Deborah, describe yourself for our visitors.
I’m a stay-at-home mom and wife to a loving husband. A few of my hobbies include baking, playing the piano, sewing and gardening, and of course reading. We live in SE Kansas where we raise and train American Quarter Horses, and I love taking walks with our two golden retrievers.
How do you find time to connect with God?
I try to have my devotional reading every morning after breakfast and then again at bedtime. During those times, I read from two random books of the Bible. Psalms and Proverbs are two of my favorites.
Do you have a favorite Bible verse and or quote you wish to share?
Yes, I have a couple, actually. One that speaks to me most is “Be still and know that I am God,” as well as Philippians 4:13, Proverbs 3:5-6, and Isaiah 41:13.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
I like many different authors. Any book by Janette Oke, Francine Rivers – Redeeming Love, Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River, and many more—too countless to name them all.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
I wanted to be a writer since High school, but it wasn’t until 2002 that I began taking serious steps to get to the goal. I joined a local writer’s group and ACFW, (an online writing organization), joined a critique group, read writing how-to’s and attended writing conferences. I met my first agent at the ACFW Nashville Conference. We hit it off at our meeting, and she gave me some tips on making my book series “bigger.” I did that and submitted my idea to her and she took me on. We shopped my Seasons of the Tallgrass series for a year and had a few bites (one of them Zondervan) but no sale. In the end, she released me, which was a real heart breaker. However, we don’t always see the big picture like God does, and six months later I signed with agent, Rachelle Gardner with WordServe Literary, and we had an offer from Zondervan three months after that.
Tell us about your current book.
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.
How did you come up with ideas for this book? – I remember suddenly knowing that my main male character would be a pro-quarterback and that when I went to write the opening scenes, they practically wrote themselves within twenty or thirty minutes—as though they weren’t even my words or ideas.
What influenced you to write this book?
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 through the Seasons of the Tallgrass series.
Did you have a favorite character(s)? Who and why?
Of course I loved my main characters, Gil & Mattie, but one of the secondary characters really stood out for me, and that was John McCray, Gil’s dad. He’s one of those gruff old men, whose growl is worse than his bite. I’ve had other readers tell me they really loved him as well, so if I make it to Book 4, the winter story, we’re going to see him again. J
What’s next for you?
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.
Where can visitors find you online?
They may visit my web site www.deborahvogts.com or blog www.deborahvogts.blogspot.com or they can sign up for my quarterly e-newsletter, which gives all my writing updates in a short e-mail.
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