Welcome back, Beth. God
has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
Professionally, I’m launching a Destination Wedding series
in 2015. Spiritually, I’m praying more and more to understand how I am
collaborating with God as I write.
Tell us a little
about your family.
My family is God’s best blessing to me. My husband and I
have been married 34 years. We have one son and three daughters—and we are also
blessed with one daughter-in-love and two sons-in-love. Our youngest daughter
is almost 14. We have one GRANDchild, with a second due in 2015. And I am so
thankful for how my family supports me as I pursue my dream of writing.
Has your writing
changed your reading habits? If so, how?
Now that I’m on deadline—or just off deadline, or waiting
for rewrites or edits—I don’t have as much time to read as I would like. I find
my downtime is usually around Christmas or spring break and I go through
several books then.
What are you working
on right now?
I’m finishing up Can’t
Buy Me Love, the novella that will launch my Destination Wedding series in
May 2015. It has a bit of a Pinterest story line and involves a Manhattan destination
wedding.
What outside interests
do you have?
I love to walk—I walk a minimum of three miles a day with a
friend. We use the time to talk and to pray for our families. I also love to
watch football—I am a very vocal Broncos football fan. And I love hanging with
friends and family for game nights.
How do you choose
your settings for each book?
So far each of my books have somehow been tied to Colorado , which is where
I live. I love Colorado
and there are so many beautiful locals here. This was true for A
November Bride, which is set in Denver
and included some of places I’ve been to in Denver , including the aquarium.
If you could spend an
evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
I would like to visit with Maya Angelou. I have a blog, In Others’ Words, that is all about quotes.
I have quoted Maya Angelou a number of times and respect her greatly. It would
be fun to sit down and have a conversation with her.
What is the one thing
you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
My agent, Rachelle Gardner, told me this recently: We’re
involved in publishing, Beth, not brain surgery. There is never any reason to
panic. I wish I’d learned that truth earlier.
What new lessons is
the Lord teaching you right now?
The Lord is teaching me to not put him last in the writing
process—to not write a book and then ask him to bless it. But rather, to walk
with him daily, hour by hour, as I write my stories. It all goes back to the
idea of “collaborating” with him as I write.
What are the three
best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
1. Find a mentor.
2. Find someone else to mentor.
3. Expect to fail and always learn something from that
experience.
Tell us about the
featured book.
A November Bride is the last in the Harper Collins A Year of
Weddings novella series. I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this
project. A November Bride tells the story of Sadie and Erik and asks the
question: Can a decades-long friendship marred by two romantic missteps lead to
happily ever after?
Please give us the
first page of the book.
This was Sadie’s star moment. The reason she collected
recipes and watched cooking shows. Why she made color-coded, computerized
grocery lists cross-referenced by availability and quality of items, store
locations, and layouts. Spent hours shopping for fresh produce and meats and
poultry—and sales, always sales.
At last, it was time for the presentation of the prepared
dish.
She turned from the professional-grade oven, heat wafting
against her back, dampening the cloth of her white chef jacket. Was it still
clean? With a flourish and a well-practiced smile, she held the steaming dish
aloft in her gloved hands. Inhaled the aroma of chicken in the bubbling sauce
of Italian dressing, and topped with lightly browned, grated Parmesan cheese.
At the last second, she remembered to nudge the oven door closed with her
shoulder.
Hold the smile. Always hold the smile.
“Oh, this smells delectable.”
Ugh. Maybe not the best word. Too late now.
Sadie set the deep red stoneware dish on the waiting trivet,
turning it just so, knowing a trusty cameraman would capture just the right
angle. “Boneless chicken breasts. Grated cheese. Italian dressing. And, for
those of you who are gluten- free, I used a coating of crushed cornflakes
instead of bread crumbs.”
She stood tall, despite the tightness in the small of her back,
recounting the other dishes she’d made that day.
And smile.
“There you have it. A week’s worth of dinners: chicken Parmesan,
chicken piccata, salmon Sedona cakes served with English muffins, crown rack of
lamb, and braised beef short ribs. ” She resisted the urge to push the bangs
back from her face. The focus was on the meals she’d prepared, not her.
“On the next segment of Your Personal Chef, I’ll share
another week’s worth of dinners, including—”
When notes from the “Peer Gynt Suite no. 1” sounded from her
smartphone on the desk in the corner of the kitchen, Sadie closed her eyes, her
mouth twisting. “A call? Really? We were almost finished.”
Silence—and then her phone sounded again.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
Website: http://www.bethvogt.com
Twitter: @bethvogt
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/beth_vogt/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBethKVogt?ref=hlThank you, Beth, for sharing this new book with us today.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A November Bride - Christianbook.com
A November Bride (A Year of Weddings Novella Book 12)
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