• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Bookshelf
    • Audio
    • Complete List of Chautona’s Books
    • The Rockland Chronicles
      • The Vintage Wren
      • The Aggie Series
      • The Hartfield Mysteries
      • Sight Unseen Series
        • Sight Unseen Series Archives
      • The Agency Files
      • Christmas Fiction
    • Legacy of the Vines
    • Meddlin’ Madeline
      • Madeline Blog Archive
    • Ballads from the Hearth
      • Ballads from the Hearth Blog Archive
    • Legends of the Vengeance
    • Journey of Dreams
    • Wynnewood
    • Webster’s Bakery
    • The Not-So-Fairy Tales
    • Heart of Warwickshire
  • Start HERE
    • If You Like…
    • Characters
    • Suggested Reading Order
    • Free Books
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Podcast
    • Podcast Guest Information
    • Podcast Interview FAQ
  • Merch Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Bonus
  • New & Coming
Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

A Chat with Willow…

by Chautona Havig · 4 Comments

Every day I get half a dozen emails about Willow asking questions, making observations, and begging for more. For those who have taken the time to encourage me, I really want to thank you! It’s so cool to open my email and see, “I want to BE Willow.” It assures me that I’ve accomplished my goal– making Willow as appealing and yet unique as possible.

Additionally, I get questions, so I’ve arranged an “interview” with Willow–just a little conversation to answer some of the questions out there. 🙂

Chautona: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me.

Willow: Not at all. It’s the least that I could do.

Chautona: So why do you think people are so drawn to you?

Willow: I don’t know that it’s me–I think that people are drawn to a life lived with purpose and not decided by culture or society. They may not want it for themselves, but they enjoy escaping into world different from their own.

Chautona: I disagree. I think you have qualities people admire. For example, you say what you think. It disconcerts people at times, but there’s something refreshing about knowing exactly what someone thinks rather than what they think you are comfortable hearing.

Willow: But isn’t that just an extension of my life? It’s how we lived. If Mother hadn’t encouraged me to be forthright, how would I be any different than anyone else? (chuckles)

Chautona: What amuses you?

Willow: I just remembered Chuck. People don’t like his forthrightness at all.

Chautona: Which proves my point exactly. Have you found it difficult to adjust to “regular life?”

Willow: Am I supposed to? I wasn’t trying to adjust to anything. This is just my life. I’m adding a few things to it, sure, but what most people consider “regular” isn’t my regular.

Chautona: So things that are unfamiliar…

Willow: Some things will always be unfamiliar. Even if I’ve seen them before, how they are used or explained by people are different. Bill sees things differently than Chad does. Chuck is almost from another planet, and then it’s as if women speak a different language and have different eyes than men. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It’s hard to keep the nuances straight sometimes. *chuckles* I should probably admit that I don’t try very often.

Chautona: You don’t try what? To keep them straight?”

Willow: Right. I mean, sometimes I know what someone means, but it’s hard to articulate it if I’ve never discussed it before. Mother told me about a lot of things and she probably told me about more than I know and less than she thought.

Chautona: I’m not sure I understand you.

Willow: Well, take cars, for example. I knew about them. I knew they were much faster than walking. I’d seen them whiz by the farm, sometimes being chased by a police car. Mother considered them dangerous, so I didn’t give a lot of thought to them–just to knowing I was never, ever, ever to get in one. The first time I got in Chad’s cruiser, I was astounded at how fast things flew by. It was like being on the zip-line, but faster. Sure, I knew they went fifty-five miles per hour, and that at best, I walk about four. Thirteen times faster is one thing in your head. It’s another when you first get inside and experience it. It takes getting used to.

Chautona: Kind of like when I went to my first rock concert. I’d heard of people screaming and passing out, but I didn’t know until they set me in front of those person-high speakers that it was because it killed their ears and destroyed their equilibrium.

Willow: So that’s why you made me go to that movie with the camera spinning in circles!

Chautona: Hey, I needed some good return for that horrible experience. If it helps, you aren’t alone. My friend puked after the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice.

Willow: Is what you just said intelligible to you?

Chautona: Yes, why?

Willow: At least one of us understands you.

Chautona: Why did your mother choose not to have anything to do with the locals? Some people talked about her, but it doesn’t seem like they even knew where she lived. Chad said he thought that the reclusive woman he’d heard of (Kari) lived on the other side of the lake.

Willow: Well, Mother had been hurt. I mean, that’s obvious. I think she would have been open to being friendly with people if she wasn’t trying to protect me–

Chautona: Wait, what do you mean, “protect you?” Why did she think she had to do that?

