Margaret is the founder of Pearl Girls®, a charity that exists to raise money to support the work of Wings (providing shelter in a Safe House for women and children who are fleeing from domestic violence in the Chicago suburbs)and Hands of Hope (helping to build wells for school children and women in Uganda). For more information about the work of Pearl Girls, please visit the website at www.pearlgirls.info!

Margaret lives with her husband and two daughters in a Chicago suburb. Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, released in July of 2009. Her book, A Mother's Heart Knows was published by Thomas Nelson (2005). Go Back and Be Happy, a co-authored book published by Lion Hudson (2008). Margaret has been featured on Greg Wheatly's "Prime Time America," TLN's "Aspiring Women," and LeSea's "The Harvest Show." Margaret writes freelance articles for The Daily Herald, the largest suburban Chicago newspaper. Notable interviews include Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Kinkade, Susan Branch and Dr. John Gottman. Margaret also wrote a feature article for Crosswalk.com. With a master's degree in international business, Margaret became a vice president in the corporate finance division of a New York City bank and worked there from 1986-1993.

Supporting charitable causes is important to Margaret. For the past five years, she has served on the board of directors for WINGS, an organization that helps abused women and their children get a new start in life. Margaret would love to meet you too. Please visit her at her writing blog, From Finance to Fiction or the Pearl Girls blog. You can also follow her on twitter or friend her on facebook. For questions about Margaret or the show, please email Amy at amy@pearlgirls.info.

Join Margaret for Kitchen Chat Friday's at  11am CST!

Have a question for Margaret or one of her guests? Call 1-877-864-4869.

Did you miss a show? Listen here or download on iTunes here!

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I'm thrilled to meet our guest on Friday, author extraordinaire, Rachel Hauck!

About Rachel: Rachel Hauck's stories are filled with twists and turns that leave the reader breathless and longing for more.  She is a fresh fiction voice that's sure to stir hearts for God.

Debbie Macomber - #1 NYT bestselling author

I wrote my first story about a girl and her pony when I was ten. It was handwritten in a spiral notebook.

My second story was about a girl who wanted to move away and live in New York City. I was twelve and no one had ever heard of “chick lit.”

I laughed when I found that incomplete manuscript in an old box-o-stuff. I told my husband, “I was born to write.”

Words fascinate me. I love putting them together and dialoging with the characters who live in my heart and mind. I carry on conversations with them while driving down the road or sitting on a bike in Spin class.

People are as fascinating as words. I love hearing personal stories of romance, tragedy and triumph. I’d love to hear your stories, too, if you care to write to me. I’m always wondering “what if” about the human condition and see what string of events might develop into a new story.

My life as been molded by the encouragement of my parents and teachers, and by the places I’ve lived like Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Florida, and the people I’ve met along the way.

Readers ask, “Is any part of you in your stories or characters?”

The answer is always yes. All of us are impacted by the places we’ve been and the people we’ve met, if only for a moment. As a writer, those exposures show up in the stories I write.

After graduating from the Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, I traveled as a software trainer. From California to Maine, I experienced the beauty and heart of America and our people. In countries such as Australia, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Ireland and Canada came to see how people are just people. We all want the same things: love and happiness, laughter, faith and safety, and a bit of prosperity.

Those experiences make up the tapestry of my stories. Life-like characters that, by the book’s end, get in your heart and make you want to spend time with them over a latte or Diet Coke.

Looking back, I believe I’ve always written. If not in my journals or stories, in my heart. I was constantly taking note of the sights and sounds around me, the emotion of a moment: dinner with friends, the last night in college before graduation, racing through an airport to catch a flight to Australia, talking about Jesus with my translator in the back of a cab as we drove across Madrid.

Now, my days are spent mining those life experiences and emotions so I can share them with you through the eyes and ears of my characters and the places they live.

In ’92, I married my best friend, Tony, and spent over eighteen years in youth ministry with him. We love to read and go to the gym, and laugh at the antics of our pets.

