by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

As my husband and I headed out to run some errands I told him, “I’m bringing paper and pen with me. You’re going to help me write a blog post and I want to take notes while we’re in the car.”

“O-kay.” Rob took my this-is-news-to-me announcement in stride. 

“This post is for November – around Thanksgiving.” I settled into the passenger seat. “Tell me why you’re thankful to be married to a writer.”

And the guy didn’t laugh. We ran our errands. I asked questions. Rob answered. And now, you’re reading a blog post on why it’s good to be married to a writer. 

1. You get to read books before they’re published. Not that my husband ever planned to read contemporary romance or women’s fiction. But, as he explained to me, my first book, Baby Changes Everything: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35, was a nonfiction book about late-in-life motherhood – and he had something to do with that topic. 
2. You get to hang out and have fun with creatives. My husband said this in all seriousness. He’s being gracious and overlooking how my “fun creativity” translates into late nights and a somewhat messy lifestyle *cough* my office *cough*. And how the fun decreases the closer I get to deadline. He’s learned to anticipate what he calls “known stressors” and recognizes there are no date nights when I’m on deadline – and no clean laundry, either. But he enjoys talking about imaginary people and their oh-so-complicated lives.

1. 3. You get to add a different perspective to plots and characters. (Continuing from #2) This was when my husband and I took a brief trip down memory lane – all the way back to Wish You Were Here, my debut novel. At one point in the writing process, I asked him to read a scene and to tell me if “my guy sounded like a guy.” Rob agreed to do so. Read the scene. And then he said, “No guy would ever say that.” And then he helped me rewrite the dialogue. Now, he reads all my manuscripts, and he even gives me some of my best lines.
   4. You come to understand the publishing industry. My husband said it’s good to know something about a profession outside his own (medicine). He can hold his own at a writers conference. He understands the ins and outs of traditional publishing versus indie publishing, book covers, and royalty statements. 
   5. You get to watch someone succeed at their dreams. Right after he said this, Rob added, “Success is different for everyone.” Smart man. Success can be finishing a manuscript. Attending a conference. Pitching a book idea. Being part of a good critique group. And yes, sometimes you win awards – but there’s so much more to success than a “win.” 

Moments We Forget  by Beth K. Vogt

Jillian Thatcher has spent most of her life playing the family peacemaker, caught in the middle between her driven, talented older sister and her younger, spotlight-stealing twin sisters. Then on the night of her engagement party, a cancer diagnosis threatens to once again steal her chance to shine.

Now, Jillian’s on the road to recovery after finally finishing chemo and radiation, but residual effects of the treatment keep her from reclaiming her life as she’d hoped. And just when her dreams might be falling into place, a life-altering revelation from her husband sends her reeling again.

Will Jillian ever achieve her own dreams, or will she always be “just Jillian,” the less-than Thatcher sister? Can she count on her sisters as she tries to step into a stronger place, or are they stuck in their childhood roles forever?

Beth K. Vogt

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releases May 2020. Other books in the series include Things I Never Told You, which one the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget.

Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored nine contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.

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 at bethvogt.com.