Becky Wade's Blog, page 121

Summer Memories

For the past week, our new ten-year-old grandson, Aiden, stayed with us while his parents were away on their honeymoon. He came into our life after our son married his mom last weekend, and having grandparents was a new experience for him. We are his first and only ones. I think he had a great time with us, biking the nearby trails on his new bicycle, going boating, learning how to find geocaches, playing at our beach on Lake Michigan, swimming in our friends’ pool, picking blueberries, eating corndogs and ice cream, working jigsaw puzzles, and playing dominoes and Scrabble. I have to say that we had a fantastic vacation, too, doing all of these fun things with him! We made a lot of memories together, and I was sorry for our time to end.

The week brought back wonderful memories for me of the times I spent with my grandparents in the summertime when I was a girl. My sisters and I were blessed to have both sets of our grandparents in our lives growing up. Our maternal grandparents lived in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, where there were magical woods to explore just beyond their house. A spring-fed creek ran through their property and my grandpa stocked it with brook trout and landscaped it with little waterfalls and ponds creating marvelous places to play. I loved exploring the woods and fishing in the nearby river—even though I never caught anything. At night, we would catch lightning bugs, and see millions of stars in the ink-black sky, and listen to grandma tell stories of when she was a girl and panthers roamed those woods.

Our paternal grandparents lived in a city, where there were also many wonderful things to do and explore. They lived in an apartment building, which was an adventure all by itself with nooks and crannies and alleyways and secret backyard lots. We could hop on the streetcar and ride downtown to the bustling city and big department stores—I especially loved riding the escalators. Grandma came from a large family and we would ride the streetcar all around town to visit her sisters and brothers and their families. I learned how to play canasta, and we spent hours playing it and other card games. Grandma played the piano at her church, and we’d sit at her keyboard and sing all of her favorite hymns together. She tried to teach me how to play but I was too fidgety to stick with it.   

As fun as all of these activities were, what stands out most in my mind now as I look back, are the deep, loving relationships that developed between my grandparents and me. I couldn’t have put it into words as I child, but they gave me an overwhelming sense that I was valued and loved simply for who I was. I didn’t do anything to earn their love except to be born, and I gave them nothing material in return. But I remember the love that shone in their eyes whenever they looked at me, and I realize, now, what a huge role they played in helping me understand God’s unconditional love.

I want to do the same for Aiden and my other two grandchildren. By setting aside time to be with them and give them my attention and love, I hope to teach them that they are valued and loved simply for who they are. People are the greatest treasure we have in this life, which is why I didn’t get any writing done this week. But I know that Aiden and my husband and I created memories that will last a lifetime.  

Inspired by Scripture

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Behind the Scenes on Writing with Other Authors

People often ask me about writing a novella collection with other authors. Most of the time writing is me alone at my computer. Most people can imagine that. When you add other authors to the mix, they begin to wonder what the process is like and how it differs.

I’ve been a part of several novella collections in addition to writing several cozy mysteries for Guidepost with my friend Tricia Goyer. I love the extra collaboration that comes with many of those projects. This summer I’m writing novellas for two (Christmas in Mistletoe Square and Dangerous Pursuits), so I thought it would be fun to share with you what this process is like. It’s different on both.

One of the fun things about the Christmas in Mistletoe Square collection was that Janine Rosche and Pepper Basham were already talking about it when we were together for a writers brainstorm/writing weekend in December. I knew it would be a fun project because — well — they are both crazy fun people, so I invited myself along for the fun and they graciously agreed to have me. I’m so glad they let me be part, because I knew that with Pepper Basham, Janine Rosche, and Teresa Tysinger, it would be a delightful collection. I usually write romantic suspense that’s driven by some pretty hefty issues, so I was and am so excited to be part of a Christmas collection that is light-hearted and sweet. In addition to the brainstorming we’d done in December, we hopped on a Zoom to do more brainstorming about the stories and how they could be connected. The result is a wonderful collection of Christmas themed stories that will make it easy to get in the Christmas mood.

With Dangerous Pursuits, the vibe is different because it’s a much larger group (15 authors). These authors are still people I really enjoy and love their books, so it’s really fun to talk about the project, but we’ve had no collaboration other than the novellas have to be suspense and take place in the fall. Because I was in the middle of writing Silver Bell Secrets, I decided to tie the two together — so fun! So the secondary character in Silver Bell Secrets is the heroine in the yet to be named Dangerous Pursuits.