A year later, I started my first novel, an epic WWII story that eventually found some light as a sub plot in my book Love Starts With Elle..

With the help and cheering of writing friends I met through American Christian Fiction Writers where I served as President and now as an Advisor, my first book was published in 2004, the same year I left the corporate world to write full time..

Since then I’ve become an award winning, best selling author of twelve novels with more to come. It’s my desire for you find hope and escape in my stories, and inhale a bit of the fragrance of Jesus’s love.

About Dining With Joy: Joy Ballard has a secret: she's a cooking show host who can't really cook.

When her South Carolina-based cooking show, Dining With Joy, is picked up by a major network, Joy Ballard's world heats up like a lowcountry boil.

Joy needs help. Then she meets chef Luke Davis who moved to Beaufort after losing his Manhattan restaurant. A cook at the Frogmore Cafe, he's paying debts and longing to regain his reputation in the elite foodie world.

Luke and Joy mix like oil and water…until Joy is exposed on national television. With her career and his reputation both under fire, they'll have to work together to fix the mess. Is it possible that they can learn to feast on God's love and dine with joy?

Win a copy of Dining with Joy when it releases in November! Leave a comment here (with your email address) - I'll draw one name at random and notify the winner via email.

Oh and look at this yummy recipe Rachel's shared with us! Wow.

Rachel’s Béchamel Sausage

One large garlic clove, chopped

One large onion, chopped

One large green pepper, chopped

Four medium Italian turkey sausage

1 can Italian spiced diced tomatoes


Bechamel

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

 
Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

In a warmed, large skillet, sauté onions and garlic. When caramelized, add chopped pepper.

Crumble sausage into the skillet and brown. Drain off excess oil. Add béchamel and cook to bubbling. Add can of Italian spiced diced tomatoes.

Cook on medium heat for fifteen minutes or to taste.

Join us for Kitchen Chat this week as we hear from three of the best in Christian Suspense: Tosca Lee, Jim Rubart and Erin Healy. I had the privilege of interviewing these three during the International Christian Retailing Show in July.

About Tosca: Tosca Lee is the critically-acclaimed author of Demon: A Memoir--Christy Award finalist and ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Silver Award winner--and Havah: The Story of Eve, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and 4.5 stars from Romantic Times.

Forbidden, the first book in her new series with New York Times Bestseller Ted Dekker, releases September 2011.  Iscariot, Tosca's highly-anticipated novel about the infamous betrayer of Christ, releases January of 2012.

A former first runner-up to Mrs. United States, Tosca received her B.A. from Smith College in Massachusetts. She also studied at Oxford University. For more info visit Tosca's website at www.toscalee.com.

About Jim: I've been a professional marketer since 1994 through my company Barefoot Marketing, but my passion is writing fiction.

I'm also a photographer, guitarist, professional speaker, golfer, and semi-pro magician. I live in the Northwest with the world's most perfect wife and my two almost-perfect sons. No, I don't sleep much. You can catch up more with me at

www.jimrubart.com.

About Erin: Erin Healy is an award-winning fiction editor who worked with Ted Dekker on more than a dozen of his stories before their collaboration on KISS and BURN. Her new novel NEVER LET YOU GO released in May 2010. She owns WordWright Editorial Services, a consulting firm specializing in fiction book development.

Join me Friday morning at 11:00 AM for an incredible interview with two of Christian publishing's biggest forces, publicist Jeane Wynn and Bodie Thoene. You won't want to miss a moment as Jeane and I chat about the latest in publishing trends and hear about the woman behind Wynn-Wynn Media. During the second half of the show we'll be hearing from one half of the Bodie and Brock Thoene team. The Thoene's have been dubbed "the cornerstones of Christian Fiction"

About Jeane Wynn:

Wynn-Wynn Media was formed in 2001 by Jeane Wynn and her husband Tyson. Jeane began her career in publishing in 1989 as a salesperson for NavPress. During her time at NavPress, she was promoted to a six-woman team that developed and launched Clarity magazine. She has worked in various positions in publishing, from sales to marketing, with such companies as WaterBrook Press and Honor Books. During her time as a marketing manager she hired and worked with a number of publicists.

