Becky Wade's Blog, page 74

Kept In Suspense

Hi friends and happy Wednesday! I always look forward to my days spent with
you.

I love reading a good mystery and I love writing romantic suspense because it
combines two things I adore—the twists and turns of a thriller and the happy-
ever-after of a romance. I love reading and writing both, but in real life, I don’t
know about you, but I’m not the biggest fan of suspense. To be brutally honest,
I like to be in control. Well, at least I like to think I’m in control, but the fact is
I’m not. God is, and He knows best.

I know this truth, but I struggle with this a lot. I mean really struggle. Unlike
reading a suspense novel where I can’t wait to be surprised, in life I don’t like
what appears to be unpleasant surprises or bumps in the road.

Life is full of unforeseen speed bumps, as I like to call them. You know the
struggles that jar us, that seem to pop out of nowhere, that jolt us and slow us
down. Those struggles. They hurt, and we’re often left wondering ‘why?’ Why
couldn’t God let us at least see it coming, but then that’s the thing. Would it hurt
less if we saw it coming? I doubt it.

I think just the opposite would happen. I think it would hurt more because we’d
see all the bumps ahead on the narrow path and fear we’d never make it
through. But God knows we will with His grace. He’s got us. He carries us over
those bumps and knows it’s the path we need to take. He keeps us in suspense
to protect our hearts from needless worry and fretting. He says in His Word:

“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about
such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the
world, but your Father already knows your needs.” ~Luke 12:29-30 NLT 

He knows what we need. He sees the path. The bumps in the road, in our lives,
don’t surprise Him. I love the Message’s translation of this same verse:

“What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with
getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and
the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he
works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God’s initiative, and God’s provisions.
You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of
missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.” ~Luke 12:29-30 MSG

God provides for all our needs. Most especially, I believe, for our struggles. He
keeps us in suspense because He loves us and because He knows He has us.
I believe…

If we could see the future, we’d lose the joy of the moment.

It’s why God keeps us in suspense.

So, while I work on my suspense novella and see my character’s struggling, I
know they don’t need to truly worry because it will all be good in the end. The
same is true of our walk with Christ. While we don’t see the full road ahead. He
does. He’s got this and He’s got you. I need to remind myself of this daily.
Multiple times a day. How I wish I was a faster learner, but, instead, I learn day
after day to entrust my life to my Savior–all of it, even the messy, bumpy bits.

How about you? Do you like reading mysteries or suspense? What’s your
favorite part about them?

2023 Bloom Conference at Harding University

Exactly 40 years ago this spring in 1983, I graduated from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, which made speaking at this year’s Bloom Conference this past weekend even more special. Talk about a come-full-circle moment.

Author Serena Miller and I co-keynoted together and it was such a pleasure to meet her.

Here are some glimpses from a very busy, but fun weekend . . .

It was a sold out crowd of 300 and there was so much laughter and worship and sharing. It really was wonderful being with so many other women who love Jesus—and who want to grow to love him more.

A few more glimpses from the weekend, some more candid than others. : )

I had the pleasure of meeting to talk writing with two classes of students on Friday, and also met with some longtime library friends that afternoon. What a joy! And that Joe went with me made the trip extra fun! He went to Harding, too, after all, so had plenty of visiting to do while I was speaking.

We walked the campus and relived memories. But I wanted to see if the “pregnant” tree was still there. That’s what we called it back in the day anyway. And it was! The bump in the tree is actually cancer, I’ve been told. But it’s not causing any harm to the tree. Rather, it’s creating a “burl” in the trunk which is highly prized for its intricate grain patterns. More on Harding’s pregnant tree here, if you’re so inclined.

Now I’m back home and writing hard on my next book due out Summer 2024. More on this book next time!

So what’s the last conference or gathering you’ve attended? Could be a women’s conference or coed. Do you regularly attend an annual conference similar to Bloom at Harding? Or do you have an upcoming event?

Much love from my corner of Nashville,

Tammy

FABULOUS book! Highly recommended!a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Food Forest, part 2

The “food forest” is in a hiatus–the clean up is done (and the jungle now looks amazing, with new mulched paths running through it), but I’m waiting on the garden design and then the installation of some more plants.

In the interim, however, I’ve decided to install some raised garden beds to grow veggies and flowers. I’m putting them inside rabbit fencing (we have dozens of wild bunnies), because I’ve had many little trees and plants with their heads nibbled off.

The Grandboy

I’ve been suffering from that respiratory virus–I’m functional, but I don’t feel quite like myself, so I really haven’t been in the mood to sit and write. So I’ve been doing little things, like putzing in the garden and working on my garden beds. The other day hubby picked up our grandson from school and brought him home, and I was working on the garden bed. Grandboy was thrilled, so he put on a pair of my garden gloves (which were MUCH too big for him), and we began to toss lots of compostable branches and leaves into the bottom of the garden bed. I couldn’t help but be delighted by his comments: “Isn’t this fun, Nana? This is beautiful!”

