Tag Archives: Beth K. Vogt

Read A Romance Month! — Contemporary

7 Aug

Did you know that August is Read A Romance Month?! Do we really need a month to remind us! LOL. Anyway, I thought I would feature romance writers in a 3-part series — Contemporary, Historical, and Suspense. These are go-to authors for me. I’ve listed their newest offerings, but be sure to check out their backlists as well. I hope you find one to love. See what I did there? 😉

Must-Read Contemporary Romance Authors

Victoria Bylin

Nicole Deese

Janet W. Ferguson

Irene Hannon

Denise Hunter

Carla Laureano

Toni Shiloh

Beth K. Vogt

Becky Wade

Spotlight On Contemporary Romance — Dedicated To The One I Love

23 Jun

Dedicated to the One I Love JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K. Vogt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Dedicated to the One I Love

Title: Dedicated to the One I Love
Author: Beth K. Vogt
Publisher: White Glove
Release Date: June 20, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance

She doesn’t believe in love anymore. He doesn’t either.

They’re perfect for each other.

Beloved romance novelist Kylie Franklin walked away from her pen-name career as bestselling and award-winning Veronica Hollins the day her husband died. Her loyal readers are eager for the final book in her sensational series. But Kylie’s given up on love, both fictional and in real life. Behind her back, Kylie’s agent contrives a way to get her writing again.

Joe Edwards has made a name for himself with his popular military suspense novels under the pen name Tate Merrick. Yet he can’t quite break onto the bestseller list. What his books need, his publisher suggests, is some romance. Joe flat refuses. However, his publisher is determined and hires Veronica Hollins to save the day—and his career.

Veronica and Tate quickly realize they’re Kylie and Joe, good friends who connected online via a popular word game and their mutual love of trivia. Surely they can wrangle their alter egos into this literary collaboration. But as the deadline looms, their differences threaten the romance developing off the page.

From a Christy Award-winning author comes this charming mash-up of hidden identities, literary tug of war, and falling in love when you least expect it.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Excerpt

Despite what some people thought—specifically her mother, her best friends, and her agent—Kylie was fine. Just because her cat Remington kept her on schedule didn’t mean he ran her life—what was left of it.

Remington leaned his furry body up against her legs as Kylie sat at the kitchen counter, his purr a soft vibration of comfort.

“Come on, Rem.” Kylie abandoned her tepid cup of Irish Breakfast tea, tucked her phone in the side pocket of her leggings, scooped the cat into her arms, and headed for her office.

She paused in the hallway before entering through the open door. Her favorite books were color-coordinated on the built-in white shelves—writing books and fiction of every genre. Copies of her novels, in order of publication. Awards and favorite photographs with her agent, editor, and other author friends hung on the walls that were painted a lush periwinkle—her favorite color—thanks to her husband.

Her laptop sat in the center of her desk. Nothing else. No open books, pages of notes, no bowl of salted popcorn with a glass of cold ginger ale, no ice—nothing that hinted at the creative mess caused when she was in pursuit of “The End” for a story.

Kylie released Remington, who strolled away without a backward glance, and sat behind her desk. Opened her laptop. Closed her eyes as it powered up. Offered a silent prayer for inspiration. Waited . . . waited . . .

No spark. Nothing.




About The Author

Beth K. Vogt

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, releases June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people.

Connect with Beth by visiting bethvogt.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.


Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 Etsy Gift Card, a print copy of Dedicated to the One I Love, a box of typewriter themed gift note cards, Novel Teas Book Lover Teas, and a 24 oz insulated Tervis Floral Tumbler!

Dedicated to the One I Love JustRead Tours giveaway

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 19, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on July 26, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

Top 10 Tuesday — Summer-y Book Covers

12 Jul

Happy Tuesday everyone! Summer is indeed in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than with some summer-y book covers. I have a dozen for you to choose featuring what I think of when I hear the word summer. There are covers with summer foods, weddings (bonus points for those set at the beach), front porches, and of course those with summer in the title. I hope you find one to love.

For more summer-y covers, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Summer-y Book Covers

High Cotton by Debby Mayne

The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Truelove And Homegrown Tomatoes by Julie Cannon

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth Vogt

To Have And To Hold by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

Almost Home by Valerie Fraser Luesse

The Memory House by Rachel Hauck

The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton

On A Summer Tide by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson

Summer Plans And Other Disasters by Karin Beery

Top 10 Tuesday — I Will Read Anywhere!

