Category: #amreading

Becky Wade – Authorview

On By Betty OwensIn #amreading, author, Authorview, award-winning, contemporary, historical, Romance2 Comments
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Becky Wade

Welcome to Authorview, Becky Wade. She is an award-winning writer of historical fiction and contemporary romance. Her latest novel, Book 3 of The Porter Family Novels, released May 5, 2015 –  A Love Like Ours (see below for details). I’m so excited to host one of my mom’s favorite writers! Can you tell I’m excited? I used an exclamation point to illustrate it. I know you will love her candid answers to my questions. Then read her bio, follow the link to her website and check out her books. If you’ve never read a Becky Wade novel, you’re missing out.

So Becky, tell us about yourself–

I am a…Mom, wife, writer, chocoholic. Just typing the word ‘chocoholic’ makes me wonder how many steps are currently separating me from the chocolate in my pantry….

You would like me when I’ve…Just finished a yoga class. I’m quite peaceful for the five minutes afterward.

You wouldn’t like me when I’m…Still trying to wake up in the morning. The process takes about two hours. It involves a lot of rushing around, trying to get the kids to school on time, and very little conversation.

What qualities I like to see in others:    Humor. An open, genuine spirit. Humility. Warmth. Kindness.

Favorite way to spend an evening:  At a show! It’s a rare treat for me, but I love to see musicals performed live.

Who I love to spend an evening with:  My husband.

Am reading:  A romance novel that I’m judging for RWA’s RITA awards.

If I had a hammer…I’d give it to someone interested in using it to repair my patio.

My favorite genre is: Romance.

My work-in-progress: Is a contemporary Christian romance that will become the fourth and final book in my Texas-set Porter Family series.

My favorite food is: Chocolate.

I’m a collector of:    Chocolate. I also collect Department 56 Dickens Village pieces and set them up each December for Christmas.

My favorite happily-ever-after:    My great grandparents had a wonderful, joyful, long marriage full of family and faith. I can remember them laughing together and the closeness and trust of their relationship. My great grandmother passed away first, my great grandfather soon after. It was almost as if, once she went to heaven, he was extraordinarily impatient to join her there.

I inherited their wedding band when I was a teenager. Years later, I had the inside of the ring inscribed with their initials and their wedding date in 1919. It became my own wedding band when I married and I’ve been wearing it ever since.

Betty: What a wonderful story! And readers, do you get the feeling she likes chocolate? I think the message is very clear. Becky, thank you so much for participating in Authorview. 

Now — more about Becky Wade:

Becky’s a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas.  She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children.  When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction.  She loves penning funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance!  She’s the Carol Award and Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, Undeniably Yours, Meant to Be Mine, and A Love Like Ours.

A Love Like Ours

LoveLikeOurs_mck.inddFormer Marine Jake Porter has far deeper scars than the one that marks his face. He struggles with symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.

When Lyndie James, Jake’s childhood best friend, lands back in Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake pairs her with Silver Leaf, a horse full of promise but lacking in results, hoping she can solve the mystery of the stallion’s reluctance to run.

Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake’s will, Lyndie’s sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he’s built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he’d thought he’d lost returns, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

http://www.beckywade.com/my_books.html

What’s Up?

On By Betty OwensIn #amreading, Betty Thomason Owens, fiction, Writing6 Comments

WorkinProgress-MeA work-in-progress. That’s what’s up with me. I’m always trying to improve myself and update my knowledge of various computer technologies. As a writer, I run into glitches all day long and have to solve problems and iron out difficult wrinkles in the system or on my webpage, etc. If I had to wait for someone else to do it…well…it might actually be quicker than me working through a learning process. But now I know how to do it myself!

As of yesterday, my website is now located right here. Moving from Blogger to WordPress was an adventure (extreme understatement). But I love the results! What do you think of it?

That is, if I can remember what I did.

I’m also nearing the end of a work-in-progress–my second book in the Legacy series, Carlotta’s Legacy. This has been a learning process also, and extended beyond my self-imposed deadline more than I care to admit. I’m pleased with how it’s turned out. I hope my editor and publisher agree.

