Becky Wade's Blog, page 32

Five Decades! Wow!

Yesterday marked fifty years of marriage for Ken and me. It’s hard to wrap my mind around that fact, but it’s true.

We were so blessed to celebrate the occasion a little early last month with all our kids and grandkids on a family vacation in Divide, Colorado. There were 23 of us in all and it was a wonderful time of hiking, swimming, mini-golf, board games, and s’mores around a nightly campfire. It was truly a week to remember.

Ken jokes that we’ve been married for 48 incredible years—and a couple of doozies! Thankfully those “doozies” didn’t happen all at once, but instead, a hard week here, a difficult day there. Marriage is hard work! Mostly though, it’s been glorious, and I would marry this amazing man all over again in a heartbeat. (And I kind of did just that since Ken surprised me with a vow renewal ceremony while we were in Colorado.)

Our kids put together a sweet slide show of our lives together, and gave us a jar of scrolls with loving words from all the kids and grandkids. Something we’ll treasure for the rest of our lives. We loved telling our two oldest granddaughters our love story—and trying to express how important it is that they wait for the man God has in mind for them.

This final screen of the slide show from our kids made me cry. But they were tears of the best kind. Joy, pride, gratitude. I could not feel more blessed with the years God has allowed us and the family he’s given us to walk through life with. I’m grateful, too, for the legacy of long, faithful marriages in both of our families. There are several hundred years of till-death-do-us-part marriage represented in our parents and grandparents. One set of Ken’s grandparents celebrated their 82nd wedding anniversary before Grandpa’s death at almost 102. Pretty amazing. So I guess at 50 years, we’re just getting started!

Inspired by Scripture

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Put on Your (Imaginary) Dancing Shoes + a Giveaway!

Wonderful Australian author Carolyn Miller is joining us today! The heroine of her new book is a ballet dancer, which I love. When I entered Kindergarten, I clearly remember the teacher doing a “What do you want to be when you grow up?” unit. My answer: “I want to be a ballerina.” Books like Carolyn’s give me a chance to live out that childhood dream vicariously! Details on the giveaway she’s offering below. Happy Friday, everyone! -Becky

Are you a fan of dance? Ever taken dance class as a child or watched Dancing With the Stars? I took ballet, tap and jazz classes as a kid, and in the past couple of years I’ve been doing an adult ballet class.

My ballet teacher is young, but has had some FASCINATING life experiences, moving to work in France as a teenager, then coming home to open her own studio when she was twenty (!). I was thinking about her, then thinking about what it would be like if someone like her was partnered with a complete non-dancer on a show like Dancing With the Stars… what would happen?

This formed the premise for Pointe, Shoots and Scores, the third book in my new Northwest Ice hockey series, which was SO much fun to write. It naturally involved having to do lots of research, such as watching of episodes of DWTS and reading articles about shows like that, as well as asking my ballet teacher for her input.

We end up with a story that dancers have loved and others have described as having “great banter” and “their new favorite in the series.” Pointe, Shoots, and Scores is the third book in the Northwest Ice Christian hockey romance series, can be read as a standalone, and is perfect for fans of banter-laden romance with hope, heart and humor. Whether you’re a dancer or not, I hope you’ll check it out! You can get your copy here.

Carolyn has graciously offered to give an ebook to one of you. Please leave a comment below to enter to win! Did you ever take dance class? If so, what style of dance?

A winner will be selected on Wednesday, August 14th.

For as long as she can remember Bailey Donovan has loved dance, especially ballet. When her dance studio faces the risk of closure, she takes a God-given miracle of a gig training a complete non-dancer for a TV show. Only problem is, he’s a real grump to her sunshine, and for an athlete, seems to be lacking all the moves. Or does he?
Luc Blanchard has sworn off wine, women, and definitely dancing as it sure doesn’t fit his macho image. He loves hockey, God, and his family, with no time for more, until an unexpected promotion sees him forced to swallow his pride for the sake of his team.
Sparks soon fly as these two opposites spend time together, and TV ratings push for their onscreen partnership to make a fake relationship real. But as they discover a certain magic under the spotlight, will issues from the past ever let them truly soar?

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and LM Montgomery, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her contemporary romance series includes the Original Six hockey romance series, Muskoka Romance series, and the Independence Islands series, and her historical series include the Regency Brides and Regency Wallflowers series.

