Becky Wade's Blog, page 55

Memories of Israel & an encouraging event!

Israel is heavy on my heart, same as yours, I know. Heart-wrenching doesn’t even come close, does it? My prayers are rising with yours for Israel and all the innocent Palestinians caught in this horrific conflict.

Joe and I were supposed to leave this Friday for Israel, my second pilgrimage to “the land” as they say. But, of course, the trip was cancelled (same trip Robin was on) due to the horror of what’s happening.

So many memories from my trip (with my daughter Kelsey) in 2019 have flooded back this week—the places, the buildings, the history, the roads Jesus walked. But mostly, the people. So many beautiful people, everywhere we went. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Negev and the Wilderness, Jericho, the Sea of Galilee… I remember their faces, if not their names, and wonder if they’re still alive. Or are they fighting? Are they fleeing?

Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you know the intimate history of that land and every one of those people, and the eternal perspectives of their heart. Father God, comfort every grieving and shattered soul. Speak to them through the power of your Holy Spirit, and Jesus, shine your light into their hearts and into their unspeakable grief and draw them closer to you.

As memories have surfaced from my 2019 trip, I pulled up the pics on my phone as I was waiting for an appointment earlier this week. They brought tears but also hope that can only be found in Jesus.

Here’s a quick slideshow of our “all women” group who inherited the land together…

And now, the encouraging event!

Even though my family and writing schedule prevent me from taking part in this event this year, I want to tell you about the 2023 JustRead Rendezvous. Talk about author/reader marriage made in heaven!

The inaugural JustRead Rendezvous is scheduled for November 17, 2023, in St. Louis. This event aims to sweeten reading and storytelling experiences with fellowship and encouragement and is modeled after Christian Fiction Readers Retreat (did any of you ever attend that?).

Join the group on the evening of November 16 for The Christy Award Winners Gala Watch Party and the preceding Meet and Greet time. In case The Christy Award is new to you, The Christy Award honors and promotes excellence in Christian fiction and is a program of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Check out this year’s Christy Award finalists. You’ll recognize names and might also find your next great read.

And now, the author line up for this year’s JustRead Rendezvous…

More about the Rendezvous…

Connect with other attendees and hopefuls to arrange shared experiences or cost-sharing opportunities in the Rendezvous Roomies & Logistics ’23 private Facebook group. The first 30 registered authors for 2023 are pictured above. Their spotlight posts will appear in this News feed when you register to join the fun.

Keynote speakers are Jocelyn Green and Pepper Basham, 2022 finalists of The Christy Award. Rounding out our first 30 participating authors are Amanda Cox, Ann Elizabeth Fryer, Ann H. Gabhart, Barbara M. Britton, Danielle Grandinetti, Elly Gilbert, Erica Vetsch, Heather Greer, Janine Rosche, Jenny Rae, Jerusha Agen, Kimberley Woodhouse, Kristi Ann Hunter, Lisa M. James, Lisa Phillips, Lorri Dudley, Megan Besing, Michelle Griep, Nancy Mehl, Peggy Trotter, Rebecca Hemlock, Regina Rudd Merrick, Sarah Hanks, Shaen Layle, Stephenia H. McGee, Suzie Waltner, Tabitha Bouldin, and Tamara Leigh. Additional interested authors will be invited to register as reader registration grows.

So many fabulous authors!

And there’s still time to register, but tick tick tick!

REGISTER QUICKLY! CLOSING SOON

Much love from Nashville, and my prayers are rising with yours for God’s holy name to be glorified in all the earth!

Tammy

58 Actual Newspaper Headlines

You may have seen these, but they’re worth a repeat. 

A simple reminder of why it’s important to have someone proof your work before publication . . .

newspaper wallpaper

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1. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
2. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
3. Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
4. Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
5. Survivor of Siamese Twins Joins Parents
6. Farmer Bill Dies in House
7. Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
8. Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
9. Stud Tires Out
10. Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
11. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
12. Soviet Virgin Lands Short of Goal Again
13. British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
14. Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
15. Eye Drops off Shelf
16. Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
17. Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
18. Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
19. Shot Off Woman’s Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
20. Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
21. Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
22. Miners Refuse to Work after Death
23. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
24. Stolen Painting Found by Tree
25. Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
26. Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
27. Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
28. Never Withhold Herpes Infection from Loved One
29. Drunken Drivers Paid $1000 in `84
30. War Dims Hope for Peace
31. If Strike isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
32. Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
33. Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
34. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
35. Deer Kill 17,000
36. Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
37. Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
38. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
39. Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
40. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
41. Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
42. Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
43. British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply
44. Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood
45. Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
46. Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
47. New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
48. Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
49. Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
50. Air Head Fired
51. Steals Clock, Faces Time
52. Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
53. Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
54. Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board
55. Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
56. Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
57. Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
58. Include your Children when Baking Cookies

I hope these gave you a giggle! Have a great week!

