I'm delighted to have Beth Vogt, one of my writing BFFs, as my guest blogger today. I met Beth through My Book Therapy. She is the Soul to my Heart. 


Beth K. Vogt provides her readers with a happily ever after woven through with humor, reality, and God’s lavish grace. She’s a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force 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. Beth has discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She writes contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. Beth is also a leader in helping women realize a satisfying life doesn’t require perfection. To learn more about her, visit her site at www.bethvogt.com. 
Leave a comment along with your e-mail address for a chance to win a copy of Beth's debut novel, Wish You Were Here. ~*~
Sometimes you have to let go of your idea of “perfect” to find what’s right for you.
In my debut novel, Wish You Were Here , the heroine runs away from her oh-so-perfect happily ever after. Why?
Because Allison faces walking down the aisle and saying, “I do” to everything she thought she wanted for the past six years . . . and realizes she can’t do it.
Everything that seemed so right feels so wrong.
In front of hundreds of wedding guests, Allison pulls a Run Away Bride Redux.
Some of you might call Allison a coward for abandoning her fiancé at the last possible moment.
But Allison’s decision to say, “I don’t” instead of “I do” to Seth Rayner, her husband-to-be, is Allison’s first courageous act in a long, long time.
It wasn’t that Allison didn’t love her fiancé. But somewhere along the way to happily ever after, Allison lost herself. The romance became more about safety and security – and less about being her true self.
Funny story:I overlooked how my own life mirrored the fictional life of my heroine until the final edit phase of Wish You Were Here. And then I had an “Oh, yeah!” moment when I remembered Allison Denman wasn’t the only woman who ended an engagement.
I broke off an engagement too.
No, I didn’t leave my fiancé at the altar.
But there was a ring – and a lot of people thought I made a huge mistake when I gave the ring back. I remember one friend asking me, “How can you break up with such a perfect guy?”
I let this friend – and all the other people who doubted my decision –have their say. I was the one who’d been in the relationship, not them.
Yes, I let a (supposedly) perfect guy go.
But I was doing what was right for me.
And in the end I found romance again – and love that surprised me and led to an “I do” that has spanned decades. Funny thing is, when my husband and I got married, people took bets against us. We looked like anything but the ideal couple.
One of the truths I embrace is that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be satisfying. This holds true for romance too. That perfect guy? He just may be all-wrong for you. But the one who doesn’t measure up to your dream-come-true ideal? Look again. He just may be your Mr. Right.
If you had to choose: Would you pick happily ever after and losing yourself along the way? Or would you choose less than perfect and staying true to yourself?
Don't forget to leave a comment along with your e-mail address for a chance to win a copy of Beth's debut novel,  Wish You Were Here .