Afterward, we walked through the newly-refreshed garden and found the secret swing, where I curled up in the basket and Grandboy stood and sang me a song that actually rhymed. Did I mention that he’s five? Brilliant kid. :-).

And the next day, when Grandpa picked him up at school, Grandboy couldn’t wait to come help Nana in the garden. So I’ve had to be sure I have gardening work to do–because I’d do anything to give that kid a beautiful afternoon and a few wonderful memories.

That’s what grandparents do. We who are all too aware of life’s brevity become determined to spend our remaining minutes investing what we can, when we can, into those we love. Because life is beautiful and a gift from God.

Stay tuned for the report on the completion of the food forest. Until then, Grandboy and I will keep swinging and composting and making memories.

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.

Anticipation

As a child, I used to wake my mom up about hourly as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas morning. “Is it time yet? Is it time yet?” Anticipation!

I didn’t grow out of it.

Unbelievably, I gave birth to two daughters who were quite content to sleep until a reasonable hour, even on Christmas Day. Do you know what I did as a young mom? Starting about 2:00 or 3:00 AM, I would be up, closing cupboard doors, walking up and down the hallway, doing what I could to wake my kids. Anything short of opening their door and saying, “Get up! It’s Christmas.” I was anticipating their excitement when they opened their gifts. And that anticipation increased my own excitement.

Of course, that memory is decades old now. As an empty nester, there are no little kids to wake up these days. But I still get excited when I have something to anticipate.

And I’ve got a doozy to be excited about! 

In October, I will be flying into Tel Aviv to begin a two week biblical studies trip in Israel. The team is led by Kristi McLelland. My heart has long wanted to visit the land of the Messiah’s birth. I want to walk in the places where He walked. I want to dip my fingers into the Sea of Galilee. I want to look down at the Judean Desert and imagine His forty days in the wilderness. All that and so very much more.

Laugh if you want, but I’ve already started a little pre-packing. I’ve got my backpack and my water bottle. I’ve got my electrical adaptors suitable for Israel. I’ve got a pair of trail running shoes, not that I’ll be running. I’ve got a special new notebook for the lessons, and I’ve got a thinline Bible that will be easy to carry along every day (I’ll leave my beloved study Bible at home; it’s too heavy plus I wouldn’t want to risk losing it).

View of desert, Masada, Judean Desert, Dead Sea Region, Israel

About seven years ago, I started reading books that teach the Bible through a Middle Eastern lens. That practice really opened my eyes to new understanding as I read my Bible. But it was Kristi McLelland’s study, Jesus and Women, that made the biggest difference for me, and I am so grateful for that wonderful study (I’ve hosted two groups of women through it).

Right now I am going through Kristi’s audio study on Israel for the second time. Whether or not you think you would ever visit Israel, this study is worth doing.

Okay, picture me for the next eight months, walking up and down the hallway, not trying to wake my daughters but just too excited to sleep because I’m anticipating this trip of a lifetime. The Land is calling to me.

Is there something in your future that you’re anticipating with excitement?

~robin

New Project Coming Soon!

I have a secret. I’m dipping my toes into the Indie Publishing pool. *Gasp* Don’t hyperventilate from shock. It’s only for a novella. I will continue publishing all my full-length novels with Bethany House, but I’m excited to experiment with this avenue. My novella will be kicking off a multi-author western romance series, and I’m so thankful that many of the authors in this group have indie experience. I’m leaning on them heavily as I struggle to learn all the ins and outs. If this experiment goes well, I hope to publish more novellas this way in the future.

The project won’t be revealed until next week, so you’ll have to wait for my next post to get all the nitty-gritty details, but I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at some of my story elements.

When I first started brainstorming, all I really knew about my story was that it would take place in 1893 and that my heroine would have an encounter with the amazing Annie Oakley following her run with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show that took place in conjunction with the World’s Fair in Chicago. Annie Oakley had a passion for teaching women how to defend themselves. In fact, some historians estimate that she taught over 15,000 women to shoot over the course of her lifetime. Once I learned that, I knew my heroine would seek out a lesson from the legendary markswoman. However, I didn’t yet know who my heroine would be.

One of the authors in our group mentioned how much reader’s love reading stories about secondary characters, and she got my mind swirling with possibilities. Most of my adult secondary characters had already had their own stories written, but what if I went back and pulled out children from my previous stories?

