Author Interview (and TWO Giveaways!): the one and only Becky Wade

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

For those of you who require translation, that was me … fangirling … because I’m talking with BECKY WADE on the blog today! I get to meet her in person in August, and I may just go into fangirl apoplexy. Stay tuned. (Note to Becky: don’t worry. I’ll maintain a professional demeanor at all times. Probably. Or I may babble incoherently. It could go either way.)

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 writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance!  She’s the Carol Award, INSPY Award, and Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart and the Porter family series.

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I also recently learned that she is NOT in fact the same Becky Wade from Texas who is a famous runner. Do with that information what you will. 🙂

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to read and review her latest book, Her One and Only, and I LOVED it! Here is a snippet from my review and a link to the original post.

After ten years in the NFL, super star Gray Fowler is accustomed to obsessive fans. But when Gray starts receiving death threats from a stalker, his team hires an executive protection agency to guard him until the culprit is caught. Dealing with bodyguards 24/7 is a headache, especially when one of them is a young, beautiful woman. How can a female half his size possibly protect him better than he can protect himself?

Dru Porter is a former Marine, an expert markswoman, and a black belt–none of which saved her from disaster on her last assignment. In order to rebuild her tarnished reputation, she’s determined to find Gray’s stalker and, since relationships between agents and clients are forbidden, avoid a romantic attachment between herself and the rugged football player with the mysterious past.

Yet every secret that leads Dru closer to the stalker also draws her closer to Gray. As the danger escalates, they’ll survive only if they can learn to trust their lives — and their hearts — to one another.

The relationship between Dru and Gray is full of delicious chemistry, entertaining banter, and genuine affection. They made me laugh and grin and swoon and even get a bit tearful at times.  Both are coming from less than stellar pasts – some of their own making, some (especially in Gray’s case) out of their control. Dru has already found her footing with God and is living out the reality of being a new creation. Gray has to get to that point during the course of the novel, and it’s one of my very favorite parts of his story.

Because Becky Wade is at the helm, you are also in for a high dose of delightful humor.  This is mostly courtesy of two things in Her One and Only – Becky’s lovely & witty writing voice and a cast of supporting characters that prove to be subtly hilarious. Every time the whole Porter family gets together, I laughed out loud at least once. Dru’s neighbor Augustine – her pea salad and her Harley.  Did I mention that she’s 70 years old, African-American, and that Dru takes her to biker church in a sidecar? Hysterical.

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Hi Becky! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for chatting with me! 🙂 

Becky: You’re welcome!

I start everyone out with a fast four, so let’s go!!

Becky: Apples.  I like their crispiness.  I eat one almost every day with lunch.

Carrie: This question always makes me want an apple. I really need to just cut one up before I start these interviews haha!

Becky: M&M’s.  Because… chocolate.

Carrie: I need to just grab a bag of these too… 

Becky: Dogs.  Because I’m a crazy dog lady, full to brimming with love for my dog, Sam.  He drives car pool with me and keeps me company when I’m writing.

Carrie: Zuzu is thrilled with your answer! She thinks you and she would be good friends. 

Becky: Coke (diet).  Because it tastes delicious to me over lots of ice in the late afternoon.

Carrie: Agreed. My go-to afternoon beverage is a Diet Coke from McDonalds (in one of their foam cups to keep it nice and insulated) with extra ice!

Around here I like to say that reading is my super power. What is YOUR super power?

Becky: My super power is knowing what’s going to happen in a book or movie before it happens.  As I’m reading a book or watching a movie, my brain is working hard, whirring through the options, trying to guess what’s going to happen.  Not to brag, but I’m good.  For example, I called big twists before they happened in The Sixth Sense, Gone Girl, and The Husband’s Secret.

I think I received this power from the planet Krypton– Oh, wait.  It was Superman who received his power from Krypton.  In my case, I think I received my super power as a by-product of all the study of story I’ve done over the years.  First as a reader, then as a writer.

Carrie: Reading (and writing) can give you super powers, it’s true.

You and author Katie Ganshert have an ongoing (and hilarious) Pinterest war of sorts that plays out on social media.  How did that start?

Becky:  Yes!  Twice a year Katie and I battle each other in what we call our “Pinterest Wars”.  If you’re a Pinterest user, then you’re familiar with the gorgeous pins that fill Pinterest’s site.  They all look so temptingly do-able.

During one of our “wars”, Katie and I both take on a series of weekly challenges.  One week it might be a recipe.  The next week it might be a family photo, a craft, a hair style.  We post the challenge on Monday then we post our regular, mortal-person results on Friday.  Our Facebook followers vote on who they think did the challenge best and the winning author receives a virtual tiara and one voter receives a prize.

Our Pinterest Wars started in 2013 after Katie and I noticed that her readers seemed to like my books and vice versa.  Since we’re friends we thought it might be fun to join forces on… something.  We were both fairly new to Pinterest, so it was fresh on our minds and — boom — I thought up Pinterest Wars.

That’s right.  *I* came up with the idea.  Not Katie.   So it only seemed fitting when I won the first several wars.  When Katie started beating me, I was deeply scandalized.

Carrie: Speaking of scandals, there was quite the scandal this year. I believe someone (Katie Ganshert) dubbed it The Great Marshmallow Controversy. If I were a hard-hitting journalist, I would totally ask you for your side right now…

…but I’d rather talk about how my fave Pinterest War challenges are always the cover recreations! And I totally vote for you every time, Becky. (Umm… just don’t go back through the archives and double check that, ok?) 