17 Aug

Today’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is favorite places to read. Since I will read anywhere, I thought it would be a fun twist to match books to the Dr. Seuss-style poem about reading (many thanks to Seuss’ Green Eggs And Ham for the poet’s inspiration). While I had to stretch some of the connections, I think you will forgive me as the books I am sharing are awesome!

For more Top 10 Tuesday fun, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Books Featuring Boats

The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey

Maggie Bright by Tracy Groot

Books Featuring Farms (goats live on farms 😉 )

The Sowing Season by Katie Powner

Stay with Me by Becky Wade

Books Featuring Trains

The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright

With You Always by Jody Hedlund

Books Featuring Rain

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton

Books Featuring A Fox

These really are a stretch — a young man who is sly as a fox and an exotic pet-sitter who probably wouldn’t turn down a pet fox.

Belinda Blake And The Snake in The Grass by Heather Day Gilbert

Two Steps Forward by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Books Featuring Boxes

Possession by Rene Gutteridge

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

Books Featuring A Mouse

Mouse’s Christmas Gift by Mindy Baker

The Thief by Stephanie Landsem

Books Featuring A House

In The Shadow of Croft Towers by Abigail Wilson

The Memory House by Rachel Hauck

Top 10 Tuesday — Reasons to Love Fiction

6 Jul

While I say I am an eclectic reader (I read almost all genres), I do limit myself to fiction. Why? I love a good story. And with my advanced years 😉 I need to make sure I read books I enjoy. It’s like eating dessert first! Today’s Top 10 Tuesday prompt is Why I Love Reading — I hope you like my reasons and the books that go along with them.

For more Top 10 Tuesday fun, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Why I Love Reading Fiction

I love a good story.

The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

Stories That Bind Us By Susie Finkbeiner

I love history.

The King’s Mercy by Lori Benton

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin

I want to learn about different cultures.

Farewell, Four Waters by Kate McCord

A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy

Fiction makes me more empathetic.

Facing The Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti

Moments We Forget by Beth K. Vogt

I love a good mystery.

Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert

Prince Edward’s Warrant by Mel Starr

Why do you love reading?

Reading Road Trip — A Cancer Journey

26 Feb

Hearing the words you have cancer is truly devastating. Gut-punched is really the only way to describe it. Even when you think you have prepared yourself, the reality is much worse. As I shared last week, I have breast cancer. Being such a book nerd, I immediately thought about the novels I have read that seem to faithfully capture the emotions and truths of this fearsome journey. So I decided to compile a Cancer Reading Road Trip.

Please note: these ARE NOT books you run out and purchase for your loved one who has just received their diagnosis. While I loved these insightful books and am glad I read them, they may be too close to home for those with the tender and wounded hearts of the recently diagnosed. Instead, I recommend these stories to those wanting to understand a bit more what their loved ones are facing. If you feel the need to get a book for someone facing their own cancer journey, stick to laugh-out-loud books that don’t include a character with cancer. Laughter may not be the best medicine, but it surely helps!

Reading Road Trip — A Cancer Journey or Cancer Sucks!

 

Grace in Strange Disguise by Christine Dillon

Physiotherapist Esther Macdonald is living the Australian dream, and it doesn’t surprise her. After all, her father has always said, “Follow Jesus and be blessed.” But at twenty-eight, her world shatters. Everyone assures her God will come through for her, but what happens when he doesn’t? Has she offended God? Is her faith too small? So many conflicting explanations. Will finding the truth cost her the people closest to her heart?

Moments We Forget by Beth Vogt

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine.

Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again.

Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale

When all else fails, turn to the divine taste of hummingbird cake.

In the South you always say “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” You know everybody’s business. Football is a lifestyle not a pastime. Food — especially dessert — is almost a religious experience. And you protect your friends as fiercely as you protect your family —  even if the threat is something you cannot see.

In this spot-on Southern novel brimming with wit and authenticity, you’ll laugh alongside lifelong friends, navigate the sometimes rocky path of marriage, and roll through the outrageous curveballs that life sometimes throws . . . from devastating pain to absolute joy. And if you’re lucky, you just may discover the secret to hummingbird cake along the way.

