Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Beth Pugh & The Valentine Proposal

Please join me in welcoming author Beth Pugh to the blog to chat about her debut novel, The Valentine Proposal!

Beth Pugh is a Selah Award finalist and local award-winning author who has been published by The Good Men Project, Scary Mommy, Sasee, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Lexington Herald-Leader, and On Parenting at The Washington Post. Born and raised in the rolling hills of eastern Kentucky, she learned early on that nothing compares to a home cooked meal, front porch sitting, and Sunday morning church services. Through a random ICQ chat, she met her husband and they’ve been embracing those family traditions for years. Now, she hopes to share those same traditions with her son and her readers. She has seen God turn her greatest grief into indescribable joy and tells everyone she meets about the goodness of the Father—sometimes multiple times in one sitting if there’s coffee and donuts involved. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her jamming out in the parent pick-up line, reading on the couch, or cheering for the Chicago Cubs just like her daddy taught her to do. Sometimes, her characters do those things, too.

You can connect with Beth on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

THE VALENTINE’S PROPOSAL by Beth Pugh
SERIES: Pine Valley Holiday #1
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Candlelight Fiction
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2022
PAGES: 268

Award-winning photographer Mason Montgomery is back in Pine Valley, Kentucky. Hopefully, for good, if his business proposal is accepted. On paper, he’s the perfect buyer for Forget-Me-Not Photography. Too bad the seller, Ol’ Man Rowe, doesn’t see it that way. He’s looking for a family man to take over, and Mason’s bachelor status doesn’t fit the bill.

For shy Lily Anne Dawson, life has not turned out the way she’d hoped. Working at her mother’s bakery and editing for the local newspaper is a far cry from her journalistic dream. She’s a failure. A lonely failure worrying about infertility with no romantic prospects in sight.

That all changes when a decade-old promise to marry on Valentine’s Day pushes the two together at their high school reunion. The impromptu proposal offers a solution to their problems. But marriage requires honesty—and both have secrets. Secrets that could make or break their budding love.

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Hi Beth! Welcome to the blog!

Beth: Winter. Even though my body’s thermostat hovers at freezing year-round, the cold weather keeps me from getting weird looks when I bundle up. Layers are my best friend.

Carrie: haha love that reason

Beth: Coffee. All day. Every day. Tea is a great treat, but coffee is a necessity.

Carrie: that’s a familiar refrain from authors, I’ve learned 😉

Beth: Hallmark. I need the feel good fuzzies.

Carrie: me too! Though I mostly watch the Hallmark Mysteries channel so I guess I have a limit on feel-good fuzzies haha

Beth: Mountains. They make me feel small, but protected at the same time.

Carrie: yes! Great way to explain the appeal – I feel the same.

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Beth: I would want the ability to freeze time. There are not enough hours in the day, so if I had the chance to stop the clock, I’d take it. Especially, if I were exempt to the freeze. Limitless hours to write and read!

Carrie: yes please!!

Q: Other than the Bible, what are five of your most cherished books?

Beth:

1. My decorative copy of Pride and Prejudice- My husband gifted me for our anniversary.
2. A Christmas Carol-It hits all the right holiday notes.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia- I absolutely adore C.S. Lewis.
4. Mrs. Dalloway- Because of Septimus. He is the ultimate broken hero.
5. Middlemarch- Will Ladislaw still has my heart.
   

Carrie: I see I have been remiss in not reading Mrs. Dalloway and Middlemarch yet…

Q: Any snacks/beverages that are a must when you sit down to write?

Beth: I go through phases with snack food and it changes with each book I write. The first one was peanut M&Ms. The second one was Raisinets. The third one might be hard to keep in stock because I’ve fallen in love with the Reese Pieces eggs.

Carrie: oh dear – buy them all up now haha

Q: Which of your main characters in The Valentine Proposal is most like you?

Beth: Lily Anne, hands down. We both struggle with anxiety and the fear of failure. While I was writing The Valentine Proposal, I was in graduate school and terrified to take my exit exam. God truly used the book to help me through my worry. It’s my prayer that readers who have the same issues can see faith over fear in Lily Anne.

Carrie: I related to her a lot too!

Q: Were there any songs that inspired you as you wrote this book?

Beth: Yes. Just the Girl by Click Five gave me huge Mason vibes and I Don’t Care by Ed Sheeran was Lily Anne’s song because her anxiety is always calmed by Mason.

Carrie: Mason is just the sweetest ♥

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from The Valentine Proposal & why do you love it?

Beth: Maybe their marriage had a chance to be more than she originally thought. Instead of being the worn-and-torn hoodie kind of comfy, maybe it could be ugly-sweater kind of crazy.

This quote shows how God’s plans are always higher than ours. Lily Anne has her own reasons for accepting Mason’s proposal, but God, in all His goodness, takes the relationship and exceeds all her expectations.

Carrie: love that quote!

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Beth: Book 2 of the Pine Valley Holiday series, The Santa Run, will be released this September. It’s already up for pre-order and I can’t wait for it be out in the world. The characters in Book 3 are finally talking to me, so I’m writing their story right now. Besides that, I’m gearing up to start my first romantic suspense. In real life, I’m taking my little boy to karate, waiting for track and field to start for him, and keeping my eye out for football sign-ups!

Beth Pugh is offering an ebook copy of The Valentine Proposal to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read The Valentine Proposal by Beth Pugh?