Becky Wade's Blog, page 46

Travel in Jane Austen’s Time II

This past Saturday, I spoke (via Zoom) to the New York Metropolitan chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America. The topic was “The Pleasures and Perils of Travel in Jane Austen’s time.” I have not spoken on this topic in several years, so it was a good refresher to revisit all that research again.

I originally researched travel and coaching inns to write my series, Tales From Ivy Hill and especially Book One, The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill, which is set primarily in a coaching inn. After all, in almost all of my books, travel plays a part in one way or another.

I learned a few new things in reviewing and revising the talk, that I thought I would share with you today:

Coaches had to stop every 10 or 15 miles (depending on terrain) to change horses. This was done at a network of coaching inns along the routes stretched across England. Some inns were grand “Posting Houses,” like this one in Stow-on-the-Wold, which catered exclusively to the wealthy who traveled in their own carriages or in post-chaises.

Common coaching inns, meanwhile, accepted passengers from mail and stagecoaches, and some but not all would accept wagon passengers and travelers on foot.

Coaching inns stabled many horses—some contracted to stage lines or the Royal Mail—ready to replace tired teams. Trained horsemen or “ostlers” could change a team of four in as little as two-three minutes, and prided themselves on besting the times of competing inns. Quick turnovers were especially critical for the Royal Mail who rigorously adhered to delivery schedules.

Occasionally, stops lasted a bit longer, giving passengers time to take refreshment or a hasty meal, which required innkeepers to work quickly. More humble travelers would eat with the landlord in his parlour or even in the kitchen.

Washington Irving wrote: “In the evening we reached a village where I had determined to pass the night. As we drove into the great gateway of the inn, I saw on one side the light of a rousing kitchen fire beaming through a window. I entered, and admired for the hundredth time, that picture of convenience, neatness, and broad, honest enjoyment–the kitchen of an English Inn….”

Wealthy people traveling in their own carriage or post-chaise would often eat their meals in a private sitting room. But by the turn of the 19th century, common dining rooms or “coffee rooms,” as they were called, became more common.

Travel Guides were regularly published in the era. Travelers could choose stage coach routes and inns with the help of guidebooks like Powell’s Guide, Paterson’s, or The Traveller’s Oracle.

Here’s the description of an inn from Powell’s Guide (1831): “The Crown was a coaching inn licensed to a widow called Sarah Smith. “Mrs. Smith deserves particular commendation and support, as being the first…to add to the accommodation of visitors by every species of Comfort, neatness, and domestic attentions.” Like the Tripadvisor or Rick Steve’s of the day!

Are you, like me, already planning a trip for this summer? If so, I’d love to hear where you are going. I would be happy to pray for safe travel for you and would love your prayers for safe travel for my husband and me as well.

May the sick and afflicted, be now, and ever thy care; and heartily do we pray for the safety of all that travel by Land or by Sea…”

—Jane Austen, Prayers

My Favorite Holiday

I’m not sure why, but Valentine’s Day has always—ever since I was a kid—been my favorite holiday. It seems odd that a holiday that has little build-up and only lasts one day would have become my favorite, but it has. Maybe it’s those yummy Conversation Hearts candies that start showing up in the grocery stores right after Christmas. I’ve always been a fan of those!

This year, to prolong the holiday, I did something fun and very out-of-character for me: I left my Christmas tree up until Valentine’s Day! If you know me well at all, you know I’m one of those crazy people who puts my tree up early (usually before Thanksgiving) but takes it down the day after Christmas, if not sooner!

But this year, because we now have a piano taking up the space where our Christmas tree used to go, we put the tree out on the screened porch. It was an idea that a couple of my Facebook friends gave me and it was brilliant! Not only does the tree fill in for all the plants that had to come inside for the winter, but it adds sparkly lights to a rather dreary winter landscape.

So why not prolong all that sparkle as long as possible? I took off all the Christmas decorations except for a few white balls and any heart-shaped ornaments. Then I added a few dozen tiny heart decorations, plus a paper heart swag I made from a pretty calendar ten years ago, and topped it off with an old Valentine’s postcard that was sent to my great-grandmother in 1911. A couple of heart-shaped pillows that my late friend Terry made from worn-out pillow cases my grandmother embroidered complete the look, and I think the effect is nothing short of magical!