You may notice that Christmas in Mistletoe Square happens in Kedgewick Creek, NC. That’s the name for a town that came in second place when I surveyed folks like you for possible town names. My Dangerous Pursuits yet-to-be named novella is set in Hamilton, VA, the winner of that survey. Kedgewick Creek is completely fictional — but loosely based on Highlands, NC, while Hamilton is very real. That creates different challenges for this writer, but is keeping the process very fun this summer.

My Dangerous Pursuits novella is in desperate need of a name. Anyone want to make suggestions based on the following: When Elaine ran from her home four years earlier she was convinced her mother had been murdered but no one believed her. Now she’s returning to town to take her rightful place at the healm of her mother’s company R2D Technologies if someone doesn’t kill her first. When Austin takes a call from Elaine, it’s a blast from the past, but he immediately finds himself dodging bullets and having to choose whether to help her or walk away. Will the truth come to light in time to save Elaine and R2D Technologies? And will the Elaine and Austin open the door to love?

Leave a suggestion below and then use the Rafflecopter form to enter for a copy of Christmas in Mistletoe Square or Dangerous Pursuits, although both are only 99¢ if you preorder. Buy both and you’ll have 19 novellas to read in October!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Lost Love Found

Hi friends,

Happy Wednesday! Hope you’re having a wonderful week.

My family and I headed to the beach for a much-needed vacation. Everyone has been working hard and we all needed time to just soak up some sun and breathe in the sea air. But this vacation was different for me. As Cara Putman shared a few weeks back about an author who left her laptop at home, I did the same. I’ve worked every vacation we’ve taken since I sold my debut novel over a decade ago. Most vacations I’d simply wake up an hour or two earlier before the rest of the clan was up. Just because I wasn’t taking time away from being with family time by getting up early, I was taking vacation time all the same.

Knowing I had more downtime, I collected a few (make that a handful of) books to read, but as the trip grew nearer, I discovered something I never anticipated. I was scrambling to think how I’d spend my time while my family slept as I’m the early riser in our crew. I mentally took an inventory of what filled me with enjoyment, pleasure, and what hopefully would replenish my creative well, and I came up blank.

Blank?!? How on earth did I forget what was fun for me? Don’t get me wrong on beach days, I love swimming in the ocean, walking with my hubby on the beach, and daydreaming on my beach towel, but during our ten-day vacation stay, there are rainy days where we just chill in the house. I told myself this was the time to catch up on all the enjoyable things I never have time to do. Then I realized the problem…

While I found peace in my daily quiet time with Christ, joy in my family and friends, I’d gotten to the point where I’d stopped investing time in myself. I spent whatever “free time” I had writing more, learning the craft, playing and working on social media. I sat back and really thought and prayed. Asking God ‘what fills my soul, what renews my creative well, how do I replenish and rest?’

The answers came—enjoy sipping coffee on the deck listening to the waves crash, taking an early morning walk on the beach, getting up simply to see the sunrise. These all brought me peace and rest. As for what helped fill my creative well? Something I thought I’d put down long ago—music. I grew up playing the flute a lot and an acoustical guitar a little. Given the trickiness of not putting wear on my joints because of Lupus, I bypassed the flute due to the positioning and purchased a very reasonable guitar along with online lessons. Playing an instrument could be seen as work, but to me, it’s pure joy.

Who knew leaving the laptop at home would bring me back to a lost love.

Reader Question: What is an activity or hobby that brings you joy?

Blessings,

Dani

Always More to Learn

It has been a busy 10 days here, working on final galleys and participating in two writers conferences.

Jaime Jo Wright, me, Gabrielle Meyer, Mollie Rushmeyer, Erica Vetsch, Janet McHenry, Sara Brunsvold, & Cynthia Ruchti at NWCW.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of being on faculty for the fabulous Northwestern Christian Writers Conference at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. I taught a workshop on “Avoiding Common Mistakes on the Road to Publication,” met with up-and-coming writers, and participated on a panel with fellow fiction writers Jaime Jo Wright and Cynthia Ruchti, hosted by Erica Vetsch. The conference is shepherded by the wonderful Susie Larson (author and radio personality—follow her on Twitter for daily encouragement) and featured keynotes by talented singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson and inspirational speaker and advocate Danielle Strickland. I learned so much from all of them! If I blessed the people I met with even a small fraction of how much I was blessed at the conference, it was time well spent indeed.

And then, a few days ago, I attended the Regency Fiction Writers 3-day conference (virtual again this year).

