Becky Wade's Blog, page 163
March 3, 2020
Celebrating Milestones
Celebrating milestones is important. And I’m celebrating three this week!
#1
I recently finished editing the final galleys for my 17th book, Colors of Truth, a Carnton novel, which releases this summer (JULY 7).
Galleys are the last time an author sees her book before it goes to print, and it was both fabulous and bittersweet to let go of this one.
I realize that 17 books is by no means prolific by other author’s standards, but for a woman who (up until 2003) had never even considered writing a novel, much less thought it an attainable goal, it’s something!
I grabbed a picture of the galleys the day they arrived. And brace yourself . . .
It’s not a pithy book. I know you’re shocked. : )
Wade and Catriona’s love story is filled with real history from Carnton in Franklin, TN, as well as the tale of two Irish sisters, and I’m excited for it to finally leave my hands and heart—and, hopefully, find its way into yours.
#2
Another milestone I’m celebrating this week is friend and teacher Kristi McLelland’s release of her new Bible study JESUS & WOMEN! It released yesterday and trust me when I say that this study is going to rock your world in a great way!
Take a peek at this truly inspired video series:
Kristi is a Biblical Culturalist who teaches the Bible through a Middle Eastern lens. After all, the Bible was written by Middle Easterners. ; ) She’s so gifted at what she does, and this intimate look at how Jesus treated women in the New Testament is so revealing. As Kristi says often in her classes, “If he did it for them, he’ll do it for you and me!” Amen!
BUY Jesus & Women video series on LifeWay
BUY Jesus & Women video series on Amazon
I had the awesome privilege of going to Israel last year with Kristi (and 30+ other amazing women), and here we are at Masada. (Kristi, who’s been leading groups to Israel for over 10 years, is in the back row in the blue top with her arm lifted, and I’m just below her in the red and white check.) That was a life-changing trip!
#3
Lastly, I’m celebrating having (finally) cleaned my bookshelves again!
I have sooo many wonderful books and would love to keep them all, but simply do not have the room. So, it’s time for another LIBRARY BUILDER GIVEAWAY!
That’s right!
March’s giveaway on my website is for a dozen fabulous novels. In full disclosure, some of them may have (definitely) been read and enjoyed by someone who shall remain nameless (me). So if some of the bindings look a tad bit loved, have grace. And if you win, please share these amazing reads with your book clubs, or church library, or local women’s shelter.
You may recognize some author names that are near and dear to us here at Inspired by Life and Fiction! ; )
ENTER THE LIBRARY BUILDER GIVEAWAY
What milestone(s) have you celebrated lately? A goal reached (however big or small)? A project accomplished? Or are you busy working toward a milestone right now? Share it with us and let’s encourage each other in “the race that God has set before us!” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Hugs from rainy Nashville. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!
Tammy
March 2, 2020
Many Plans
This past week, my publishing company invited me to attend the
Public Library Association conference in Nashville. Librarians are among
my very favorite people because they share my passion for books and
reading. And the librarians I met were a warm, dedicated bunch who knew
their patrons and were focused on finding the very best resources for
them. I had a wonderful time. I also made a fabulous new friend, Robin
W. Pearson, who was signing copies of her debut novel “A Long Time
Comin’” right beside me as I signed Advance Reader Copies of my newest
novel, “If I Were You.” (Releasing June 2.)
But in the days leading up to the conference, the weather reports
predicted a snowstorm that threatened to derail my plans. Would the
roads to the airport be clear? Would the planes be able to take off?
Would the storm cause a cascade of delays and cancellations that would
strand me in Chicago and make me miss the conference? I anxiously
checked the weather reports several times a day before realizing that my
endless worrying accomplished nothing—except to unsettle me. I vaguely
recalled a scripture verse about making plans, and finally decided to
look it up. It’s Proverbs 19:21:
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
Why is that such a difficult concept for me to grasp? As much as I
hate having my plans scrapped, why can’t I remember that the delays and
interruptions that change my plans might be exactly what God purposed
all along? If I’m stuck in an airport waiting lounge, maybe there’s a
lesson He is trying to teach me, or another weary traveler He wants me
to reach out to. If I’ve given my life to Him, I shouldn’t be surprised
when He calls me away from my plans on a mission that He has chosen.
Paul and Silas’s preaching tour of Philippi was going great until
they were arrested, beaten, and thrown into jail. Late that night, God
added in an earthquake for good measure. Talk about a change of plans!
But these “disruptions” were all under God’s sovereign control and
ultimately led to the conversion of the jailer and his entire family.
The Lord’s purpose prevailed.
