Becky Wade's Blog, page 171

A historic hotel and a good friend

I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with my husband last week. No surprise there. I often travel with him. And I’ve been to D.C. with him about a bazillion times. (Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but still!) We’ve stayed at several different hotels in the city over the years, but the one we’ve stayed at the most—and the one we returned to this trip—was the Mayflower Hotel. (Yes, that Mayflower Hotel, if you are old enough to remember the Mayflower Madam scandal.)

It’s a lovely historic hotel, nearly 100 years old. The elevators have that old brass exterior. The chandeliers are huge crystal wedding cakes. The rooms along the oldest halls are all quirky in shape and size and filled with vintage touches—like black-and-white basket weave tile on the bathroom floors—alongside modern amenities.

Vintage wallpaper alongside lit mirrors.The bathroom floor tileGorgeous frescosBeautiful chandeliers



View from the mezzanineLooking up at the mezzanine

But I especially love the Mezzanine. Overlooking the lobby, the area is populated with mid-century modern couches and chairs and small tables. The perfect place to both work and people-watch. Because isn’t that the writer’s job as well? As usual, I loved our stay between walls that have seen so much history. 

And yet my favorite part of DC trips over the past few years is getting together with my dear friend Siri Mitchell, whose book State of Lies, her first suspense novel after years of historical novels, recently released. (Loved the book, by the way. And I’m not even really a suspense reader!) 

Years ago, when I began writing for Bethany House, I went to D.C. on a business trip with hubby but didn’t want to spend all those days wandering the city alone. So I asked on a writers loop if anyone lived in the D.C. area and wanted to get together for coffee or something. Not a usual action for this major introvert! But apparently a Holy Spirit inspired one, for Siri answered with a resounding yes—not something usual for her either, also being a major introvert! 

Siri Mitchell—and me!

We soon recognized our kindred spirits. Over the years, she and I have spent wonderful days at history exhibits or art exhibits together. These outings are, of course, always followed by long lunches where we catch up on family news and writing news and then set about solving all the world’s problems. This year we went to the National Gallery of Art and saw a fascinating exhibit called The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art. I loved learning things I didn’t know before!

The truth is, it was a quick trip, the kind I usually decline. But I’ve missed my day with Siri over the past couple of years. So I went. And I’m not in the least sorry I did. My favorite hotel. One of my favorite writing friends. And finding myself, 35 years younger, around every corner in the city where hubby and I first met. 

Have you been to Washington D.C.? What was your favorite part of the trip? 

In these changing times, one thing never changes

Are you old enough to remember life before cell phones? Before you carried 2,000 books—and at least that many songs—in your hip pocket, and could be reached anywhere, anytime (whether you want to be or not)?

I write historicals. 19th century, to be exact—1860s-70s, during the Civil War and Reconstruction period—and I often marvel at how much life has changed in the past 150+ years. At other times, I marvel at how much life hasn’t changed. Or more rightly, how human nature hasn’t changed. But our way of life certainly has. Just think…

What would our ancestors from 1850 have thought if we’d told them that, in a very short amount of time (a blink in history, really), people would be sailing down an ultra smooth road in a wheeled-contraption going 65-75 mph (on a slow day) with kept-hot-or-cold-for-hours-in-a-thermal-mug coffee in a drink holder, in a comfortable temperature-controlled environment (no matter the weather), maybe eating breakfast or lunch, all while listening to a person who’s nowhere near them describe in detail what’s happening almost instantaneously on the other side of the world…or just around the corner. Or talking to a friend who may be half way around the world! And in a heated or cooled seat, no less, that may or may not have a built-in massager (just in case your back muscles get a little tired from the long trek to and from Target, bless our hearts).

Or what about people being seated and strapped into “very comfortable” chairs—when compared to crossing an endless prairie in a jolting wagon covering maybe 10-15 miles on a good day—and hurtling through the air in a metal tube while they, and 175 people they’ve never met, are served dinner and drinks as they all watch movies or read books (from one of 2,000+ titles they brought with them) as they cross an ocean in a matter of hours.

And don’t even get me started on the supply of food readily available to most of us, and the ease of that food preparation, the medicinal aids and surgical advances. And even clean running water (that far too much of the world still doesn’t have)!

It’s staggering when you think about how much has changed in so little a space of time. And technology is changing faster and faster, “improving our lives.” What a world we live in.

And yet we rarely think about all that. Because we’re so accustomed to the conveniences and “norms” of this life. But one thing we have in common with everyone who has drawn breath since the beginning of time…is the certain and eternal truth that God does not change.

Hebrews 13:8

In researching history for the novels I write, I’ve read countless thousands of pages of diaries and personal accounts, personal (often gut-wrenching) handwritten letters to and from senders, and whenever they record an eternal truth—whether quoted directly from the Word of God or rephrasing Scripture in their own words—there’s something inside of me that pulls taut. That connects me with them no matter how many years separate us.

