Becky Wade's Blog, page 128
May 9, 2021
Inspired by Scripture


The authors of Inspired by Life…and Fiction want to wish a very happy Mother’s Day to our readers who are mothers or have played the role of loving mother in someone’s life.
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.
May 8, 2021
Living at Full Speed Ahead + Giveaway
Hello, friends. It’s been awhile since I’ve dropped in with one of my bonus Saturday posts. For those of you who don’t know, even when I don’t post, I am managing this blog in the background, making sure it is running well for all of the terrific authors who post every week. I love reading what they say every bit as much as I hope you do.

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind this spring (not unusual for me, I guess). I got my two COVID vaccine shots in February/March, and as soon as the waiting period was up, I got to see my great-granddaughter in person for the first time in over a year. Oh, how I loved those hours! (That’s Adaline to the left in her Easter outfit.)
I recently received the rights back for some of my older books, so I’ve been slowly preparing to get them available once again. Long days and lots of work.
This week I took my final exam for my Physical Geography class. Science and I are not best-buddies, so I’m delighted to say that I managed to hang onto an A in this class and my 4.0 GPA. I’m also happy to say that I won’t have to think about college assignments for another three months. I can use the breather.
Since I was last with you all, I finished writing a dual-time story that will release in June 2022. Due to a change in editors for this project, I’ll have to wait a bit for the revisions to roll around, but I really do love this story a lot and will be eager to share it with you as the release date gets closer.
In the meantime, I have an indie release coming your way this month. Even Forever is my first historical romance in seven years. The last one was The Heart’s Pursuit (2014). All of my novels since then have been contemporary stories or dual-time stories. Although I love writing both of those types of novels, I found it great fun to return to the genre that launched my writing career so many years ago. Even Forever is an Amazon exclusive, and you can preorder the ebook now at a reduced price for your Kindle or Kindle app. I’m working on getting the paperback available for those who prefer print books, so keep an eye out for that.

In case contemporary stories are your jam, Here in Hart’s Crossing, my novella collection with four stories set in Hart’s Crossing, Idaho, will be free for the Kindle and Kindle app on my birthday, Monday, May 10th. So be sure to grab it while you can. (Just follow the link in the title to my website, then click the Buy Now button in order to see the free offer.)

Finally, also beginning on my birthday, I’m participating with ten other authors (including Tamera, Cara, and Deborah from Inspired by Life and Fiction) for a Hello, Spring Book giveaway. One lucky winner will get a copy of an autographed book from each of the authors. Entering is easy; just follow all of the authors on BookBub. The blog post won’t be live until Monday morning, but all you need to do is go to my website and look for the Hello, Spring blog post starting Monday. Entries will be accepted for a week, so no rush. Just don’t forget. (I’m giving away a copy of Make You Feel My Love, my July 2021 release.)

Here’s wishing you some wonderful reading as spring turns to summer.
~robin
May 7, 2021
Creating Characters

One of the best parts about writing is creating the characters that populate my stories. I love the process of bringing each new character to life.I’ve developed a character worksheet that I fill out for each main character before I begin writing their story. The four-page worksheet is SUPER detailed and includes physical descriptions, personality, family history, fears, favorite things, and much, much more.
In addition to my character worksheet, I also find online images of movie stars or models who best fit my characters’ descriptions. While the pictures never totally fit, I love to have something I can refer back to as I write to help me visualize and describe the characters more uniquely.
While I try to get to know everything possible about my main characters before I write, invariably those characters reveal more as I start telling their story. They often surprise me with parts of them or their past that I didn’t know existed.
In fact, my characters become so vivid, if a stranger were to walk by and listen to me talking about them, they’d hear my earnestness and passion and believe I was describing real people. (And then when they learned I was talking about fictional characters, they’d promptly think I was crazy!) (Not that it’s ever happened before, eh-hem.)
For my upcoming time-crossing release, Come Back to Me, I especially had fun writing the characters. The heroine, Marian Creighton, is a modern-day research scientist for a pharmaceutical company who has lost her mother to a genetic disease and is now losing her sister. And the hero, William Durham, is a medieval knight, who has been fighting in the Hundred Year’s War over in France for ten years and has come back to his home in Canterbury, England for a short break.
Both characters are complex with lots of baggage. Add in the time travel element, and the characters became even more complex, especially when they collide and sparks begin to fly!
To give you a taste of the characters, here are the images I found for them as well as a few interesting things about them. Also take a look at the trailer that my publisher made! Isn’t it great?