The Wynn-Wynn Media vision was a combination of her love for good books and her understanding of all aspects of publishing, from acquisition to editorial to marketing to sales. The whole of her publishing experience has enhanced her abilities as a publicist. Jeane has spent over 20 years in Christian publishing. Her business partner is her husband Tyson Wynn, who holds a degree in English from Oklahoma State University. He works with her in the business as an editor, strategist, and administrator. Jeane is also an alumnus of Oklahoma State, with a degree in communications. Tyson and Jeane were raised in the same small town of Welch, Oklahoma. 

Fiction titles make up over 70 percent of our list. We work with all types of media for fiction campaigns from long lead print to internet broadcast and social media. Our clients have included publishers such as Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, Hachette, Cook, B&H Publishers, Summerside Press and WaterBrook Press. Wynn-Wynn Media works with various authors of many genres. With several of these authors we have had the privilege of working on several of their titles.  We have also happily served as the publicists for the Christy awards for the past five years. Our mission is to strive for integrity, creativity, deliberation, and consistency every day for every client. Our offices are located out of Welch, Oklahoma.

About Bodie: 

Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee), often called “the cornerstones of Christian fiction” for their pivotal role in launching Christian fiction in the 1980s, have written over 50 works of award-winning historical fiction with publishers such as Viking-Penguin, Thomas Nelson, Bethany, and Tyndale. That their titles have sold more than 20 million copies and won eight ECPA Gold Medallion awards affirms what millions of readers have already discovered—the Thoenes are not only master stylists and researchers but experts at capturing readers’ minds and hearts. Their classics are timeless—Vienna Prelude, first published in 1989, in The Zion Covenant series, was a finalist in two categories for the 2008 Audie Audiobook Award. Prague Counterpoint, also from the Zion Covenant series, competed with The Shack and other well-known titles to win the 2009 Audie Audiobook Award for Most Inspirational Audiobook of the Year.

The Thoenes are not only master stylists but experts at capturing readers’ minds and hearts.

Bodie began her writing career as a teen journalist for her local newspaper. Eventually her byline appeared in prestigious periodicals such as U.S. News and World Report, The American West, and The Saturday Evening Post. She also worked for John Wayne’s Batjac Productions (she’s best known as author of The Fall Guy) and ABC Circle Films as a writer and researcher. John Wayne described her as “a writer with talent that captures the people and the times!” She has degrees in journalism and communications.

Brock has often been described by Bodie as “an essential half of this writing team.” With degrees in both history and education, Brock has, in his role as researcher and story-line consultant, added the vital dimension of historical accuracy. Due to such careful research, The Zion Covenant and The Zion Chronicles series are recognized by the American Library Association, as well as Zionist libraries around the world, as classic historical novels and are used to teach history in college classrooms.

Bodie and Brock have four grown children—Rachel, Jake, Luke, and Ellie—and seven grandchildren. Their sons, Jake and Luke, are carrying on the Thoene family talent as the next generation of writers, and Luke produces the Thoene audiobooks.

Bodie and Brock divide their time between London and Nevada. Find out more at their website.


About their latest release:

As Nazi forces tighten the noose, Loralei Kepler, daughter of a German resistance leader, must flee her beloved Germany. But is any place safe from Adolf Hitler's evil grasp? Loralei's harrowing flight leads her into the arms of needy child refugees, who have sacrificed everything in exchange for their lives, and toward a mysterious figure, who closely guards an age-old secret.

Explore the romance, the passion, and the danger of the most anticipated series of the last twenty years.

