Beth Steury is our guest today.

She wrote a book called “before I knew you“. She’s here to share the story behind her story.

After a series of bad choices rocked his world, seventeen-year-old Preston charts a new course as far from his ladies’ man ways as he can get. He distances himself from the dating scene and avoids his party-loving friends—the things that once dominated his life.

Then he meets Maggie, the new girl in town, the first day of their junior year. She’s beautiful on the inside and out, knows nothing of his past, and he can’t get her out of his mind.

After a disastrous first date leaves her skeptical about the guys at Madison High, Maggie slows down her pursuit of a guy to trust with her white-wedding-dress future. She wants a boyfriend, sure, but he’d have to be nothing like the jerk who forced her first kiss. Someone more like Preston, who’s been nothing but sweet and helpful, not to mention, easy on the eyes. But he is so out of her league.

Can Maggie afford to let her guard down around the charming Preston? Will Preston’s past jeopardize his chances with the one girl who could anchor his future?

Learn more and purchase a copy.

What inspired you to write this book?

It was an event of sorts that inspired Preston and Maggie’s story that begins in “before I knew you.” Years ago, I tuned into a radio interview of a well-known youth speaker. He shared how, following a presentation, he met outside in the parking lot with a young man from the audience. The young guy leaned on his truck and looked up at the speaker. “What happens when true love didn’t wait?” he asked. The speaker went on to say how that young man’s transparent, honest question forever changed how he approached the subject of teenagers and sex.

For days, that brief scenario stayed with me. I pictured the regretful young man, hands stuffed in his jean’s pockets, eyes downcast one second, yet pleading for an answer when he dared to meet the speaker’s gaze in the next. Alongside the image of this young man streamed the faces of the many teenagers I knew who had stumbled into premarital sex. A sizable group of guys and gals all facing a similar “what next?” question.

As I continued to ponder his dilemma, the character of Preston Jacoby was born. People have asked me if this is my personal story or that of someone I know. It is not. Rather, it’s a compilation of the experiences of many people whose lives and choices have crossed my life path. Everything that happens in the story has happened to someone I know.

“before I knew you” follows a realistic, candid, and relevant cast of high school-aged characters as they navigate choices and consequences in the choppy waters of friendship, dating relationships, saving sex for marriage, and “renewed waiting”. The group faces a myriad of scenarios in today’s world where more people are asking “why not have sex?” than are seeking reasons to wait. I feel that this first book in the Choices Matter series is unique due to the candidness of the approach and the emphasis on “renewed waiting.”

Sounds like this is a very relevant and much-needed story for our youth today! Thanks for sharing.

Beth immerses herself in the YA world via substitute teaching, connecting with the teenage staff at the fast-joint where she claims the back booth as her office, and by reading YA fiction.

She’s a cheerleader for saving sex for marriage. Her “Waiting Matters … Because YOU Matter” blog helps people of all ages navigate the choppy waters of saving sex for marriage and “renewed waiting.”

Beth is also a genetic genealogy enthusiast who used DNA to find her birth parents. Her journey to find and connect with her biological family is chronicled in “A Doorstep Baby’s Search for Answers.” Her “Slices of Real Life” posts find GOD in the day-to-day moments of real life.

All of Beth’s writing endeavors can be found on her website: https://BethSteury.com

Follow Beth on social media: Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter

Beth is giving away a copy of “before I knew you”. Follow the directions below to enter.

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