Many helpful and interesting classes were offered, like: Developing your Regency Voice, Masquerades and Fancy Dress Balls, Women Writers in the Georgian and Regency Periods, Writing in Times of Stress, Regency Medicine, Regency Décor, and more.

There is always more to learn and the organizers and teachers made the experience so enjoyable.

What about you? Have you learned anything new lately? In these days of online classes and conferences, it’s easier than ever to learn new things. What is something you would you like to learn more about?

Well, that’s all for today. Time to return my attention to reviewing the final galleys for Shadows of Swanford Abbey (coming December 2021). The next time I see these pages, they will be a printed book!

Have a great week, everyone!

Makin’ a list…in a brand new journal!

Two weeks ago today I e-mailed my husband and said, “I would love to design [by which I meant I wanted him to design] a readers journal—a place to keep track of books I’ve read, with cute designed pages and a smashing cover…” Well, that man does not mess around! Ken e-mailed back, “Let’s do it!” (My office is upstairs and his is downstairs, so we communicate by e-mail quite a bit for two people who live and work in the same house. )

Anyway, we looked for some images and patterns that would make pretty covers and talked about what I’d want on the interior pages, and the more we talked, the more ideas we came up with. We are both list-makers and we realized that there are so many things people keep track of with lists, especially when it comes to our favorite hobbies and activities and the special moments in our lives. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a whole line of journals? And just like that, Raney Day Journals was born!

Over the last two weeks, we have created a line of journals, published them on amazon to sell for a very reasonable price, and now we want to let you know about them—and give away a couple of copies here on the blog.

We think these journals would make great gifts too! For not much more than the price of a fancy greeting card, you could give a gift instead! Most of the journals on this page are available for sale now [CLICK HERE] and others will be added to the line very soon! (Of course, there will be a Coffee Journal!)

The “Look Inside” feature isn’t active on amazon for these yet (and the basic journals are simply ruled pages) but here is a preview of some of the other interior pages.

I’m having a hard time deciding which is my favorite of these pretty journals! (But I think it might be this gorgeous Gratitude Journal.

I’d love to send a journal to two different Inspired by Life…and Fiction readers! To be entered in the drawing, simply tell me two things in the comments below: 1. Which one of these journals would you choose if your name is drawn? AND 2. Thinking about the type of things you like to keep track of in a journal, what new Raney Day Journal would like to see us—I mean Ken —design? 

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.

Celebrating the People Who Introduced Us to Books! (Plus prizes)

Earlier this week, I asked readers via my Facebook page to fill in this blank… “I’m a reader today because of _________.” It quickly became clear that anyone willing to spend time and care can pass along a love of reading to another. I received such a wide variety of heartwarming answers that I thought I’d share a few here.

“My university Russian professor, Dr. Tatiana Karmanova. She saw me struggling to sound out words in Beginning Russian, pulled me into her office after class and tutored me in what we call phonics. I had learned so many coping mechanisms just to get through school including watching movies and listening to books on tape/cds. I never made my AR goal and no one figured out why until her. Now, I am just about to graduate with a masters degree from seminary and I read roughly 150 books a year. Thanks, Dr. K!” – Rebecca Martin

“In my case, my mom was the one who introduced me to the wonder of books. She loved them and her love of them was contagious. As soon as she started reading chapter books aloud to me, I was sold.” – Becky Wade

Me and my mom Suzy

“My Mom always took us to the library and we were always signed up for Reading Clubs! I loved all the stickers I earned by reading books!” – Suzy Clem (Becky’s mom)

My mom Suzy and her mom Norma

“I’m a reader today because of my Kindergarten teacher. My mom read to me when I was very little, and by the time I was 4, I was reading independently. Imagine my Kindergarten teacher’s surprise when she figured that out several weeks into the school year! Instead of discouraging my skills or forcing me to slow down and learn with my class, she set me up with SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) and I became my own reading group! I’ll be forever grateful for her encouragement.” – Teri DiVincenzo

“My parents. Any time we would take a road trip my mom would read to my dad. It used to drive me nuts as a teen and I rebelled against it for a while but when I got pregnant with my first child the bug hit me. My parents still both read all the time and I read as much as I can now.” Misha Seay

“Granny! She gave me Redeeming Love when it came out. I was late teens or early 20s. Before that, she gave me Francine’s other series…Lineage of Grace and Mark of the Lion. I needed those books at that time in my life. Granny is still reading on strong at the age of 90.” – Julia Lynch

Julia and her Granny

“My mother had the most unique way of getting my brother to read…she would read him about half of a Hardy Boys book, then tell him she needed to go make supper or something…and he would be so interested that he would finish it on his own!” – Lisa Parrish