My favorite Valentine and I don’t always exchange gifts, but until recently (when we’re trying to stay away from sugar ) I always made frosted sugar cookies for Ken every February 14.

This photo is from Valentine’s Day 10 years ago when we were playing a newlywed game with my sisters and brother and their spouses. It’s a favorite photo because I think it makes it so clear how much I love this guy and how much he makes me smile even after many decades together.

Ken sometimes gets me flowers, which I love, but in recent years, instead, he’s designed a pretty digital card to send to all his girls (our daughters and daughters-in-law, the granddaughters, and me). This collage shows just a few of the cards he’s made for us over the years. I just love this sweet gesture and we all look forward to it every year!

Do you have a special way you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Is it a favorite holiday of yours or one that usually passes without notice. Is there something special you bake or eat in honor of Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear how you celebrate the day!

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.

Audiobooks on Spotify (& a giveaway!)

Spotify has long been a music streaming giant. It added podcasts to its listening platform back in 2015. And–joy of joys for bookworms everywhere!–it just added audiobooks, too.

What does this mean? It means that Spotify’s 236 million paid subscibers will now receive 15 hours of audiobook listening every month as part of their membership. This is a win/win for readers and authors!

It’s great for readers because many of you may already be Spotify subscribers and now, in addition to music and podcasts, you’re receiving enough audiobook hours to listen to 1 or 2 books (depending on their length) each month. This model is great because you don’t have to buy an audiobook to listen. Instead, you can try an audiobook for 5 or 15 or 30 or 50 minutes and if you realize that the story or the narrator isn’t your cup of tea–no problem. You don’t have to return that book. You just start listening to something else.

It’s great for authors because Spotify compensates us based on how long its users listen to our books. I recently received my largest-ever monthly royalty payment for audiobooks thanks to Spotify subscribers who listened to Memory Lane!

One of my readers told me this last week that Ryan Hudson’s voice “makes me swoon so hard”. LOL! The audio clip above gives a glimpse into why.

Here’s me, (also swooning) when listening to Memory Lane’s audiobook for the first time.

I have 99 gift codes to give to Spotify users! The code will enable you to listen to Memory Lane for free and it won’t count toward your 15 audiobook hours on Spotify. Also, you don’t have to “do” anything to win this giveaway, except fill out THIS FORM so that we can get your code to you. Act fast, though! Only the first 99 people will receive a gift code. If you’re not a Spotify user but know someone who is, I’d love for you to spread the word about this giveaway.

In other news . . . Rocky Road (book 2 in the series following Memory Lane) releases on Valentine’s Day in less than a week! The countdown is on. The print book, ebook, and audiobook will all become available on that day.

Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, which platform do you use?

My Library and Book Buddy

When we put our house back together in December, we saved our library for last. The reason was two-fold. 

First, we had our bookshelves re-stained and they weren’t finished until late December. Second, we wanted to take our time re-shelving our books, including cataloging them. 

This is the result! It’s almost completely done. We still need a round rug and a set of steps to allow us to reach the high shelves. (We originally purchased a ladder and rail set for these shelves, but somewhere in our 3 moves we lost a wheel to the ladder that we can’t find a replacement for, and we evidently lost some of the rail hardware because when we tried to install everything the railing sagged, making it unusable.) 

Still, we are quite pleased with the way it all turned out. We like the darker color of the shelves (They were originally a light cherry.) and the gray (versus the light green) of the room. And yes, we know there is a completely empty shelf. That’s for all those “to read” books in our bedroom after we’ve read them! 

But perhaps my most favorite part of putting the library back together was the cataloging. Truly, if I could choose any other profession, I would have been a librarian. The cataloging kind, not the deal with the public kind! 

After several searches, I chose the Book Buddy app for my cataloging. (Note: you do have to pay $5 if you enter more than 50 books, but I considered that almost free.) Book Buddy had two big things going for it in the beginning: it has a “physical location” field and a “loan” feature.