Those of you who’ve read Amelia’s Legacy, will remember Nancy’s perky best friend Rebecca Lewis. Rebecca falls on hard times and has to make some tough decisions. She may have second thoughts, but backing down is not in her makeup. Though she’s knocked down again and again, she keeps getting back up and back in the game.

I have to admit, I’m kind of crushing on Rebecca’s love interest, Riccardo Alverá. He’s an Italian count faced with some tough decisions of his own. To prepare myself for this story, I watched several movies from the era (also set in Italy). In Love and War (a Hallmark movie), Tea With Mussolini, A Month by the Lake, and Enchanted April. There are numerous wonderful novels set in the pre-WW2 era. And fantastic YouTube films about everything from sailing on an ocean liner (in the 1920s & 30s!!) to harvesting olives.

512px-French_Broom2One of my absolute favorite websites, because it was so informative, was Anne’s Italy. And then I happened across a list on YouTube that included movies and photographs from Umbria, which is the setting for Carlotta’s Legacy. Oh the hours I spent watching these beautiful scenes! If I had a bucket list, visiting Umbria would be at the top.

As I write this post, I’m a matter of weeks away from the release of Annabelle’s Ruth. See information below. This story is close to my heart, because it’s fashioned after the Book of Ruth and loosely based on some of my mother’s life experiences. It’s set in a small town where I spent part of my childhood. Here’s a sneak-peek at the setting for Annabelle’s Ruth (Pinterest Board).

I’ll keep you posted on these releases. Follow this blog or like my Facebook author page, to keep up with what’s going on (and help me reach 500 likes this summer). For instance, next week, the Authorview post features Becky Wade and her hot new release, A Love Like Ours. You will want to be here for that.

bluetick-coonhound-2Annabelle’s Ruth is a 1950’s era “Ruth” story, set in the area of Trenton, Tennessee. Constance “Connie” Cross determines to follow her mother-in-law, Annabelle, east to Tennessee after their husbands perish in a fishing boat accident. After Southern California, 1950’s West Tennessee gives Connie culture shock. How will she adapt to her new life amid the cotton farms, rank with prejudice?

The Love Boat Bachelor Needs You

On By Betty OwensIn #amreading, bachelorette, comedy, contest, cruise, Jerusha Agen, Love Boat Bachelor, Romance, Write Integrity Press
As this posts, we’re moving in to the final two days of the chapter releases for The Love Boat Bachelor. I hope you’ve had a chance to read them. Maybe you already have a favorite! Well, after tomorrow’s chapter is released, you’ll have a chance to vote. Please do! It’s like Dancing With the Stars. The contestants perform, the judges give them points, but the callers choose the winner. 
Which chapter touched your heart? Which heroine belongs with Brent Teague? It’s up to you.
Team writing a story like A Dozen Apologies and The Love Boat Bachelor is surprisingly fun. It’s interesting to see where the other authors take the story. I feel both honored and humbled to work alongside such talented writers. 
Don’t forget, The Love Boat Bachelor will be available as a free download on Kindle, February 14th – 17th. 
After it’s all done, please check out other works by these authors. Several of them have multiple books published, and include a number of my favorite reads from the past year or so.
Jerusha Agen

Jerusha Agen brought Brent Teague to life in last year’s A Dozen Apologies. Her opening chapter in The Love Boat Bachelor draws you in to the story.

You’re there with Brent as he fights the temptation to flee before he ever boards the ship. Jerusha Agen has also written the Sisters Redeemed Series, —This Dance, This Shadow, and This Redeemer. She also collaborated on: A Ruby Christmas, and A Dozen Apologies.

For more information about Jerusha Agen, visit her Website and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

   Our greatest wish is that you are entertained and blessed by our stories. If you enjoy these books, please consider recommending them to your friends.

You don’t need a ticket for this cruise, just a link to the website, like this one:
Chapter Seven Port of Call: Barbados

E-mail to Roselle: From Barbados

Port of Call: Bridgetown, Barbados with Lacy Dickinson 

Monday’s Chapter Six:

Chapter Six Port of Call: Bonaire

E-mail to Roselle: From Bonaire

Last Week’s links