Welcome to Friday Reads!
There’s a giveaway for a print copy of Not What We Pictured by Becca Kinzer, courtesy of the publisher. (US ONLY!) Enter by using the Gleam link at the bottom of the post. (Contest ends May 15, 2026.) If you’re the chosen winner, I’ll contact you for your information to pass along to the publisher.
About the book…
This is absolutely not how they pictured their summer going.
McKenna Boston is feeling stuck. She’s spent years growing her photography skills only for her career to hit a wall. She’s ready to move on, and she will, just as soon as she helps her sister’s boyfriend stage the perfect proposal. But when her best laid plans go awry and a handsome stranger accidentally ends up with the heirloom ring, McKenna hops on a flight to retrieve it. Piece of cake, right?
Nate Lambert was hoping to enjoy a relaxing summer before starting his new job as a literature professor, but he arrives in Tennessee to discover his mom’s bed and breakfast is struggling and there’s a long list of repairs to be tackled. The last thing he needs is a gorgeous, determined photographer searching for a ring he doesn’t have since the airline lost his luggage somewhere on his route from Nebraska.
With the ring nowhere to be found, all McKenna can do is wait and use the time to build her portfolio and plan her next career move. But she also can’t help getting swept up in Nate’s bed and breakfast renovations and in planning a community concert with the townsfolk. As both await news of Nate’s suitcase, it begins to seem their serendipitous meeting, and the proposal gone wrong, could actually be everything going right . . . and that this may be their chance at a love neither could have pictured.
Q&A with Becca…
Q: What inspired Not What We Pictured?
A: Back in 2022 a Nashville singer/songwriter named Dave Barnes announced on Facebook that he was going to do a special tour in which he took bids to perform concerts in people’s backyards. When one of my good friends saw his post, she made a bid for him to perform a backyard concert at her house in Tremont, Illinois. Much to her shock and delight, he accepted the offer.
Sadly, I couldn’t make it to the BIG EVENT in person due to a prior family commitment, but oh, how I absolutely loved watching this friend plan and prepare for the BIG EVENT. What is it about a celebrity that makes us all go a little crazy—whether we even know who the celebrity is or not? I knew afterward this scenario was simply too much fun not to work into a story somehow.
Q: What themes do you focus on in this book?
A: This story, like most of my previous stories, is essentially a comedy of errors. But interwoven in the chaos are themes of forgiveness and learning where our true sense of identity comes from, especially when complicated family dynamics are involved.
Q: What inspired the town of Bugle?
A: A lovely bookstore in Cookeville, Tennessee, reached out to me after my debut novel released to see if I would do an author event with them. My husband and I had a great time visiting the area. Since my first few stories took place in Illinois, I was ready for a change of scenery while keeping the small-town vibes. So I thought of this area around Cookeville and created the town of Bugle.
Q: How did you develop McKenna and Nate’s personalities, and what do you love about these characters?
A: This is the first story I’ve written where I’ve tried using the Enneagram (a personality typology system) to discover what makes my characters tick. For Nate, I explored Enneagram Fours, which are known as “The Individualist” or “The Romantic.” For McKenna, seeing how she was so determined to take care of her little sister long past the point her little sister actually needed her help made me think McKenna must be an Enneagram Two, which is known as “The Helper.” But of course, just like real people, my characters refused to be put inside a box. They kept finding ways to surprise me, which is why I love them.
Q: Your story weaves in career changes, adoption, and family challenges. What inspired you to explore these aspects of life in the novel?
A: I’d say these aspects were all more of a discovery than an inspiration. When I’m working my way through a new story, especially that first draft, I’m mostly asking my characters “Why?” Why are you living in New York, Nate? Why are you on your way to Tennessee now? Why are you so desperate to see your little sister get engaged, McKenna? Why haven’t you moved out of your tiny hometown in Nebraska if you find it so boring? As I get to know my characters better, that’s when those aspects like career changes, adoption, and family challenges start revealing themselves.
Q: What do you enjoy about forced-proximity romances?
A: I love how a forced-proximity romance can bring two characters with clashing personalities together, but more than anything, I just love seeing the two characters together as much as possible—whether they like it or not.
Q: What will fans of romance love about this story?
A: I’m hoping fans of romance will love the chemistry and banter McKenna and Nate have from the moment they meet. Their love story was so fun to write! I think romance readers will find plenty of reasons to laugh and swoon while cheering McKenna and Nate on to their happily ever after.
Q: How does faith influence the choices McKenna and Nate make throughout the novel?
A: Despite different backgrounds, McKenna and Nate share similar wounds and insecurities when it comes to their faith. The key difference between them though is that Nate had a mentor who exemplified God’s love in his life whereas McKenna didn’t have that. So Nate’s a little further down the road in his faith journey than McKenna, which helps him wrestle through issues like forgiving his father, and then eventually focus on setting a good example of God’s love for McKenna.
Q: What do you hope your audience learns from Not What We Pictured?
A: I hope they learn never to trust airline workers with their valuables. Just kidding! (Mostly.) Honestly, I hope readers have a blast reading this story and are reminded that God absolutely treasures them no matter what their background or upbringing looks like.
About Becca…
Becca Kinzer lives in Springfield, Illinois, where she works as a critical care nurse. When she’s not busy taking care of sick patients or using up all the storage on her phone with pictures of her dog, she enjoys making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. She is the author of multiple titles including Dear Henry, Love Edith, which won the 2024 Carol Award for debut novel. Not What We Pictured is her fourth novel. Visit Becca online at beccakinzer.com.
“Not What We Pictured” by Becca Kinzer
Rules for the giveaway can be found here.
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