Becky Wade's Blog, page 174

Inspired by Scripture

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Cover Reveal!

It’s cover reveal day for Stay with Me, book #1 in my upcoming Misty River Romance series!

After I finished writing my Bradford Sisters series in June of 2018, I began casting around for inspiration for a new series. I’d just finished two family series in a row and I wanted to find a way to link the series characters in a new and different way.

Around that time, a young soccer team was trapped in a cave in Thailand. Remember that? International news outlets covered the story as we waited, hopeful, for the kids to be freed. While following updates on the soccer team, the most powerful two words any novelist can ask herself slipped into my mind. What if?

What if….

More than fifteen years ago, a group of middle schoolers from a small Georgia mountain town called Misty River traveled to El Salvador on a mission trip?  Their goal: to help run a week-long city sports camp.

At the end of the second day of camp, several of the kids were sent to the basement of the nearby ministry building to return equipment.  Thus, those children were separated from the bulk of their group and all the adults when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck.  The building folded in on itself, trapping them below ground beneath slabs of crumbling cement.

 Two were sisters.  The rest were boys.  Some of them were friends.  Some merely friendly.  One was a foster kid who knew none of the others.  Two were injured.  One had a cell phone.  They called out, clinging to contact as long as they could until the cell phone’s battery died.

Across the next eight days, the best rescue teams, architects, and engineers on the globe collaborated in a race against time to save them.  Their parents rushed to El Salvador.  The media clamored.  The world’s attention focused with desperation on a single building in an earthquake-ravaged city.  Hope rose, even though every expert predicted the structure’s imminent collapse and concluded that there was no scientifically possible way to bring the children out alive. 

People of every nation prayed, asking God to protect and liberate the five.

And, miraculously, He did.

The kids became known as The Miracle Five, all of whom are now in their late twenties and early thirties, all of whom were impacted in different and inescapable ways by the trauma they survived.

Stay with Me features Genevieve, the younger of the two sisters who were trapped by the rubble.

Here’s a glimpse at Stay with Me’s story line:

A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents’ past brings Genevieve Woodward to her hometown in the Blue Ridge mountains.  The morning after arriving, she realizes she’s hit rock bottom when she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find its handsome owner staring down at her. Her career as an acclaimed Bible study author and speaker has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own.  
 
Sam Turner has embraced his sorrow and his identity as an outsider.  The solitary, disciplined life he lives on his historic farm is the life he’s chosen for himself.  The last thing he wants is to rent his farm’s cottage to a small, long-haired woman who’s as troubled as she is talkative.  Yet, he can’t force himself to turn her away when she needs him most. 
 
As Genevieve uncovers her family’s history and emotions deepen, Genevieve’s facade will crumble, Sam’s loneliness will grow unbearable, and light will illuminate every hidden truth.  

And here is Stay With Me’s cover….

I LOVE this cover! The colors. The modern and romantic feel. The heroine looks exactly like the Genevieve of my imagination. I think Jennifer Parker (Senior Graphic Designer at Bethany House) nailed this one!

Stay With Me is slated to release May 5th, but you can already place it on your “want to read” shelf at Goodreads or pre-order at Amazon and B&N:

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes&Noble

To thank you for supporting my writing and for reading my blog posts, I’ve put together a cover-reveal-day giveaway for you!

One winner will win all the prizes pictured! Enter via the box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




What do you think of the new cover?

ACFW 2019 Recap

The end of September found me in San Antonio for the ACFW National Conference. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, as I get to reconnect with many of my writing buddies including several of the women on this blog. It’s such fun and then one way I give back to the writing world that has been so good to me. We also had board meetings where we started planning next year’s conference in St. Louis. Friday night and Saturday of that event will have a reader’s retreat. I’m so excited about what that will mean for our authors and for readers.

Frank Peretti was the keynote speaker. Raise your hand if his novel This Present Darkness changed the way you look at prayer. Yeah, me too. His first speech was a clarion call to return to the truth of the Gospel. The second an encouragement to keep writing truth. Next year’s keynote speaker will be Liz Curtis Higgs! She was fantastic the other time I’ve heard her, and I can’t wait!

We started with First Time Orientation where my friend Ashley Clark (and soon to be published author with Bethany House) along with Bethany editor Raela Schoenherr shared what to expect with editor and agent appointments. I think this is the part that is always the most stressful for first timers.

The conference closed with the Awards Gala. This photo is the attorneys: Rick Acker, James Scott Bell and me.

And a couple of my writing sisters: Courtney Walsh (who won a Carol!) and Katie Ganshert.

And my Indiana writing buddies Kristy Cambron and Sarah Ladd.

This photo should be labeled the women of suspense: Colleen Coble, Carrie Stuart Parks, Robin Caroll, Lynette Eason and yours truly.

So a quick question, if you were to come to a reader event, which authors would you love to spend time with?

Research Road Trip

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 weekend my hubby and I took a road trip. Not far. Just from Maryland to Pennsylvania. It’s a trip we take often. We have friends in Lancaster and my husband gets his tattoo work done there. Yes, he has many. And, each has special significance. My favorite is the Greek word Tetelestai. 

Tetelestai comes from the verb teleo, which means “to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish.” It’s the Greek word for Christ’s last words on the cross, “It is finished,” which is found in John 19:28-30. 

I love this because it lets us know that Christ defeated death once and for all that day and that all who believe in Him, all who repent of their sins and call on Him to be their Savior, will spend eternity with Him. 