Because the Word of God is eternal. It will never fail. It will never return void. It always accomplishes His purpose. It’s able to cut the heart wide open and reveal everyone’s secret life. Its roots go down deep within us, spanning lifetimes and instructing future generations.

One of the real letters from Susan Hairston (nicknamed “Weet’) who was the wife of Captain Roland Ward Jones, the hero in With This Pledge, that’s woven into the story. Picture (and letter) compliments of David Doty, the great-great-great grandson of Captain Jones who shared not only the family history with me, but also the treasured letters their family members have stewarded since the mid-19th century.

Think of David’s words in Psalm 143…

Or God’s words to the Israelites (recorded by Moses) in Leviticus chapter 26…

Or again in Deuteronomy chapter 8…

Or words from a letter written by Paul in 55-57A.D. and found in Romans 8 (this image is from my precious Dad’s Bible, which I treasure, especially now)…

More and more with each passing day, I determine to speak the Word of God into people’s lives. And yes, into the lives of the real people from history that I write about in my Southern mansion novels, too (especially when taken directly from their own letters and journals).

Because only what we do for God will last. Only His eternal truths will stand the test of time.

One of my favorite ways to “practically” share the Word of God is to grab snapshots of Scriptures from my Bible and send them to friends I’m praying for. All of the images of Scripture above came from recent texts that I’ve sent to friends (and I keep every image of Scripture they send back to me).

In these changing times, it’s good to know that Jesus (and His Word) never change.

What’s one way you share the Word of God with people in your life (or that others have shared the Word with you)?

Blessings on your Tuesday,

Tammy

NOVEMBER’s GIVEAWAY is up and running!



ENTER TODAY

Check out Tricia Goyer’s new book The Grumble-FREE Year

The Story Behind the Story

I am so pleased to announce that this week, Tyndale House is offering a special ebook sale of my novel, “Fly Away.” The story takes place in 1987—a time period too recent to be a historical novel like my other books, but too far in the past to be a contemporary novel. That’s because “Fly Away” was one of the very first books I wrote—and the year really was 1987. I was just starting to dream of being a writer back then, and my first published book was eight years in the future. The story came to me so effortlessly that I remember writing it out longhand on a yellow legal pad in my living room. Later, I typed it into my Atari computer and saved it on several 3½-inch floppy discs. It was published by Beacon Hill Press in 1996 and has been out of print until this year.

I remember very well the genesis of the story. Within a short period of time, our family struggled with a series of losses. My father, a World War II veteran like the main character in “Fly Away,” was hospitalized with a stroke and died a few months later at the age of 62. Dad had been helping to care for my grandmother, so without his help, she had to be moved to a nursing home. My father-in-law also had a stroke and was moved to a nursing home where he later died. And then my mother-in-law was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.

Mom Austin wanted
to spend her final weeks of life in her own home rather than in a hospital.  My husband and I and our three children lived
in Canada at the time, but when we learned that Mom had only a few weeks to
live, we drove down to Michigan to take care of her. We had just welcomed our
daughter, Maya, into the world, and she was less than two weeks old when we arrived
in Michigan. For the next month, we took care of Mom and Maya simultaneously,
one at the very beginning of her life, the other at the end; one growing
stronger each day, the other weaker. Both were being nurtured and comforted by
the presence and love of our family.

People had asked
if we were concerned that our children would be traumatized by watching their
grandmother die. I had never been present when someone died, so I confess I was
a little worried about what the experience would be like when the moment of
death arrived. Then I recalled that I had been just as worried about what it
would be like to give birth for the first time, yet giving birth turned out to
be a beautiful, miraculous part of life. Thanks to a wonderful hospice nurse,
we were coached in what we needed to do to care for Mom, just as our birth
coach had helped us when giving birth. Still, I wondered what Mom’s final
moments would be like.

One night at about
3:00 AM, the baby woke up crying. While I checked to see what she needed, my
husband went to check on his mother. He came out of her room saying,
“Lynn—she’s gone.” Mom had passed away peacefully in her sleep. Almost
immediately, the baby fell back to sleep as if she had awakened only to let us
know her grandmother had passed away. Our oldest son, Joshua, who was nine, wanted
to go into Grandma’s bedroom to say goodbye. He was able to see and understand
that she was no longer in her body, but was now in heaven. It was a tender,
holy moment for all of us. After so recently experiencing the miracle of birth,
we all learned that death is also one of God’s holy moments.