In the end, the snowstorm I had dreaded bypassed our area. I didn’t
encounter any delays or flight cancellations. I had spent three days
worrying for nothing. It reminded me of one of my characters in my novel
“If I Were You.” She takes matters into her own hands after her life
veers off in a direction she didn’t plan, instead of trusting God. Her
schemes and lies cause a chain of consequences that make matters even
worse for her. As I was writing her story I had to sigh and shake my
head and say, “If only she had put her trust in God.”
Yes, Lynn, if only you would remember to trust God’s plans.
March 1, 2020
Inspired by Scripture
This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.
February 28, 2020
Surprise Story! (And a giveaway)
If you’re a faithful reader of this blog (with an especially sharp memory), you might remember this post from last July in which I blogged about the novella I was working on. I told you about Eli, my fighter pilot hero. And Penelope, the heroine and owner of a mobile pie shop.
That’s the one and only time I mentioned the novella anywhere because, soon after that post, I finished the rough draft and put the novella away in favor of more pressing and contracted projects. I honestly wasn’t sure whether I’d have the time in my writing schedule or the heart or the ability needed to whip it into shape and then indie-publish it.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I printed out the manuscript of the novella and read it. My reaction: Eeep. This manuscript is in rough shape.
Over Thanksgiving break, I rewrote it. Shortly after, I sent it to Wonder Editor Charlene Patterson (who used to be my editor at Bethany House and now works freelance). She told me the thing no writer wants to hear about their writing. She basically said, “Becky, this isn’t working.”
It was a stomach-churning moment. Immediately, however, I knew she was right. The way that I’d conceived the story initially wasn’t working. At all.
At that point, I wasn’t sure what to do. A) Scrap the project? Or B) Massively rewrite the whole thing? I’d only allotted one week at the start of January to work on the novella and I knew that an extensive rewrite would take me longer than that. I didn’t technically have enough energy or enthusiasm.
But look, friends, what I very quietly uploaded to bookstores two days ago…. Surprise!
After nine prior novels and three prior novellas, I’ve learned that my energy or enthusiasm level isn’t really of any consequence. The thing that matters is this… I have a God who is strong when I am weak. He can be counted upon to equip.
I prayed about what to do with Eli and Penelope’s story and I felt a tug in my spirit toward rewriting. Plus, I really wanted to give this story as a free gift to my readers. Plus, I couldn’t just leave poor Eli and Penelope in the lurch. Plus, I wanted to offer a prequel novella that would introduce readers to my new Misty River Romance series and Sam, the hero of Stay with Me. Plus, I’ve learned that some stories come together easily and some don’t. The hard ones can achieve the same level of quality as the easier ones if their writer is willing to put in one not-so-simple ingredient: effort.
I brainstormed with writer friends. Reader friends Joy, Crissy, and Amy prayed for me and encouraged me. And I rewrote.
Charlene gave it another read-through. She loved the new direction, but had more suggestions. I implemented those. She performed a line edit/copy edit and then five wonderful Beta readers read it for typos. I sent it to a professional formatter. And voila! Take a Chance on Me was done.
Here’s a peek at the plot:
When baker Penelope Quinn steps in to help her brother’s family through a medical crisis, she’s forced into close proximity with charming Air Force fighter pilot Eli Price.
Penelope has one iron-clad dating rule—she does not date airmen. Months ago, she relaxed her rule with Eli and immediately lived to regret it. After a long deployment, he’s now back in Misty River and, to her dismay, she finds him just as tempting as always.
Eli’s spent months thinking about funny, feisty, creative Penelope. He once leveraged his focus and drive to become a pilot, his childhood dream. Now he’s set on leveraging that same focus and drive in order to convince Penelope to give him one more chance.
Take a Chance on Me is now available for free at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play! For those of you who prefer print, I’m happy to say that you’ll be able to purchase Take a Chance on Me in print soon. Hopefully within the next week!
To celebrate the novella’s release, I’m giving away the below 3 wick candle from The White Barn Candle Company to one of you! Simply leave a comment to enter to win. I’ll select a winner on Wednesday, March 4th. USA only, please.
I was delighted when I found a Georgia peach candle because the new series is set in the Blue Ridge mountains of northern Georgia and because Eli’s favorite flavor of pie to order from Penelope’s food truck is peach.
Before I go, I wanted to mention two important things:
#1 The e-book of my most recent release, Sweet on You, is priced at 99 cents today and tomorrow! Monday the price will go back up. Click here for a list of links to the book at online retailers.
#2 Applications are now open for Stay with Me’s launch teams! I’ll be running one team. There will also be a team of bloggers and a team of Instagrammers. If you love to spread the word about new books and have a platform of some kind, I invite you to apply! Click here or on the image below for links to the various applications.
