For years, I have been a big fan of CCR author Becky Wade. Her stories offer characters with real problems and flaws (so relatable!), great settings, and the most satisfying happy endings. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. She was recently inducted into the Christy Awards Hall of Fame!
It’s a great thrill to have Becky as my guest today for a chat about her upcoming release, Memory Lane, out February 14. First, let me tell you about the book – whose cover might just be one of my favorites.
ABOUT MEMORY LANE
After surviving a trauma several years back, Remy Reed relocated to a cottage on one of Maine’s most remote islands. She’s arranged her life just the way she wants it, spending her time working on her wood sculptures and soaking in the beauty of nature. It’s quiet and solitary—until the day she spots something bobbing in the ocean.
Her binoculars reveal the “something” to be a man, and he’s struggling to keep his head above water. She races out to save him and brings him into her home. He’s injured, which doesn’t detract from his handsomeness nor make him any easier to bear. He acts like a duke who’s misplaced his dukedom . . . expensive tastes, lazy charm, bossy ideas.
Remy would love nothing more than to return him to his people, but he has no recollection of his life prior to the moment she rescued him. Though she’s not interested in relationships other than the safe ones she’s already established, she begins to realize that he’s coming to depend on her.
Who is he? What happened that landed him in the Atlantic Ocean? And why is she drawn to him more and more as time goes by?
There’s no way to discover those answers except to walk beside him down memory lane.
Now, let’s chat with Becky!
Me: I’m a sucker for a good setting. Why did you choose Maine as the setting for Memory Lane and the Sons of Scandal series?
Becky: Back when I decided to set Sons of Scandal there, I’d never been to Maine. But every time I’d see pictures or video of that state, I’d feel a tug. The rugged coast! The islands! The forests! I chose it as my setting because it’s gorgeous and because so many of my readers love Maine and because doing so gave me an excellent reason to travel there myself. Last summer, my husband and I took an amazing 10-day trip to New England. We spent most of that time in Maine and it was even better than my highest hopes. I soaked in the details as much as I could and took dozens of photos.
Me: I absolutely love the “opposites attract” trope! What do you find fun about writing this trope? Challenging?
Becky: So many elements of an “opposites attract” trope are great fun for me. The banter. The juicy friction. The way he’s bewildered and amused by her approach to life and vice versa. How they grow to adore and respect the uniqueness of the other.
My challenge was to make sure that the hero and heroine’s differences actually did complement each other. I’d never want a reader to close a book of mine and think, That relationship would never work long-term. So it’s very important to me to stack up the characters’ strengths and weaknesses in such a way that they make each other stronger and readers can clearly see that, while they’re opposites, they are also perfect for one another.
Me: Many of your recent stories, including this one, weave in a bit of mystery. What do you think the addition of mystery lends to a romantic story?
Becky: A gripping and emotional romance should keep readers turning pages based on the strength of the relationship alone. But a mystery gives a reader an extra reason to read past their bedtime. Personally, I love to get sucked into a story because I have big questions that I need answered, things I need to figure out, and theories percolating in my brain.
In my books, the characters are falling in love and tackling questions like, ‘What secret was buried in the past?’ (Stay with Me). ‘Who are my biological parents?’ (Let It Be Me). ‘What’s at the end of the treasure hunt her dad left her in his will? ‘ (Turn to Me). In Memory Lane the question is, ‘Who is this man who washed ashore?’
Me: Memory Lane will release on February 14. Can you tell us about your most memorable Valentine’s Day?
Becky: My childhood Valentine’s Days in my sunny California hometown were my most memorable. My mom would set the breakfast table with doilies, flowers, and red napkins. She’d make my sisters and me pink, heart-shaped pancakes. And we’d each receive a box of chocolates from See’s Candies. (Which is still my favorite chocolate in the world.) Then I’d set off to school with hand-addressed valentines for my classmates and a decorated shoe box for the valentines they’d be giving me. I’d always choose an extra-flattering valentine for the cutest boy in the class and then attempt to interpret his valentine to me as extra-flattering in return. I loved those Valentine’s Days!
Readers, help me thank Becky for spending some time to share with us today! Join the conversation… What’s one of your memorable Valentine’s Days? Do you have a favorite Becky Wade book? Have another question for Becky?
Becky Wade is the Christy and Carol award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, the Bradford Sisters series, and the Misty River Romance series. Find out more at http://www.beckywade.com/ and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and BookBub. Pre-order your copy of Memory Lane here or pick one up when it comes out on February 14!
Teresa Tysinger is an author of Southern contemporary romance inspired by grace. She writes on the fringes of being a wife, mom, and full-time communications professional. Teresa is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, the Association for Women in Communications, and the Religion Communicators Council. She’s an introverted Enneagram 4 (if you know, you know) and loves coffee, traveling, and almost every genre of music. Born in Hawaii, raised in Florida, and educated in North Carolina, she now resides in Texas with her husband, daughter, and dog.
Bwcky is a prolific author with a lot of success in the Christian market and a go-to on many “must try” lists so I’ll ask her about the market.
