This week I’m delighted to bring you chats with three of my fun writer friends, reviews of their new books, and giveaways of those new delights. I hope you’ll enjoy this breath of fun! And be sure to read to the end of each post so you can participate in the giveaways. I wouldn’t offer them if I didn’t think they’d delight the readers who will find these titles in their mailboxes! So grab a mug of your favorite drink and meet my friend Beth Vogt.
In Somebody Like You, Beth creates characters and a story that will pull you in slowly and then hold you captive until the end. The heroine is still mourning the death of her soldier husband as she awaits the birth of their child…the child he never knew about. Then one day she is shocked and surprised when his identical twin brother arrives at her door. He’d been estranged from his brother and now he can’t mend their relationship.
Their interactions are rocky as they both deal with their grief and regrets. And it’s a slow process of coming to terms with the past and how their lives intersect. I found this a story that I kept returning to because I cared about how the characters’ grew and evolved through their journey on the pages. There were moments of humor to balance the moments I wanted to cry with or for Haley and Stephen.
Somebody Like You is a book that readers of contemporary romance with shades of women’s fiction will enjoy reading.
I enjoyed Somebody Like You so much that I endorsed the book. The characters and their journey was one I didn’t want to see end. How did you get the inspiration for the story?
I mulled over “What if … ?” for several weeks — tossing in the topic of twins. I’m a fraternal twin — I have a twin sister — and I’ve always wanted to write a novel with a storyline that involves twins. I turned it upside down a bit and chose to write about twin brothers and then added in the military angle. I’m also familiar with that experience because my husband was in the air force for 24 years.
The heroine is dealing with the loss of a spouse…Why did you decide to make this part of her story?
I’ve experienced Haley’s story personally — not because I’ve been widowed but because several of my close friends have been widowed at young ages. So as I wrote Haley’s story, I was honoring those friends, trying to write honestly about that kind of loss, that kind of grief.
Watching others experience grief definitely impacts me, and it added a rich element to the story. I love the interaction between Hayley and Stephen. You gave them both heavy histories and a challenging present. Yet there’s a chemistry that penetrates the challenges. Did that come naturally or was it something you had to force into their interactions initially?
The first draft of any novel I write is always rough — and I expect it to be that way. And then I go back and write and rewrite the story, layering in the emotion, the tension. Some of the scenes I wrote surprised me, but then again, I try to leave room in the story for my characters to do and say things I don’t expect.
There were times in this story that I wanted to sob for Hayley — since she was too tough to cry for herself. Did you find yourself in tears as you wrote some of the scenes?
Yes, there were times I had to stop writing, walk away from the story, and let myself cry. I knew when I started the story that Haley wasn’t going to cry — and I knew why too. I’ve been where Haley was. There was a painful season in my life when I shut down and didn’t allow myself to cry. I felt overwhelmed and I just couldn’t cry over one more thing. I thought doing so made things better. Easier. But I was wrong.
I’ve been there, too. What do you hope stays with readers after they close the cover on this novel?
Of course, I hope the story lingers … I hope they miss Haley and Stephen. But more than that, I hope they’ve wrestled with the question Is it ever wrong to love someone? Maybe their answer is different than the one I came up with in Somebody Like You, but at least they understand that God works in us and through us in the messiness of our relationships.
Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s next for you? I’m working on my next novel with Howard Books. It’s a contemporary romance that’s part of my Destination:Wedding series.
Destination weddings? Sounds fun! Where can people connect with you?
I love to connect with my readers! They can find me via my website or on my author Facebook page or Twitter or Pinterest.
Cara again: Be sure to enter for a chance to read Beth’s new book below. You can also check out the giveaways for Melissa Tagg’s here and Regina Jenning’s here .
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Comments 20
God surprises me with good memories when I need them the most!
Author
Love that, Rebecca.
I treasure memories … and am thankful how God restores our memories to us.
Often I find nature a reassuring aesthetic reminder of God’s presence all around us. It is more than just a little thought, it is the theme of surviving hardship.
Author
So true, Michelle! I often sense God easiest in nature.
Michelle: I agree. I have a busy day today, but I took time to go on a walk with a close friend in the beautiful Colorado sunshine. So refreshing — and often a time of prayer for me.
For me it was with the grace extended by friends. The grace to see that life would go on. It was simply changed in profound ways.
When in grief, I pray and I feel God’s arms wrapped around me.
Gail: When a loved one is grieving, I often pray that they feel God’s presence — His arms wrapped around them. I know how much I need that tangible touch of his love when I am hurting.
Author
That is often my prayer, too.
I agree with the other ladies, precious, smile causing memories will bring me through with God’s filling presence.
I think this is why we enjoy sitting around with friends and family and recalling past events … birthdays … vacations … and savoring both the laoughter and the tears.
I feel God is giving you comfort when, out of the blue, you recall a favorite moment or even hear a song that was special to you and your loved one. I read this verse on a greeting card many years ago and I have never forgotten it. ‘God gave us memory so that we might have roses in winter’.
I look forward to reading Beth’s book. Thanks for this interview and for this giveaway.
Author
That is so true, Connie. I love how God will bring a memory back so that we can be comforted.
Great interview Beth! makes me eager to read the book!Love to win it!!
It does help to remember the ones I have lost are happy and healthy in heaven and hopefully looking down on me. I love knowing I will see them again.
I went through a very ruff time my Dad in one hospital a brother in another hospital not knowing they would live. Also same time church split lost all my friends and son went away to college 2000 miles away. My brother did die dad hung on a couple more years, But during the time i shut down. I more or less was dying myself cause I didn’t want to live, to make the rest story short what got me through the grief and get my joy back was getting in God’s word reading and rereading it. Phillipins chapter 4 was my medicine. I do not remember anything else of my life that year. Praise God He healed me.
Well my Grandpa died when I was real little and now my family and I will have to be leaving a house we have living at for a long and we are still looking for a house to move too, I’m from North Carolina and we are still trying to find a house the area, Please keep us in your prayers!
I think sometimes God reminds me of the blessings that he has given me. Even though a door is closed, there are still so many windows open.
Elise // <a href="http://www.harveyeverafter.comHarvey Ever After
With sharing of laughter, sharing, memories, pictures with others.