 Carolyn’s website |newsletter| facebook | pinterest | twitter | instagram | amazon | bookbub

Traveling back in time and books

This weekend we’re back in DC while I attend a conference. We arrived yesterday, and it has felt like a homecoming, y’all. I haven’t been back since an incredibly quick 12 hours in 2015 on my way to a study abroad in Brazil, and it’s a bit scary how much I settled back into knowing how to walk around and find things. We left in 2002 to move to Indiana, and I’ve always said this area is one of the few I would move back to, but I didn’t know if I would still feel that way now.

Surprisingly, I do.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Six of my last books have been set in the D.C. area plus the one I just finished editing and the one I’m currently writing. Add in a couple of novellas, and I’ve been writing little bits of love stories to this city since 2012. In fact, Dying for Love opens essentially with a murder scene in the building behind me in the picture below. At least that’s the chambers I was imagining as I wrote the scene — just don’t tell Judge Smith.

What’s this building? It’s the courthouse next to the White House, but more importantly to me, it’s where I clerked for a federal judge for a year after law school. It’s where I scrambled to get home from on 9/11…some of that emotion played into Savannah’s journey in Flight Risk. Speaking of Flight Risk, we flew into Reagan National airport which is the one that the plane takes off from and crashes into the 14th Street Bridge in Flight Risk. Because that crash is based on a real one, I always breath a bit easier in the winter when we are well above the city after takeoff.

Watching the planes come in over the Mall for their flight paths to Reagan National airport yesterday reminded me of Flight Risk, and the eeriest part of the skies post 9/11… how quiet they were. There were no planes in and out of DC for 23 days. Because of where we lived and worked, it felt silent and strange. Again you’ll feel some of that in Savannah’s story.

That has me wondering how much of those little details come out in my other books.

Here’s a fun family photo in front of one of my favorite statutes: Albert Einstein at the National Academy of Science. This has been a favorite of mine for awhile. There’s something about how it looks like Einstein is inviting you to join him for a look at the scientific paper and the way there’s room on the bench to join him. Science for all!

My friend Elizabeth Goddard has given me a copy of her latest Love Inspired Suspense novel to gift to a reader. To be part of the giveaway, just use the form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Research Mode

I’m currently researching the possibility of a project so I thought I’d pull back the curtain and let you see a bit of my process.

I say possibility because as interesting as the history is, I’m not sure yet if I can make it into a compelling novel. Which, honestly, is often the way a book project starts for me. 

Research mode, for me, entails several different things. 

First, I’m reading intensively. Right now it’s a biography of a woman influential in what we in America call The Great Awakening and in the UK they call The Evangelical Revival. But I’m not only reading and highlighting and taking notes on this woman’s life. I’m also noting the culture she lived in—mid-eighteenth century England—and the events of family and daily life during that time. 

Besides reading through an actual book, I’m also chasing rabbits online. When I find a person, place, or situation that seems to be prominent or intriguing, I go to the Internet to give me at least the basic facts. And those facts often lead to more rabbit trails! But some of the most interesting historical facts are found where the rabbits run. 

How do I organize all these various things? My process has evolved over the years, but at the moment I am doing several things: 

I have a physical notebook for rabbit trails. Each page holds notes on a person, place, or event. New rabbit trail, new page. I save webpages and google books into my Evernote files. Not only do I tag these by time period and geographical region, but I will also note something unique to this project so I can find them all again with one search.If I own a physical research book, I highlight as I read, but I’ve also been adding sticky flags on those pages with a one-word category of what the highlights on that page relate to. This, I hope, will make it easier to find what I need more quickly. I will create a timeline once I have done a good bit of reading. I have mostly done this on paper, sometimes a spreadsheet, but this time I want to try an app I have called Aeon Timeline. 

Finally, I’ll let myself daydream. Because if there is one thing I know, it’s that historical fiction is fiction, no matter how much it is steeped in and centered around the historical record. So I still need to find the story and characters that resonate with me and with readers. 

Only after all of this time and effort can I evaluate if I really have a viable next writing project. Honestly, that’s the worst and hardest part of writing for me—deciding to dive into one thing over any of the other ideas in my head or in my that-might-make-a-good-story files. 

So that’s me in research mode. As a reader, does any part of the process surprise you? As a writer, any tips for managing research mode or deciding on a story to tell? 

Ready for fall, anyone?

I’m so ready for fall, I can taste it.

First, another book is due September 2nd and I’m racing to finish. It’s been a difficult one to write. Mostly because it’s been inside me for a long time and those are always hardest to get onto the page. But also because we’ve recently moved. Still in Nashville, just a different house. It’s been a long and frustrating process—is moving ever fun, though, LOL—but we’re gradually getting settled and this house is feeling more and more like home.