Born from the highly acclaimed and best-loved novels of three generations of readers -- The Zion Covenant series and The Zion Chronicles series -- Zion Diaries ventures into the lives of the inspiring and intriguing characters who loved intensely, stood up for what was right, and fought boldly during Hitler's rise to power and the dark days of World War II.

I'm thrilled about our guests this morning - two amazing women who are both editors and authors. Best of both worlds I'd say! The first half hour we'll hear from Beth Adams who is an Editor with Guideposts. The second half of the show will feature Ginger Kolbaba, who is an editor for Kyria.com. All you aspiring authors (myself included!) have your questions ready. Call into the show, tweet them (@mcsweeney) or leave them here on this segment post.

About Beth: Beth Adams is a senior editor at Guideposts Books. She works primarily on fiction, and is thrilled to get to work with some of the best authors in the business, including many former guests of this show.

She started her career at Random House, schlepping coffee and making photocopies and complaining about it in the corporate cafeteria. She moved to Guideposts four years ago, and still schleps coffee, makes photocopies, and complains in her spare time. She also writes books sometimes.

She grew up in San Jose, California, where the sun shines three hundred days a year, and moved east for college. She promptly decided she hated East Coast winters. She has degrees from Princeton and New York University, and lives in Brooklyn with her husband. She likes to run, read, and eat.

Oh and look at this great recipe - LOVE the name. Potatoes of Wonderfulness!

Generally, I try to cook fairly healthy meals, with lots of fresh vegetable and lean protein.

This is not that.

This cheesy, gooey potato dish is basically a heart attack on a plate, but it’s so good. My mom made this as a side dish when I was home visiting a few years back, and I have made it several times since, with rave reviews.

My husband named this dish. I believe the official name of the recipe my Mom forwarded me to is Cheesy Potato Gratin, but Potatoes of Wonderfulness is how my husband always asks for this dish, so that’s what we call them now.

Potatoes of Wonderfulness
 
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teas. ground nutmeg
butter
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8" slices
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 
In a saucepan, heat up the cream with the thyme, garlic, and nutmeg.
 
While cream is heating, butter a casserole dish.  Place a layer of
potatoes in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper.
Remove cream from the heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top
with some grated cheese.  Repeat with 2 more layers.  Bake uncovered
for 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with some more cheese and broil until cheese
browns, about 5 min.

About Ginger: Ginger Kolbaba is editor and manager of discipleship and women’s resources, including the newly launched Kyria.com, and Marriage Partnership.com, an award-winning publication and website of Christianity Today International, both with more than 2.5 million unique visitors annually. She is also a freelance book editor for several major publishing houses and a former editor of the award-winning publication Today’s Christian Woman.

Also an accomplished author, Ginger has written more than 300 articles and has written or contributed to more than 16 books, including the best-seller Refined by Fire, which received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly and was nominated for a Gold Medallion award. Her most recent novel series, Secrets from Lulu’s Café, includes Desperate Pastors’ Wives, A Matter of Wife and Death, and Katt’s in the Cradle.

Ginger also teaches and speaks across the country. She’s been quoted in Newsweek and the Chicago Sun-Times and has appeared on national venues such as CNN’s Nancy Grace and Court TV’s Catherine Crier Live, as well as Chicago’s top rated talk radio station WLS, Family Life Radio, and Moody Radio’s Midday Connection.

She is a graduate of Anderson University (Anderson, Indiana), and worked as a professional actress and singer before making the transition to more sane and solitary roles behind a computer.

When she isn’t chained to her computer, Ginger enjoys spending time with her husband motorcycling through the countryside, visiting Yellowstone National Park, walking her Doberman, reading good books, and talking theory with her friends about the television series Lost. She believes one of her greatest accomplishments would be dusting off her piano and treadmill and using them both—at least once this year.

Visit her at www.GingerKolbaba.com

About Ginger's latest book: Four pastors' wives. All desperate for something.

Is it possible that their desperation will lead to hope?

