Deborah Vogts's Blog, page 89

Book Preview ~ A Promise Kept

A Promise Kept by Robin Lee Hatcher

God was going to save her marriage, Allison was sure of it. But neither her husband nor her marriage had been saved.

What had become of His promise?

Tony Kavanagh had been Allison’s dream-come-true. They were in love within days, engaged within weeks, married and pregnant within a year. Her cup bubbled over with joy . . . but years later, that joy had been extinguished by unexpected trials.

The day Allison issued her husband an ultimatum, she thought it might save him. She never expected he would actually leave. She was certain God had promised to heal; it was clear that she'd misunderstood.

Now, living in the quiet mountain cabin she inherited from her single, self-reliant Great Aunt Emma, Allison must come to terms with her grief and figure out how to adapt to small town life. But when she finds a wedding dress and a collection of journals in Emma’s attic, a portrait of her aunt emerges that takes Allison completely by surprise: a portrait of a heartbroken woman surprisingly like herself.

As Allison reads the incredible story of Emma’s life in the 1920s and 1930s, she is forced to ask a difficult question: Does she really surrender every piece of her life to the Lord?

Drawing from her own heart-wrenching story of redemption, A Promise Kept is Robin Lee Hatcher’s emotionally charged thanksgiving to a God who answers prayers—in His own time and His own ways. Buy the book HERE.

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. After fifteen years writing for the general fiction market and a change in her own heart, Robin began to write stories that included her Christian faith and values. Winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, the Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and many other awards, she is also a recipient of the prestigious RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Robin is the author of over 70 novels and novellas.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. Her main hobby (when time allows) is knitting, and she has a special love for making prayer shawls. A mother and grandmother, Robin and her husband make their home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet, the high-maintenance Papillon, and Princess Pinky, the DC (demon cat). Learn more about Robin and her books HERE.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. Our daughters, the Vogts Sisters will be performing at Mead's Corner tonight in Wichita, KS. If you're in the area, we'd love to have you join us. Learn more HERE.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Multi-Grain Sourdough Bread

Featured Author, June Foster shares her recipe for a Ham and Cheese Ball.

The Colors of Spring

Spring has arrived, albeit a little late this year, but it appears to be here for good...at least I hope so as I have planted my spring and summer flowers and vegetables.
 Our daffodils in full bloom.
The Bradford Pear tree blooms were magnificent this year. So full and pretty.
Now our tulips and grape hyacinths are showing their pretty colors. Though, it's not my favorite season, I do enjoy springtime, when I can open the windows and hear the birds singing their songs, and look out at my yard to see all the pretty colors. What about you? What is your favorite season?

Book Preview ~ The Invention of Sarah Cummings

The Invention of Sarah Cummings by Olivia Newport
Sarah Cummings has one goal in life--to break into Chicago's high society. Desperate to stop serving dinner and to starteating at society tables, Sarah alters cast-off gowns from the wealthy Banning women to create lustrous, flattering dresses of her own. On a whim at a chance meeting, she presents herself as Serena Cuthbert, weaving a fictitious past to go with her fictitious name. But as she gets closer to Simon Tewell, the director of St. Andrew's Orphanage, Sarah finds that she must choose between the life she has and the life she dreams of. Will she sacrifice love to continue her pretense? Or can Simon show her that sometimes you don't have to pretend for dreams to come true? Buy the book HERE.

Olivia Newport is the author of The Pursuit of Lucy Banning and The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow. Her husband and two twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is. Find out more at www.OliviaNewport.com.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. May you have a blessed Easter. 
Rolled Sugar Cookies
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Featured Author, Shannon Vannatter shares her recipe for Taco Soup

Babysitting our Granddaughter

This past week our family had the pleasure of babysitting our little granddaughter for several days. 
She slept well and ate well--and LOVED strawberries!
And she played hard.
Here with a new "used" rocking horse that was found at an antique shop. She wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but after the second day she was patting it and giving it her love.
I'd forgotten how much energy goes into taking care of little kids. Feeding them, changing them, putting them to sleep, and running after them! But it was such fun and we look forward to having her stay again soon! (Although her mama may not be ready to share her for quite a while...she missed her little girlie.)