A Thousand Sleepless Nights by Michael King

A family torn apart by neglect and hurt . . . and brought together again by a most unlikely force

In the 1970s, escaping a home where he knew nothing but violence and hate, Jim Harding found work, and love, on the largest horse ranch in Virginia. The object of his affections, Nena St. Claire, is the daughter of the owner, a man who ruled his ranch with an iron fist and would do whatever it took to keep Nena and Jim apart. Against the wishes of her family, Nena marries Jim, and after her father dies, she sacrifices everything — including her family — to keep the ranch alive.

Now their three grown children have lives of their own and want nothing to do with Nena. She was never the mother they needed. When cancer strikes and Nena is given a devastating diagnosis, can Jim reconcile the family before it is too late?

When He Found Me by Victoria Bylin

Once a strong Christian, third baseman Shane Riley lost his faith the night he injured his knee in a freak car accident. Determined to return to professional baseball and to find the sister he treated badly, Shane retreats to Refuge, Wyoming. There he meets Melissa June “MJ” Townsend, a single mom battling the virus that causes cervical cancer.

MJ wants nothing to do with the handsome athlete—no doubt a womanizer considering the stories in the news. But when a mistake results in Shane renting her garage apartment, they become friends. That friendship blossoms into something deep and pure, leaving MJ with a painful secret to tell. Even more complicated, she discovers an unexpected tie to Shane’s missing sister — a wounded woman who wants nothing to do with the perfect brother who scorned her.

 

Reading Roadtrip — Colorado

14 Aug

I traveled to Colorado three summers ago — wow, was it beautiful! Crisp, clean air, breathtaking views, crystal lakes — what’s not to like? Although it was my first trip there, I certainly don’t want it to be my last. I am especially looking forward to seeing the Aspens in all their autumn splendor.

Today I am featuring a few books set in The Centennial State. If you are yearning to visit, even virtually, they are a sure bet!

 

Brunch at The Bittersweet Cafe by Carla Laureano

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country―an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

Ever Present Danger by Kathy Herman

Can You Ever Escape Your Past?

At eighteen, popular Ivy Griffith likes nothing better than getting stoned with her boyfriend, Pete, and his basketball buddies–until one afternoon when a nightmare unfolds. Ivy watches in horror as her boyfriend and his friends murder a teammate and bury his body in a remote location. The four friends make a pact to keep the killing quiet, and Ivy flees her parents’ Colorado home for college and never looks back.

Now, after ten years of numbing her guilt with drugs, she’s finally clean. The single mom of a seven-year-old son, Montana, Ivy returns home to the tiny town of Jacob’s Ear, hoping for courage to reveal the shocking truth of her past and be rid of this baggage forever.

But when disaster strikes at her high school reunion, she’s the only one left alive who witnessed that fateful night so long ago…Or is she? Who else could’ve known about the pact and who would want Pete and his co-conspirators dead? As the investigation heats up and the death toll rises, Ivy is forced to decide if confessing the truth is really worth risking her own life.

Indelible by Kristen Heitzmann

In a clash of light and darkness, can courage prevail?
 

Rescuing a toddler from the jaws of a mountain lion, Trevor MacDaniel, a high-country outfi tter, sets in motion events he can’t foresee. His act of bravery entwines his life with gifted sculptor Natalie Reeve—and attracts a grim admirer.
 
Trevor’s need to guard and protect is born of tragedy, prompting his decision to become a search and rescue volunteer. Natalie’s gift of sculpting comes from an unusual disability that seeks release through her creative hands. In each other they see strength and courage as they face an incomprehensible foe.
 
When a troubled soul views Trevor as archangel and adversary, Redford’s peaceful mountain community is threatened. Together with Police Chief Jonah Westfall, Trevor presses his limits to combat the menace who targets the most helpless and innocent.

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin

“No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.”

At the age of 18, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.

Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns to his remote home in the Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.

When Daley shows up on his street corner 20 years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past – and if he is ready to face it.

A radical retelling of the story of the prodigal son, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.

Moments We Forget by Beth K. Vogt

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine.

Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again.

Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

 

Book Review + Giveaway! — Moments We Forget

13 May

About The Book

Book: Moments We Forget

Author: Beth Vogt

Genre: Contemporary fiction, woman’s fiction

Release Date: May 7, 2019

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine. Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again. Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

Click here to purchase your copy.