“My mom. She’s been gone since 2006, but I don’t ever remember her without a book. Even in the last couple of years of her life, she had had a stroke that affected her mind and was not able to perform household tasks. All she could do was sit and I would order her boxes of Heartsong Books to read.” – Linda Orr

“My mom Dorothy Beals. She love to read and encouraged me to read and it was a thrill to exchange books with her as I became an adult.” – Shirley Blanchard

Shirley’s mom Dorothy

“My father took us to a children’s library in the basement of a little stone house in our favorite park, from the time I started school. I would check out the maximum number of books (picture books) and read at least two of them on the way home.” – Betty Strohecker

“My grandma. I struggled with reading. (Come to find out many years later I have dyslexia.) My grandma would have me come over to her house and we would work on reading together. When I reached a certain goal I got to pick a prize from a prize box. I love to read now.” – Tina Martin

“My mom. The first book I got after I learned to read was a Bible, and she would motivate me to read it every day. That was the only book I had as a child since books were a luxury for us, however, I could borrow some from the school library.” – Francine Maximiliano

Francine’s mom

“My Nana. My Dad died when I turned 2, we moved to PA from Hawaii and I got pneumonia, very badly. I was sick in bed for 4 weeks and my Nana read stories to me for hours. I was hooked after that and learned to read by the time I was 3.” – Michelle Leverette

Who introduced you to books?

And now for some prizes! Several writers have joined forces to offer a Sweet Summer Romance giveaway! One winner will win a $200 Amazon gift card. 21 more winners will each win one of the books pictured.

Head here to enter!

Say Cheese!

I’m not a person who loves to get my picture taken, so when it comes to new headshots, I tend to wait far too long to update my look. However, with some exciting new things on the horizon this fall and into next year, it was time for some new photos. A few weeks ago, my niece-in-law, who has done some great wedding photography, agreed to be photographer for this go-round. And as I was smiling—and trying not to look unnatural—I got to thinking about all my past photos. I thought it might be fun to take you down the memory lane of my previous author headshots before giving you a sneak peek of my new ones!

My first ever headshot was taken in the spring of 2006 when my first ever submission to ACFW’s Genesis contest reached the finals and a photo was needed for the awards banquet slideshow. Gulp. One of my daughter’s former teachers, who was also a photographer, graciously agreed to take a few shots.

After that, my dear friend (and now my agent!), Mary DeMuth, took some lovely impromptu pictures for me on a day when I’d just come from getting my hair done! I loved those pictures, but the only ones I can find were ones I cropped down for blog photos!

Another Genesis final photo. My sister took this one!

After receiving my first contract with Bethany House, they arranged some headshots for me. That was back in the fall of 2010. Here’s the only one I can find now!

In 2015, my website and photo needed an update and my best friend’s son—who is like my own—did both my pictures and my website.

And now it’s 2021. Time to own up to a few more wrinkles and a lot more gray hair.

It’s fun to look back over the changes through the years—the hairstyles, the clothes, although I try not to look at the weight gain! But if I had to have new pictures done, now was as good a time as any. And an afternoon spent with niece-in-law made it fun.

Do you enjoy getting your picture taken? When was the last time you had a portrait or family portrait done?

Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus

Many of us are watching the TV series The Chosen about the life of Jesus, which just ended its second season. If you’re enjoying The Chosen, I think you’re going to absolutely devour Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg.

If you haven’t read Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus yet, let me give you a quick preview beginning with the section below entitled Walking in His Dust…

More about Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus on Amazon

We’ll stop there but I hope this has whet your appetite for this book—that I’ve read numerous times now. Have you read any of Lois Tverberg’s books? If not, you’re in for a veritable feast!

And I’d love to help set the table for you. So…

A few more of Lois’ remarkable studies on JesusI’m giving away TWO COPIES of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus this month (either print or Kindle, your choice) and you can enter to win by following the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below.a Rafflecopter giveawayWhat’s a non-fiction book about growing in Christ/learning more about Christ that you’ve read numerous times? A book you pick up from time to time to reread because it resonates with “the eternal” that God’s planted inside us all?

I’m always eager to add books to my library that will help me grow closer to Jesus. So please share!

Much love from Nashville,

Tammy

Have you watched Season 2 of The Chosen? Here’s the trailer…

Murphy/Bailey CAM : ) Bailey (little girl) is on zonked out on the left, Murphy (her older half-brother) is on the right. They’re good buddies, in case you couldn’t tell.