~~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.

Pray for Peace

Saturdays are usually silent here on Inspired by Life and Fiction. But I thought I would take a moment to share that I (along with Tammy and her husband) had not departed the US for our scheduled biblical studies trip to Israel before the terrorists attacked last Saturday. I was due to fly out of Boise on the 21st, a trip that has understandably been cancelled.

Because I had shared in blog posts and my newsletter about my planned visit to Israel in October, many have contacted me through emails, Facebook, Instagram, and X to check on me. I’m very touched by the concern and the prayers of others. Thank you.

My heart is broken over what has happened already and broken for all that may happen yet. And so I pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). The enemies of Israel make shrewd plans against that nation and conspire together against His treasured ones (Psalm 83:3), and so I pray that those enemies will be humiliated and that they will come to know the one true God, whose name is the LORD, is the Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:17-18).

~robin

Thanksgiving (No, Not That Thanksgiving)

Please extend a warm welcome to author Alyssa Schwarz! I’m on trip to New York with my daughters at the moment. Alyssa is graciously filling in for me AND giving away a copy of her new book to one of you. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win! Happy weekend, Becky

Thanksgiving.

No, I’m not talking about the holiday coming up in a month and a half. I’m talking about the act of giving thanks and how it relates to our daily lives. Don’t get me wrong, I love that we have a holiday focused on remembering what we are thankful for, but why should that only apply to one day out of the year?

A few years ago, I read a book called One Thousand Gifts, and to be honest, it didn’t make much of an impact at the time. Sure, the idea of finding joy in the midst of your everyday life appealed to me, but not enough to actually sit down and write out 1,000 things I was thankful for like the title suggested.

But then I met Grace. Or rather, she found me in the pages of my latest book, Fields of Glass. She was tough, determined, and a real go-getter, but life had beaten her down, and even though she was looking for peace, she’d convinced herself it could only be obtained by signing the next client to impress her bosses.

I immediately knew her name would be Grace. And another thing I knew early on… she’d have a journal of things she was thankful for. Not because she wanted to, but because she needed to.

Like us, Grace needed to remind herself of all the blessings God had already given her (be it small or big). And guess what, the more she looked for those blessings, the more she found!

Since finishing the rough draft of this story, I went back to that book about the thousand gifts and decided to start a list of my own. I’m only a few pages into my brand-new notebook with the prettiest of covers, and I actually think I’m starting to understand this word thanksgiving a little better. Every evening, I start that’s day’s entry with, “Today, I’m thankful for…,” and I’m always surprised that no matter how bad I thought the day was, I’m able to find plenty of things to be thankful for.

Fields of Glass is available now, and I’d love to give away a copy to one of you. Simply leave a comment letting me know about something you are thankful for, and I’ll choose a winner in a week!

How do you practice intentional thankfulness?

Alyssa is a Colorado native who attended the Colorado School of Mines, got her masters in Geological Engineering, and promptly became a watercolor artist and author (as one does). She loves writing heartfelt romances with happy endings, a bit of mystery, faith, humor, and second chances. Receive a free short story when you sign up for her newsletter HERE!

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A New Approach

Hi friends and happy Wednesday! 

I have been an avid pantser. Meaning, that I don’t plot, don’t plan my story out, don’t do character worksheets or interviews, or anything of the sort. I just have a “what if” scenario or question in my mind and I’d sit at the computer to write—just letting the story unravel and the characters come to life. 

However, I should change “don’t’” to “didn’t.” I can’t believe I’m saying this as I was a super staunch advocate for pantsing. I couldn’t fathom planning a book out in any fashion. I feared it would take all the fun out of getting to know the characters and seeing how the story unraveled. But going that approach left me working through multiple drafts as I stumbled my way through the story in the dark—only focusing on what scene was in front of me and not the larger picture. 

My first draft was an exploration draft and looked nothing like a novel. I had to go through that draft and figure out where the story was, which meant a second draft just to put it in a full story draft, then a third to revise it, and a fourth to polish it. And, when I say a second, third, or fourth draft—each of those drafts got several rewrites within the draft. For example, I often rewrite chapter one over and over until it feels right. I go by instinct.

On the plus side, it’s fun seeing the story come to life. On the downside, my process means taking a long time to write a book. I write one a year with all these drafts. And, it takes forever to make it a really strong story. So, I’ve been trying a new approach which encompasses a number of different aspects. 

First off, thanks to my friend and prayer partner, Becky Wade, I’ve started playing with dictation. I’ve learned that I talk a lot faster than I can type. As a side note, I’m a horrible typist. I even took a typewriting class to get faster and more accurate, but, while I got decent grades in class, I still can’t type for anything. So dictation allows me to speak the story out at the pace my brain is thinking it so I don’t lose track of thoughts and ideas before I can type them out. 

