80s Hits Turn Sweet Dreams into Sweet Reads (& a Giveaway!)

ByBecky Wade
57 Comments

I love hosting a group of Dallas/Fort Worth writers in my home! We meet monthly during the school year to share a meal, then I give a “mini-lesson” on the craft or business of writing. Then those who would like feedback on their work, pass out a scene from their manuscript for others to read. We began this group in 2018 and, since then, we’ve met in different places. Writers have come and some have gone. The format of the meetings has shifted. But it’s still a blessing to gather face-to-face with a community of Christian writers.

Here’s our crew, enjoying high tea earlier this month

Three of my friends from this group wrote stories (along with several other writers) for a new anthology tied to 80s songs. Fun, sweet, quick reads for those of us who remember the 80s fondly. (Me!!!) Or who don’t remember the 80s, but love stories set in that decade. Here are the authors who contributed to Sweet Dreams Are Made of This . . . .

The authors are members of the American Christian Fiction Writers’ (ACFW) Dallas/Fort Worth chapter (fondly known as Ready Writers) + friends.

Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Sherry, who won a copy of Sweet Dreams Are Made of This.

Here’s what they had to say about their collection . . . .

“Do you have a favorite song from the 80s floating around in your head? When it comes on the radio, does it still make you tap your feet? Want to get up and dance? Or bring a particularly poignant scene to mind? The same might happen when you open the pages of Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This.

During the 80s era of technological accomplishments in music, big hair bands, and visually stunning stage shows, lyrics were still king, and these stories prove it. Nostalgia seeps from every plot line of this debut anthology in Volume 1 of the Lyrics Brought To Life series. The characters and memories found in each of the original short stories are as unique as the authors and the songs themselves, all told from a Christian worldview.

Country and city scenes, coffee shops and restaurants, hospitals, craft shows, devoted pets and wayward souls, it’s all in there; told by authors who just might become new favorites. Whether you enjoy romance, mystery, discovering one’s path, historical adventures, or coming-of-age journeys, there something for everyone to like among these words of faith, courage, and redemption.”

You’ll find this anthology for sale at Amazon HERE and the Facebook page of the Ready Writers chapter HERE!

Readers, leave a comment below for a chance to win!

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Becky makes her home in Dallas, Texas with her husband and three children. She absolutely loves writing funny, heartwarming, and inspirational contemporary Christian romance.

57 Comments

  1. This sounds like a good series. Also Paula is a new author to me so look forward to reading this book.

    1. It was so much fun coming up with stories to coordinate with the songs (or vice versa). We plan to cover many different eras so stay tuned. (And Paula is a wonderful writer, plus the driving force behind this series!). Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

  2. Sounds like ya’ll had a fun time. What a fun book to read. I’d love to win a copy. Thank you, Kim

    1. It was great fun to write these and surprising to see what we all came up with, even though many of us know each other. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  3. Sounds like a great book to read! Can’t wait to see what songs were chosen, there are many good ones from that decade. Thanks to the writers for sharing.

  4. Oh the 80’s, such sweet memories both in events in my life and the music loved during that time!
    What a wonderful thing that you all can meet and learn from each other.
    Love the idea of shorties written around sounds of the decade. Would love the opportunity to see how the author’s work the songs into their stories.
    Thank you so much for the amazing chance to win a copy of SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS. I’ve added it to my Amazon wish list and my Goodreads want to read list. Can’t wait to read and review it.

    1. I love reading short stories too! Such a fun way to learn about “new to me” writers. Thank you for adding our anthology to your wish lists. We hope you enjoy it!

  5. As soon as I read the title, that song immediately started playing in my head! What a great anthology this looks to be.

    1. Such nostalgia and sweet memories song titles can bring. And yes! the lyrics seem to just pop up in our memories when we hear the song titles. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  6. What a clever theme to tie seventeen different stories together! I’m impressed with your creativity!

    1. We owe the idea and bringing everything together so seamlessly to our managing editor, Paula Peckham! She, along with her assistant editor, Cheryl Burman, and other helpers did a great job. Thanks for stopping by.

  7. I love your cover. Who doesn’t like birds and sweet dreams. The book will be a very good book to read. I do tap to music. I like Josh Groban. The Lord be with us all and give us His peace, joy, and hope.

  8. I am a 60s girl but have some favorites from the 80s. I recognized most of the song titles in the anthology. This would be a blast from the past to read!

    1. We hope you’ll find some of your favorite 80s songs among these! And some of the stories were as unexpected as the songs each author chose. Happy reading!

    1. As a group, we are so pleased that you brought your dream to life and invited us along. You did a wonderful job. (And for those who don’t know, Paula is our managing editor and this–along with the following planned anthologies–is her brainchild.)

  11. Since I love reading AND 80s music, this sounds perfect! Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

  14. Whenever I hear any of the “Golden Oldies” I just start singing along 🙂 Happy memories. Would love to read this. Thanks.

    1. lol … still sounds strange to me to hear 80s music as the “Golden Oldies,” but when the music of your youth is playing in the grocery store, I guess that tells you something.

  15. Wow! This sounds amazing! Music has always been a large part of my life, from doing the Bop and the Stroll in the 50’s and 60’s through today. My husband, born in Philly, danced on American Bandstand in the late 50’s, long before I met him in 1965. I followed 80’s music along with my son (class of ’84) and daughter (class of ’86). I took her to her first concert, which was Shaun Cassidy. She marched in the Macy’s Parade in 1984, playing flute. Thanks for highlighting this book, which must be a treasure.

  16. I was in my 20’s in the 80’s but I LOVE that music!!! I have an 80’s playlist on my Apple Music and listen to it quite frequently. They really don’t make music like that anymore. 🤣😊

  18. This sounds like a really fun collection of stories. I’d have to listen to the music as I read the book.

  19. What a fun idea! This series could go on for a very long time, there were lots of great songs in the 80s. I immediately went to see if there was an audio version of this book. There is indeed an audio book of the same title, but it is definitely not this one! How about doing an audio book and having the songs included? Probably too hard with copyright issues I guess…….

      1. And I forgot to mention that the print version has a QR code to the playlist as well!

    1. I had not heard of it before this anthology. Such a pretty song! How incredible that story collections can bring us to new music as well. Thanks for stopping by. We hope you enjoy the read!

  22. 80s music is unique and brings back so many memories. Even if you didn’t particularly like certain songs, you still were familiar with them in one way or another. Looking forward to what these authors have envisioned from the music of the 80s.

    1. Exactly! The 80s was such an interesting time on the music scene. Enjoy the read (and look for QR code in the print version or in the Kindle version for a Spotify link to the songs).

  23. This sounds like such a cute idea for a book! I love 80s music, in fact, last night my husband and I went to hear The Molly Ringwalds a band that performs 80s music. 😃

    1. Our anthology is right up your alley then! It was so interesting to see how each author interpreted and incorporated their chosen song into their story. Make sure to check out the QR code (print version) or link (Kindle version) to the Spotify playlist to each song. Thanks for stopping by!

  24. How fun is that?! Truly 80s songs make the best movie soundtracks so I’m sure they made the best storyline as well!
    Brilliant ❤️

    1. Isn’t that the truth. The nice thing is, the book has a playlist (QR code in print book and link in the ebook) with each song that we chose for our stories so readers can listen along to them too! Thanks for stopping by!

  25. These short stories sound amazing! I was a teenager in the 80’s and I recognized the title of each song!

  27. This sounds like a great read.
    Thanks to all for putting this one together. I listened to a lot of Lionel Richie and the soundtrack from the movie Dirty Dancing. Still do. I Had The Time of My Life. Hello?

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