Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Brownley penned it all. Nothing wrong with this, except that she was writing for the church newsletter. When her item on the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction."

So that's what Margaret did. Now a New York Times bestselling author, she is a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist with more than 25 published novels. Her first non-fiction book, Grieving God's Way: The Path to Lasting Hope and Healing (Thomas Nelson, 2012), won critical acclaim. Dawn Comes Early (Thomas Nelson, Brides of Last Chance Ranch series, book one) was published in 2012. Waiting for Morning (2013) will be followed by Gunpowder Tea.

She's now working on a new series. Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.