Second, I’m ready for fall because it’s always a time for new Bible studies. Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) is studying the book of Revelation, and I’m especially eager to dive into this study for the second time around. I always gain new insights when studying “familiar” Scriptures. But I’m also pumped because Joe will be attending a men’s session. His first BSF! So we’ll be studying Revelation together. Gotta love that.

Find a class near you and attend REVELATION: The Hope

Another Bible study I’m over the moon about is…

Kristi McLelland’s LUKE IN THE LAND video series is like walking the Land yourself. She takes you to Bethlehem, the Temple Mount, to the Sea of Galilee, and more, all while diving deep into the Word and taking a closer look at what Jesus did and said, all through a Middle Eastern Lens. Understanding context changes everything. Brings it into clearer focus.

I had the blessing of traveling to Israel with Kristi in 2019, and viewing this video series is like walking the land again. I hope you’ll check it out. Maybe even share it with a friend or your spouse this fall. You’ll be blessed, I promise.

Check out Luke in the Land by Kristi McLelland

Lastly, fall is my favorite season. The changing of the leaves, cooler temperatures, the fall-ish recipes. And with the changing of the seasons I’m always reminded that Jesus never changes. He is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. And in him, and him alone, we have the hope of eternal life. As Peter wrote…

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,  and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. (I Peter 1:3-4)

So as we face this world of uncertainty—stock markets plunging, rumors of war, political infighting, a presidential election year—let us hold fast to that truth and to our priceless inheritance in Christ. No matter the season.

Thanks as always for sharing and much love from Nashville, friends,

Tammy

My chicken, O my chicken . . .

I have a little black frizzle (her feathers curl upward) who’s been with me several years. Blackie is sprightly and actually a little mean to the other hens, but she’s healthy.

But last week I let the chickens out and noticed that the rooster, who’s always the first one out of the coop, had flattened her on the ground. I just assumed he was being a little over-eager, but once he moved away, I noticed that Blackie stayed flat on the ground–that’s not good.

I pulled her out of the run and saw that one eye was closed, her legs were extended toward the back, and she was breathing heavily. Chickens hardly ever close their eyes in day time (too many predators to worry about), but they always close them when they’re dying. I worried about Blackie and put her in a quiet corner in the coop, hoping she’d be okay.

About an hour later I checked on her, and she wasn’t any better. In fact, she was being swarmed by mosquitoes and flies, so I picked her up and put her in this little fort on my grandkids’ swing set. I figured it’d be quiet there, and shaded, and if she was dying, at least she could have some peace. I thought about euthanizing her, but I just can’t bring myself to wring a chicken’s neck.

About an hour later I went back, thinking she’d surely have passed, but both eyes were open! She was still breathing heavy, but it was terribly hot, so I put her back in the coop. I had no sooner set her down than the rooster came over and pecked her, hard, on the head. That settled it for me. He just had it in for her.

So I took Blackie into the garage, which stays cooler. I have a brooder bin I created for chicks, so I put here in there, along with some water, and I made sure she drank a bit before I left her alone.

The next day, Black was up on her feet and drinking! So I gave her some food and left her alone again, wanting to make sure she was well-recovered.

And yesterday Blackie was fine, so I took her to another bantam (small hen) coop and left her there. The rooster in that coop is smaller, so less of a threat. He promptly came over and started strutting around her in his little dance, but he didn’t harass her, so that was good.

End of Blackie’s story–she’s now settle into the second coop and seems to be doing well. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on her! (There’s a lesson in there!)

I have another hen, Mademoiselle, who started acting poorly. I brought her into the house and gave her an Epson salts bath, but though that helped a bit, she stopped coming out of the coop in the mornings. (They sleep in the coop, but every morning they troop out and go into the run. At sunset, they go back into the coop, just like clockwork).

Because we don’t keep food or water in the coop, I’ve been having to pick Mademoiselle up and carry her all the way down to the front of the run and escort her in. She seems to be fine–I think she just likes the personal delivery service and the special attention.

And that’s the news from the coop! The girls aren’t laying as much in this heat (I don’t blame them), and soon they’ll be molting. Then the eggs come slower and slower until the winter solstice, then the pace picks back up again. I’m so happy God made chickens! Do you have chickens? Do you love them as much as I do?

~Angie

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.

A Knight Without Armor by James Scott Bell

Robin here: Because I’m busy brainstorming another book while retreating with some of my favorite people in the world, I asked my good friend—and one of my favorite writers—James Scott Bell to be my guest today. If you haven’t read Jim’s books, you really should.