 

My Impressions:

Moments We Forget is the second book in Beth Vogt’s Thatcher Sisters series. I somehow missed book 1, but that did not keep me from fully engaging in this touching story of loss and hope. The novel is contemporary women’s fiction at its best. Vogt’s characterization is spot-on as she develops the sometimes uneasy relationship between sisters Jillian, Johanna, and Payton. The book is told in Jillian’s first person voice with third person POV glimpses into Johanna and Payton’s lives. And while the story focuses mostly on Jillian, Vogt does a great job of advancing the other two’s story lines. Jillian has come out on the other side of breast cancer clinging to the hope for a return to normal. Unfortunately, there is a new normal. I am the daughter of a breast cancer survivor and have several close friends who have come through that fight, but (to my shame) I never realized the struggles that survivors face even as they get a cured report. Moments We Forget really opened my eyes. But while Jillian’s breast cancer journey is part of the story, it is not the final word. Her search for identity and turn towards God are more than believable. This middle daughter who has always lived with the label of just Jillian, learns a lot about herself, her marriage, her family, and the relationship she can have with God who impacts all those things.

Complex family dynamics, well-written dialog, believable characterization, relevant themes — you will find all these and more in Moments We Forget. I flew through this book and am eager to go back and read book 1, Things I Never Told You (it’s already waiting on my Kindle). I highly recommend this book — it is one of the best I have read this year.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Celebrate Lit for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

 

About The Author

Beth K. Vogt is a nonfiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A women’s fiction novelist, Beth’s first novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, released May 2018.

Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.

An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Novel Rocket and also enjoys speaking to writers’ groups and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband, Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at  bethvogt.com.

More from Beth

“A sister is like yourself in a different movie, a movie that stars you in a different life.”

Deborah Tannen (1945-), sociologist

I’m launching Moments We Forget, book two in the Thatcher Sisters series, and I’ve just turned in the final book in the series. I’d love to share book three’s title with you, but I don’t know what it is. (Of course, book three might have a final title by the time you read this—that’s part of the fun of prerelease deadlines.)

One thing I do know: the theme of “Little Women gone wrong” is woven through all of the books . . . thanks to the Thatcher sisters: Payton, Pepper, Jillian, and Johanna.

Sisters, be they real or imaginary, can be complicated.

Of course, there are sisters who have close relationships. They “get” each other and love doing life together.

But then there are the sister relationships that are like mismatched socks. Or those expensive jeans you loved in the store, but when you bring them home, they never quite live up to those moments in the dressing room.

Such are the Thatcher sisters. Johanna, Jillian, Payton, and Pepper grew up in the same family. They’re all tall. They love Broncos football and board games. But in so many ways their lives are like different movies because they each made different choices. Choices that changed and separated them. Moments We Forget continues to explore whether the Thatcher sisters can find a way to understand each other enough to bridge the distance between them.

Blog Stops

Livin’ Lit, May 7

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 7

The Power of Words, May 7

Among the Reads, May 8

Carpe Diem, May 8

Quiet Quilter, May 8

Wishful Endings, May 9

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, May 9

Simple Harvest Reads, May 10 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Remembrancy, May 10

God’s Little Bookworm, May 11

Just the Write Escape, May 11

Spoken from the Heart, May 12

Splashes of Joy, May 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 12

Through the Fire Blogs, May 13

Genesis 5020, May 13

By The Book, May 13

Bigreadersite, May 14

A Baker’s Perspective, May 14

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, May 14

Pause for Tales, May 15

Moments, May 15

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, May 15

All-of-a-kind Mom, May 16

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 16

Texas Book-aholic, May 16

janicesbookreviews, May 17

Living Life Free in Christ, May 17

To Everything A Season, May 17

Real World Bible Study, May 18

Older & Smarter?, May 18

A Reader’s Brain, May 18

Inklings and notions, May 19

Hallie Reads, May 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 19

Godly Book Reviews, May 20

The Becca Files, May 20

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Beth is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card plus a softcover copy of Moments We Forget!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e26d/moments-we-forget-celebration-tour-giveaway

First Line Friday — Moments We Forget

3 May

I started a new book last night — Moments We Forget by Beth K. Vogt — and could not put it down. This family drama soon captured my attention and imagination. So, I just had to share it today for First Line Friday. What about you? Are you reading a book you cannot get enough of? I’d love you to share its first line.

For more fabulous first lines, head over to Hoarding Books.

 

 

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine.

Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again.

Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

 

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor — or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” As a contemporary romance novelist, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2015 RITAÂŽ Finalist and a three-time ACFW Carol Award finalist.

Beth enjoys writing contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Find out more about her books at bethvogt.com. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also part of the leadership team for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories.

Connect with Beth on her website (bethvogt.com) and her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words, or on any of these social media platforms:
Facebook.com/AuthorBethKVogt
Twitter.com/bethvogt
Instagram.com/bethkvogt

Top 10 Tuesday — Rainy Day Reads

16 Apr

Ok, I am going literal today with my Top 10 Tuesday post, Rainy Day Reads. Not sure if it’s pure genius or laziness that inspired my choices. 😉 The books on my list either have a storm as part of the action or impetus for the story, or the title includes rain/storm. This may or may not be what the post should be about, but you can be assured that the books, which include a variety of genres,  are great reads — rain or shine!

 

To find out how others interpreted this week’s challenge, head over to That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

Rain Is In The Forecast — Books with Storms As Part of the Story Line

 

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth Vogt

Wedding bells and storm clouds collide in the first engaging novel in a brand-new series about destination weddings, the power of love, and the possible mishaps and missteps that happen on a couple’s journey down the aisle to “I do.”

Paramedic Vanessa Hollister has put her adolescence behind her, including the unwanted label of being the new kid in town over and over again, thanks to her father’s military career. She’s overcome what her mother called “the biggest mistake of her life” and is planning an elegant destination wedding in Destin, Florida with her new fiancé. But will the reappearance of her first husband from her what-were-you-thinking teenage elopement disrupt her dream of an idyllic beach wedding?

As a professional storm chaser, Logan Hollister is used to taking risks. However, a reckless decision during the last tornado season has him questioning the future of his team, the Stormmeisters. Coming face to face with his ex-wife eight years after their divorce compels him to confront his greatest regret: losing Vanessa. Does their past give him the right to interfere with her future?

A fast-moving, powerful hurricane throws Vanessa and Logan together as they evacuate to a storm shelter along with other residents of the Florida Gulf Coast. Forced to spend time together, the pair battles unexpected renewed feelings for each other.

Vanessa and Logan are faced with a choice: Should they accept, once and for all, their teenage marital mistake? Or is God offering them a second chance at happily ever after?

Deadly Isle by Dani Pettrey

TennysonKent is trapped on the isolated island of her childhood by a storm surge, and she is shocked when the typically idyllic community turns into the hunting grounds of a murderer. Cut off from any help from the mainland, will she and first love Callen Frost be able to identify and stop a killer bent on revenge before they become the next victims?

(This book is a novella and part of the Cost of Betrayal collection)

 

 

Elevator by Angela Hunt 

In the path of a devastating hurricane, three very different women find themselves trapped in the elevator of a high-rise office building. All three conceal shattering secrets-unaware that their secrets center on the same man. The betrayed wife, eager to confront her faithless husband, with rage in her heart and a gun in her pocket… The determined mistress, finally ready to tell her lover she wants marriage and a family… The fugitive cleaning woman, tormented by the darkest secret of all…

 

 

 

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton

Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have long since buried their desire for children of their own. While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for “just two weeks,” Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.

As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world—and revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.

Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home as a single mom.

When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her family’s future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. Hurricane Season is the story of one family’s unconventional journey to healing — and the relationships that must be mended along the way.

No Small Storm by Anne Mateer

September 1815, Providence, Rhode Island

Thirty-year-old Remembrance “Mem” Wilkins loves her solitary life running the farm and orchard she inherited from her father and has no plans to give up her independence. Especially not for the likes of Mr. Graham Lott. But when Mem is unable to harvest the apples on her own, she accepts the help of the man she despises.

Fresh off a boat from Ireland with his four-year-old son in tow, Simon Brennan secures a building in which to ply his trade as a cobbler. Still healing from the grief of his wife’s death a year earlier, he determines to focus only on providing a good life for his son. But when he intervenes in an argument on behalf of the intriguing Miss Wilkins, sister-in-law of the tavern owner who befriends him, he suddenly finds himself crossways with his landlord, Mr. Lott, and relieved of his lease and most of his money.

With no means of support, Simon takes a job helping Mem with her harvest, relieving her of the need of Lott’s help. But their growing attraction to each other makes them both uneasy. Mem gladly escapes to town when her sister begins labor, and Simon, believing it best to distance himself from Mem, takes his son and leaves.

