by Beth K. Vogt
What message did you hope to speak through Haley’s gradual awakening?
Sometimes we let others tell us who we are. We forget who we really are. Love, unconditional love—the kind of love that is there, day in and day out—heals our wounds and allows us to be our true selves again.
You’ve mentioned in other interviews that your husband spent twenty-four years in the military. How did your experiences during those years shape this story?
During our years in the military, several of our friends lost their husbands. Seeing that—and walking closely with one friend through that—changed me.
How did those losses impact you?
I always said my husband was in the military and I was along for the ride. I have the greatest respect for military men and women, for the sacrifices they make—and for the families who love them and support them as they serve.
What did you hope to give readers in the prologue—the brief story of Stephen and Sam’s relationship as young boys?
Oh, I debated the prologue with my mentor, Rachel Hauck. Writers are told not to begin a novel with a prologue. But this is one of those “exceptions to every rule” times. I believe readers needed to see Sam and Stephen as young boys—to see what they lost.
What was uniquely enjoyable about this novel in contrast to your first two?
Somebody Like You was so challenging to write. Yes, it’s a romance, but it deals with issues of widowhood and estrangement. I believe I stood up to the challenge of writing this story honestly, in a believable way—with the support of my family, mentors, and “spiritual ground support.”
Have you ever had a relationship end abruptly or with unresolved conflict? How did you respond?
I never imagined that as I wrote Somebody Like You I would also wrestle with estrangement in my own life. It’s been painful—heartbreaking, truthfully. I’ve embraced the truth of the verse in Romans 12: As much as you are able, be at peace with all men. I’ve done what I could . . . and I’ve had to let that be enough for now, trusting that God is working in my life, even when I don’t see anything happening.
What was your inspiration for the tree house? Did you have a tree house as a child?
I think there’s something inherently hopeful in tree houses—they are the stuff of childhood, of dreams. And I saw a TV show about tree-house builders, which inspired me to weave the tree house more strongly through the story. I never had a tree house as a child, but I always wanted one.
Do you have a family motto you hope your children remember?
Our family motto is: There’s always room for one more. It grew out of our time as a military family, when we spent so many holidays away from relatives. We always tried to open our home to whoever needed a place to celebrate.
What can we expect from you next?
I’m one of the authors in the A Year of Weddings series by HarperCollins—I’m the author of the “A November Bride” novella. I’m brainstorming several Colorado romance series . . . so we’ll see what doors God opens!
© LISAANNE PHOTOGRAPHY
BETH K. VOGT believes God’s best is often behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s a nonfiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of a former air force physician 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. Beth writes inspirational contemporary romance set in the Colorado Rockies because she believes there’s more to romance than the fairy tales tell us.
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also by beth k. vogt
Wish You Were Here
Catch a Falling Star
You Made Me Love You: an eShort sequel to Wish You Were Here
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Howard Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Beth K. Vogt
Scripture quotations are taken from: The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Message copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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First Howard Books trade paperback edition May 2014
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Interior design by Jaime Putorti
Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Assoc.
Front cover photographs by Thinkstock
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vogt, Beth K.
Somebody like you : a novel / Beth K. Vogt.—First Howard Books trade paperback edition.
pages cm
I. Title.
PS3622.O362S66 2014
813'.6—dc23
2013030353
ISBN 978-1-4767-3758-4
ISBN 978-1-4767-3759-1 (ebook)
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Acknowledgments
Reading Group Guide
About Beth K. Vogt
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