So, what do YOU think brings a character to life? Have you had any favorite characters recently who seemed to jump off the page?
May 6, 2021
Favorite Fictional Moms + Giveaway

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I thought it might be fun to share some of our favorite fictional moms. I’ll start.

Ma Ingalls
I grew up with the Little House books and watching the series on TV. Caroline Ingalls seemed like the perfect mom. Patient yet firm. Courageous, wise, fun-loving, and full of love for her children. She also was a God-fearing woman who knew her Bible and saw to it the girls made it to church every Sunday even if Pa stayed home to work the farm.

Marmee March
While the girls of Little Women take center stage, it is clear that Marmee is the glue that holds the family together. She is calm in the face of adversity, charitable to her neighbors and those in need, and is always ready with a soft-spoken word to gently correct her girls and remind them of what is truly important – family.

Helen Parr – Elastigirl
Talk about your supermom! Helen balances career and family with remarkable skill, yet you always know that family comes first. She is protective while also pushing her kids to reach their potential. There’s no challenge too big or obstacle too frightening for this incredible mom!

Kala
Kala, from Disney’s Tarzan, is a beautiful example of adoptive love. Shared DNA is not a requirement for motherhood. All you need is a loving heart, a protective spirit, and a willingness to have your child’s back no matter their struggles to thrive. Persistent acceptance and patience creates a bond that can never be broken.

Frigga – Queen of Asgard
I love Frigga’s character in the Thor and Avenger movies. Her husband and both her sons, all so very different in temperament are united in one thing–they adore her. Is it any wonder why? She loves with abandon, she teases and counsels in the same breath, and she can see through any trickery or lie to discern the truth. She is dignified and regal yet also extremely approachable and kind. And she’s amazingly good in a fight. If things had turned out differently, she would have made a wonderful mother-in-law.

Victoria Barkley
I started with a soft western mother figure, and I’m rounding out my list with a fiery western mother figure. Victoria Barkley was the matriarch of the wealthy Barkley family from The Big Valley. As a widow, she takes over where her husband left off and runs the ranch with skill and intelligence. With her at the helm, family always sticks together. Yet her heart stretches to welcome even a son not of her blood. Her late-husband fathered a son with another woman, and when the young man shows up to claim his birthright, Victoria immediately takes him in and treats him as if he were one of her own. I have to admire a woman so generous with her love.
Who are some of your favorite fictional moms?
Giveaway
I’ll select one winner from those who leave a comment to win their choice of one of the three e-novellas below.
Each of these stories features a plot centered around motherhood. Have fun!

May 5, 2021
Revisiting Savannah
Savannah, Georgia, was always one of the places I wanted to visit during my lifetime. Mostly this stemmed from my love of Eugenia Price’s books. So for our 25th anniversary (2012), my husband took me on my first trip to Savannah and St. Simon’s Island. It is still one of my favorite trips ever.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband had a week-long business trip to Savannah, so of course I tagged along! We stayed in a lovely hotel right near the river, and I reveled in all the things I’d loved about Savannah the first time—the squares, the towering old trees, the old homes, the history. There were some new things, too. The Savannah River area has been bolstered with new hotels, shops, and restaurants alongside the ones housed in the old cotton warehouses. A wide paved area provided space to walk, jog, skate, or simply sit and watch the cargo ships pass by. There is a fabulous WWII memorial and placards which detail Savannah’s long history. It was a lovely place in the mornings and evenings.

Of course, not all change is good. This time, parts of the city—the river area and the old “main” street—felt much more touristy than before. The high end chain stores (Gap, Pottery Barn, etc, etc, etc) have come in. And the city has become a bachelorette party/wedding destination. So the weekend was more raucous than we experienced before.

But Savannah has managed to retain its charm. One thing I love about revisiting a city is that I don’t feel a frantic need to “tour” everything. Instead I wondered the streets, sat in parks with my book or perused antique stores. As usual we found our two favorite things—a local ice cream store (which has been around since 1919) and book stores. It wasn’t as if we ignored the history, however. With my husband’s work functions, we were treated to a couple of walking tours, including one of Bonaventure cemetery, which was lovely and interesting.

