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The Secret's in the Sauce (The Potluck Catering Club, Book 1)
by Linda Evans Shepherd, Eva Marie Everson

Published: 2008-09-01
Paperback : 336 pages
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Life just got a whole lot more complicated--thanks to a "secret" ingredient The women of the Potluck Club have made a bold move. They've launched a catering business that's a lot like them: saucy, spicy, and well-seasoned. But will a pantry full of personal secrets cause the business to crumble ...
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Introduction

Life just got a whole lot more complicated--thanks to a "secret" ingredient The women of the Potluck Club have made a bold move. They've launched a catering business that's a lot like them: saucy, spicy, and well-seasoned. But will a pantry full of personal secrets cause the business to crumble before it gets off the ground? As the women focus on their new venture they are forced to deal with a steamy past that threatens a marriage, the scalding truth about those they thought they knew, and the outrageous situations that come out of an unexpected--and revealing--trip back home. The ladies of Summit View, Colorado, haven't left the kitchen--they've merely turned up the heat on their most delectable adventure to date.

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Excerpt

Chapter 2
Wedding Punch
Now, I’m not one to get all misty eyed, but let’s just say when I saw my daddy standing at the end of the aisle, dressed in his tux, I had to blink to clear my vision. He was so handsome, so regal, as he waited for his bride. It would have been a perfect moment if it hadn’t been for the woman he was marrying. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. The Potluck Club has decided to take on a catering business, and there was plenty of adventure to begin with. Why do you think the club decided to begin their own business? Have you ever started your own business? What was it, and how did it turn out?
 
2. Evangeline has just returned from her honeymoon and is beginning to build a relationship with her new husband—along with finding out about the new catering business. Her reaction is anything but excitement. Why do you think she feels this way?
 
3. Lizzie is a full-time wife, mom, caretaker of her mother, and now part of the Potluck Catering business. Attempting to balance everything has become Lizzie’s life, and she soon begins to look for a way to cope with it all. Lizzie turns to a more harmful way to ease her problems. How could Lizzie have dealt with her problems other than with alcohol? How do you cope with the stresses of life?
 
1. Vonnie is also taking care of her mother and her family in addition to doing the Potluck Catering business. She, however, does not have a very good relationship with her mother and they argue often. How does Vonnie deal with her negative relationship with her mother? Have you ever had a bad relationship with a relative? Have you ever worked to repair it? If so, how?
 
4. Goldie was very close to her father, and she is devastated over his death. After her father’s death, what secrets does she uncover about her father and her mother? What about the secrets shared by her siblings? How do you think those uncovered secrets will help Goldie as she grieves? 
 
5. Donna has two great men pursuing her, but she is very hesitant to date either one of them. Why do you think she is cautious with both relationships? Have you ever been cautious to enter into any kind of relationship? Why?
 
1. Lisa Leann came to Colorado to escape her secrets, but it seemed that her secret followed her there. How did keeping her secret affect Lisa Leann’s relationships with others and with her husband? 
 
6. Donna’s relationship with her birth mother has a rocky start, but after they talk things seem to look up. Do you think Donna and Dee Dee will continue to get along? Have you ever had a rocky start to what is now a strong friendship? What happened to change it?
 
7. Vonnie, Donna, Evangeline, Lisa Leann, and Lizzie all had to learn to trust God to help them overcome the stresses of life. Have you ever had to trust God with what seemed like chaotic circumstances? How have you learned to trust him?
 
8.  The Potluck Catering Club shared their secrets with one another and found that their first step should be to pray. Have you ever had a time when your first instinct was to pray? How did prayer help the situation? One the other hand, was there ever a time when your first action should have been to pray—but it wasn’t? How could the situation have turned out differently if prayer had come first?
 

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

Of course the inspiration for the series and the inspiration for this book are two different things. For the series: Linda and I are friends. Linda called me one day and said, "I'm so tired of the way secular books define friendship between women. I think Christian women behave much differently than what I read about in these books." She said she wanted to write a book about six CHRISTIAN friends and wanted me to write it with her. Thing is...Linda and I both speak at women's groups across the nation and, in fact, in the world. And we've found that pretty much EVERY group has an Evangeline, a Vonnie, a Lizzie, a Donna, a Goldie, and a Lisa Leann. (Heaven help us all on that last one! LOL) And, pretty much, every group is full of women who are hurting, misunderstood, carrying burdens they don't need to shoulder. They are full of miscommunication and yet a desire--an earnest desire--to pray for one another. There are those who walk in quiet wisdom, godly women everyone feels they can turn to. And those who are grasping to understand basic elements of faith. Out of our experiences, Linda and I developed the six ladies of the Potluck Club/Potluck Catering Club.

I had a very special inspiration for "Secret's." Like most fiction writers, I had to reach way down inside and pull out a nugget that was both painful and therapeutic. And, with the next release (our readers will have to wait a year!), I think they'll get a little glimpse of Linda and me in ways they haven't before. But...well...that's all I'm gonna say about that! It's all a....secret!!!

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