 With so many losses in less than a year’s time, writing “Fly Away” became part of my grieving process. As you read the novel, you’ll probably see how my own thoughts and emotions became intertwined with my plot and characters. The book deals with dying and loss, but I didn’t want it to be a sad book. All of my beloved family members had loved life and had lived it well. They taught me that our faith in Christ gives us the strength and courage we need to face whatever plans He has for us—even when it means saying good-bye. I learned that death is also an important part of life. We will all lose loved ones to it. We will experience it ourselves. So why not explore the mystery of it by making it a theme of a novel? Writers like to ask “What if?” and “Why?” As I wrestled with my own grief, I began to ask those questions.

Telephones still had cords when I wrote “Fly Away,” and hung on kitchen walls. Shag carpeting and Star Wars figures were all the rage. I was in my thirties, and my two main characters, who are 65, seemed “old” to me. Now I’m a senior citizen like those “old” main characters. But like Wilhelmina Brewster, I don’t believe in retirement. And like Mike Dolan, I want to keep living life to the fullest, right up until the moment when Jesus calls me home.

Inspired by Scripture

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How Authors Earn a Place on My Must-Read List

I recently read a book by one of my favorite authors. As I neared the halfway point, I thought to myself, “I really should slow down. I don’t want to finish this book too fast, because then I’ll be done and have to wait too long for her next book to release.”

Have you ever found yourself saying that? And then at the end, when you finally reach the last page and breathe a satisfied sigh, you also feel that terrible sense of disappointment because the book is over?

Although I always have a stack of books waiting for my attention, I’ve found that my favorite authors trump the TBR pile. The day I get their book in the mail, I eagerly start it, even if that means putting aside another book I’m reading.

I don’t look at the back blurb. I could care less about the title. And I really don’t pay much attention to the cover. When they’ve already earned my trust as a go-to author, then all that matters is the story on the pages.

I only have a handful of must-read authors whose books I
devour and then have to wait impatiently for their next release. That doesn’t
mean I don’t like other authors, because I do. It’s just that their books  don’t grip me quite the same way.

So, that begs the question—what makes a book so gripping
that you wish the author would write one book a week instead of one or two a
year?

I think the answer to that question will be as diverse as we
are as humans. But here are just a few of the things that put an author onto my
go-to list:

1. The characters are vibrant and alive. I don’t have to fall in love with them right away, but I at least have to like them.

2. The pace of the story is just right. It isn’t so fast that it moves me along without allowing me to catch my breath. And yet it’s not so slow that I get droopy-eyed and am tempted to put the book down. They also have a feel for when to use exposition to tell and when to slow down a scene and show.

3. The plot is engaging. The twists and turns don’t have to wow my socks off. And the conflict doesn’t have to jump at me from every page. But the authors utilize various methods of creating tension to draw me in and hold my attention.

4. The writing is smooth. While no author or story is absolutely perfect, my go-to authors have definitely learned their writing craft and have honed their skills. I’m not jarred from the story by quirky mechanic issues.

Personally, I also have to really like how the author is able to tell a good romance tale. This will make or break a story for me. Even though all the other elements (listed above) are present, if the author fails to deliver a well-told romance, then they don’t make my list of favorites.

When authors consistently put out books that encompass the above traits, they gain my trust and subsequently earn a place on my must-read list.

Your turn! What things put an author on your must-read list?

The Story Behind Canteen Dreams and a Glimpse at November

This week, my first novel Canteen Dreams is free on ebook platforms. There is something really special about this story of my heart. Partly because I never thought it was the type of book I would write…after all I was going to write romantic suspense like Mary Higgins Clark. When I told people I wanted to write, WWII wasn’t on my radar. That changed after I met Tracie and Jim Peterson at my first ACFW. I tell the story in this short video.

At the very beginning of the month we hosted some of my family from Nebraska for the Purdue/Nebraska football game. While it didn’t go the way I would have chosen for the game, we had a blast playing cards and hanging out. We also celebrated our son’s 16th birthday. A very full weekend.

Now we’ve had our first real snowfall… it also blustered on Halloween. Makes me a bit nervous about what the winter will be like, but also makes me think it’ll be good writing weather if I can keep feeling in my hands!

What are you thankful for this month?

Loving Louisville

Hi friends, 

Excited to be back with you all today! Happy Wednesday. I hope your week is going well so far. If you’re waiting for the weekend, you’re halfway there. Yay!

Last week my hubby and I traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for his semi-annual work conference. We had been to Louisville once before when our daughter was shooting (archery) in the National Championship, but that was many years ago and we were busy with the tournament the entire time. 

Mike was busy with his conference and I was busy finishing up my revisions for The Crushing Depths, but we found a little time each day to sneak out and explore—sometimes just in the gorgeous Brown Hotel. 

My cozy writing nook for the week!

The gorgeous lobby of The Brown Hotel 

The hotel had amazing artwork. 

