Beth K. Vogt’s women’s fiction series is complete with the release of Johanna’s story, The Best We’ve Been. Many readers are calling this the best book of the series, focusing on the eldest Thatcher sister who faces a dilemma that will impact her life and that of her younger sister, Jillian.

Beth writes authentically and from the heart – don’t miss this series completion! Thanks to Tyndale House, we are giving away a copy of The Best We’ve Been, so be sure to enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

Enjoy meeting Johanna, Jillian, and Payton through the eyes of their creator!

How can you choose what is right for you when your decision will break the heart of someone you love?

Having abandoned her childhood dream years ago, Johanna Thatcher knows what she wants from life. Discovering that her fiancé was cheating on her only convinces Johanna it’s best to maintain control and protect her heart.

Despite years of distance and friction, Johanna and her sisters, Jillian and Payton, have moved from a truce toward a fragile friendship. But then Johanna reveals she has the one thing Jillian wants most and may never have—and Johanna doesn’t want it. As Johanna wrestles with a choice that will change her life and her relationships with her sisters forever, the cracks in Jillian’s marriage and faith deepen. Through it all, the Thatcher sisters must decide once and for all what it means to be family.

The Thatcher Sisters: Johanna, Jillian, and Payton – Payton’s identical twin sister, Pepper, died when she was 16 years old.

Physical Stats

Height: All the Thatcher sisters are tall – six feet tall or so. Payton and Pepper took advantage of their height and played volleyball in high school.

Hair colour & style: Johanna dyes her hair platinum blonde and wears it long. Jillian wears her dark blonde hair in a shoulder-length cut. And Payton’s auburn hair is layered and highlighted – she no longer has the volleyball-girl long hair.

Eye colour: All the Thatcher sisters have various shades of blue eyes – but Payton and Pepper’s eyes were the same color.

Dress sense:Johanna is a pharmacist. She wears classic clothes that fit well with her white lab coat. Low heels or flats. Jillian struggles with her weight and goes with clothes that don’t accentuate her curves. Payton still has an athletic vibe to her outfits.

Resembles…

The graphic artist did a wonderful job capturing each sister on the cover of the books (Payton on Things I Never Told You; Jillian on Moments We Forget; and Johanna on my most recent release, The Best We’ve Been.)

But before that, I envisioned the sisters as:

Payton: actress Jane Levy

Jillian: actress Amy Schumer

Johanna: actress Cameron Diaz

Can’t live without…

All the sisters love their coffee. But Johanna, the main character in The Best We’ve Been is the most particular. She has to have her French Press.

Strengths

Johanna is intelligent and independent. Jillian is loyal. Payton, well, if you want a secret kept, she’s the one to tell. But isn’t it funny how strengths can sometimes become weaknesses if we’re not careful?

Vulnerabilities

Johanna is afraid to open up and be herself – to have an honest relationship with others. Jillian feels lost in the middle between her two sisters. And Payton wasn’t ready for her twin sister to die so suddenly – for how it would change her, change their family.

Passions

Johanna loves her job – probably too much. Jillian loves her husband … but is afraid that the one thing she dreams of having isn’t going to happen. Payton told herself she can’t have the one thing she was passionate about – volleyball.
 
What book would they recommend?

Great question. The Thatcher sisters tried to have a Saturday morning book club together, but it was a bit of a disaster.

Johanna would probably recommend a good mystery – maybe a classic Agatha Christie.

Jillian would recommend something with a happily-ever-after, maybe a royal romance by Rachel Hauck.

Payton? Hmmm. She’s an athlete. She might like the book sitting on my desk right now: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by Coach John Wooden with Steve Jamison
 
Your inspiration for the character

I love writing women’s fiction. It allows me to delve into deeper issues and the conflicts that make relationships messy, while also looking for hope.
 
Background to the story

The Best We’ve Been is book 3 in the Thatcher Sisters Series, where Johanna, the oldest sister, comes into focus. Readers meet her in book 1, Things I Never Told You, and some had a strong reaction to her. They thought she was a bit of a control freak. But there are reasons she is the way she is, and in book 3, Johanna’s life unravels and she is confronted with a tough choice: she gets the one thing she never wanted and it’s something Jillian desperately wants. How can she make a choice that she knows is going to break her sister’s heart?

Thanks for the wonderful insights into the Thatcher sisters, Beth. With three daughters of my own, I wonder what they will be like and what they will be up to when they are around the Thatcher sisters’ ages!

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind doors marked Never. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, as well as a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner and a 2015 RITA Award finalist. Beth’s latest novel, Moments We Forget, book two in the Thatcher Sisters Series, releases from Tyndale House Publishers in May 2019. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.

Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Vogt @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Beth’s website
Buy at Amazon: The Best We’ve Been or Koorong