Willow: The man gave her a check–paid her off. He didn’t know about me, though. I’m proof of what his son did, though. If he knew, he might want to hurt me, so she wanted to be “gone.”

Chautona: And so she just ignored people?

Willow: It was more active than that. She made herself standoffish. She spoke as if she lived in the other direction. I think I remember walking the other way when I had to come with her as a child. I remember a highway, but that first morning– the trip into town–it was so much faster than I remembered. After I thought about it for a while, I realized that we never walked down the driveway. We walked along the river, around the lake, and came into town from the other side.

Chautona: But someone had to know where you lived–the feed and seed people for example. Maybe a mail carrier?

Willow: Yes, the Brant’s Corners feed people knew, but they didn’t know much. A few others… But Mother didn’t socialize. She kept to herself, ordered her things, and if it had to be delivered, she didn’t use Fairbury when we could help it. We’re five miles out of town in the opposite direction of most people. If you want people to leave you alone, if you rarely ever come into town, people forget you.

Chautona: I suppose. I’ve lived that a few times myself. My father appreciated his privacy much in the same way as Kari. I can see that.

Willow: I don’t think that would surprise anyone. People live in small neighborhoods without ever knowing the person next door. Why is it so strange that people wouldn’t know us when we’re rarely in town and don’t talk to people when we are–well, were. As soon as I started coming to town and interacted with people, they knew me, greeted me, and things were more…

Chautona: I believe the word is normal.

Willow: Well, more normal for others, I guess. It’s not normal for me. I’m still getting used to it. I like it in small spurts, but I get overwhelmed. I don’t know how people handle being inundated with people around them all the time. That girl with all the kids–Aggie–I’d go crazy. I know I would. Sometimes Chad stopping in or even calling—oh, how I want to throw that phone away some days–is just enough to make me tell him never to come around again. I want to revert into Mother’s cocoon and stay there where I’m protected from being smothered by people.

Chautona: I suppose that some of it is stuff you just don’t care about too. We tend not to pay attention to things that don’t interest us.

Willow: Exactly!

Chautona: Was it really so weird to use a phone for the first time?

Willow: Actually, it was. I mean, I’ve read books where people used them, but I never read anything about how small they are! It sounds so much simpler when you read about someone picking up a phone and dialing than to have to program numbers in and stuff like that.

Chautona: Well, you probably read about landlines rather than cell phones. House phones are bigger.

Willow: I also read about people saying “hello” when they picked up the phone, but I forgot about that. That happens a lot. Like I said, using that kind of information is very different than just reading about it.

Chautona: At least your mother educated you. I’m trying to write about a girl whose father kept her hidden all her life. Didn’t teach her anything. Nothing. Not how to read, how to write, how to do anything. She’s a virtual prisoner in an abandoned place. I keep trying to give her knowledge that she simply wouldn’t have.

Willow: Now that would be horrible. I’m grateful that Mother loved me. I love my life and I had almost twenty-three wonderful years with her. I can’t complain about that.

Chautona: But you want to.

Willow: Yes. I miss her. She filled in gaps for me. Things like how I could have so much money. I knew that man paid her a lot; I knew that money made interest, but until you hear Bill say, “You are a wealthy woman,” it doesn’t make sense. He keeps trying to make me “get it,” but I’m still having trouble with how much things cost. Why is Bill’s apartment more expensive than my farm? I don’t understand. I have space and the ability to grow and produce. He just has wood and steel in an ugly building.

Chautona: It’s all supply and demand. There isn’t a demand for farms but there’s a big one for apartments in a city and the city supplies are low, so the price goes up.

Willow: That makes sense to hear it, but when I see what I get for half what he paid for his little place, it doesn’t translate very well.

Chautona: I suppose that is right. What is the worst part of the changes in your new life? Aside from the loss of your mother, of course.

Willow: The cell phone. I don’t like being interrupted. People don’t understand why I don’t want to answer it when I’m doing something, but it makes me feel like a slave to someone else’s schedule. If I want to answer, I will. The only time I make myself answer when I don’t want to is for Chad. I do it because he’s convinced I’m going to kill myself out here someday and that he could have saved me if I had just had that stupid piece of plastic.

Chautona: Now there I totally get you. I don’t even carry a cell phone.

Willow: That’s it. I’m telling Chad that if my author doesn’t have to, neither do I.

Chautona: It won’t work. You’re keeping it. You won’t regret it.

Willow: We’ll see about that.

Chautona: Is there anything else you want to say about your story?