Those two things made my heart sing. But once I started using Book Buddy, I discovered more wonderful things. Like the robust ISBN search and the online search feature. In a previous app I’d played with, I had to enter manually the information for almost all of my books without scannable barcodes. And I have a lot of those kinds of books! But in my first almost 1300 books, I only had to manually enter 2. Wow! Once I got in a rhythm and knew how best to search, every book went pretty quickly into my database. The only “extra” step I had was adding the physical location field to each record. I put the room (L), the bookcase #, then the shelf number where each book is housed. Consider this conversation we had the other day: 

Jeff: Do we have a copy of Shane?

Me: Yes we do. Tap, tap, tap. L5.4. It’s in the library on the 5th case on the 4th shelf. 

And within moments, he had it in hand. 

I still have books to catalog in other rooms. All the “to read” books in our bedroom and all the research and writing books that live in my office. But the majority are in. I’ve let friends and family know my library is open for lending—especially now that I can keep track of who has borrowed what!

The other bonus? No more accidentally buying a book we already own! Notice I said accidentally. We have been known to buy 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) copies of certain books on purpose. 

That’s our library! Do you have a place dedicated to your books or are they scattered about? Have you used a cataloging app for your books? Tell us about your experience!

Alexander Family Addition

On January 19, the Alexander family grew by one more very little precious one. Meet Ari Rose, our first granddaughter. . .

Ari (pronounced Ari as in “safari”) is little sister to Leo who is 13 months and a “chonk” as we call him…

As we tell Kurt and Kellie, Ari and Leo’s parents, they make cute kids!

Leo is the spitting image of Kurt as a baby, and Ari looks just like Kellie. Kellie joked during pregnancy that she really wanted a “beach buddy” who has her (lovely) olive complexion who can tan with her. And that is definitely NOT an Alexander gene, lemme tell ya.

We think she got that beach buddy in Ari, but time will tell. If not, Ari can join Leo and GramTam under the umbrella!

If I haven’t said it lately, I adore being GramTam. It’s one of the greatest blessings—and most fun things—of this life yet.

If you’re a grandmother, what do your grandchildren call you? Or what have your children named you if—like me—your grandchildren aren’t old enough yet to have even said your “grandma name?”

I’m neck deep in another deadline and writing about another very famous Tennessee location that I’ll tell you more about real soon. It’s another historical novel set at the turn of the century (1904), and is a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time. If you’re inclined to pray for us authors here on Inspired by Life . . . and Fiction, I would SO appreciate your prayers as I write this one. 🩷

THANK YOU for the kind reception you’ve given my latest novel A Million Little Choices (Nov 2023), my first dual timeline story set in Atlanta where I was born and raised. That book took me a long time to write (and rewrite), so I’m especially grateful for your encouraging reviews. So heartening.

In closing, here’s my current screensaver on my phone (soon to change to one of Leo and Ari). Just for kicks, tell me what’s on yours!

NOTE: The bruise on Leo’s head did NOT happen on my watch. Just sayin’!

Blessings on your Tuesday, friends,
Tammy

Have you seen THE CHOSEN Season 4 (episodes 1-3) in theaters yet? Joe and I went last week, and I’m still processing, my gratitude for God’s Word and His One and Only Son deepening more day by day.

Why I Attend a Messianic Synagogue

Several readers have written to ask me if–since I’m Jewish–I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. So I thought I should write a post to explain all those pictures of pies and cakes I bake for my synagogue service every Friday night.

Mango crepe cake.

First of all, I’m not Jewish. Not even a little. I’m Scot-Irish, British, and a wee bit of Congolese, according to Ancestry.com. But when I was in high school, I played in a handbell choir led by Rev. Jim Whitmire, who announced one day that our handbell choir was going to play at a Jewish synagogue. “God blesses those who bless the Jewish people,” he said. “So we’re going to play for their service next Friday night.”

We did. I don’t remember much about the service, but that night the Lord awakened a deep love for the Jewish people within me. I bought a Star of David necklace and began to wear it after learning that thanks to the mercy of God, as a believer in Yeshua (Jesus), I had been grafted into the Jew’s olive tree. I was adopted into the family of Promise, the chosen people of God.

