Spotlight & Giveaway: Still My Forever by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kim Vogel Sawyer to HJ!

Hi Kim and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Still My Forever!

 
Hello–great to be here.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Start with a wannabe composer/conductor who bombed out in New York so he’s returned to the small Kansas town in which he was raised. Add a jilted sweetheart who’s thrown herself into baking, a ragtag orphan with a tuba, a jealous cousin who’d stop at nothing to send the hero back to New York, and a band made up of farmers and merchants. Blend them all together at the turn of the century and see what kind of melody rises from the mix. (This is my “The Music Man” meets “Mr. Holland’s Opus” story…and it was fun.)
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

A favorite humorous moment:
Ava poured a dipperful of beans from the soup tureen onto Papa’s plate, wishing she could empty it over his head instead.
Papa set the dish in front of him and picked up his fork. “Thank you, ne Leefste.”
Ne Leefste, hmm? He wouldn’t call her his dearest if he knew what she was thinking.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• It was inspired by a real-life musician named Paul Crabb who moved from New York City to Inman, Kansas, in 1904 and started a youth band that became very well-known in the state.
• The title comes from the lyrics of a song my daughter wrote for the hero to gift the heroine. The song was put to music by my composer/conductor brother. So special to me!
• My Mennonite heritage is featured in the story…always a joy for me to share.
• Timmy, a little boy who joins Gil’s band, plays the tuba because my dad and my grandson both play the tuba.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Gil and Ava were childhood best friends. Gil was drawn to Ava’s entire family because his parents died and he’s being raised by his aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, they resent the responsibility, so he escapes to Ava’s house. As they grow up, affection blossoms. Ava admires Gil’s respect for his guardians and is impressed with his talents. But when Gil’s aspirations to be a professional musician mean leaving their little town, Ava chooses caring for her ailing mother over life in New York.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Ava is battling with her feelings toward Gil and her responsibility as her ill mother’s caretaker:

“Even if Gil asked me again, I can’t go to New York, Mama.”
“Why not?”
Ava huffed. “If I go, what will become of you?”
“If you stay, what will become of me?”
Ava drew back, confused. “What do you mean?”
Mama gave Ava’s hand a little shake. “My darling daughter, you being here will not change one minute of the time God has ordained for me. He alone knows the number of our days. Whether you are here in Falke, in New York, or even across the sea, you cannot add one hour to what is already written in God’s Book.”

This exchange was Inspired by a conversation with my own dear mother in 2012. I was supposed to go on a book tour in Kentucky and she wasn’t doing well. I was afraid to leave, not knowing what might happen. She convinced me to honor my duty because my being home wouldn’t change her outcome. (She did have a heart attack while I was gone, but she survived it, and others stepped up to see to her needs in my absence, which let me see very clearly that I wasn’t the only one who cared deeply for her. We enjoyed six more years together before she graduated to heaven.)

Readers should read this book….

…because tuba-playing Timmy is going to steal your heart!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m in the midst of edits for my summer 2023 release, titled A Tapestry of Grace. It also takes place in a small, Mennonites-founded Kansas town, and features the Frauenverein, a benevolent society made up of women. They mean well, but… It’s a good thing God is the making-beauty-out-of-ashes business!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print copy of STILL MY FOREVER by Kim Vogel Sawyer

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Gil and Ava had grandiose plans for their futures, but in both cases the plans flopped, leaving them floundering. Have your plans ever gone askew? How did you handle the disappointment?

 
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Excerpt from Still My Forever:

Gil whistled as he walked to the bank building with Timmy’s tuba under his arm. The boy, carrying Gil’s portfolio of music, scampered alongside him.
What would the boys say when he told them he’d called the county clerk and registered them to compete at the All School’s Day band contest? He hoped their excitement would be greater than their nervousness. Too much nervousness could wreck a performance. Too much excitement could, too. But with enough practice and enough encouragement, Gil should be able to prepare them for the performance. Every band would play two songs—one piece while standing in front of the judges and another while marching in the parade, with each performance making up half their score.
His whistle momentarily faltered. He hadn’t anticipated marching. The boys had a lot of work to do. But Gil knew what songs they’d perform. For the parade, they’d play the original piece he’d already started teaching the boys. He hadn’t written it to be a marching song, but it had a peppy four-four beat and would work well for a marching band. As for the other… The tune leaving his puckered lips turned cheerful again. He’d stayed up half the night adding parts to the song he’d written for Ava before he left Falke.
Although Ava’s song was originally composed for violin, he’d always intended to make it an orchestral score. This newest version was only a variation, nothing an orchestra could play, but he hoped the horns would complement one another and give emotion and life to the melody. He wanted Ava to hear her song played by a band. For her to know he hadn’t forgotten it. To please her, the same way her many acts of kindness since his return had pleased him.
The whistled notes faded as images from the night he played the song for Ava flashed in his mind. Ava’s eyes, bright with tears, their tawny depths glowing with wonder. Ava’s face, pale beneath the moonlight, lifted to him in rapt attention. Ava’s hands, clasped as if in prayer, resting lightly against her lips. Ava’s lips, rosy and full, responding to his kiss in full surrender.
His feet slowed and he stopped, his mind so caught up in the past he hardly realized where he was. Until Timmy nudged his elbow.
“Mr. Baty? What’s the matter? You feeling sick?”
Gil gave himself a little shake and turned his attention on the boy. “Nä, Timmy. I’m fine.”
Timmy blew out a breath. “That’s good. I thought for a minute there you had a bad belly ache.”
Gil laughed. If tender reflections made him appear sick to his stomach, he’d better not get caught up in thought in public.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Four years after leaving town to make a name for himself as a composer, Gilbert Baty has returned temporarily to Falke, Kansas. Now, he’s trying to keep everyone from learning the truth about his disastrous years in New York City. He hopes to start writing music again in Falke, but he can’t help being distracted by Ava Flaming, the brown-eyed baker to whom he was briefly engaged before he ended things—and who still stirs feelings in him he knows he has no right to pursue.

Ava had thought she was past the loss of Gil Baty. But to her dismay, she’s as drawn to him as ever. The situation only gets worse when Gil establishes a youth band in Falke, showing once more what a good man he is.

But when the band has a chance to compete in a statewide competition, Ava faces the prospect of heartbreak again. Could music take Gil away forever this time? Or might God be stirring in Ava’s and Gil’s hearts a new song that will draw them together for good?
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Meet the Author:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is a highly acclaimed, bestselling author with more than 1.5 million books in print in seven different languages. Her titles have earned numerous accolades including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim and her retired military husband, Don, live in central Kansas, where she continues to write gentle stories of hope. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters and her grandchildren.
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