I started calculating dates to see which, if any, of my juvenile secondary characters might work for a romance taking place in 1893. I came up with two likely candidates:

Tessa James – She was the young girl of a widowed mother who became a dressmaking assistant to Hannah Richards in my debut novel, A Tailor-Made Bride . Tessa was 8 years old in that book (set in 1881), so she would be 20 in 1893.
Jackson Spivey – He was 12 years old and the son of a negligent father in Stealing the Preacher (1885). Joanna Robbins took him under her wing despite the fact that Jackson had a massive crush on her. When Crockett Archer came into the picture, he won Jackson over with respect, straight talk, and his skill with a rifle. Jackson would also be 20 in 1893.

So which one should I use? Both have potential. Both are interesting characters in their own right. And both provide a level of emotional attachment to me and to readers.

Then it hit me. Why not use both Tessa and Jackson? So that’s what I did!

This will be my first time featuring such a young hero at only 20 years of age, but Jackson’s rough upbringing forced him to grow up fast, so I think it will work. My son and his new wife were both the same age when they married at 22, so the more I thought about pairing Tessa and Jackson, the more the idea grew on me.

I decided not set the story in either Coventry (A Tailor-Made Bride) or Deanville (Stealing the Preacher) but chose to give both characters a fresh start in a different location. They are both starting out as young professionals, struggling to find where they fit in a world wider than their hometowns. Tessa is working as a seamstress in a new shop in Caldwell, Texas, and Jackson works in a gun shop off the courthouse square. Not only did I want to move these characters out from under the shadows of the heroes and heroines who preceded them, but I wanted to make sure new readers could follow the story without being familiar with my previous books.

The story is written, edited, and in the final stages of proofreading. I really enjoyed pairing Jackson and Tessa. After Jackson lost his first love (Joanna) to the man who become his mentor and best friend (Crockett), I’m excited to bring him his own special woman to love. Even if she has to chase him down to convince him he’s worth loving.

Do you enjoy reading stories about characters who were children in previous books?

New Covers for My Novellas!

What a great time—the day after Valentine’s Day—to reveal the new covers for my two historical romance novellas! Did you know I’ve written two novellas? I have! And with their new covers, it completes my name change from Anne to D’Ann. 

Here’s a bit about each book, along with its new cover. See what you think. 

No Small Storm

September 1815, Providence, Rhode Island

Thirty-year-old Remembrance “Mem” Wilkins loves her solitary life running the farm and orchard she inherited from her father and has no plans to give up her independence. Especially not for the likes of Mr. Graham Lott. But when Mem is unable to harvest the apples on her own, she accepts the help of the man she despises.

Fresh off a boat from Ireland with his four-year-old son in tow, Simon Brennan secures a building in which to ply his trade as a cobbler. Still healing from the grief of his wife’s death a year earlier, he determines to focus only on providing a good life for his son. But when he intervenes in an argument on behalf of the intriguing Miss Wilkins, sister-in-law of the tavern owner who befriends him, he suddenly finds himself crossways with his landlord, Mr. Lott, and relieved of his lease and most of his money. 

With no means of support, Simon takes a job helping Mem with her harvest, relieving her of the need of Lott’s help. But their growing attraction to each other makes them both uneasy. Mem gladly escapes to town when her sister begins labor, and Simon, believing it best to distance himself from Mem, takes his son and leaves. But neither anticipates the worst gale New England has ever seen—or that the storm will threaten all they hold dear.

Time Will Tell

Returning home after two years at the Buffalo Ladies’ Seminary, Annis Jackson believes God has blessed her with the perfect homecoming: a whirlwind romance with a man she’s loved from afar during her time at school. Except the object of her affections, Hugh Hylton, is related to her father’s most bitter enemy, a man determined to see Toledo firmly in the grip of the state of Ohio, and the one funding Hugh’s newspaper venture. 

After several years of newspaper work in Buffalo, New York, Hugh Hylton jumped at his uncle’s offer of financial help to start a newspaper on the opposite shore of Lake Erie. And when he discovers during the steamship voyage to his new home that the woman he’s been dreaming about for the past year, Annis Jackson, loves him back, his future seems secure. He arrives in Port Lawrence, part of the newly named town of Toledo, ready to approach her father and declare his intentions toward her. 

However, Annis, fearing Hugh doesn’t understand the depth of the personal conflict over the positioning of Ohio’s state line, persuades him to conceal their relationship until she can prepare her father to accept Hugh in spite of his family connections. When the Michigan militia arrives in the Toledo Strip, determined to prevent Ohio elections, the situation gets out of hand, making their secret more difficult to guard. Suddenly the future of the newspaper—and their relationship—is as unstable as the fate of Toledo itself. 

Will Hugh and Annis survive their feuding families? Only time will tell.

Have you read either of these books? Which cover draws you in? Which story intrigues you most? 

Romance On Valentine’s Day

Since today is Valentine’s Day, and since I’m preparing to “face off” with a crime writer for a “conventions of mysteries vs. romances” discussion, my mind is full of all-things-romance.