Book Preview ~ The Dancing Master

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch's daughter. Though he's initially wary of Julie Midwinter's reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul—and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master—a man her mother would never approve of—but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec's help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village . . . and to her mother's tattered heart?

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a "good match" in Regency England. Buy the book HERE.

Julie Klassen worked in publishing for sixteen years (first in advertising, then as a fiction editor) and now writes full time. Three of her books, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Girl in the Gatehouse, and The Silent Governess have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Maid of Fairbourne Hall and The Girl in the Gatehouse also won a Midwest Book Award and The Silent Governess was a finalist in Romance Writers of America's RITA awards.

Julie graduated from the University of Illinois and enjoys travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with her friends. She and her husband have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota. Learn more about Julie and her books HERE.

This Week's Recipes

Here are this week's new additions at Country at Heart Recipes. Enjoy your weekend! 
Snickerdoodles
Roasted Garlic Chicken with Vegetables
Featured Author Linda White shares her recipe for Corn Chowder

Making Dolls and Dresses

 Our granddaughter recently celebrated her first birthday. Being the "homey" grandmother that I am, I wanted to make her a dress and pinafore as well as a doll with a matching dress for my dear little one. 
Years ago, I used to sew all the time and even took part in a family business called Rainbow Connection that sold used children's clothes as well as new handmade outfits that my mother-in-law and I created. Those were fun times! 
Sam in her birthday dress and pinafore and Emma wearing it now.Years passed, and I haven't sewn for a long time, but for this granddaughter's 1st birthday, I had to get out the sewing machine! You see, I made each of our daughters their first birthday dresses, so I was obligated! I had also made each of the girls their own dolls--several of them, in fact, so again, I had no choice! 
But my eyes don't see as well as they once did...and those needles are a lot harder to thread! 
And I'm not sure if it's me or the directions given in today's patterns, but they sure seemed a lot more complicated than they once did! I grumbled and grumbled as I made this raggedy doll--this doll that had a chin, and neck, and bottom, and big broad feet with the cutest Mary-Jane slippers, and hair galore! 
Then once I finished it, I immediately rushed it to our youngest daughter and exclaimed..."Isn't she adorable!"
Emma seems to think so too, so I guess all the trials and tribulations of making this outfit and doll were worth it. I even have plans to make a few more dresses and outfits for my kiddo this spring and summer! In fact, I have the pure, sweet pleasure of babysitting Emma this week while her mommy and daddy go on a trip to Chicago. Oh the joys of life. Cherish the moments . . . 

Book Preview ~ Heart of the Country

Heart of the Country by Rene Gutteridge and John Ward

Faith and Luke Carraday have it all. Faith is a beautiful singer turned socialite while Luke is an up-and-coming businessman. After taking his inheritance from his father’s stable, lucrative business to invest in a successful hedge fund with the Michov Brothers, he’s on the fast track as a rising young executive, and Faith is settling comfortably into her role as his wife.

When rumors of the Michovs’ involvement in a Ponzi scheme reach Faith, she turns to Luke for confirmation, and he assures her that all is well. But when Luke is arrested, Faith can’t understand why he would lie to her, and she runs home to the farm and the family she turned her back on years ago. Meanwhile, Luke is forced to turn to his own family for help as he desperately tries to untangle himself from his mistakes. Can two prodigals return to families they abandoned, and will those families find the grace to forgive and forget? Will a marriage survive betrayal when there is nowhere to run but home? Buy the book HERE.

Rene Gutteridge is the author of nineteen novels including Listen, Possession, Misery Loves Company, the Storm series, the Boo series, the Occupational Hazards series, and the novelization of the movie The Ultimate Gift. Rene and her husband have two children and live in Oklahoma. 
John Ward has spent twenty-five years in the film industry as a screenwriter, director, and actor. He recently wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film I AM. He also wrote, produced, and directed the Liquid DVD series for Thomas Nelson. He currently serves as president of Bayridge Films. Learn more about Rene HERE.