Perhaps my favorite part of the trip, however, was not anything I saw or experienced. It was what we brought home. In one of my antique shopping afternoons, I found a store with a ton of bookends. I love fun bookends, even though the truth is that my shelves are always stacked so full I really have no where to put them! But I rarely find bookends I love so much that I want to spend the money on them. Then I saw him—a metal-sculpted man in an 18th century frock coat trying to keep a wall of books from falling. And I was smitten. He didn’t have a bookend mate. It was a single. But I didn’t care. In fact, I preferred it. When I took it to the counter to purchase it, the man who owned the store said, “I think I have another one like that.” And off he went.
I fidgeted in anticipation. I couldn’t imagine actually getting to have two of these gems! He finally returned with, indeed, the same little man in his frock coat, but this time he was pushing a wheelbarrow overflowing with books! That one was in a little better shape and was more expensive than the other. We negotiated a price for both and then I asked him to hold them for me. When I dragged Jeff over there the next day, he was in complete agreement.

“Get them,” he said. “They are more than bookends. They are art.”
Fortunately I had packed by extra tote bag, so we lugged those things into the airport. After airport security had to unwrap and re-wrap them to be sure they weren’t dangerous, we finally got them home. Now they live on the corner bookshelf in our library, and they make me smile. Because whenever I see them, I remember revisiting Savannah.
What was your favorite place to revisit and why? What did you do differently than your first trip to that place?
May 4, 2021
Colors of Truth Audiobook GIVEAWAY
If you love listening to audiobooks then today’s post is for you!
I’m giving away FIVE audiobooks of Colors of Truth, a Carnton novel.

The fabulous Kate Rudd narrated this book and she does a marvelous job. She has such a great voice and doesn’t do weird intonations when she reads the male characters, which some narrators do. A pet peeve of mine. : }



How to enter to win 1 of 5 AUDIOBOOKS?
Simply leave a comment on this post telling me one (or more) of the following:
What you love best about audiobooks.Me? Driving and reading a book and drinking coffee all at the same time.
What your pet peeve about audiobooks is—if you have one.
I already shared about female narrators dropping to unnatural octaves when they read male characters. That needs to stop. Immediately. #CeaseAndDesist
What’s the last audiobook you listened to and really enjoyed?
I’m listening to Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle and am loving it. A dear writer BJ Hoff passed away last week, and I went to her website last weekend just to “spend a little time” with her again. She was so helpful to me early on in my writing journey. I ran across her curated list of recommended reading for writers (so good—check it out here). How did I ever miss this one by Madeleine L’Engle? It’s a jewel. Just like BJ Hoff.** ENTER TO WIN 1 of 5 AUDIOBOOKS
BY 8PM CENTRAL TODAY **
Winners announced no later than 9PM Central tonight on this blog post
Lastly, I’ve got a fun—and very useful—giveaway this month on my website. It’s something I use every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

What is it, you ask? A LED Neck Reading Light. It hangs around your neck and has three light settings. The light is so pure and clear, and the little “arms” are bendable so you can focus the light wherever you need it. Voila!
That’s all from me today. I’m still writing toward THE END on another book and continue to enjoy this contemporary setting (that’s also historical—surprise, surprise). This one will be out next spring, Lord willing, from Focus on the Family.
Love you guys, oh! and an early Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in our midst. My crew went out last night to celebrate early since this Sunday finds us scattered in different directions. Oh how I adore these people. I cannot begin to imagine life without them. It’s Joe, me, Kelsey, Kurt & Kellie (our newest daughter who we’re absolutely over the moon about)!

If you’re missing your precious mom like I am mine this week, know that you’re not alone. I’ve asked the Holy Spirit to bring to mind memories that have drifted further out and to remind me of fun times she and I shared. He’s already doing that, and I’m so grateful.
Here are a couple of pics of Mom and me. One from my wedding day (December 15, 1984)—do NOT even start with me about the Princess Diana wedding dress! LOL on those poufy sleeves.

And the picture above is the last pic Mom and I had taken of the two of us shortly before she went Home in August 2009. #LastingTreasures
Love from Nashville, friends,
Tamera

May 3, 2021
Teamwork
The excitement is building. My newest novel, “Chasing Shadows,” will be releasing in just a few weeks. I would love to travel around the country to make the announcement in person and meet readers who’ve been waiting for this book. Unfortunately, that just isn’t possible with the current COVID restrictions. Instead, it’s going to take teamwork to spread the word from coast to coast, and I’m relying on my readers more than ever before to help me.

