Becky Flade, Author

I love to read. I LOVE TO READ. I’ll read anything, including soup cans, so clearly I’m not picky about word count. What I don’t understand is why there appears to be a virulent undercurrent of animosity aimed at shorter reads prevalent in current society. I’ve noticed over the last year or so readers are speaking out against short fiction. And they seem angry at the form. One author was reviewed harshly over word count (and only word count) for a story that was given away as a free read!   This is very much an argument for:   DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS …. LENGTH.   I brought the subject up in my writer’s group not that long ago and even there the consensus was decisively split between those that love the form and those that would never “stoop” to purchase a novella. And there it was again, while these writers weren’t angry at the short read like some readers I have encountered seem to be, they still saw the short story as LESS worthy or their time and money. [1]...

Since this post was first published, I've released a total of 7 books (comprising two separate series of romantic thrillers: The Fated Series and Philly Heat), 4 erotic novellas, a collection of noir short stories, a young adult zombie apocalypse novella, and two audio books. And Fall to Pieces the second book in my Philly Heat Series recently won the 2022 RONE Award for best thriller/suspense. But still each new submission, each new release, inspires more nerves. 😳 If you ever meet an author who claims to not be insecure... they're lying.

Some years back, more than a decade of them in fact, I discovered a love for running. But I let it fall away and then I let myself put on a lot of weight. In January I started working out; after I’d lost a few pounds, and built up some stamina, I started running again. And convinced my two girls, Casey (24 years old) and Morgen (14), to do a 5k race with me at the Philadelphia Zoo. And then I set up about training for that race. My only goal? Cross the finish line before my girls! Things didn’t exactly go as planned. First of all, for the last weekend in April, it was unseasonably cold. Second, I got caught behind a incapacitated mini-van on the expressway literally within eyesight of the fricking zoo. Third, I had a large cup of coffee. Fourth, I forgot my damn earbuds. I need music when I run – the sound of my labored breathing is demoralizing and distracting. We line up, the three of us, shivering, and agree to meet at the finish line. The horn sounds and they dart out in...

Some time ago I ran post titled Movie Adaptations: It was the Best of Times listing my favorite adaptations with the promise of the companion piece. I submit for your enjoyment It was the Worst of Times We all know the movie never does the book any justice. Here are the ones I think sucked big time: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,  do I need to explain WHY this one made the cut?  Ender's Game ; Flowers in the Attic  - no. Just no. Hell no; and  The Last Airbender.  Okay, yeah, I know Nickelodeon's Avatar was a cartoon and not a book. But flying hog monkeys it was deep, an excellent display of storytelling, and the live action movie was crap.  Nearly any feature film length adaptation of a Stephen King horror novel (not the adaptations of his dramatic short stories I praised in Best), to be fair, I haven't seen nor will I see the new It cause, ya know, clowns; and The Dark Tower would've been a fun/exciting movie if I hadn't read th...

When I dream, it's vivid. As in my brain doesn't recognize that I'm dreaming and I respond, often physically, trying to run, etc. Now I remember only the second part of this exchange, as I was asleep at first, but I'm told it started a little something like this: Me: Watch out for the spider. Hubz: What spider? Me: The really big one under the bed. From here I remember: Hubz: Babe, babe, wake the fuck up! Me: What do you want? Hubz: What spider? Me:   What? Spider? Hubz: You said there was a spider under the bed. Me: Oh. I think I was dreaming. Hubz: You think you were dreaming or you were dreaming?! Me:   Well, it was wearing a helmet, so I’m pretty sure I was dreaming.   Can you believe he got mad at me for that????

I call bullshit. First, you see Jack & his friend win tickets at a poker game minutes before the Titanic launches. You see him board the ship, etc. If he was a figment of Rose’s imagination or a symptom of a psychotic break, we wouldn’t have seen him – on screen – until his first interaction with Rose when he convinces her not to kill herself. Further, no one else would address him in the remainder of the film, make eye contact, have a conversation like his private conversation with Molly Brown regarding his tux size, or any of a number of interactions between Jack and other persons on board the ship: Cal, Cal’s majordomo, the ship’s porter, and on. ♪ My heart will go on… sorry I digress. As I was saying, bullshit called. The only recent movie theory to annoy me more is the one claiming Sandy from Grease was dead or dying the whole time!  I mean come on. Really?   I figured out more than twenty years ago that the car flying off into the clouds while Sandy waved g...

Some mornings are harder than others. Today is one of those days. I did not want to get out of the bed. I had, and still have, a mild headache and all I wanted was to roll over and snuggle down into the mattress. Instead, I did what every responsible adult does and got up. I go for that much-needed first jolt of coffee. There’s no milk, no creamer and no sugar. That should have been my first clue that I was already screwed.     Please can I have some coffee with sugar and cream? Walking to my bus stop, I glance over my shoulder – here comes the bus. I look ahead and watch as the light at the intersection turns green and there is no one waiting on the bus stop. This means that if my cranky-ass doesn’t make it to the stop before the bus, it’s going to pass me by.    Don't let the art work fool you - I wasn't smiling.   Now I’m running. And screaming “I’m running!” I feel the pleasantly loose jeans I slid into about half hour prior start to...