Secondly, I’ve learned to fast-draft my novels. I do writing sprints with friends. What are writing sprints? I learned the idea from our very own Jody Hedlund. I get on Zoom with writing friends and we set a timer for fifteen minutes and write as fast as we can. We don’t stop to think, and we never look back over what we’ve written during sprints. At the end of fifteen minutes, we calculate and share our word count. Then we strive during the next fifteen minutes to increase the word count and so on until we’ve met our daily word count goal. I often dictate my sprints. When we wrap up sprinting for the day, we can go back in and edit and rewrite what we have. Then we start again in the morning. It’s amazing how fast the writing goes through this method. Plus, it’s fun getting to spend the morning on Zoom with your friends and cheering one another on. 

Thirdly, the biggest change is now I’m no longer a pantser. I haven’t turned into a full plotter, but I lean more that way. I don’t do an outline or plan every scene in the book or do character interviews. But I do write out the events that happen throughout the story in what is called a “step outline.” It’s what screenwriters primarily use. It describes each of the events in a sentence or two for all the events I know and has them in sequential order. It is like a stone footpath where I can step from one to another, all the way down the trail. This is the first time I’ve included this in my process and I’m viewing it as an experiment to see if it helps cut down on drafts and if it helps form a stronger story from the start. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. I’m using it for book two of my Jeopardy Falls series as book one, One Wrong Move, is finished. I just signed off on the last set of galleys. I so can’t wait to share the MacLeod family and their adventures with you. 

Writer Question: Have you ever changed or updated your writing process? 

Reader Question: What do you find most interesting about a writer’s process or what would you like to know about how different authors work? 

As always, thanks for joining me this week! I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and spend some of your day with me. 

Best, 

Dani

WOW: Weird Old Words

A few months ago, our own Karen Witemeyer wrote a great post called Word Nerd about the enjoyment she takes in learning the history behind some of the words she comes across while researching and writing her novels. I too, consider myself a word nerd, and the one tab I almost always have open when I’m writing and editing is the Online Etymology Dictionary, so I can check to see if words I want to use were in use during my time period and meant what I think they meant!

My friends, Regency and Victorian authors Erica Vetsch and Michelle Griep, love words, too. Maybe we all do! On the Facebook group we manage called Inspirational Regency Readers, we recently began a new feature called Thesaurus Thursdays where we share some interesting (and sometimes funny) words and phrases we’ve discovered.

Here are a few examples:

Coddiwomple: To travel purposely toward an as-yet-unknown destination. (Notecards available here.)

Balter: To dance gracelessly, without particular art or skill, but perhaps with some enjoyment. (Sounds like fun!)

And here are two Michelle Griep recently posted:

Civil Whiskers: Does this sound like a well-groomed beard to you? According to Michelle: “That’s not at all what this phrase meant to someone in the Regency era. In fact, even women partook of civil whiskers right in their own parlors, for this merely means polite small talk.”

A Fudge: “This conjures up delicious, creamy chocolate, doesn’t it? Nope. Not even close. A fudge is a false rumor, so nothing you’d want to indulge in.”

If you also like learning about old and odd words, I invite you to join us at Inspirational Regency Readers, a fun, interactive readers group on FB where we post frequent content about Christian and clean romances, the Regency era, favorite Jane Austen adaptations, and more, as well as regular features: Monday Pick One, Teacup Tuesday, Workforce Wednesday, Thesaurus Thursday, Fashion Friday, and Saturday Serenity.

I invite you to coddiwomple on over. I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

Paris est la ville la plus belle du monde

We’ve been home from our European adventure for more than a week now and while I can truly say, there is no place like home, it’s been such fun going back through our photos and deciding what bits to share with you of the firehose we drank from during two weeks of traveling through France, England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland with all of Ken’s siblings and their spouses. 

I thought I could do this trip justice in one post, but quickly realized it’s going to take more than that, so I’ll start with the first place we landed and the place that remained our favorite until almost the end of the trip—and that is Paris. To translate the title of this post: Paris is the most beautiful city in the world! I confess that Paris had never really been on my bucket list at all. It was part of the package our family put together and honestly, I was simply viewing it as a bit of a stopover before the real trip began. But Paris stole my heart!

We had a charming little hotel reached only via two alleyways. It had tiny rooms and tiny baths and an elevator that held one person and one bag per trip. It was the kind of hotel where you leave your keys at the desk and ask for them when you return. They served the best breakfast each morning, and we were in walking distance from almost anything we wanted to see. By the end of our three days there, it felt like home! Here, in photos are the highlights of our time in Paris.

