Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 60

You’re Invited: Help Author Beth K. Vogt Plan a Destination Wedding

 

 

I just hit SEND on the rewrites for my novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, which will release in August 2015 as part of my new Destination Wedding series with Howard Books.

Guess what happens now?

I’m writing Can’t Buy Me Love, the novella that will launch the series in May 2015. I’d like to invite you to help me write my novella. 

That’s right: I need your creativity, your ideas for Can’t Buy Me Love because we all know how challenging it is to plan a wedding, right? Here are your destination wedding planning tips:

Create a “Planning a Wedding: Can’t Buy Me Love” Pinterest board
Your first pin on your board is the “You’re Invited” pin from my “Planning a Wedding” Pinterest board found here
Have fun pinning items onto your board that create an elegant, upscale Manhattan destination wedding, including:

specific locations in Manhattan
wedding cakes
wedding gowns
engagement rings/wedding rings
flowers
decorations
favors
foods
hairstyles
surprise me!


Come back here to this blog and post a link to your Planning a Wedding: Can’t Buy Me Love Pinterest Board in the comment section.

The contest … I mean, the wedding planning goes from October 7 through November 7. (I am on deadline, after all!)

OH YES, THERE ARE PRIZES:

The creator of the best overall wedding planning board gets to choose any two of my novels — ebook or paperback. 

If I use your ideas in the novella — for the wedding cake or the wedding gown or the engagement ring, for example — I’ll mention you in the novella’s Acknowledgements. And yes, more than one person can win — and be mentioned!

Hope you’ll join the Wedding Planning Pinterest fun! Have you ever planned a wedding before?

 

Help plan a dream destination #wedding for my 2015 novella. How would you spend $30k? #Pinterest...
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In Others’ Words: What’s the Point?

What are we waiting for?

How often do we spend our days dodging the pain, sidestepping the challenges, declining the invitation to live out loud because it might hurt too much? Living life real means tears and laughter, disappointment and contentment, missing the mark so badly that we completely lose sight of it and dreams coming true in a blinding blaze of glory.

If avoidance isn’t the point, then what is?

Maybe living life real is discovering how to blink away tears … and shoulder disappointments … and keep your focus on the end-of-the-rainbow-vision even when you’ve missed the mark a thousand times. Maybe living life real is going to bed exhausted and praying for the strength to get up in the morning and go looking for the that mark you missed — that goal, that dream, that promised land, that passion …

In Your Words: What are you waiting for? What helps you embrace live life real?

***

If you’re feeling a little deja vu today: I apologize that this post showed up briefly last week — a bit earlier than I planned. I rescheduled it as soon as I realized it had gone live too soon — and without the quote image!

In Others’ Words: Worth a Thousand – 2014 ACFW Conference

 

I’m just back from St. Louis and the 2014 ACFW Conference. I’ll let the pictures tell the story, as I’m staring down an October 6 deadline for turning in rewrites on my novel, Crazy Little Thing Called Love — the first one in my Destination Wedding series that releases in 2015.

While I didn’t win the Carol Award for Contemporary Romance, I had a wonderful time — and especially enjoyed having my husband with me for the gala! He flew in Saturday just for the event — and he wore his tux! Congratulations to author Becky Wade, who did win — and I also want to mention author Deborah Rainey, who was the other finalist. (You’ll see a photo of the 3 of us on the right-hand side of the blue framed collage.)

I’ll be back blogging next week — and diving into the novella, Can’t Buy Me Love, for the same series!

What have you been up to?

 

In Others’ Words: Too Great a Burden

 

Love is a choice.

I’ve heard that phrase so many times that it can slip past me like a will-o’-the-wisp. I nod my head in a “yes, that’s true” kind of fashion … but I don’t acknowledge the truth of the words. The challenge inherent in them.

Sometimes you must choose to love … and in doing so, you are choosing not to hate.

So often we think that opposite of loving is unforgiveness. But we can barrel right past that into the darkness of hatred where we, who are made in the image of God, mar his reflection by our words and actions. And we do harm to others who are also made in the image of God.