But neither anticipates the worst gale New England has ever seen — or that the storm will threaten all they hold dear.

 

Storms of Life — Titles with Rain/Storm

 

Anchor in The Storm by Sarah Sundin

One plucky female pharmacist + one high-society naval officer = romance—and danger.

For plucky Lillian Avery, America’s entry into World War II means a chance to prove herself as a pharmacist in Boston. The challenges of her new job energize her. But society boy Ensign Archer Vandenberg’s attentions only annoy–even if he is her brother’s best friend.

During the darkest days of the war, Arch’s destroyer hunts German U-boats in vain as the submarines sink dozens of merchant ships along the East Coast. Still shaken by battles at sea, Arch notices his men also struggle with their nerves–and with drowsiness. Could there be a link to the large prescriptions for sedatives Lillian has filled? The two work together to answer that question, but can Arch ever earn Lillian’s trust and affection?

The Boy Who Loved Rain by Gerard Kelly

They say that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. They’re wrong.

Colom had the perfect childhood, the much-loved only child of a church pastor. Yet he wakes screaming from dreams in which his sister is drowning and he can’t save her.

Fiona turns to her husband, desperate to help their son. But David will not acknowledge that help is needed—and certainly not help from beyond the church.

Then they find the suicide pledge.

Fiona, in panic, takes Colom and flees… but when will she acknowledge that the unnamed demons Colom faces might be of her and David’s own creation?

Mercy’s Rain by Cindy K. Sproles

When your life is built around a father’s wrath, how can you trust in the love of Father God?

Mercy Roller knows her name is a lie: there has never been any mercy in her young life. Raised by a twisted and abusive father who called himself the Pastor, she was abandoned by the church community that should have stood together to protect her from his evil. Her mother, consumed by her own fear and hate, won’t stand her ground to save Mercy either.

The Pastor has robbed Mercy of innocence and love, a husband and her child. Not a single person seems capable of standing up to the Pastor’s unrestrained evil. So Mercy takes matters into her own hands.

Her heart was hardened to love long before she took on the role of judge, jury, and executioner of the Pastor. She just didn’t realize the retribution she thought would save her, might turn her into the very thing she hated most.

Sent away by her angry and grieving mother, Mercy’s path is unclear until she meets a young preacher headed to counsel a pregnant couple. Sure that her calling is to protect the family, Mercy is drawn into a different life on the other side of the mountain where she slowly discovers true righteousness has nothing evil about it–and that there might be room for her own stained and shattered soul to find shelter. . . and even love.

Mercy’s Rain is a remarkable historical novel set in 19th century Appalachia that traces the thorny path from bitterness to forgiveness and reveals the victory and strength that comes from simple faith.

Of Stillness And Storm by Michele Phoenix

It took Lauren and her husband ten years to achieve their dream—reaching primitive tribes in remote regions of Nepal. But while Sam treks into the Himalayas for weeks at a time, finding passion and purpose in his work among the needy, Lauren and Ryan stay behind, their daily reality more taxing than inspiring. For them, what started as a calling begins to feel like the family’s undoing.

At the peak of her isolation and disillusion, a friend from Lauren’s past enters her life again. But as her communication with Aidan intensifies, so does the tension of coping with the present while reengaging with the past. It’s thirteen-year-old Ryan who most keenly bears the brunt of her distraction.

Intimate and bold, Of Stillness and Storm weaves profound dilemmas into a tale of troubled love and honorable intentions gone awry.

Thunder And Rain by Charles Martin

Third generation Texas Ranger Tyler Steele is the last of a dying breed —  a modern day cowboy hero living in a world that doesn’t quite understand his powerful sense of right and wrong and instinct to defend those who can’t defend themselves. Despite his strong moral compass, Ty has trouble seeing his greatest weakness. His hard outer shell, the one essential to his work, made him incapable of forging the emotional connection his wife Andie so desperately needed.

Now retired, raising their son Brodie on his own, and at risk of losing his ranch, Ty does not know how to rebuild from the rubble of his life. The answer comes in the form of Samantha and her daughter Hope, on the run from a seemingly inescapable situation. They are in danger, desperate, and alone. Though they are strangers, Ty knows he can help —  protecting the innocent is what he does best. As his relationship with Sam and Hope unfolds, Ty realizes he must confront his true weaknesses if he wants to become the man he needs to be.