Mimi, Lisa, Jennifer, and Felicia all live in the fishbowl of Red River, Ohio. Everyone expects something from them. Gourmet casseroles. Perfect husbands. Well-behaved children. They expect even more of themselves.

The constant demands and always-ringing phones are enough to drive any sane woman crazy. Add to all that the condescending Katherine Fleming Katt -- self-promoting pastor's wife of the town's largest church -- who loves to flaunt her superior position. In the midst of such chaos, will each woman find the one thing she longs for?

When the unflappable Kitty Katt starts showing up at odd places, the four friends get suspicious. Is Kitty hiding something? What secrets lie behind her "perfect" exterior? But even more significant than unraveling Kitty Katt's secrets is finding answers for themselves.

Win an on-line membership to Kyria.com and a copy of Desperate Pastors' Wives, the first novel in the Lulu's Cafe series. Leave a comment on this post and don't forget to include your email address.

Don't miss Friday's show. Andy Andrews will be here talking about The Noticer and his new release, The Heart Mender. Hailed by The New York Times as a “modern-day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America," Andy Andrews is an internationally known speaker and novelist whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has been received at the White House and has spoken at the request of four different U.S. presidents. I'm thrilled at this chance to interview Andy. Tune in on Friday at 11:00 CST.

About Andy: Andy Andrews, hailed by a New York Times reporter as someone who has quietly become “one of the most influential people in America,” is a best-selling novelist and in-demand corporate speaker for the world’s largest organizations. He has spoken at the request of four different U.S. presidents and at military bases worldwide. He is best known as the author of the international bestseller The Traveler’s Gift, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide and has been translated into 20 languages since it was released in 2002. Andy is also the author of The Lost Choice, Island of Saints and Return to Sawyerton Springs. He lives in Orange Beach, Alabama, with his wife Polly and their two sons. For more information, please visit AndyAndrews.com.

About The Noticer: Orange Beach, Alabama, is a simple town filled with simple people. But they all have their share of problems—marriages teetering on the brink of divorce, young adults giving up on life, business people on the verge of bankruptcy, and many of the other obstacles that life seems to dish out to the masses.

Fortunately, when things look the darkest, a mysterious old man named Jones has a miraculous way of showing up. A man of indiscriminate age and race with white hair and wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and carrying a battered old suitcase, Jones is a unique soul with angelic-like qualities. Communicating what he calls “a little perspective,” Jones explains that he has been given a gift of noticing things about life that others miss. In his simple interactions, he speaks to that part in everyone that is yearning to understand why things happen and what they can do about it.

Based on a remarkable true story, The Noticer beautifully blends fiction, allegory, and inspiration. It provides simple, yet powerful distinctions about love, relationships, value, and integrity and will
inspire readers to take that first step toward a major life change.

About The Heart Mender: Can natural enemies make peace? Actually . . . can they fall in love?

In 1942 and 1943, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel. While taking a late-night walk, Helen Mason‚ widowed by the war‚ discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann’s uniform, Helen is prepared to leave him to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind.

In The Heart Mender, a small town must prepare itself for the worst the world has to offer, and Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts to create a future. Andy Andrews once again provides a unique blend of historical fact and engaging fiction showing the power of forgiveness. For more info or to purchase the book, visit The Heart Mender website.

Win a copy of The Heart Mender. Just leave a comment on this post for a chance to win - don't forget your email address. The winner will be notified via emial.

Oh, and look at the delicous recipe Andy provided. Yum.

Andy’s Smoked Fish Surprise.

Smoked Fish Salad

Start with your favorite white flesh fish.

Squeeze lemon juice over fish, sprinkle with black pepper and brown sugar

Smoke fish on hickory wood on Low heat approx 200 – 250 degrees until done

Cool fish then crumble by hand

Mix mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish into crumbled fish to desired consistency

Mix with a big fork for best results.

Salt to taste

Serve on Sociable Crackers