The City of Lights was such a charming surprise and a return trip is definitely on my bucket list now! We saw many of the touristy must-sees—the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame (still under repair after the fire), Versailles, the Louvre, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Montmartre, and a dinner cruise on the River Seine—but our favorite moments were the little cafés and shops off the beaten path and simply watching people on the street. We loved the slow pace of Paris and how it seemed to be the goal of every bistro to get us to linger and enjoy! That’s what I would do if I ever get to return to Paris!

Thank you for letting me share the joy of our very first trip overseas. Next time, I’ll share our travels throughout the United Kingdom, and the city that may just have overtaken Paris as our very favorite! I’ll try to wrap things up in just one post, but I make no promises. Have a wonderful week! I’ll leave you with this sweet reel our daughter Tavia created of our trip highlights. (Be sure the sound is on.)

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.

Survey Results

In my last post, I asked readers if they purchased books from author websites (ebooks and/or print books and/or audiobooks. In addition to comments on the post, I invited readers to answer a survey. So for this post, I thought I would share the results. And if you participated, thanks so much.

My first question was to see if readers are taking advantage of these offerings. I know it is happening in certain genres and age groups, so I was interested to see if readers of Christian women’s and romantic fiction (represented by the authors of this blog and, therefore, I assume the readers of the blog) were doing so. The results: 41% have purchased directly from authors and 59% have not done so to date.

My next question was for those who have purchased directly from an author website. Would they recommend it to others? Most (86%) would recommend it. Only 14% would not.

Finally, I invited comments (pros and cons). Here is a sampling:

I love that authors have more control and they get paid more. I miss the fact that bookbub doesn’t know when they are having sales on their personal websites because I love how I can mark a book on my wishlist there and wait for a sale. This helps my budget soo much!I really enjoy being able to buy both paperback and e-books direct from the author. A lot of times they’ll have a Media Mail ship rate too which is nice because its cheaper than buying from elsewhere sometimes.I like being able to control delivery dates on Amazon for new books. I have trouble getting my computer to work with some websites.Pro: Happy to give the author more of the money for their efforts.
Cons: I often have “digital credits” from Amazon and my husband, who does most of our online shopping, gives me exclusive use of them. It, of course, goes all to book buying.99% of my books are on Kindle. Buying direct from the author works well enough. Although, sometimes the Bookfunnel app doesn’t download to kindle as neatly as kindle formatted books do.I buy primarily through Amazon because of the convenience of getting a gift card and applying it to my account, I feel it is safer than having my account information all over everywhere. I have not taken advantage of authors’ stores. I do use Bookfunnel when I have won books or as part of a street team and that’s how the books are delivered. I mainly load those to my Kindle.I didn’t realize many authors were doing this, but I will certainly look into it. I’d rather support an author directly than Amazon.So far I haven’t done that, except for the odd free story here and there. I am good with Amazon, but would probably let other people know that the author website is an option. I also keep gift cards stocked in my account and draw from those when I order a new ebook from Amazon. Having all the books in one place is helpful too. For paperbacks from particular authors, I’ve been using Baker Books for my pre-orders. I love the free shipping option. If they aren’t a Baker Books author, then I use Amazon or Christian Book Distributors.I am fortunate to help some Christian fiction and nonfiction authors with copy editing on their indie books, so I get many books that way and am probably not the best to answer these questions. But some of these nonfiction authors have been blocked from some sale sites for supposed controversial topics — ah, so much for open discourse! I do not buy anything from that major online retailer of books — whether books or other items — unless they are the only source, or I was given a gift card, or I need to buy from someone’s gift registry if the items are not easily available otherwise. That site has too many objectionable items and books, and I am all about supporting mom-and-pop stores, or Christian sites like BakerBookHouse.com (especially for used books–this site is my go-to) or ChristianBook.com.I have over 6000 books on my kindle. I have downloaded several books from bookfunnel but I’m limited in what I can do with those books. Several times I have just opted to skip when offered free books on bookfunnel. I can’t just download them from my device and pick them up again and my kindle gets very full as you can imagine. Once the bookfunnel books are on my kindle, I have to keep them or trash them. No other choices. I can understand the author’s frustration with Amazon, but it is an Amazon device and they make it work for their company.I’m mostly purchasing via Amazon, Baker BookHouse and Christian Book Distributors.I prefer paperbacks, and not all authors sell the paperbacks in their websites. I frequently see ebooks only. On occasion, I’ll buy an ebook, but most of the time looking for the paperback. I would choose a signed book from the author website over amazon, even if it was a little more expensive.I would not mind trying it, but I like being able to go to one place to buy my digital booksI’m still old school. I drive to a book store and purchase paperback books with cash. Not sure if this info is helpful, but I hope it is.

Thanks again to all who participated in my little survey. I hope, however you get your books, that you’ll enjoy many wonderful stories in the weeks and months to come.

~robin