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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Characters Influence an Author’s Life

by Chautona Havig · 7 Comments

Or:  How Willow Guilted Me into Work

On Tuesday, my daughter bought us two of the grocery store rotisserie chickens for dinner.  I remember her hinting strongly that we only needed one.  However, I like to use the leftovers for chicken soup and even on a half-empty house, one won’t cut it for two meals with my crew.  She dutifully bought what I asked.  Go Jenna.  (and can you please disobey me next time?)

Anyway. I was on the ball.  I had dinner planned for Wednesday night and then we would have chicken soup on Thursday.  That meant that I had to boil those birds, make broth, get the meat off the bones.  All in a day’s work. I mean, it’s not like I had to butcher the things!  They were cooked when I started!

I had another daughter (I have a superfluity of daughters–something for which I am very grateful) dump them in the Dutch oven and start the boil.  And they did.  For a long time (because we all forgot about them).  My husband turned off the heat before he went to bed.

A couple of hours later, I remembered them.  Gulp.  Surely they were cold and probably unsafe.  Yes.  Of course they were.  We’d forget the fact that I’d be reboiling it all before we ate it. Right.  Didn’t need to do it.

I worked on Past Forward for a little longer until the guilt nearly strangled me.  Sigh.  So, instead of replacing the previously expunged “McDonald’s scene,” I went into the kitchen and tested the pot.  Still hot.  Drat.  Resigned to my fate, I began the tedious task of removing meat from bird bones.

It took me fifteen minutes tops.

Really, Chautona?

Sigh.

Does it say something horrible about me that my conscience knew the right thing to do but did not do it (Oh, dear… James 4:17 strikes again), but knowing that some woman who doesn’t exist at all would be shocked was enough to get me off the couch and into the kitchen?

It probably does.

Double sigh.

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Comments

  1. Rebekah says

    August 24, 2012 at 8:20 am

    LOL I think the funniest part of this post might have been imagining Willow’s reaction if you had just stayed where you were and left the stock! :p

    I’m enjoying rereading Willow by the way. And if the McDonald’s scene is the one I think it is, now I’m going to be on the lookout to see if you ultimately decided to keep it, or get rid of it. 😀

    To the KING be all the glory!
    Rebekah

    Reply
  2. Kristi Stapler says

    August 16, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    ROFLOL! Nodding my head in complete and total understanding!

    Reply
  3. Marylin F says

    August 16, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Chautona,
    That is too funny… Thanks for sharing this.
    Question: Are you a late nighter? I’m in Oregon and many times late at night I get my emails from you and I thought you lived more in mid west.
    Also, I was driving around with my daughter the other day and we put in a cd. As I was listening to the song it made me think of Willow. Or how she would think of this change in her life. The song is by Tenth Avenue North (My nephew’s band) and it’s called – All The Pretty Things. If you’ve not heard it you should!! It talks about all the thinkgs that take us away from God. Enjoy! Marylin

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      August 16, 2012 at 4:00 pm

      I’ll have to go find that song!

      I am most definitely a night owl, but I’m west coast. California’s Mojave Desert.

      Reply
  4. Bethany Goff says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:51 am

    It’s good to know that you’re just as human as I am! And I appreciate you being so real with all of us. 🙂

    Reply
  5. barbara says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:01 am

    ROFLOL! I had a similar thought the other day when I wanted to buy $40 per bottle shampoo, thought about making some instead and then thought “Willow would NEVER buy that!”

    Reply
  6. Carla Linhart says

    August 16, 2012 at 3:30 am

    Sounds like Willow except she would have killed her chickens.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 476: A Chat with Katie M. Reid
byChautona Havig

 Christmas is beautiful any time of year–whether it’s in autumn to prepare you for the upcoming season, in winter while you’re in active holiday mode, prolonging the joy into spring, or having fun with Christmas in July (when we often need the illusion of cool!) Listen in to see what’s up in Bavarian Falls this summer!

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A Very Bavarian Summer by Katie M. Reid

Holly Noel Brigham is thrilled about her boyfriend’s upcoming visit to Bavarian Falls. What could go wrong? Navigating a long-distance relationship is no picnic. Work demands, a wildfire, and insecurities threaten Holly’s and Nik’s summer plans and future goals. What was supposed to be a season of carefree dates and tender kisses is complicated by unexpected loss, a surprise visitor, and the pressure of the Christmas in July Festival. In an effort to strengthen their relationship, Holly and Nik decide to ask each other twenty questions… What do you dream about? What makes you cry? What are you second-guessing? What makes you angry? Why do you love me? The questions eerily parallel reality, causing a roller coaster of emotions and a high-elevation argument. Is Holly’s and Nik’s relationship strong enough to endure some twists and turns or is this the end of the road?

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