What do you think of Take a Chance on Me’s cover and/or plot line?
February 27, 2020
What if & Giveaway
What if and What next? These are the questions that drive writers through their days and nights.
What if?
Any time I’m reading a magazine or newspaper, in the back of my mind I’m wondering what could happen or how I could mix it up. Then when I’m ready to hunt for new ideas, I’ll review links and ideas I’ve collected over time. Maybe the article doesn’t spark an idea right away, but I just proposed a story idea based on an article I saw in 2017. That thought with a few twists has been germinating for more than two years. Maybe now it will have its chance to become a book.
What if is a question authors should always be asking. And then we need to ask it over and over as we drill deeper into the plot and characters. What if she found a body? What if it was still warm? What if it was someone who looked just like her? What if she learns she had a twin she didn’t know about? Etc. Etc. Etc.
Then there’s what next?
I turned in Lethal Intent on February 1. Took a couple weeks to catch up on all of life that fell apart while I was in the deadline dash. While doing that, I ruminated on a few ideas I’d talked about with my editor. These were “I wonder if you’d be interested in a story like…?” conversations. Now I needed to expand them into a page each of three paragraphs that read like backcover copy. The heroines will still be lawyers in various stages of career. But the heroes are a bit of a blank slate. One may be a private investigator if Harper Collins even likes the idea, and I’ve tried to steer clear of law enforcement heroes. Another may be a US marshall assigned overseas because that’s what the story requires.
So today I have a question for you as I ruminate on what’s next as I wait to hear back on these ideas…
What types of heroes would you like to see? Do you have someone you’d nominate for a hero? Leave a comment via the rafflecopter entries. I’ve got a copy of Flight Risk I want to give away. It’s an ARC, but you’ll be able to read it before anyone else.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
February 26, 2020
The Lies Our Characters Believe
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today I’m so honored to have my friend and fabulous romantic suspense bestseller, DiAnn Mills, guest posting today. When I was an aspiring writer, DiAnn was such a person of inspiration. I admired her talent and her kind and outgoing personality. I know you’ll enjoy hearing from her today!
Our characters can be stubborn. Just when we think we know them inside and out, they toss us a wrench. We struggle to push them into a storyline that forces them to change and grow—or slide downhill as in the case of antagonists—then they behave contrary to how we sketched them.
We work hard at shaking them inside out to ensure they are unique, memorable, and fit the plot and genre. Our goal is to achieve the proper balance of complexity in an unpredictable story.
What causes characters to spin in the opposite direction?
Sometimes the problem with our characters is not what we believe about them, but what they believe about themselves.
Lies, big and little, influence the character’s dialogue, behavior, and how they journey through our story.
What are some of these lies? These pesky confidence-destroyers and killers of relationships, careers, views of God, and distorted truth stop our characters from reaching their full potential.
Your characters have a rich backstory that has molded and motivated them into who they are in chapter one, line one of the story. Every moment has the potential to create misconceptions about life.
For example, your character may believe:
I have no choice but to be perfect.Life isn’t fair.I’ll never be happy unless I have lots of money.Everyone is out to get me. God’s love must be earned.Morals are a personal preference.Relationships are 50/50. Any less and I’m outa here.The only way for someone to love me is for me to take care of them.
See what I mean?
How characters respond and initiate action regarding their lies show who they are. You can use these additional internal issues to add stress, tension, and conflict to the story. Create situations that force characters to face their lies head-on and you demonstrate powerful crafting.
How does a writer find the resources to help their characters out of their psychological mess? I use psychology books, consult psychologists, and research quality websites that focus on human behavior and counseling techniques.
Writers may need to stick their characters into a chair and find out how and why they are misbehaving. When you discover what prompted their lies, establish means to get rid of them. The result is an unforgettable novel that will entertain and inspire readers.
We would love for you to join us in our Facebook Group for book chatter, giveaways and more!
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Question for you:
What lies do your characters believe? Leave a comment below.
About DiAnn Mills:
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.
She is the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and the Mountainside Retreats: Marketing, Speakers, Nonfiction, and Novelist with social media specialist Edie Melson. Connect here: DiAnnMills.com
February 25, 2020
I’m an Instagram fan; are you?
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. As a writer, I’m not sure how I feel about that! 
February 23, 2020
Inspired by Scripture
This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online.
February 21, 2020
Deadlines: Dreadful or Delightful?
Earlier in the week, I finished writing the third book in my next Young Adult (YA) series, The Fairest Maidens. Usually, I write pretty steadily, giving myself a set amount to write each day. I establish that amount before I start the series, gauging what I think is reasonable with all my other responsibilities. And then I try to stick to the daily goal so I can finish the book by my personal deadline (which is usually different than my publisher’s deadline).
