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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Are There Pitfalls to Using Your Life as Inspiration for Your Books?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Author Lila Diller has written a four-book (more to come!) series focusing on the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Learn more now! via @chautonahavig

Romantic women’s fiction author, Lila Diller had a short chat with me about her “Love Is” series. Beginning with a contemporary romance through the first year of marriage, this four-book (so far) series is a labor of love placed on Lila’s heart by the Lord.

We had a quick chat the other day and it was a delight to get to know her better.

Lila Diller

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Are There Pitfalls to Using Your Life as Inspiration for Your Books?

Lila Diller can tell you.  Yes.  Author of four books in romantic women’s fiction, Lila has used her own life and marriage in a fictional way.  No worries–names and other things have been changed to protect the innocent?  The guilty?  Both?  Something like that.

I’m excited to read this series. Lila has infused her books with the themes from I Corinthians 13, and considering the themes of the books, I’m pretty sure I’m going to love the depth and richness that Diller puts in them.  The characters sound amazing–especially the mentor in book four, Her Heart’s Disappointment, is a hoot. Even if I wasn’t already excited about the series, anytime an author says he or she had “so much fun” writing said character, I know it’s a killer.

And let’s face it, as I said in my blog post here, mentors can be good and bad–even the bad ones who were also… good!

lila diller her heart's disappointmentAbout Lila Diller’s Her Heart’s Disappointment.

A disappointed newlywed. A confused husband. Will Morgan learn how to communicate her true feelings or drive Jason away for good?

Her Heart’s Disappointment continues Morgan’s search for agape love in the newlywed phase. Now that the honeymoon is over, Morgan finds her newlywed life turning out to be less perfect than she expected. Now all the statistics about most divorces happening in the first two years suddenly seem realistic.

Morgan wants the perfect fairy-tale marriage but was unprepared for how much hard work it takes for a marriage to just survive. All the little annoyances and disappointments take their toll, leaving Morgan blindsided by the big problems — a friend’s failed marriage and possible infertility. She tries a mentor, a marriage conference, and a baby to right their relationship. But she’s forgetting one thing.

Will Morgan save her marriage?

Find Lila Diller at her website where you can get the first book FREE when you sign up for her newsletter.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 488: A Chat with Jane Kirkpatrick
byChautona Havig

Writing with passion for women of the past, Jane Kirkpatrick is back with Across the Crying Sands, book one of The Women of Cannon Beach. Listen in to learn about the woman who inspired this book.

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Women can be crazy resilient–using seemingly odd things to overcome difficulties. Taking on a mail route for mental health? Well, if that’s what she needs, I’m all for it! I love the way Jane Kirkpatrick shows how history’s women refuse to be neatly tucked into pigeon-holed boxes as a one-note. Beautiful.

Across the Crying Sands by Jane Kirkpatrick

A Tale of Uncharted Adventure and Discovery Inspired by a True Story

In 1888, Mary Edwards Gerritse is a witty and confident young woman who spends as much time as possible outdoors on the rugged Oregon coast, where she and her husband, John, have settled. The two are a formidable pair who are working hard to prove their homesteading claim and build a family. But as Mary faces struggles of young motherhood and questions about her family of origin, she realizes that life is far from the adventure she imagined it would be.

After losing the baby she’s carrying, grief threatens Mary, but she finds an unconventional way to bring joy back into her life–by taking over a treacherous postal route. As Mary becomes the first female mail carrier to traverse the cliff-hugging mountain trails and remote Crying Sands Beach, with its changing tides and sudden squalls, she recaptures the spark she lost and discovers that a life without risk is no life at all.

In this inspirational historical Christian novel, a pioneer female mail carrier lives a life of resilience, including grappling with grief and the loss of a child and facing the challenges of frontier life.

You can find out more about Jane on her WEBSITE. and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

Grab your preorder of book two at Bakerbookhouse.com HERE.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
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  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 488: A Chat with Jane Kirkpatrick
Episode 488: A Chat with Jane Kirkpatrick
November 10, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 487: A Chat with Jenny Marceline
November 8, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 486: A Chat with J. L. Burrows
November 7, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 485: A Chat with Katie Powner
November 3, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 484: A Chat with Taylor S Newport
November 1, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 483: A Chat with Sarah Loudin Thomas
October 31, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 482: A Chat with Lara d’Entremont
October 27, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 481: A Chat with Patricia Bradley
October 25, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 480: A Chat with Tracie Peterson
October 20, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 479: A Chat with Connilyn Cossette
October 18, 2025
Chautona Havig
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