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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

The Hartfield Mysteries Blog Archive

The Hartfield Mysteries

All she wanted was a quiet life in Fairbury.  I wrote about the town in the first book–a bit of an info-dump more for my benefit than anyone else’s.  It got cut, of course.  But back when Alexa Hartfield was Millicent (that’s right… MILLICENT!), I was still learning about this town called Fairbury.  I described a place where people didn’t lock their doors and wild rumors abound about their local celebrity.

But the peace and privacy Alexa enjoyed for about a decade disappeared with one rather meddlesome murderer.  And everything changed. Does her profession as a mystery horror writer just attract murder, or maybe it’s her association with a local policeman?

Whatever it is, Alexa Hartfield’s story isn’t over.  I planned for three books and got four.  Two more are in the works, so who knows how many of her stories will emerge?

Series Posts

big idea

Book Trailer:

Manuscript for Murder Posts:

What Do Arrows & a Sewing Lesson Have to Do With Murder?

Front Window Posts:

unlikely inspirations

Do You Think Jimmy Stewart Will Ever Forgive Me?

here are many complicated reasons for murder–and even more simple ones.  All forms of twisted love, money (or lack thereof), vengeance, and then there’s that anger thing–the crime of passion. But with all those, Alexa writes for one reason–to show that with all the evil in the world, the Lord is still in control, and right will win.

People often justify evil–the end justifying the means and all that jazz.  But the Lord offers a serious warning for those who try to justify evil. Everything may not be black and white, but when God says something is right.  It’s right.  And when He decides something is wrong, no amount of our creative translating changes that.

This is the approach Alexa takes in her books.  She moves past people’s purported reasons for doing things and takes it back to the facts.  This is right. That is wrong.  You did wrong. Guilty.

Mystery prize giveaway

 

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
byChautona Havig

Most of us are used to Amanda Cabot writing in the late nineteenth century, but post WWII? Sign me up! Listen in and see what you can expect from Amanda’s Beyond the Melody.

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

I love jukeboxes, and a book with someone who knows all about them? Sign me up! EEEP!

Beyond the Melody by Amanda Cabot

Neither one is looking for love, But sometimes all it takes is one dance. By the spring of 1946, life in Sweetwater Crossing is almost back to normal after the war. Not Anna Finley’s. She lost her chance at happily-ever-after when the man she loved was killed in France. Anna does her best to hide her sorrow and a secret that haunts her as she works on the jukeboxes she inherited when her brother died in combat. There’s no point in dreaming about what might have been. Jim Smythe is also grieving a shattered life. His fiancee broke their engagement, reminding him that a respected magazine said it should take no more than three weeks for a veteran to forget the war. But Jim cannot forget the men in his platoon who didn’t return home, and he’s made it his mission to visit each of the fallen soldiers’ families, hoping to give them some small measure of comfort. Sweetwater Crossing is his final stop. After that, he’ll have to return to Boston and the life that holds no appeal. If only he could find an alternative, one where people saw him for himself, not his family’s name. He’s given up hope that anyone will understand what his parents and fiancee did not, but everything changes when he enters a small cafe and sees a woman whose eyes reflect his own pain standing next to a jukebox. Jim knows he’ll never see her again, yet it somehow feels right to extend his hand and say, “May I have this dance?” It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for two wounded people unless they can overcome their fears and find the courage to love again.

Learn more about Amanda on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
October 5, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 587: A Chat with Four Authors
September 30, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 586: A Chat with Becca Kinzer
September 28, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 585: A Chat with Jenelle Hovde
September 26, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 584: A Chat with James Finke
September 23, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 583: A Chat with Elizabeth Goddard
September 21, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 582: A Chat with Terrie Todd
September 19, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
September 14, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
September 12, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
September 9, 2026
Chautona Havig
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https://amzn.to/4yjIMBH (#AffiliateLink).
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A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be m A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be more fun? Grannies gettin' their gutsy on? Hunky cops protecting book clubbers from stalkers? Harvey Girls? Choosing real people over AI chat bot buddies? Friends working together to bring two book-loving hearts together? And more!
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