I didn’t actually know many Jewish people. I had one Jewish friend at school, but lost contact with her after graduation. But I loved Jewish music, sang along with Jews for Jesus, and started to read the Bible and appreciate the Jewishness of Jesus and the early church.

Lemon pound cake, my go-to when I’m rushed.

In college, I was privileged to be able to go to Israel as part of a singing group, and there I walked the land Jesus walked. When I began to write, I interviewed Moshe Rosen, a leader in the Messianic movement, who pointed out a lot of things about Jewish people I’d never noticed. (Ever wonder why there aren’t many Jewish football players? That sort of sport just isn’t common among the Jews.)

I began to read novels by Jewish writers–Chaim Potok is a favorite. I learned a lot about Jewish sects that were completely foreign to me.

And all this time, I was a youth pastor’s wife, laboring by his side in a couple of mega churches, helping him minister to young people. After he was pushed out of his ministry at age 65, he established an independent youth program, and we moved to another neighborhood. For nearly five years, every Friday night he went to his youth activity, and I stayed home, usually working, but I couldn’t help thinking about the Messianic synagogue only a couple of miles away.

Flourless (gluten-free) chocolate meringue cake.

I had visited two other Messianic synagogues–one in Philadelphia, where I went with friends to a vibrant service that was almost Pentecostal in its fervor. I loved it, and couldn’t help thinking that it was a preview of heaven, where we will sing and dance around the throne of God. My husband and I went to another messianic synagogue in St. Petersburg that was more like a typical church service. And finally, after watching the online services for several months, I worked up the courage to go to the synagogue near our house.

I sat in the back and watched, listened, and tried to follow along in the siddur (akin to a hymnal). Most of the “songs” were in Hebrew, though the words were spelled out phonetically for anyone to follow along. In the bulletin I read that this synagogue was very traditional, and the service was very similar to what Yeshua would have experienced.

The Drash (sermon) was in English, thank goodness. But I loved seeing the reverence with which they unrolled the Torah scroll and the rabbi read, in Hebrew, from the text, then translated it into common English.

Chocolate crepe cake. It’s supposed to look like a rose . . .

When the final blessing had been given, I slipped out the back door, but the rabbi caught me before I left. He introduced himself, and I gave him an abbreviated version of the story above. While everyone else went to Oneg (the time of fellowship and food), I went home.

But I came back, again and again, and decided that in return for blessing me as they did every week, I would bless them by baking something special–a cake, a pie, cupcakes, or something. Hence the food posts on Facebook.

And then the man who lead sheerim (praise and worship) had open heart-surgery. And when he returned, I went over, wished him well, and told him that I’d been a music major once, so if he ever needed help–

Pumpkin cheesecake. This thing was HUGE!

He held up a piece of sheet music. “Can you play this?”

Gulp. “Maybe.” Honestly, I hadn’t touched my piano in months, and it had been YEARS since I’d played in public. But I ran through the song quickly, and before I knew it I was playing nearly every service. And just a few weeks before, I’d told the Lord that I really missed music, and would love to exercise that gift again . . .

I don’t attend a synagogue because I write about Jewish events and characters, but hearing the Scriptures from the Jewish point of view has certainly opened my mind and heart to things I had never considered before. And, to be honest, the Jewish people have a lot of writings from rabbis who wrote long after Christ whose words were not necessarily God-breathed. So while some of those stories and thoughts are educational and inspirational, others leave me shaking my head. If they are biblical, I accept them. If extra-biblical, I weigh the teaching carefully . . .

Close up of my croquembouche at Christmastime . . .

I discovered that I wasn’t the only Gentile in the synagogue. Several of the folks have a Jewish mother or grandmother, and after being raised in church, they’ve come to this synagogue to learn about their Jewish roots. There are LOTS of Gentiles in our synagogue, but the bond of affection is so strong that you can’t tell who’s Jewish and who’s not. And isn’t that what matters?