Some of the work falls to my fabulous Launch Team—more than 100 excited, motivated book lovers who will work with my team director, Christine Bierma, to pass the news to their friends and family members via social media, word-of-mouth, and every other means possible. These team members live all across America, and even in a few foreign countries. They’ll receive a preview copy of “Chasing Shadows” ahead of the publication date so they can read it and begin spreading the word. I’m so grateful to them for their enthusiasm and hard work.
But even if you’ve never been on an author’s launch team, you can still help your favorite authors promote their books. In fact, we rely on our faithful readers every bit as much as on our launch teams. Here are a few simple things you can do to relieve us of the happy burden of letting the world know we have a new book coming out:
Take advantage of pre-sales to order before the release date. This generates excitement and alerts bookstores and online distributors to what might be a bestselling new book.Recommend a book you’ve enjoyed to everyone you know. Purchase copies for gifts to introduce others to an author they aren’t familiar with.Take a few minutes to write a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It’s a simple step that is vitally important for authors.Recommend the book to your book club or small group. My publisher, Tyndale House, offers fun and helpful book club kits on their website, as do most other publishers. Like me, most authors are happy to “visit” with your club via Zoom or Skype.Ask your local public library to purchase a copy. I’ve found that librarians are always happy to help their readers discover great books.Post a fun, creative photograph of the book cover in an interesting setting.
Authors find it hard, sometimes, to ask our readers for their help. But we aren’t asking because we’re greedy and hope to make a lot of money. Most people would be very surprised to learn how low the average author’s yearly income is. And when you divide that income by the huge number of hours spent writing…well, I doubt if it even adds up to the minimum hourly wage. We don’t write books to get rich. We write because we believe in the message of hope and faith that the Holy Spirit inspires us to offer our readers. And so, if a novel has inspired you, please consider helping the author spread her message to everyone you know. Thank you!
May 2, 2021
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.
April 27, 2021
Changing Tides

Hi friends,
I’m so happy to be back with you today. I’ve been thinking a lot about seasons lately. I heard an older song that I like the other day and in it there are a couple lines that really hit home with me:
Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides?
STEVIE NICKS, FLEETWOOD MAC, 1975
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
As writers we know that our characters can’t stay stagnant. They need growth. They need to change and become a better person or version of themselves and who they are in Christ by the end of the book. They cannot stay in the same place or be the same person at the end of the story, or there isn’t a story to tell.
Stories are about navigating changing tides in our characters’ lives. For this growth to occur, our characters must face and overcome obstacles. The road cannot be smooth. It must be littered with trials. I often feel bad about everything I put my characters through, but at the heart and core of story is change. How the characters handle this change, and who they turn to in the midst of it.
We, too, must face change and navigate different seasons in our lives. My husband and I were looking at the Google photo slideshows they put together from the photos on our phones. We looked in awe the other day at how big our grandkids have grown; at the fact our daughters are adults—even if it doesn’t feel like it’s been twenty-eight years since our eldest was born.



Life, in many ways, zooms by. It’s why being in the moment and being present, is so important. But, even more important, is who we turn to as the tides shift. Do we let the waves drag us under, or do we turn to the One who walks on water?

Just like our characters, we’re always going to encounter change. It’s part of life, but who we turn to, and who we lean on, is what steadies the shifting tides. Anchoring our lives in our Savior gives us solid ground despite obstacles, trials and changing seasons. It doesn’t make them easy. God never promised our Christian walk would be easy, but He promised to lead the way.
I think that’s what I love so much about Christian fiction—seeing our lives mirrored in the book’s characters. Watching them struggling and, yet, overcoming through Christ.
Question for you: What do you love best about Christian fiction? What season of life are you in now?
Blessings,
Dani
Join Us For Fun & Friendship!
In these times of isolating social distance (lessening somewhat lately, thankfully), I am enjoying being part of a social online community called Inspirational Regency Readers on Facebook. While Facebook activity has decreased in general, activity within the group is thriving as well as warm and welcoming. Visiting “IRR” is like visiting your favorite coffee shop (or other hang-out), where “everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.” (Just like this blog!)

Group members share a love of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, and other clean or inspirational Regency romances. We talk about favorite adaptations and actors, places we long to travel, and our bookish ways. Author-friends also offer occasional “diversions” like Regency Bingo and giveaways.

Now, we are about to kick-off a fun new activity, our May Madness Cover Art Bracket Challenge. In the challenge, you will vote on your favorite book covers, chat with sister-readers, and discover new-to-you Regency authors. Participating authors include: Sarah Ladd, Carolyn Miller, Regina Scott, Erica Vetsch, Abigail Wilson, Michelle Griep, Kristi Ann Hunter, Shannon Winslow, Camille Elliot, Jessica Nelson, Alissa Baxter, Susanne Dietze, Lorri Dudley, Melanie Dickerson, and me, Julie Klassen.
You can watch our introductory video here:
If you are interested in any of the above, I invite you to join us. The challenge begins May 3, but you can join us at any time.

Hope to see you there!