Our first outing was to the Louisville Slugger museum. My husband grew up playing and admiring baseball, so he was like a kid in a candy store. Especially when he got to swing one of Babe Ruth’s bats. 

I had the joy of enjoying lunch and tasting the original Hot Brown with sweet friends Carrie and Nancy. 

Last but not least. I FINALLY found it. The 24-hour Starbucks!!!!! In Louisville airport. If I ever get a chance of choosing my layover city, I bet you can guess which one I’ll be choosing. 

Reader Question:

What is the last new place you’ve visited? What was the best thing you got to do, taste, or see there? 

Look forward to hearing about your adventures!  

Have a blessed week, 

Dani 

What’s On My Plate

At this time of year, thoughts turn to the approaching holidays and the upcoming feasts at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But my thoughts are filled with writing, rewriting, editing, and launching a new book.

So, while it may not be as delicious as turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and pie, here’s what’s in store for me.

What’s On My Plate For The Coming Weeks

December 3: Release Date for The Bridge to Belle Island, a new stand-alone mystery. If you live near the Roseville MN B & N, please join us for the launch party at 7 pm. It’s always a fabulous night to celebrate with reader-friends. If it’s too far for you, I hope you will join us “in spirit” with a copy of the new book.

December 9: Rewrites for my first-ever Christmas novella are due to my editors. The good news is that they really enjoyed the rough draft, so the rewrites shouldn’t be too difficult, thankfully. My editor wrote: “One of the most enjoyable novellas I’ve read in a long while, and I know Julie’s fans will be over-the-moon in their delight.” I sure hope so! Look for An Ivy Hill Christmas to release next autumn. In the meantime, here’s a peek at the festive cover.

December 15, or before: Very soon it will be time to give a draft of my next full-length novel to my first readers, so I can get feedback, make revisions, and be ready to turn it in to  my editors mid-January. I have written a rouuuuugh draft, but still have a lot of editing ahead of me. It’s an adventurous romance set on the windswept Cornwall coast made popular by Daphne Du Maurier’s novels and PBS Masterpiece’s Poldark series. We visited Cornwall on our group tour this summer and I am enjoying “spending more time there” while writing this new novel called A Castaway in Cornwall. Can’t wait to have a cover to show you, but first to finish the book. Prayer appreciated!

North Cornwall

In the meantime, what’s on your plate for the coming weeks? I hope it overflows with God’s blessings and every good thing.

Raney Day Trippin’ 3

This is my third and final installment for the road trip my husband, Ken, and I just returned from. We were gone 50 days (Yes, FIFTY!), we visited 13 states, and were able to see quite a few friends and family along the way. We paid anywhere from $2.19 to $4.05 per gallon for gasoline and we put almost 8000 miles on Meriwether, our trusty camper van.

I overlaid our going out map with our coming home map to show the territory we covered during our 50-day trip.

I had told you last time that our plan was to take the Pacific Coast Highway down to Southern California to visit Ken’s sister and brother. The horrific fires in California, and the subsequent power outages completely rerouted us (and through some rather desolate country!) Our biggest “adventure” of the trip happened when we were awakened at 4 a.m. in Susanville, CA to find our power was out, our coach battery was dead, and we were freezing! To make matters worse, we’d checked in late with only 1/4 tank of gas and the entire town was out of power! (We’d been told the city of Susanville wasn’t part of the power outage, but apparently PG&E had other ideas.) By what I’m calling a small miracle, we were able to find a gas station in town that had a generator. We filled up (to the tune of almost $4/gal.) and when we went around the block to get headed in the right direction the gas station we’d filled up at minutes before had gone dark! (Thank you, Lord!)

Things went well the rest of our trip and we saw some wonderful sights and experienced so much of God’s amazing creation. While Ken’s goal on our trips is to see as much of our nation as possible, my favorite part is getting to see so many people—family and writer friends, including so many at the ACFW conference.

We got to see both of our sons and our four Texas grandkids, along with Ken’s brother and sister and some of their families in California, and my mom’s cousins in Idaho, and her brother, my uncle and aunt, in Arizona. Such a blessing to see these precious family members.



It was also a great opportunity to see some great friends from the publishing world. In Seattle, we got invited to crash Jim Rubart’s Writing Academy retreat, where I also got to hug Martha Artyomenko’s neck. In San Antonio I got to see my dear friend Courtney Walsh, Kim Sawyer and her posse, and connect with Wendy Brzezinski and her hubby. Plus, I got to meet the amazing narrator of most of my audio books, Julie Lancelot, in Arkansas! Blessings all!

Some of our favorite campsites were on the tail end of our trip. We especially loved Arizona, the Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, and Arkansas where it was fall all over again!

White Tank Mountain State Park was incredible, especially the sunrise there! And we had a blast “standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…takin’ it easy.”

Inspired by Scripture

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