With this series, I went through the same process. I planned how many weeks I needed to write each book, established deadlines, gave myself a daily word count goal, and then set off on the journey of writing a fun set of new characters and plot lines.
However, as often happens, our best laid plans don’t always
work out the way we hope. My writing of the series took me into the thick of
the holidays which are always a little crazy. Then after the holidays, we
experienced a family crisis that took a lot of time and energy. Along with
that, I had to complete edits on two different books.
All that to say, my personal writing deadline for the series came and went. And I wasn’t finished. In fact, I was seriously struggling to have the time and energy to write every day.
But here’s the thing, maybe I didn’t finish exactly when I wanted to. But I finished. And that’s what deadlines do for us. They give us a reason to keep going, the motivation to finish. Without having set out goals ahead of time, determining my schedule, and actually writing it out so that it was in front of me, it would have been all too easy to let the chaos of life crowd out my writing.
Over the years I’ve realized I’ll never have completely perfect conditions for writing. There will always be other responsibilities that demand my attention (that’s just what happens when you have five kids and homeschool!). I can honestly say if I’d waited for perfect conditions to write, I never would have completed a single book. I’ve never had a quiet, child-free house or uninterrupted hours in which to work. I’ve had to learn to grab whatever time I can and make the most of it.
All that to say, one of the most important things I’ve done throughout my writing career to keep myself on task, especially with this newest YA series, is making deadlines. Yes, I already admitted I didn’t meet my deadline. But because I had that end-date stuck in my head, I made a point of finishing as close to it as possible. When I was on the homestretch, I had a writing marathon (when my husband and kids were out of the house!), and I wrote close to 10,000 words (a personal record for one day).
Was the 10,000 good writing? Or was it drivel?
Actually, I found that during the last few hours of writing,
I was so involved and invested in the story, it flowed better than ever. Yes,
it (and the whole series!) will still need extensive editing, but the story
itself is complete. And let me tell you, it’s a very good feeling to arrive at
the end. Especially when it was so difficult to reach.
Deadlines. We can dread them. Or we can delight in them and let them spur us to persevere in the task set before us.
How about YOU? How do you feel about deadlines? Are they dreadful or delightful?
February 20, 2020
A New Approach to Pleasure Reading
This past Christmas, my husband gave me a book called Every Moment Holy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey. The book is a collection of liturgies designed to help us recognize and invite God’s presence into every moment of our lives, even the mundane ones.
I don’t come from a liturgical background, but I’ve really enjoyed reading through these. He covers topics from gardening, to changing diapers, to waiting in line, to homesickness.
One of the things that struck me, in particular, is the author’s obvious love of books. He even has a liturgy for the writing of fiction! I can’t tell you how excited I was to find that one. I might not get much out of the liturgy for the keeping of bees, but I’m going to read that one for fiction writers over and over.
Not only does he have a liturgy for writers, but he has a couple for readers as well. I discovered his liturgy Before Beginning a Book this weekend and thought it particularly apropos for those of us who read Christian fiction. I’d like to share parts of it with you:
Author of Life and Author of My Life
As I begin the reading of this book,
give me a sensitivity to listen,
not just to the story told,
but to the response of my own heart
to what I encounter in these pages. . .
Let all things, and this book as well,
be as tools in your hands,
to shape me and make me more truly your own . . .
So let the honest responses
of my heart to this reading
grant new insight into the story
your grace is already telling in my own life
that I might be a more willing co-laborer
in that process.
Amen.
I’ll be the first to admit that when I read for pleasure, I read to be entertained and to escape into a world not my own. Yet one of the joys of reading Christian fiction, is that the stories do more than entertain. They contain a deeper message that can impact the soul. Whether that message is overt or subtly woven through imagery and metaphor, the aroma of Christ is there. However, if my only intention as a reader is to be entertained, how easy is it to miss the deeper message God intends for me? I love how this liturgy reminds my spirit to be awake through the reading process–awake and welcoming of what God wishes to teach.
How has God spoken to you through fiction?
Oh, and if you need a book to try out this liturgy on, I just happen to have one on sale this month. The first novel in my Patchwork Family series, More Than Meets the Eye (ebook) is on sale for only $0.99 through Feb. 29! Some retailers have it for only $0.79! Love, adventure, cowboys, and a pet hog. What could be more fun?
“More Than Meets the Eye captured my heart from the start.
This story is easily the best Inspirational romance I have read in years,
if not the best Inspirational romance I have ever read.”
~ All About Romance
