Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Beth K. Vogt & Dedicated to the One I Love

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K. Vogt, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Beth on the blog today to talk about the story behind a fave quote from her new book.

DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE by Beth K. Vogt
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: White Glove
RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2023
PAGES: 242

She doesn’t believe in love anymore. He doesn’t either.

They’re perfect for each other.

Beloved romance novelist Kylie Franklin walked away from her pen-name career as bestselling and award-winning Veronica Hollins the day her husband died. Her loyal readers are eager for the final book in her sensational series. But Kylie’s given up on love, both fictional and in real life. Behind her back, Kylie’s agent contrives a way to get her writing again.

Joe Edwards has made a name for himself with his popular military suspense novels under the pen name Tate Merrick. Yet he can’t quite break onto the bestseller list. What his books need, his publisher suggests, is some romance. Joe flat refuses. However, his publisher is determined and hires Veronica Hollins to save the day—and his career.

Veronica and Tate quickly realize they’re Kylie and Joe, good friends who connected online via a popular word game and their mutual love of trivia. Surely they can wrangle their alter egos into this literary collaboration. But as the deadline looms, their differences threaten the romance developing off the page.

From a Christy Award-winning author comes this charming mash-up of hidden identities, literary tug of war, and falling in love when you least expect it.

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Understanding the Story Behind the Quote:
Dedicated to the One I Love

by Beth K. Vogt, author of Dedicated to the One I Love

“Talking to Kylie right now was like trying to talk to his sweet Aunt Janice. She knew what she knew, and nothing you said was going to change her mind. And all the while you tried to change her mind, she smiled at you oh so lovingly, just like Kylie was doing right now. Not that Kylie loved him. Secretly, Joe was beginning to wonder if this woman wanted to destroy his career.”

This quote reveals some of the key elements of my new contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love: the tension between the two main characters, Kylie and Joe; the humor woven through the book; and the underlying element of family and friends.

This quote occurs within the first 100 pages of the book shortly after Kylie and Joe have discovered they’re both pen-name novelists and that Kylie is writing romance for Joe’s military suspense novel.

Joe is not thrilled with this new business arrangement with Kylie.

Yep. Things are a bit tense between the two of them.

Why did I have Joe recall his aunt? We may not have a “sweet Aunt Janice,” but we all have that one family member who is as immovable as the Rock of Gibraltar, but in the absolute nicest, quietest way possible. I knew readers would connect with Joe’s aunt, possibly nod their heads, or maybe shake their heads, in sympathy for Joe, who wasn’t going to get Kylie to budge from her opinion. (About what, you ask? You’ll have to read the book.)

The quote also reverberates with a tug of war between Joe and Kylie, which is very much front and center at their relationship this early in the book—and for some pages after. Joe feels forced into this publishing partnership and it’s knocked him off-balance. Meanwhile, Kylie is coming back into her publishing strength, so to speak, after years of avoiding all things writing.

There’s an inevitable clash between the two – caused by a lack of trust – and it’s a wonderful setup for humor. “Not that Kylie loved him. Secretly, Joe was beginning to wonder if this woman wanted to destroy his career.” It was so fun to sit down in front of my laptop and put Kylie and Joe in a room together and see what would happen.

How are Kylie and Joe going to learn to work together when they are so opposite from one another? When Kylie loves romance – in novels, at least – and Joe doesn’t? How can they trust each other to write a story together when they don’t believe in each other?

Such is the story of Dedicated to the One I Love – and you get a glimpse of it in the five sentences of the quote I shared with you today.

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, releases June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people.

Connect with Beth by visiting bethvogt.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

(1) winner will receive a $50 Etsy Gift Card, a print copy of Dedicated to the One I Love, a box of typewriter themed gift note cards, Novel Teas Book Lover Teas, and a 24 oz insulated Tervis Floral Tumbler!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 19, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on July 26, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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This giveaway is hosted by JustRead Tours, not RimSP
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What about you? What makes you want to read Dedicated to the One I Love by Beth K. Vogt? What did you like about the quote she shared?