Deborah Vogts's Blog, page 115

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes.
Cream Puff Dessert
Stir Fry with Orzo
Pickled Beets
Enjoy your weekend! Do you have special plans for Labor Day? 

Book Preview ~ A Duke's Promise

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingA Duke's PromiseB&H Books (September 1, 2012)byJamie Carie
As Jamie’s relationship with God grew, she discovered her heart was filled with songs and poetry. During high school she wrote lyrics for her brother’s band. (And she sang them too!) After college, Jamie married, had two sons and decided to stay home with them. While she homeschooled she wrote skits, poems, plays and short stories for school and church. When her eldest son turned five she dove into the world of novels. She’d read romance novels for years, but couldn’t relate to the flawless, saintly heroines in Christian romance novels. So she decided to write her own.

Snow Angel was born on a frosty night in an old farmhouse in Fishers, Indiana, where the cold floor gave plenty of motivation for the snow scene. Jamie loves to write late at night when the house is quiet and the darkness seems alive. Elizabeth and Noah had been playacting in her head for a long time, so the story went fast. Ten years later Snow Angel was published and won the ForeWord magazine Romance Book of the Year winner, was a National “Best Books 2007” Awards winner, and a 2008 RITA Awards® Best First Book finalist. It was the beginning of her dream career.

Jamie and her husband Tony have been married for twenty-one years and live in Indianapolis with their three sons and a giant of a dog named Leo. If she could only say one thing to her readers it would be, “Live the dreams God has destined you for!”

ABOUT THE BOOK
From the Land of Fire and Ice back to England’s shores, Alexandria Featherstone finds herself the new Duchess of St. Easton. Her husband has promised a wedding trip to take them to the place where her imperiled parents were last seen -- Italy and the marble caves of Carrara -- but a powerful Italian duke plots against Alex and her treasure-hunting parents.

Hoping to save them, Alex and Gabriel travel to Italy by balloon. Fraught with danger on all sides and pressured by Gabriel’s affliction to the breaking point, they must learn to work and fight together. The mysterious key is within their grasp, but they have yet to recognize it. This journey will require steadfast faith in God and each other -- a risk that will win them everything they want or lose them everything they have. If you would like to read the first chapter of A Duke's Promise, go HERE.

Back to School and Moving In

This past month has been crazy busy, but I'm hoping in another month or so, things will start to slow down a little.


This weekend, our two younger daughters participated in the folk ensemble competition at the Kansas State Picking and Fiddling Championship held in Lawrence, KS. And they won first place! Yahoo! So exciting! Learn more about their music adventures on THEIR BLOG.

Last weekend, we moved our middle daughter back to her dorm in college, and today marks the first day back to school for our youngest, who is returning to high school as a sophomore. Time flies by so fast, I'd better not blink or I'll miss something.



We also visited our oldest daughter recently, in her new home in Olathe! We're looking forward to having our first meal with them in their new home soon! We also enjoyed some much needed rain this weekend--2.5 inches here, but some areas received as much as 5 inches! Plus the repairman just fixed our clothes dryer, which has been "sick" this past week--so life is good! I can do laundry again! How about you? What is happening in your life that you want to praise God for? Share with us here! 

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions on Country at Heart Recipes. Have a great weekend! 
Breakfast Burritos
 Microwaved Scalloped Potatoes
Homemade Salsa
Plus a Stuffed French Bread recipe by Featured Author, Winnie Griggs.

Social Networking ~ An Author's Time

This summer, I'm sharing a series of articles I wrote on An Author's Time. Should an author participate in social networking, and if so, how often? How many networks? What if it interferes with your writing? Does it really gain readership? Do I need an author page? Do I really need to join Twitter? What about blogging?
I don't have all the answers. But I can offer you my experience. When my first book released from Zondervan, my editor encouraged me to join Facebook and then my agent suggested I get a Twitter account. Until that time, I'd been reluctant to join the Networking Bandwagon. But I heeded their advice and decided to give it a try. I had already been blogging for several years and had a set schedule that I was used to. (I'll share more on blogging next month.)

I joined Facebook, Shoutlife, and eventually Twitter. I also have profiles at a handful of other places such as LinkedIn, Goodreads, SheWrites, etc. but for learning purposes, I'll only comment on these three.

Facebook is by far my favorite. I'm able to share more information with ease and do it in a visual way. I can post pictures of my books, writing events, recipes, family life, and interesting tidbits that hopefully interest people. I love it when people leave feedback, either by liking a post or by commenting. It's a great way to interact with possible readers.

Twitter is a network based on small "tweets" of information, and I'm not too involved with it. I've set up both accounts to receive my blog posts and also a daily scripture, and these go over well. But I don't spend much time "tweeting" about my daily events. You can also gain readers by "retweeting" interesting posts, and I do this on occasion.

Shoutlife is a Christian social network, and it's a great way to interact with other Christians. However, it is not as easily accessible nor is it as easy to leave posts. This past year, I haven't actively participated in this network as I find it too time-consuming.

So, back to Facebook. Some more Pros & Cons:

Con - Facebook is constantly changing their rules. In order to stay on top of those changes, you must check your settings regularly. This can be aggravating.

Pro - I've met many people on Facebook who have gone to book signings and have purchased my books after "friending" me. This is worth the networking. And it's free promotion!

Con - Networking can be time-consuming, especially if you allow yourself to click on your friends' profiles to see what they have been up to. Obviously, this is part of the exchange, but if you're not careful, it can waste not mere minutes, but hours.

Pro - I've met people from high school, long-lost family members, and new friends on Facebook. It's a great tool to help get the word out about a new book or event.