Do you know what I do sometimes when I walk past someone who looks different than me or acts different than me or for some reason makes me feel scared or nervous or uncomfortable? I remind myself: They are made in the image of God too. Made in the image of God. 

But I digress.

Or maybe I don’t.

It is easier to stick with love … to release the burden of hatred … when I remember that the person who has wounded me or even hates me is made in the image of God.

In Your Words: What helps you release the burden of hatred and stick with love? 

Releasing the Burden of Hatred #lifequotes #MartinLutherKingJr
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What Helps You Choose #Love? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: The Bravest Among Us

 

My friend, author Melissa Tagg, read the book Let’s All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs.

And then she raved about on Facebook and in a few IMs we shared back and forth and she even wrote a blog series about it.

And so I bought the book. I love and respect Melissa and when she raves about something, well, I pay attention. And when she goes on and on about a book (in a good way), I buy it.

And read it and underline it with my favorite purple pen ( a Pentel EnerGel with liquid gel ink).

Today’s quote is one of the first ones I underlined in Let’s All Be Brave:

“No one is brave alone … the bravest among us do not stand alone.”

Now before you argue with me, stop and think for a minute. Yes, I know there are times when a person stands up for something by himself (or herself) — and no one stands beside them.

Except maybe, maybe in their heart. Maybe a person is able to stand — to be brave — because they know they are loved by someone. Or by a lot of someones. Or by the Creator-Someone.

So in that very real sense, a person does not stand alone. They know they are loved and valued and believed in — and this knowledge helps them be brave. They might be alone in that moment — but the strength of healthy, supportive, trustworthy relationships in the past and the promise of such relationships in the future — this helps them to be brave.

In Your Words: Who helps you to be brave?

No One is Brave Alone #lifequotes @anniefdowns
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Who Helps You to be Brave? #lifequotes @anniefdowns
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In Others’ Words: A Wealth of Dreams

I’ve had this quote in the Draft section of my blog for several years. Yep. Years.

Sometimes a quote strikes me in an “I like it” kind of way and when I try to write my thoughts about it, the words stutter to a stop on the page.

I’ve got nothing.

But I decided to pull this quote out of limbo and use it because I love the truth woven in the words: We need to dream. Dreams enrich our lives.

And no, I am in not overlooking the very real problem of poverty in this country or the world.

But I’ve discovered something in recent months: people have lost sight of their dreams.

Maybe circumstances so overwhelmed them that their dreams were shoved out of their life. Or if they just got tired of waiting for their dream to come true and gave up. Or somehow, someway they lost track of a dream … or maybe that dream came true and was a disappointment. Somehow hidden in the dream was — surprise! — doing the work of keeping the dream alive.

Here’s what else I’ve discovered: My heart aches when someone says they don’t have a dream.

To me, that is unimaginable — and I wanted to figure out some way to help them find their dream again.

I’ll repeat myself here: Dreams enrich our lives. They help us discover more — about ourselves, about others, about the world, about God. Reaching for dreams stretch us into who we are meant to be.

In Your Words: What dream are you dreaming? How has a dream -- or dreams -- enriched your life?

What #Dream is Enriching Your Life? #lifequotes
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A Wealth of #Dreams #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Finding Home

 

I travel some — to writers conferences, mostly.

And I enjoy the chance to be with people who “get” me. People who can have entire conversations about imaginary people. Yeah, we do that.

But this is inevitable: Even as I pack my bags for the trip, anticipating the workshops and the almost nonstop conversations and the hugs and the late nights and early mornings and the God moments waiting for me wherever I’m going — I find myself missing home.

And I haven’t even left yet.

I love home.

No, I treasure home.

And when I finally get back home — walk in the door and release that little exhale that my heart’s been holding all the time I’ve been gone — I whisper, “I’m home.”

And it’s good.

Home is where I’m the most me. And home is also where my family knows they are welcome. All the time. 

There are no locked doors, no “time’s up!” announcements for family. Home is home all the time … any time … forever and ever, amen. It’s memories and the promise of the future … and whatever you need right now this minute.

In Your Words: How would you finish this sentence: Home is_________________. 

When Did You Know That You Found #Home? #lifequotes
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The Ache for Home in All of Us #lifequotes #MayaAngelou
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In Others’ Words: Are You Scared?