Something I’ve always wanted to know is whether it’s true that the Christian fiction market has more women writers than men.
I remember reading a guy’s blog who was complaining that there were too many women in the Christian market writing female-oriented genres too. To be honest his tone of “Uff this place is full of women oh no”! It didn’t make me want to keep reading, too much pride and a bit of machismo, but it made me curious, the basis of his plot wouldn’t be strange considering that the pioneer in faith fiction was a woman Janette Oke with a romance book.
If the answer is affirmative, why would few men choose to venture into this market? Thank you!
I think the first clean romance book I ever read was Becky Wade’s My Stubborn Heart! I have enjoyed many of her books over the years and this one sounds wonderful too. I have a friend that lives in Maine and I’ve always wanted to visit her. It sounds like such a beautiful place from the pictures she sends to me.
My most memorable Valentine’s Day was when my kids were little and they wanted to make the day special for me and my husband. They drew placemats for us, set the table with a white sheet as a tablecloth, lit candles, and severed us our food (which they helped me make).
Hi, Lilly! That’s an interesting point to bring up and I’m sure Becky may have thoughts. I do think it’s likely that women hold the majority of authorship within the Christian romance market, though I’m not sure about other genres within the overall Christian market. What do you think the reason may be?
That’s so, so sweet! I also LOVED My Stubborn Heart!
Maybe because Christian fiction started with Christian romance, I’m afraid that in the old days fiction wasn’t seen as something serious either, so big and serious men didn’t want to write it, the trend was started by women like Grace Livingston Hill, the readers were women and it has continued.
The second could be…why does God want it to be like this at this time? well he has raised up many of these writers who are faithful to the word and write for him, I would say that the vast majority of faithful Christian writers have testimonies of being where they are for God so… maybe that’s the plan?
The other…well, maybe the majority of fiction readers are women and men read non-fiction so they write it too, each sex mostly writes what they read the most.
The last thing is, I suppose, an evil of these times that transcends age and sex and that is that people see meditating on the word and the Bible as something good for you, although boring as vegetables, but fiction as its fun and escapist chocolate cake or thoughtful but definitely want something exciting. So Christian fiction sounds like: do you want some cauliflower on your cake? They do not conceive something fun and that is also good for you. It is the result that our entertainment has expelled God from the matter, perhaps many no longer see the problem.
Or also the mainstream genres in the same way that many girls who are stuck with erotica and what glorifies lust therefore do not see the appeal of chaste romance so many guys are stuck with gore, cruelty, nihilistic dark fantasy and stories of war where there is no honor therefore they could be Christians but they see the Christian Fiction as “cheesy”.
Lilly,
Yes! In my experience, the Christian fiction market has far, far more female writers than male writers. I think that’s because the majority of Christian fiction readers are also women. Female readers are buying books written by female authors.
That’s not to say that there aren’t male Christian writers/readers. There are. A few male authors have written some of the most successful Christian fiction of all time because it was purchased by a wide audience of men and women. For example, the Left Behind series (written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins). The Shack (by William P Young). In the present day, Charles Martin is prolific and very successful.
“I think the first clean romance book I ever read was Becky Wade’s My Stubborn Heart! I have enjoyed many of her books over the years” That means a lot to me! THANK YOU!
I haven’t yet read one of Becky’s books! I have at least one in my TBR stack, though! I love romantic suspense books! I don’t have a good Valentine’s Day story. I guess one of the most memorable was the one I did flowers for my Mom, and they weren’t delivered til almost 10 that night!
Thanks for visiting Inspy Romance, Becky! And thanks for inviting her for an interview, Teresa. :)
So glad you invited Becky to Inspy Romance fir this interview, Teresa! I’ve read all of Becky’s books, and yes, my fave is My Stubborn Heart. I love the relatability of the characters, the fact these people feel real and not super suds-up squeaky clean but have some grit. I’ve preordered my copy of Memory Lane and can’t wait to read the rest in this series. My question for Becky: do you plan more trad pubbed books or is indie something you plan to continue?
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Trudy, I’m happy to hear that you have at least one of my books in your TBR stack! (It’s impossible to ever “catch up” with the TBR stack, isn’t it?) If you have a chance to read one of mine, I truly hope you enjoy it!
You’re welcome! I enjoyed Teresa’s questions. :)
You’re welcome! I enjoyed Teresa’s questions!
“Do you plan more trad pubbed books or is indie something you plan to continue?” I’m committed to publishing this three-book series indie. After that, I’ll evaluate and see where I feel the Lord tugging me. I’m not opposed to returning to trad publishing. :)
Thank you so much for sharing. I cannot think of anything special that happened on Valentines Day. God bless you.
God bless you, too, Debra!
Valentine’s Day is extra special to me because it’s my birthday! Ha ha! My mom always made it really special for me – everything was red, white and pink that day with hearts all over the house and birthday parties with heart themes. All my friends loved coming to my parties because my mom was a fantastic party planner! I think that gene skipped me! My husband says he can never forget my birthday which I guess is a good thing :) As far as my favorite Becky Wade book – no way can I choose! I love them all for different reasons!