It should be noted that BECKY WADE was the overall champion in their latest Pinterest War, despite (maybe because of?) the Great Marshmallow Controversy.  Congratulations, Becky! 

In your current series, the Porter family matriarch is notorious for pulling other characters aside and confiding, “Don’t tell anyone but ______ is my favorite.” The name changes depending on which book we’re reading, a quirk I find hilarious. If YOU, the author, were to pull someone (say, for instance, me) aside and confide your favorite character of the series, who would it be? I promise not to tell anyone… (Yes, Ty…. I see you over there.  You’re still MY favorite.)

Becky: Carrie, that’s a tremendously creative way to ask an author to pick a favorite!  Like most authors, I’m now going to have to come up with a creative way to answer so that I don’t ostracize any of my characters.  I [want] them all to come to Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year.

Bo is my favorite character in Undeniably Yours because he’s so good and humble and loves Meg so much.

Ty is my favorite character in Meant to Be Mine because he’s hilarious and confident and loves Celia so much.

Jake is my favorite character in A Love Like Ours because he’s dark and tortured and loves Lyndie so much.

Dru is my favorite character in Her One and Only because she’s like a Christian fiction version of wonder woman, except without the bracelets, lasso, and invisible plane.

Carrie: Becky, that was an incredibly diplomatic answer! I think your Thanksgiving guest list is safe 🙂 I’ll let them debate the point further with you then. 

Let’s talk about Ty Porter for a minute. (I know he has only a little to do with Her One and Only but he’s demanding some attention.) How did you keep your composure while writing Ty? I mean, honestly, that man… goodness. Level 5 on the hero scale for sure!

Becky:  Thank you!  I’m always fascinated when readers tell me which of my heroes impacted them the most.  The answers are as varied as my readers, so the fact that you’re Team Ty tells me that you like a man who’s flirtatious, handsome, funny, quick to banter, and highly self-assured.

I maintained my composure while writing Ty because I’m a trained professional.  🙂

Here’s some inside scoop…  The dynamic between Ty and Celia is more similar to the dynamic between my husband and me than any of my other hero/heroine pairs.

Carrie: Ahhhh! I love inside scoop! I bet you had fun writing Ty and Celia in light of the similar dynamics. Your assessment of “my type” is pretty spot on as well! Which brings me to my next question… where do you take lessons to become a “trained professional”? I would like some help in maintaining my composure while reading Ty. Sort of. Ok, not really. I’m happy in my swoonfest. 

Now that Ty has been placated for the time being, let’s talk about Dru Porter, the heroine in Her One and Only.  If Dru knew ahead of time that she was going to be stranded indefinitely on a deserted island, what 5 books would she insist on bringing along?

Becky:  All You Ever Needed to Know about Log Cabins, because Dru loves living in and maintaining her log cabin

For Golden Retriever Addicts, because Dru’s dog Fi is a big part of her life

A Bodyguard’s Primer on How to Handle a Recalcitrant Client, because Dru will need it once she’s saddled with superstar NFL client Gray Fowler

Overcoming Your Childhood, because Dru needs to work through the childhood ‘trauma’ of being the much younger sister to three older, bossy brothers

Anna Karenina, because Dru reads weighty literary fiction

Carrie: LOL! And – bonus – weighty literary fiction such as Anna Karenina can make a great whomping weapon in a pinch.

What sets Her One and Only apart from the rest of the Porter Family series?

Becky: Three things!

1.)  There’s a large suspense element to the story.  Every now and then I enjoy adding a villain to a book.  I added one to Undeniably Yours, too.  But Her One and Only is different because the whole plot revolves around finding the stalker who’s been sending Gray death threats.

2.)  A former Porter couple serves as the secondary storyline in Her One and Only.

3.)  This book is the final book in the series, so it wraps up the entire saga.

Carrie: <insert wail at the reminder of saying goodbye to the series> <shakes it off>  Becky, I am grinning from ear to ear at the opportunity to talk with you. It’s a huge  honor.  Thank you. 

Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Becky:  Thank you for having me, Carrie.  I’m grateful!

Next for me…  The Bradford Sisters, a three book series about three sisters.  The first book features a modern day bluestocking librarian and a celebrated Navy SEAL.

I loved writing about the Porters so much that I opted to dive into another family series.  Readers can expect to find in the Bradford Sisters books everything they’re familiar with from my previous books — a contemporary setting, humor, a faith journey, and lots and lots of romance!

Carrie: Are y’all as EXCITED as I am for Becky’s upcoming new series?!? If you should … you know … need a beta reader or anything … I *might* be interested 😉 

Ok, dear readers, what about you? Which Porter sibling is YOUR favorite? 

There are TWO giveaways for you to enter today!

One can be entered here on the blog; the other will take you to Litfuse’s giveaway page.

Giveaway #1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #2

Join Becky in celebrating the release of Her One and Only by entering to win her Porter prize pack and $100 cash card giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Her One and Only
• A $100 cash card
• Follow Your Heart tote bag
• 24 oz Tervis Wonder Woman Tumbler
• The Blind Side DVD
• Necklace with star charm
• Porter Family navy jersey

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry! The giveaway ends on May 31st. The winner will be announced June 1st on the Litfuse blog.