James Scott Bell is the winner of the International Thriller Writers Award, The Christy Award (Suspense), and the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award. His books can be found on his website, jamesscottbell.com, and his whimsical essays at jamesscottbell.substack.com.

Here’s Jim:

All the boys were afraid of Ricky.

I was in elementary school and Ricky was the class bully. He liked to throw his weight around in the bathroom. One time he shoved me into the sinks, giving me a whale of a bruise on my side. Another time he picked on my friend Terry, the smallest kid in school. Ricky put a glob of foamy soap in his hand then clapped his hands hard in front of Terry’s face, spraying his eyes with the stinging goop.

My “revenge” came a few years later—I grew. I hit 6’2” in Junior High. Ricky didn’t grow much at all. I was playing football, baseball, and basketball then. Funny, but Ricky didn’t pick on me anymore. 

But I’ve always detested bullies. 

That’s partly why I developed my series character, Mike Romeo. I’ve always loved the way Raymond Chandler described his own hero, Philip Marlowe (played by Bogart and several others in the movies). He put it this way:

Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.

Another influence came from the days of the classic TV westerns. I was a mere pup when the series Have Gun, Will Travel was popular. But the character, Paladin (played by Richard Boone) was cool. (A paladin was a knight known for heroic deeds and the code of chivalry).

Paladin lived in the luxurious Carleton Hotel in San Francisco. There he ate the finest foods, sipped the finest brandy, and escorted the finest women to the opera. He could speak on virtually any subject.

But he was also a gun for hire. He’d go out on jobs, donning his all-black duds and six gun. His holster had a chess knight on it. The theme song began, Have Gun will Travel, reads the card of a man/A knight without armor in a savage land.

The great thing about this western was that Paladin rarely shot anyone! Instead, he used his wits to outfox bad guys, or get good guys to do the right thing.

Most of all he lived by his code. One part of that code, which Mike Romeo shares, is that if someone is being bullied, the code demands the paladin step in and stop it.

I find myself writing scenes like this in almost every book (8 so far, with 9 on the way). Chandler went on:

He will take no man’s money dishonestly and no man’s insolence without a due and dispassionate revenge. He is a lonely man and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry you ever saw him.

The story is this man’s adventure in search of a hidden truth, and it would be no adventure if it did not happen to a man fit for adventure. If there were enough like him, the world would be a very safe place to live in, without becoming too dull to be worth living in.

When people ask me what I like to write about, the word that always comes to mind is justice. I’m passionate about it, as was my dad, a lawyer in Los Angeles. I saw his commitment to justice for all. He was my hero, a paladin in his own right. He taught me the code.

In a way, I’m teaching that code through my fiction. If my three grandboys ever want to read one of Papa’s books, I’ll be teaching them, too. If they can grow up with some paladin in them and help make a just world (that isn’t dull!) then my work will be complete.

Fan Fiction Story + A Party Invite

Back in May, I posted about a fan fiction contest I was running in conjunction with my western Cinderella retelling – If the Boot Fits.

Fergus Ellis, the hero’s youngest brother, never goes anywhere without his pencil and tablet. He names the animals around the house and dreams up adventures for them that he jots down in his tablet. He has dubbed the family milk cow Mrs. Merriweather and has set her up as banyard maven. Throughout the novel, different people (especially ther hero and heroine) introduce new animal characters into his story world and help him come up with adventures for them to experience.

In response to readers who clamored for a bonus story about Mrs. Merriweather and her barnyard friends, I decided to run a fan fiction contest to let the readers themselves tell the story. Choosing the winning story proved quite difficult, but the charming mice family created by Marianne Decorvet won the day. Then, since this is a children’s story, I hosted a second contest for illustrators. This choice proved even harder! All of the submissions were wonderful. However, while all of the entries did a marvelous job of capturing the essence of the characters, there was one set of illustrations that stood out because of the way they captured the story. Korin Linaburg’s illustrations won the day!

I’m excited to announce that the full, illustrated bonus story is now avialable on my website for your enjoyment.

Read Mrs. Merrweather and the Sewing Mice here.

I’d also like to invite you to my annual Posse Party. The Posse is my Facebook fan group, and each year we have a big shindig to celebrate our brthday. We’re turning 7 years old on August 4th, and we’ll be partying all week August 5-9. Each day there will be a new game to play and bookish prizes to win. It’s a lot of fun. I’d love for you to join us.

Click here to join The Posse.

What are some of your favorite bookish party games to play?