I have come to love the Mighty Mississippi and the barges and other boats that travel its waters. But the Mississippi/Missouri confluence isn’t the only convergence of rivers we’ll see on our trip this week. When we leave St. Charles, we’ll be driving the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route. This road snakes for 33 miles through southwestern Illinois along the floodplain of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The route is officially designated as a National Scenic Byway and coincides with a portion of the famous Great River Road.

If you’d like to follow along on our trip, I’ll be posting photos on Instagram at Raney Day Trippin’.

This might sound silly, but one of the things I’m most excited about on this particular trip is that I’ll get to try out the new sink we had installed in our camper a couple of weeks ago. I traded a shallow, divided sink for a one-bowl beauty that is twice as deep as the old one…nine whole inches! (I’ve had a similar home-size deep, black sink in our last two houses and I just love it.) I truly think this will be a game-changer in the camper for how much easier it will be for cooking and cleaning up after meals. I’m also thrilled about that goose-neck faucet and the built-in soap dispenser. (As my kids like to say, “Mom is easily entertained.” )

Ken has made so many improvements to the camper since we bought it in March. After our long trip this fall, he changed out all the gas strut closures on cupboard doors, fixed the clothes rod in the closet, and another door latch, along with some other minor fixes. It’s amazing how small changes make a big difference in how well our tiny home on wheels works for us.

We’ve got the clock changed over to Daylight Savings Time, an on-its-last-legs bouquet in the window box, and the fridge and cupboards stocked with a few days worth of food. Let the adventure begin!

When I look back at how reluctant I was to embrace this camping/traveling life, I want to shake a scolding finger at myself and say, “Try it, silly, you just might like it!” I’m amazed at how much I do! Have you ever gone into something kicking and screaming and later discovered you really enjoyed it? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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.

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New Book Release (And a Giveaway!)

It’s that time again!! Time for another book release! ENAMORED, the first book in my new medieval series Knights of Brethren hits shelves this coming Tuesday, Nov. 9.

For those of you who might be saying, “Didn’t Jody release a book not too long ago?”

The answer is YES! I had a book hit shelves last month in October (my second Colorado Cowboy book, THE HEART OF A COWBOY). If you missed it, go here: http://jodyhedlund.com/books/the-heart-of-a-cowboy/

I feel as if I should give everyone a heads up that I’ll have two more books releasing in quick succession. ENTWINED, the second book in the Knights of Brethren series, releases Dec. 7. And my second Waters of Time book, NEVER LEAVE ME, releases on Jan. 4.

(Sidenote: If you like helping to promote books for authors, you’re more than welcome to join my facebook group, the Reader Room, where I post sign-ups for early reading opportunities.)

So back to the new book release! ENAMORED! This is the start of a six-book series loosely based on Merlin, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table.

ENAMORED kicks off the series by telling the story of Maxim (based upon Merlin) who wields his mind as a weapon (instead of magic). He and the Princess Elinor must work together to help determine who will become the next king. Of course the story involves an ancient sword (inspired by Excalibur). The problem is that Maxim and Elinor don’t know if the sword will truly help or hurt them! I guess you’ll need to read the story to find out!

Here’s what a couple of early readers have said about the book:

“Did I completely devour this book? Yes, yes, I did! And now I am counting down until the second book, because Jody Hedlund has done it again, completely hooking me and knocking it out of the park with this new book and series!”

“Wow! This reimagining of the story of Excalibur is adventurous and passionate and full of intelligent characters. The author is incredibly talented in making the reader fall in love with the main characters and want to see them together.”

Pre-order on Amazon

Today to celebrate ENAMORED’s release, I’m giving away a copy to one lucky winner! Enter the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win either a paperback or ebook.

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Are you ready for some swoon-worthy reading? What do you think makes knights so swoony?

What Do You Love About Series?

Not long ago, in my Facebook group, The Posse, a reader asked me this question:

“When do you begin planning a new series? What is that process like?”

Unlike some authors who have a constant fount of ideas bubbling through their creative centers, I tend to have tunnel vision. I focus on one idea at a time. So I always feel a bit anxious when a current series is coming to a close and I’m faced with the prospect of coming up with a new idea. Which happens to be where I am right now. I’ve turned in the last Horseman book, and I’ve starting writing the first book in what will be a new three-book series.

My goal is to keep my stories and series ideas as fresh as possible. So I start by deciding which basic element will connect my stories. The idea behind Hanger’s Horsemen was the A-Team meets the Magnificent Seven. The four Horsemen are former cavalry officers who are bonded by war and their desire for redemption.

The Archer Brothers series had a family connection. The Ladies of Harper’s Station series had books that were all set in the same geographic place, the women’s colony of Harper’s Station. My Patchwork Family series was linked through a group of orphans who bonded after surviving a traumatic experience.

Once I know what core bond the series will be built upon, I can start brainstorming the individual characters and stories. And since my books don’t release in rapid succession, I steer away from writing series that utilize cliffhangers at the end of each book. All of my series books can be read as stand-alone novels, each complete with an adventure, romance, and happily ever after. However, I do have fun bringing characters back from previous books for cameo appearances in subsequent stories for readers to enjoy.

As I brainstormed ideas for my next series, I decided to create a bond based on a theme instead of a particular group of characters. I proposed a series of Twisted Texas Tales, that take classic fairy tales and give them a 19th century, Texas twist. I’m about 25% into Book 1, with heroine Penelope Snow and hero Titus Kingsley. Oh, and there happen to be seven retired drovers at a ranch known as the Diamond D who get in on the action as well. Can you guess which fairy tale I’m tackling first?

What kind of series do you like best?
What connection elements are your favorite?