(image credit: Jillian Neal)

Although romance novels (and the people who write or read them) are sometimes scoffed at, romance has long been the bestselling fiction genre, and that trend shows every sign of continuing. According to BookScan data, sales of romance novels grew 41% in 2021 and sold even more in 2022.

That’s great news for romance authors and readers alike. And a good reminder that today—or any day—is a great time to celebrate romance!

Now, I’m hoping you can help me prepare for this upcoming discussion. Here is a quick attempt to list the basic elements or conventions that romances should include:

A likeable, dimensional heroineAn attractive, interesting heroThe hero and heroine meet early on and are together oftenTheir attraction goes beyond the physicalThe love story is key to the novelThe hero and heroine face believable obstacles to their future happinessThe characters experience a satisfying emotional and/or spiritual journey with growth or changeA happily-ever-after ending

What did I miss? What would you add or change?

I’d also love to know if you’ve read any wonderful romances lately. If not, perhaps it’s time to treat yourself to a new romance novel, or ask your sweetheart to do so.

Here’s the one I recently bought, which seemed appropriate to include in today’s post.

Happy Valentine’s 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.

Six Steps to Kickstarter Success

In January, I launched my first Kickstarter project. Kickstarter is a website specifically aimed at helping creatives bring projects to life. I’m a creative and I had a dream project I wanted to bring to life. Namely, an audiobook of my novel Memory Lane. So, after lots of thought and research, I published my project, which ran for ten days. At the end of that time, I met my goal!

Here’s what I learned:

1) I highly recommend reading through Kickstarter’s Creator Handbook. It’s very thorough and very informative. Now that I’m at the fulfillment stage of my project, I’m realizing more and more that all of their advice was spot-on. For example, they encourage transparency and they discourage a creator from “guaranteeing” that their backers will have their rewards by a certain day. Kickstarter knows that the unexpected happens — as it did for me last week when an ice storm shut down Dallas right when my local printer was scheduled to print my books.

My dining room assembly line

2) Ensure that your community is large enough to pull off your project. My Kickstarter funded because I’d spent years gathering a base of very loyal readers. I reached my goal not because a few people spent a huge amount but because 167 dedicated supporters of my books participated, some for as little as $1. Every purchase added up and every one mattered. I don’t think I would have been able to come anywhere near my goal if my readership, e-newsletter subscriber numbers, and social media numbers had been smaller.

3) It’s key to offer rewards readers want and that you can realistically fulfill. I spent a lot of time thinking about what might appeal to my readers. A lot of time shopping. A lot of time working out the costs involved, the fulfillment timeline, and the profit margin for each reward I offered. One of the best things I did was recruit the help of friends. Joy and Crissy vetted my plans. Their objective opinions, suggestions, and insights were a huge help.

Don’t get so focused on setting up and marketing the project that you forget to consider how you’re going to keep your end of the bargain and mail out all your rewards. You’ll need a strategy for that and you’ll need to reserve a large chunk of time and energy for that task. In my case, Crissy crafted a packing checklist spreadsheet (so I’d know which items each person had ordered) and a shipping label spreadsheet for every reward tier. Had I been left to my own devices with the giant backer report Kickstarter generated, I’d have been in trouble.

Rewards waiting for their shipping labels

4) Prepare to explain Kickstarter to readers. Most of my readers had never A) heard of Kickstarter or B) bought books and swag there before. Understand that using a new platform is a hurdle for people and you’ll need to address that. I tried to keep the project as simple and straight-forward as possible. I offered several different rewards that started at $15 and went up from there. I did a lot of explaining — on the Kickstarter project page, over email, via social media.

5) Some people will donate without receiving anything in return. I hadn’t anticipated this! I was planning only on raising funds toward my goal by selling rewards. But around 10% of what I raised came from people who simply gave. Amazing generosity, astonishing support. Again, that was due to my community.

A fraction of the boxes I’ll be shipping.

6) Expect some anxiety! Again, I hadn’t anticipated this. Turns out that it’s nerve-wracking to tell the world that you’re doing a Kickstarter project that shows in real time exactly how much has (or hasn’t) been raised toward your goal amount. It feels vulnerable. Everyone can see your number! But that very fact works in your favor, too. Everyone can, indeed, see your number which ends up inspiring people to buy-in because they’re rooting for you and wanting you to succeed.

Memory Lane releases on Tuesday, Valentine’s Day! Between now and then I have lots of books to sign, boxes to pack, shipping labels to print. And it was all worth it. A few weeks after my project ended, the money raised landed in my bank account. My narrators are busily recording their sections of Memory Lane as we speak. I’ve heard samples from them both and they sound PHENOMENAL. A dream come true, thanks to my readers!

Comments and questions welcome!