Author Spotlight: Becca Kinser

(photo collage property of Becca Kinzer's author website)

Becca Kinzer is a critical care nurse who lives in Springfield, Illinois. She writes clean, lighthearted, humorous stories. Her first novel, Dear Henry, Love Edith, won the 2024 Carol Award for debut novel. This was my first introduction to Kinzer's writing, and I really enjoyed that epistolary tale of mistaken identities. In it, a young woman rents a room from a man she thinks is an older gentleman. They keep missing running into one another, so he assumes she's a spinster. As their correspondence blooms, so does love and a myriad of obstacles.

Sometimes it is difficult to follow-up on a successful debut, but Kinzer wrote an equally funny novel in her second book, Love in Tandem. Charlotte Carter faces the dismantling of her beloved small town music program. Desperate to save it, she agrees to join her ex-fiance's brother in a tandem bike challenge, hoping the prize will secure funds to save the music. As these opposites approach the 500-mile trek, their pretend-dating scheme runs into plenty of snags. Is love inevitable on a bicycle built for two?

I would have loved to have driven to Springfield, Illinois, to meet and interview Becca Kinzer. I appreciate her light-hearted humorous stories. They lifted my spirits on some gloomy days. Since I'm not gifted with the ability to write humorous tales, I admire this skill she demonstrates. Alas, instead of an interview, I'm relying upon information from the book club kit for her upcoming book (available,  with discussion questions, through Tyndale in their Crazy 4 Fiction book club kits).

As for writing with humor, Kinzer follows a driving principle. She writes, "There's a saying in the writing world that if there's no tears in the writer, there's no tears in the reader. Well, my interpretation is if there's no giggles in the writer, there's no giggles in the reader. Let's just say I had plenty of giggles writing certain scenes in this story." Kudos to Kinzer for making readers giggle!

You can influence the success of Kinzer's third book by purchasing it on its upcoming release date, April 15th, 2025. In this book, First Love, Second Draft, Kinzer focuses on second chances. Gracie is a rom-com writer who writes a baseball romance series. Noah Parker is a forty-year-old pitcher who is famous for one perfect game. When the two meet, there's a bundle of banter and a surfeit of sparks. But can their love overcome the complications they face?

In the book club kit, Kinzer discusses how to story germ originated. She writes about "having trouble sleeping. Scenes about a baseball player and his wife kept playing out in my mind. What if the absolute best night of a baseball player's professional career coincided with the absolute worst night of his wife's personal life?" Sounds like a great premise, no? Apparently, she wrote the book before her other two books took off. She teasingly liked to call the manuscript, "First Love, Seven Hundredth Draft." Ha!

I think I'm looking forward to the book most because it promises a story of redemption. Kinzer says, "There's an element of redemption and forgiveness that always goes hand in hand with a second-chance romance. I don't think the world can ever get enough of that type of story." I hope to find the encouragement Kinzer sought to instill in this story. She hopes readers "learn to cling to God through everything, especially the disappointments and seasons of waiting. By keeping a tight grip on our faith, we'll never lose reason to hope. And as with all my stories, I hope readers get some good laughs along the way."

Want a taste of the tale? Click here for a free flash fiction story, "Famous First Date," introducing Gracie and Noah. If you visit Becca Kinzer's author website, you can access two free novellas when you subscribe to her newsletter. Then, head to the Amazon page for her new novel, to secure your copy on the release date. Or if you'd rather purchase a signed copy, visit the author's website where you can purchase one from The Sly Fox. I'm wishing Becca all the best of success as this third novel reaches the light of day and into the hands of eager readers everywhere. Maybe someday I'll get to meet her and ask the myriad of questions bursting in my brain.