Fear likes to tell us no.

No, you can’t (fill in the blank). 

No, you can’t learn to dance — you’re not coordinated enough.

No, you can’t sing well enough to try out for school chorus.

No, you can’t try out for that sports team. What makes you think you’re good enough to compete with those other kids?

No, you can’t apply for that mission trip because what if something awful happens and you get sick or even die over there in that foreign country?

No, you can’t pursue your dream job … who are you kidding? You’re not the most qualified person for the position.

No and no and no and no and no and no.

If fear has its way — and it does, let’s just admit it — we’ll live such limited lives, hemmed in all around by Nos.

I remember the first time I was invited to join a fiction writing group — me and my no-one-else-has-read-a-word-of-this work in progress (WIP). I showed up with my requested first five pages and sat on the couch while an award-winning, best-selling, multi-published author read my first attempt at fiction out loud. Truth be told, I sat near the arm of the couch, hoping no one could see me shake.

I was s-c-a-r-e-d.

The fact that I’m writing this blog post today proves I survived that experience. Fear was saying, “No, you can’t go to that group! What are you thinking? You’ll waste their time.” But there wasn’t a “no” waiting for me, even though I had a lot to learn about novel writing. I was welcomed into the group — imperfect, scared me.

In Your Words: When has fear tried to tell you “No” and hold you back? How have you pushed back and defeated fear?

When Fear Tells You No #lifequotes
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Is #Fear Limiting Your Life? #lifequotes
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In Others’ Words: Be Optimistic

  Helen Keller was an amazing woman.

Born in 1880,  an illness left her deaf and blind when she was all of 19 months old. Helen had limited communication with her family until she was 7 years old — when Annie Sullivan arrived and worked with her to teach her sign language. Fast forward to 1904, when Helen was 24 years old and graduated from college, the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

And yes, there’s so much more to her life story.

But when you sift through her quotes — and I have to some degree — you discover a woman who chose to embrace life despite what she didn’t have: sight and hearing. She chose to savor life. To enjoy life. She chose to be happy.

Am I foolish enough to think Helen was never discouraged or frustrated? No. I’m sure there were times she wanted more … but it also seems as if she chose to believe that her life was not less than.

I am certain there were people who looked at her and saw all she could not do.

And yet Helen Keller seemed to be all about saying “Yes, I can. And I will.”

And she did.

In Your Words: What helps you stay optimistic? When have you chosen to say “Yes, I can” — choosing optimism and faith and hope — instead of being overcome by all the reasons you can’t? What did you achieve?

Be Optimistic and Say Yes! #lifequotes #HelenKeller
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What Helps You Stay Optimistic? #lifequotes #optimism
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In Others’ Words: Sing It Loud

Truth be told, I do most of my singing in the car, not the shower. One of my favorite memories of years gone by is driving around town doing errands and singing with my two daughters, Katie Beth and Amy. In the very early years we sang along to the radio or cassette tapes (yes, yes, we did!) and then graduated up to CDs.

Now that CJ, my 13-year-old is in charge of what music is played while we run errands, she commandeers my iPhone and scrolls through Spotify to find favorite songs. And yes, we sing together, just like I did with her sisters.

If I allowed my son Josh to chime in on this blog post, he would tell you how much he didn’t enjoy those sing-a-longs with his first two sisters. He usually demanded we change the radio station or turn off the tape or CD after five or ten minutes. Sometimes he just suffered in silence while we sang at the top of our lungs. No, we weren’t trying to drive him crazy — or at least I wasn’t. I can’t vouch for his sisters.

One daughter — who shall remain nameless — is a rock star diva in the shower, singing at the top of her lungs. And I love it — her shower-serenades always put a smile on my face.

If you’re waiting for some serious application to this post … well, there is none. Sometimes a quote is just fun, you know? And sometimes life is just about the moments that you sing in the car with your kiddos … or rock out in the shower by yourself.

In Your Words: So are you a rock star or an opera diva? Do you sing along with your kiddos? Your BFFs? Your spouse? Or do you prefer to sing solo? What’s your favorite kind of music?