when to hold on with everything you have left - The Day Of The Wave by Becky Wicks

"The Day of the Wave is fiercely intense and undeniably epic in its desperate pursuit of lost dreams, unwavering hope, and ultimate redemption. This is an astonishingly indescribable journey of two people whose world was savagely ripped to shreds and yet they refused to give up on the tiniest flicker of hope that burned within them. " - Goodreads, Amber

Description:

Torn apart by the tragedy. Thrown back together ten years later by destiny... Isla and Ben were just sixteen when the Boxing Day tsunami ripped through their beach resort in Thailand. Just days after forming a life-changing bond, both were missing and presumed dead.

Based on real life events, The Day of the Wave is a story of healing, learning to let go, and figuring out when to hold on with everything you have left.

MB's INTERVIEW

Thank you, Mrs. Becky Wicks

What research did you do for The Day of the Wave and what it was the most emotional fact you discovered? How did you decide what to use in your story?

It was definitely a journey researching this one! I started it while I was still in Sri Lanka and speaking to people about their experiences in and after the tsunami - it was what inspired me to write about the event in a way that I was sure hadn't been done before. I watched every YouTube video, every documentary and read every article I could find about the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami before I started writing. I wanted to understand the timeline of events but more than that, I wanted to feel the depth of emotion that you can only feel by hearing all those survival stories. 

The one thing that stuck in my mind was the scuba diving team who were underwater in all their gear when the tsunami happened. It was literally a 7-minute video on YouTube about their experience that gave me the idea for Ben's story. When the guys talk about emerging after it happened and looking towards the shoreline, one says "that's when we saw the bodies floating towards us." It really moved me. I included that in the book.

Second chances – are they real, are they deserved? Why such theme for Isla and Ben?

I wanted to give these characters some light at the end of the tunnel. They were both affected by the tsunami in different ways and it's not until they meet up again ten years later that they really start to heal, because in each other they find the understanding and compassion that's been missing in all their other relationships. A second chance for them is more than just re-igniting the flame between them - it's an opportunity to live to their full potential and be each other's rock moving forward.

What should readers look for in a romance story?

I'm not sure it's up to an author to decide what a reader looks for in anything. The author usually just writes the book they want to write and hopefully, the right readers will find it and like it. :-)

Between fiction, non - fiction, novels and short stories – how different is to write them and what is your author “mark”? 

Writing non fiction is harder than fiction, for me anyway. You put your real heart on the line and it's you people are judging when they write their reviews, not your writing and characters. My author's mark is probably emotional tension. I'm an emotional Scorpio and I think that probably comes across in my work!

TOUR SCHEDULE

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About the author:

Becky Wicks is mostly powered by coffee. She had three travel memoirs published by HarperCollins before going the indie route. Her first book in the Starstruck Series, 'Before He Was Famous' recently reached #1 in Amazon's Coming of Age and New Adult & College categories. The second in the series, 'Before He Was Gone', and the third, 'Before He Was A Secret' are both out now along with 'The Day Of The Wave' - a romance based around the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. 

Becky blogs most days at beckywicks.com and always welcomes distractions on Twitter (especially if you have cat photos):

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