Featured Author - Deborah Vogts

First off, thank you Marian, for having me as a guest on your blog. I am a new author for Zondervan, and my debut book Snow Melts in Spring is releasing this June. My husband and I have three beautiful daughters and live in SE Kansas.

Years ago, I took a Flint Hills Folklife summer course at Emporia State University that was taught by Dr. Jim Hoy. Along with classroom study, we took field trips into the heart of the Flint Hills and visited with old-time ranchers, schoolmarms and post-mistresses. It was such a delightful experience, especially our drives into the pastures. We would get on these back roads and drive over pasture guards into the open range. We would travel for miles without seeing another car or even an electric line—just pure, native prairie. That summer, I fell in love with the Flint Hills and it has stayed with me all this time. I’m so glad I have this chance to share this place with my readers in this series.

I enjoyed getting to know my characters. I studied and visited various veterinarians in researching this story and tagging behind a couple of them for an afternoon was fun. My male lead character, Gil, is a retiring professional quarterback, so learning more about football was fun, too. I know my husband especially enjoyed my “newfound interest” in the game. LOL

Cry and scream if you need to but don’t give up. Keep dreaming, studying the craft, and reading. Stay tuned to what God wants for you and let scripture keep you afloat. Learn to depend on God for everything—every step of the journey. Just knowing that He is in charge and knows what is best for you, helps to alleviate the pressure of “getting published” so that you’re able to ENJOY the journey AND life

That though you may have your life all mapped out, you need to be open to the path God wants you to travel, AND be prepared to follow it once He points you in that direction. And while this isn’t necessarily a message, I hope to give my readers a taste of the Flint Hills and of how God’s beauty rests on the prairie and in the hearts of those who live there

I’m continuing on with the Seasons of the Tallgrass series. I’m waiting for edits of my second book, Seeds of Summer and have started working on my third book, tentatively titled Blades of Autumn. One of the neatest parts of the publishing process is seeing what the creative team comes up with for a cover. I’m eager to view the cover for Seeds of Summer, a story about a former Miss Rodeo Kansas queen, and her return to the Flint Hills to care for her deceased father’s ranch and her two younger siblings.

Snow Melts in Spring is the first book in the Seasons of the Tallgrass series. This is a contemporary romance series set in the Flint Hills of Kansas, one of the last tallgrass prairie regions in the world, and a place that is dear to my heart. A short blurb for the book is: Mattie Evans, a young veterinarian in rural Kansas, saves a horse injured in a terrible accident. But she also finds herself tending the wounded relationship between a prodigal son and his ailing father. Love, conflict, forgiveness and renewal drive this first book of the Seasons of the Tallgrass series.

I have found the marketing and promotion of the book quite interesting and enjoyable—and a bit of a creative challenge in coming up with ideas that are unique to my setting and characters. I think, too, just coming to terms and accepting the fact that I’m finally a published author has been a challenge as well—for me and my family. Life has changed for me. My writing is no longer just a “hobby” that mom does.

Mattie Evans is a large animal veterinarian in the ranching community of Charris County. Although she struggles with her practice, she is determined to settle in the Flint Hills, a place that is firmly planted in her heart. Almost against her will, she finds herself falling in love with the owner of one of her patient’s—a man who is determined to run away from the Flint Hills and his problems at home. There are many family relationship issues in this story, but the land and particularly the Flint Hills are a major concern. I always spend quite a bit of time getting to know my characters before I write one sentence of the story. I do this through “interviewing,” story-boarding (finding pictures of my characters, their homes, cars—anything of visual interest to me), and this continues as the story progresses as I learn new and different aspects about my characters.