Con - There's a fine line between networking just enough to let people into your world and share your life with them, yet conservative enough not to let it take over your world. Discipline is key.

In the end, should an author join a Social Network? - Yes! Just be careful of the time you spend there, so it doesn't interfere with your writing time.

Join as many networks as you feel you can keep up with. I would suggest 2 or 3. If you find it's getting in the way of your writing, then it's probably time to drop one of them or more. Or just spend less time there. When life is especially busy, I may only check in once a day. Sometimes, I give myself a time-limit, which is a healthy thing to do all the time.

Now it's your turn. What do you like about Social Networking? Has it helped you gain readership? What words of advice do you have to offer? Share with us in the comments below. Next week, I'll go over blogging. Until then, enjoy the moments . . .

Reading Groups

This summer I've been honored to have my books chosen by three different reading groups. It's always such a joy to visit with readers who enjoy my books enough to share them with their friends. 


A reading group from Gladstone, MO
If you belong to a reader group and would like to discuss one of my books, I have discussion guides available on my AUTHOR WEBSITE. 


The Book Ends, a reading group from Edgerton, KS
I'd also be happy to mail you some promotional items such as bookmarks, pens, brochures, etc. And if we can work it out with our schedules, I'd be delighted to visit your group via conference call or even in person if it's a close enough distance. If interested, feel free to contact me. 

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions on Country at Heart Recipes. Enjoy! 
Frozen Peanut Butter Cup Pie
Three Cheese Chicken Penne
Lemon Orange Cake

Blogging ~ An Author's Time

This morning's post concludes my series on An Author's Time. Blogs have been around for many years now, probably the first form of social networking where readers could interact with the author by way of commenting. If I had to choose between blogs or social networks, I'd probably pick blogging.

What I like about blogging is that you can choose your own topics, set your own schedule, and use the site to reinforce "your brand" or your writing. It's a great way to show who you are and give yourself an online presence--even before you're published. So the big questions are:How often should I blog?What should I blog about?How much time does blogging take?Some people blog five days a week; some three; some one. There's no right or wrong answer. The key is setting a schedule and sticking to it.
I began blogging in 2005 and initially set up my blog as a website. I updated it with new content on a monthly basis and invited readers by email to view the new content. Once I had a publishing contract, I chose to set up an official author website, (more on that here,) and began blogging on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Fridays being my recipe day. Which leads us to the second question: What should I blog about?The answer depends on who you are, what you write, and what you want to accomplish. Do you want to connect with other writers? If so, you might offer writing tips or posts related to the publishing world. You could even have one day a week when you invite a guest blogger to post something relavent to the writing world.Do you want to promote Christian fiction? If so, you could post reviews or blog about a new release. You might even offer book drawings to your readers.Maybe you have a specific interest related to your writing that would draw readers, such as home schooling, crafts, animals, farming, recipes, etc.Or if you want to keep posts related to your books, you might consider blogging on your research, your characters, author events, etc. The key is to find something that interests you enough to keep you blogging on a regular schedule and one that offers your readers enough to want to come back.I post three times a week on my Country at Heart blog and try to offer something specific on each day. One day I'll promote Christian fiction (sometimes offering a book drawing), another day I'll write about my writing or about something specific to country life, and on Fridays I post a favorite recipe.Readers are busy, so try to keep the content fresh, short, and always give them at least one visual. More if possible. Take pictures yourself and post them to your blog. Or go to Stock.xchng for pictures you can post on your blog for free.How long does it take to blog? I can usually write a post in 15-20 minutes, and I like to schedule my posts ahead of time, preparing them in my free time on weekends or in the evening.So, what about you? Do you blog? What do you blog about and how do you decide how often to post? Share with us in the comments below. 

Book Drawing ~ A Sweethaven Homecoming

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingA Sweethaven HomecomingGuideposts (August 2012)
byCourtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh is a published author, scrapbooking expert, theatre director and playwright. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, was released in February, 2012 by Guideposts Books, and will be followed by two additional novels in the series. She has also written two papercrafting books, Scrapbooking Your Faith and The Busy Scrapper and is currently working on her third, The Scrapcrafter’s Idea Book (F&W Publications, February, 2013.)

Courtney has been a contributing editor for Memory Makers Magazine and Children’s Ministry Magazine and is a frequent contributor to Group Publishing curriculum, newsletters and other publications. She has also written several full-length musicals, including her most recent, The Great American Tall Tales and Hercules for Christian Youth Theatre, Chicago. Courtney is a member of ACFW and is the current PR Manager for Webster’s Pages, a scrapbooking manufacturer. She lives in Colorado with her ultra creative husband and three children.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Suzanne's daughter, Campbell, journeys there in search of answers to her questions about her mother's history.

Suzanne's three friends-Lila, Jane, and Meghan-were torn apart by long-buried secrets and heartbreak. Though they haven't spoken in years, each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together in Sweethaven. Suzanne's letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers.

As the scrapbook reveals secrets one by one, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored-just as Suzanne intended. If you would like to read the first chapter of A Sweethaven Homecoming, go HERE.


Leave a comment below (along with an email address) to enter this week's book drawing. A winner will be selected on Sunday, August 19.    *Void where prohibited. Open only to US residents. Odds of winning depend on number of entrants. Comments must be made on this blog. Social network comments are not valid.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's additions to Country at Heart Recipes. Hope you have a great weekend! 
Ranch Burger
Iced Mocha
Zucchini Casserole
and Featured Author Elizabeth Goddard shares her recipe for Spicy Black Bean Tacos.