I am delighted that the Lord has led me to this synagogue and these people. They bless me every week, and I hope, in some small way, that I am able to bless them. And with them, I am praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

Have you ever attended a Messianic synagogue? You should search for one in your community and visit! You’ll learn a lot, and you don’t have to bring a cake.

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.

Coming Soon and Binge Lists

Hey, friends. Welcome to February. 

Today is the 2nd which means it is just eleven more days until the release of To Marry an English Lord. I’m so excited for you to get to read Sebastian and Jocelyn’s story. Set on the western side of the Grand Tetons, this is a love story between the son of an earl and an independent woman who has little time for romance while she runs her family’s shipping business in New York City. Of course, if her brother hadn’t had a run-in with a bison, she wouldn’t have returned to the family ranch in Idaho and never would have met the handsome viscount.

Here’s what Inspired by Life and Fiction’s own Tamera Alexander had to say about the book:

An absolute gem of a story! If you’re craving romance set against the vast beauty of the untamed west, then look no further. Filled with witty repartee and heartfelt emotion, Robin Lee Hatcher’s second installment in The British Are Coming series is guaranteed to please!

To Marry an English Lord is available for purchase for your Nook, Kobo, or Apple device for a few more days only (ends about the 6th). Then it will become exclusive to Amazon. On release day, it will be available in ebook, paperback, and audio.

Order for non-Kindle devicesOrder from Amazon

Today, possibly as you read this post, I am joining two of the ladies who are in my Life Group to see Show #1 (Episodes 1, 2, & 3) of Season 4 of The Chosen. It feels like I’ve been waiting for this day forever. Yes, I toyed with the idea of waiting a little longer until the episodes arrive on the app, but then (1) I didn’t want to wait and (2) I want to show my support for this amazing show that is bringing the good news of Jesus to so many. Add to that, I said to my friends, “Would you like to go?” and the yeses came so fast my head was spinning!

In preparation for this day, I binged Seasons 1, 2, and 3 over the last couple of weeks. In truth, I have binged The Chosen many, many, many times. It fills me with love for Jesus and sends me running to the Scriptures to know Him more. As Paige Brown says in her Bible studies, “May we see Him more clearly. Love Him more dearly. Follow Him more nearly.” That’s what The Chosen helps me do.

That got me thinking of other shows that I have binged multiple times (not as many as The Chosen but quite a few times; not as spiritually uplifting but definitely entertaining), which then made me wonder if you do the same and to wonder what shows you can watch over again. Let’s skip movies that we can watch again and just stick with series, limited or longer. And let’s say it can be any series you’ve watched through at least twice.

Here are the ones I could think of that I’ve watched, beginning to end, at least two times through:

Pride and Prejudice (1995)
North and South (2004)
Poldark (2015-2019)
The Crown (2016-2023)
Victoria (2016-2019)
Foyle’s War (2002-2015)

Okay, please join in. Maybe you’ll remind me of something I’d like to see, maybe for the first time, maybe a repeat.

~ robin

National Texas Day

Did you know that today is National Texas Day? I didn’t, and I live here. Ha! When I discovered the truth, I decided it would be fun to highlight Texas since all of my books are set in this diverse state. I wasn’t born in Texas. I’m a native Californian. However, I came to college at Abilene Christian University, met my husband, and never left. All of my children are Texas born and bred, and all of my stories are set in the Lone Star State, so it seems fitting to celebrate my adopted home with some fun trivia and a prize.

Fun Facts About Texas

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas in 1885. (I’m actually incorporating this fun fact in a Christmas novella I’m currently writing.)Six Flags have flown over Texas – Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States, and the Confederate States of America.The deadliest natural disaster in US history happened in Texas – The Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 took around 8,000 lives.Texas is larger than any country in Europe.El Paso, Texas is closer to California than to Dallas.The historic King Ranch is larger than the state of Rhode Island.Texas is home to more butterfly species than any other state – over 400.The state large animal is the Texas Longhorn.The state small animal is the Armadillo.The state sport is Rodeo. The first rodeo to offer prize money was held in Pecos, Texas on July 4, 1883.

To celebrate National Texas Day, I will give away one of the books pictured below to someone who comments.

Have you ever lived in or visited Texas?
What fun fact surprized you the most?