Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in – go here and just click on the player in the top right corner. 

We’re featuring to more fiction authors on the show this week. The first half hour we’ll hear from Jennifer Beckstrand. She has a brand new series with Summerside Press called Forever After in Apple Lake. The first book from that series, Kate’s Song has just released. Then during the second half hour we’ll meet Amy Wallace. Her latest novel, Hiding in Plain Sight, is set in the Mennonite community. Looking forward to hearing the inspiration behind both stories.

More about Jennifer: Jennifer Beckstrand grew up with a steady diet of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen. After all that literary immersion, she naturally decided to get a degree in mathematics, which came in handy when one of her six children needed help with homework. When daughter number four was born, she began writing, and by juggling diaper changes, soccer games, music lessons, and dinner preparations, she finished her first western historical, Rachel’s Angel, in just under fourteen years. Rachel’s Angel won First Place Full-length Book in the League of Utah Writers writing contest and First Place in the Inspirational Category in the Utah Heart of the West Writers’ Contest. Jennifer is a member of the Utah Chapter of Romance Writers of America and is represented by Mary Sue Seymour of The Seymour Agency.

She has completed three Amish romances in the Forever After in Apple Lake Series (Summerside/Guideposts). Book One, Kate’s Song, is now available. Rebecca’s Rose follows in Fall 2012, and Miriam’s Quilt is scheduled for release in Spring of 2013. She has two Amish readers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who make sure her stories are authentic. No matter the setting, she hopes to pen deliriously romantic stories with captivating characters and soar-to-the-sky happy endings.

Jennifer lives in the foothills of the Wasatch Front in Utah with her husband and two children left at home. She has four daughters, two sons, one son-in-law, and one adorable grandson. www.jenniferbeckstrand.com

More about Kate’s Song: Kate Weaver was raised in an Amish home and has always been expected to choose baptismand strict observance of the Ordnung. But Kate is blessed with a beautiful singing voice, and when another path leads her to the academy for vocal training, she struggles to understand God’s will for her life. She returns to Apple Lake, haunted by a violent encounter with a fellow student, and finds herself drawn to the peace and devotion of her Amish home. But can she give up her dreams? Or will her calling forever separate her from the people and the way of life she holds so dear?

Nathaniel King has never wavered in his commitment to the community and the Old Order Amish Church into which he is baptized. He has been in love with Kate for as long as he can remember, and he is devastated when she leaves Apple Lake to attend the academy. When Kate returns, will she make his most profound hopes a reality—or will she break his heart all over again?

More about Amy: Amy Wallace is the author of Ransomed Dreams, Healing Promises, and Enduring Justice. She is a homeschool mom, speaker, and self-confessed chocoholic. Amy is also a graduate of the Gwinnett County Citizens Police Academy and a contributing author of several books, including A Novel Idea: Best Advice on Writing Inspirational Fiction and God Answers Moms’ Prayers. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. www.amywallace.com

More about Hiding in Plain Sight: In a quiet town with a thriving Mennonite community, police officer Ashley Walters finds her threadbare faith and way of life challenged by the Plain people whose simple dress and welcoming manner open her eyes to a God she left behind. Peace eludes Ashley until she realizes the answers she seeks aren’t found in starting over but in returning to the simple truth that it’s God who overcomes the world, not her.

Written for women who desire action-packed suspense, romance, and an escape into the peaceful world of the Mennonites, Hiding in Plain Sight delves into the painful struggle to fit in and the search for peace that so often eludes our fast-paced lives.