Deborah Vogts's Blog, page 70

Book Preview ~ The Language of Sparrows

The Language of Sparrows, by Rachel Phifer

Brilliant and fluent in too many languages to count, 15-year-old Sierra Wright can't seem to communicate what is important to her in any language. Though April Wright stubbornly keeps an upbeat attitude about her daughter's future, she has let her own dreams slip away. Just across the bridge lives old Luca, scarred from his time in a Romanian gulag years before. Though he has seemingly given up on people, Sierra is drawn to him despite his prickly edges. No one else is comfortable with the unpredictable old man spending time alone with Sierra, not even Luca's son. Yet it is this unconventional relationship that will bring two families together to form friendships and unearth their family stories, stories that just might give them all the courage to soar on wings toward a new future. Buy the book HERE.
As the daughter of missionaries, Rachel Phifer grew up in Malawi, South Africa and Kenya, and managed to attend eleven schools by the time she graduated from high school. Books, empty notebooks and cool pens were her most reliable friends as she moved from one place to another. She holds a B.A. in English and psychology from Houston Baptist University, and lives in Houston with her family. Learn more about Rachel on her Website HERE.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. This Saturday, The Vogts Sisters will perform in Parker, KS for a Folk and Blues Fundraising Concert. See more HERE. 
Pan Fried Potatoes
Mini Cheeseburger Bites

Featured Author, Jake Byrne (and his mom Holly Michael), shares a recipe for Pan Seared Tilapia and Veggies

Book Preview ~ When Mountains Move

When Mountains Move, by Julie Cantrell

It is the spring of 1943. With a wedding and a cross-country move, Millie’s world is about to change forever. If only her past could change with it.

Soon after the break of day, Bump will become Millie’s husband. And then, if all goes as planned, they will leave the rain-soaked fields of Mississippi and head for the wilds of the Colorado Rockies. As Millie tries to forget a dark secret, she hasn’t yet realized how drastically those past experiences will impact the coming days.
For most of Millie’s life, being free felt about as unlikely as the mountains moving. But she’s about to discover that sometimes in life, we are given second chances, and that the only thing bigger than her past … is her future. Buy the book HERE. 
Julie Cantrell is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Into the Free, which won Christy Awards for Best Debut Novel and for Book of the Year 2013 as well as the Fiction Award from the Mississippi Library Association. Cantrell has served as editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review and is a recipient of the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Fellowship. She and her family live in Mississippi, where they operate Valley House Farm. Her new novel, When Mountains Move, is the sequel to Into the Free. Visit Julie's Website HERE. 

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. This weekend, The Vogts Sisters travel to central Kansas for performances in Wichita and Hutchinson. Learn more HERE. 
Broiled Pork Chops
Scrambled Eggs with Ham
Camping Menu Ideas

Our Last County Fair

Deborah with her 4-H pig project at 9 years old.Last month we celebrated our last year in 4-H at the County Fair. Our youngest daughter was in 4-H for 12 years, but we have been a 4-H family for TWENTY-TWO years--not counting the years I was in 4-H. 
We haven't taken animals for a couple of years now, so the exhibits were from Foods, Photography, Fine Arts, and Reading. Abbey ended with a bang -- 
Receiving Grand Champion for her Apple Pie and Original Writing - Short Story (Reading Project).

And Reserve Champion for her Carrot Cake, Photography Project, and Fine Arts Drawing.
It was a good year--but I have to admit, I'm happy to be done. Unless, of course, our grandchildren become 4-H members. And then the process begins again. Isn't life grand?!! Enjoy the moments . . . 

Book Preview ~ A Match of Wits

A Match of Wits, by Jen Turano

After his departure from New York two years ago to meet up with his almost-fiancée, Zayne Beckett is the last person Agatha Watson wanted to stumble upon in her travels as a reporter with the New York Tribune. Quite pathetically bedraggled, he clearly needs to be taken in hand and sent back East to his family. Although she no longer has feelings for him, Agatha realizes, by hook or by crook, she'll have to be the one to get the obstinate man home.

Zayne has no desire to be taken anywhere and is prepared to drag his heels all the way home... until he finds himself slipping back into the familiar banter of his former friendship with Agatha. Once they arrive in New York, Zayne realizes Agatha's determined nose for news has earned her a few enemies, and he hopes to repay her help with some help of his own. When she rebuffs all his attempts to prove himself a knight in shining armor, the lengths to which they'll go to win this battle of wills lead to some memorable antics. 

Everyone else may think them a match, but nothing could be further from the truth--until Agatha finds herself in real trouble. Have these two stubborn, too-smart-for-their-own-good people been meant for each other all along? Buy the book HERE. 


Jen Turano, author of three books and one novella, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Learn more at www.jenturano.com.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. This Saturday, The Vogts Sisters will perform at the Big Spring Bluegrass and BBQ Festival in Neosho, MO. Learn more HERE.
Deviled Eggs
Soughdough Croutons 

Featured Author, Rose McCauley, shares her recipe for Mofongo

Book Preview ~ The Creole Princess

The Creole Princess, by Beth White

All along the eastern seaboard, the American struggle for independence rages. In the British-held southern port of Mobile, Alabama, the conflict brewing is quieter--though no less deadly. The lovely Frenchwoman Lyse Lanier is best friends with the daughter of the British commander. Rafael Gonzalez is a charming young Spanish merchant with a secret mission and a shipment of gold to support General Washington. As their paths cross and their destinies become increasingly tangled, Lyse and Rafael must decide where their true loyalties lie--and somehow keep Lyse's family from being executed as traitors to the British Crown. Buy the book HERE.

Beth White's day job is teaching music at an inner-city high school in historic Mobile, Alabama. A native Mississippian, she is a pastor's wife, mother of two, and grandmother of one--so far. Her hobbies include playing flute and pennywhistle and painting, but her real passion is writing historical romance with a Southern drawl. The author of The Pelican Bride, her novels have won the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, the RT Book Club Reviewers Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award. Visit www.bethwhite.net for more information. 

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. This Saturday, the Vogts Sisters will perform at Riverside Park in Oswego, KS. Music from 7-9:00 PM. Learn more HERE.
Fried Catfish
Radish Salad

Cookbook Preview - New Prairie Kitchen

More Prairie Wildflowers

Here are a few more pictures of some prairie wildflowers our youngest daughter captures with her camera. Note some of the identifying names. Aren't they pretty? 

Barbara's Buttons

Black-eyed Susan

Wild Bergamot

Not sure about the name of the flower but I really like the butterfly. Does anyone know what kind it is?

Round-fruited St John's Wort

Again, not sure. Looks like Black-Eyed Susan but it's close to the ground. . . 

Tube Beard Tongue

Yarrow