Every trip we take up to Lancaster, we talk about the meaning behind the work he’ll be getting, we talk about our lives and about our faith. Each trip is special and unique. And, each trip spurs story ideas. This trip was no different. It’s amazing how one thing we see along our road trip or during our time in Lancaster (this time we spent the weekend) can trigger an idea for the research behind a book or an idea for a scene, or something I just want to know more about. 

Here are some snapshots of our time there and possibly some clues about what you’ll see popping up in a future story of mine. 

We stopped at a coffee shop. I know, very surprising for me! It was finally starting to feel like Autumn and we were able to share the most delectable danish outside in a beautiful courtyard. 
For the other two photos, I’ll just leave to your imagination of how they might fit into a future story of mine  

Reader Question:

Are you a fan of road trips? If so, what was your favorite trip? If not, how do you like to travel? 

Look forward to hearing your answers! 

Have a blessed week, 

Dani 

Research & Pleasure: Jane Austen-Style

I just returned from the 2019 Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America.  The conference moves to different cities every year, but when I heard this year’s setting was Williamsburg, Virginia, I knew I wanted to attend. I was in good company, as the conference sold out almost immediately and was attended by over 800 people.

Some members from Minnesota.

I attended for several reasons:

To learn more about the era in which Jane Austen
lived and wrote.To experience Colonial Williamsburg. Even though
the setting is America and not England, the time period is much the same as when
Jane Austen lived and wrote her novels. There is also a definite British feel
to the place, and visiting its tradespeople would be similar to visiting a
blacksmith, milliner, or tailor in an English village.To make connections with other Jane
Austen-enthusiasts.



Lydia Fast and her amazing hats sold in the Regency emporium.

Highlights for me included:

LEARNING

Among the break-out sessions and workshops I
attended, these were especially interesting and helpful:

A Cravat-Tying Class: I learned how to tie several different styles which will help me dress my fictional heroes (and my husband) in the future.

An English Country Dancing Class: Always fun and I learned several new dances that might make their way into a novel one day soon.

The Surprising History of Baseball vs. Cricket vs. Rounders. Did you know baseball was not invented in New York, U.S.A, but rather developed in the West Country of England? The sport is actually mentioned in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, was played in England prior to 1800, and originally the ball was hit by hand vs. bat. Fascinating class by Lisa Brown!

The differences between churches, chapels,
cathedrals and abbeys in England. Very interesting and well researched class by
Brenda Cox. She clarified the history and differences between them, and the
important role of the church in Jane Austen’s life and writing.

A humorous and informative talk by the ever-engaging James Nagle who spoke eloquently about the British Army, and its importance to Regency England and Jane Austen.

ENJOYING

A costumed, torch-lit promenade through the historic streets of Colonial Williamsburg.

A Regency ball, where I could have danced all night!

An 18th Century Cricket Demonstration.

CONNECTING

Seeing old friends, making new friends, and meeting readers.

Fun meeting Dominique, and seeing Rachel Dodge and Tammy Renich again.

So much to highlight! (I will write about our time in Colonial Williamsburg separately, next time it’s my turn to blog.) In the meantime, would you enjoy attending a conference like this?

Doing Battle

Last month, our town hosted a Civil War Muster in a local park. Re-enactors from all over the country came here to camp in canvas tents, wear authentic uniforms, and re-create famous Civil War battles. A friend and I sat on a hilltop to view the battles while our husbands performed period music in the brass band. As I watched the north and the south shoot rifles and cannons at each other, I thought of two of my husband’s ancestors, Isaac Austin and his son George Hiram Austin who both fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Isaac Austin was taken captive and became a
prisoner-of-war, eventually ending up in the notorious Andersonville Prison Camp
in Georgia. While he was away fighting, his wife died. His twin sons were too
young to enlist, but after losing his mother, George Hiram lied about his age
and went off to war at age sixteen. He was taken prisoner as well, and also
ended up in Andersonville. His father Isaac died there, and a few years ago, my
husband and I visited his gravesite.

George Hiram survived and is my husband’s great-grandfather. In a photograph with his twin brother James, George Hiram looks ten years older, likely from everything he suffered during the war. After the war, he became a circuit-riding, Methodist preacher, ministering to dozens of churches before passing away in 1920. According to family history, his wartime experiences led him to become a devoted Christian and to offer his life to God.

As I watched the mock-battles taking place, I couldn’t help thinking how stupid war is. Making men line up on opposite sides of a field and shoot at each other until one side “wins,” seems idiotic. I pictured these men as my husband or my son, and I wanted to shout “Stop! Let’s just put an end to all this suffering and make peace!”

One of my loved ones is currently fighting a very
difficult battle of a different kind. Everything in me wants to do something,
take control, intervene, stop their pain, end their suffering. I’ve prayed and
prayed and asked God, “What should I do? How can I help?” The answer I keep
getting is: Nothing. Just wait. When I texted this dear one to say that
I was praying, they texted in return: “These trials need to happen for our
good.”

Like George Hiram Austin, my loved one is experiencing
a difficult but important lesson. God can use our suffering to change us and
draw us closer to Him, if we let Him. Or our pain can change us in a different
way, making us bitter and angry, turning us away from God. I can’t offer an
easy answer to explain the difference, but I suspect it might have something to
do with our attitude when we find ourselves on the battlefront. The book of
James says it this way: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).

I have never met anyone who has experienced “pure joy”
while suffering. But I have met many people whose suffering drew them closer to
God and resulted in greater service in His kingdom—like George Hiram’s
suffering did. So, I will continue to watch my loved one’s battle from the
sidelines, praying that through the struggle, and when the war finally ends,
they will be able to rejoice in the work that God has accomplished in their
life.

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.