Willow: I guess I just want people to remember that their experiences aren’t the only ones out there. Mine are different–yours are. You made choices for my character based upon how you’ve lived, what you’ve observed, and what suits my personality best. If it seems implausible, perhaps it is because in the average (or even in most) American’s life, my entire existence is implausible, but isn’t that what fiction is about? Making the implausible come to life and touching people with it?
Then again, you lived five miles outside of a town the size of Fairbury and without electricity OR running water, in the DESERT, when you were in high school, so how implausible is it really?

Chautona:  True.  You know, I just thought of something else that reminds me of my childhood. Your mother was much like my father in how she created cool memories for you.  My dad was a master of that.  Kari did it much differently than Dad did, but the concepts… they are somewhat similar.

Chautona:  Well, thank you for your time and I hope you’re pleased with how things get edited.  We’re almost ready for Episode THREE!  It goes live late Sunday/early Monday morning.

Share
Pin
Post
Email
Share
Pin
Post
Email

Filed Under: Interviews

Previous Post: « Ahh… Willow the words…
Next Post: Happy Birthday to Me! »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Or, you can subscribe without commenting.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Julie says

    July 31, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    Thanks Chautona for clearing up Bill’s age. I think the comment that you referenced got cut. I also thought Bill was significantly older than Willow, more like the elderly uncle than a contemporary. I also find Bill’s reliance on Chad odd. Surely he can see he is aiding and abetting the competition? I love Willow and the story, wish they came out faster! Lol. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    July 19, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    Your relationship with Bill seems a bit unnatural. Isn’t he about 30 years older than you? I have to wonder what his motives are.

    Love your story.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      July 19, 2012 at 1:59 pm

      Dear Karen,

      Willow asked me to explain Bill’s age. When Othello died, Chad asked how long they’d had him, and Bill said, “Well, I think they got him four or five years after I started going out there, so he has to be seven or eight years old.”

      I think in episode one (unless it got cut) is where Bill mentioned how Kari gave him a chance when he first got started in business which would have been after college, so around 22. So if you add it up, he’s in his early thirties. 11-12 years difference.

      And when you spend all your time with adults, you tend to appear much older than you are, so that age difference isn’t so odd to him knowing her.

      Reply
  3. barbara says

    July 18, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    That was fun! and I can’t believe you went to a rock concert! *adds that to my list of questions for interview*

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 438: A Chat with Margaret Philbrick
byChautona Havig

 Oh, wow.  When I read the synopsis for House of Honor by Margaret Ann Philbrick, I knew this was going to be a fabulous book.  Forget all the endorsements and starred reviews, listen in to hear just how awesome this book is!  

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

When Margaret described the story within House of Honor, I not only learned a lot of art history, but I got a taste of Italy (sadly, without pasta and gelato… sniff). I can’t wait to see what she coes up with next.

 House of Honor by Margaret Ann Philbrick

Two Italian sons, one woman, linked by a masterpiece painting, are put to a test of loyalty and honor.

At the heart of this gripping tale is Orazio Bordoni, the wayward son of a construction magnate, living a reckless life like that of his artistic hero Caravaggio. He finds himself befriended by Nicolo Giotto, the devoted son of a powerful Sicilian mafia clan, who wants to uphold the honor of his family.

As the dark underbelly of the art world and the Vatican expose their true character, Orazio finds himself in a world where his loyalty is tested, honor is at stake, and the boundaries between life, love, and art blur. He and Nicolo discover just how far they’re willing to push those boundaries, even if it means sacrificing everything.

House of Honor is a pivotal story that weaves the threads of history, the ruthless allure of the mafia, the enigmatic power of the Vatican, and the timeless brilliance of Caravaggio.

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

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

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
  • Libsyn
  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 438: A Chat with Margaret Philbrick
Episode 438: A Chat with Margaret Philbrick
June 14, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 437: A Chat with Kristen Hogrefe Parnell
June 9, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 436: A Chat with Suzanne Woods Fisher
June 7, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 435: A Chat with Rachel Keith
June 3, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 434: A Chat with Lynn U. Watson
May 31, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 433: A Chat with Megan Soja
May 26, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 432: A Chat with Crystal Caudill
May 24, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 431: A Chat with Heidi Gray McGill
May 19, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 430: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
May 17, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 429: A Chat with J. A. Webb
May 12, 2025
Chautona Havig
Search Results placeholder

Love Audio Books?

audio book ad

Featured Books

Be My Inspiration

Be My Inspiration

Pointed Suspicion

Pointed Suspicion

Courting Miss Darling

Courting Miss Darling

Upcoming Posts

Sorry - nothing planned yet!

Or just subscribe to the newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • So, There Was That Time I Forgot What I Knew…
  • “Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say” Ain’t No Lie
  • Why Romance Is a Hairy Proposition (or is that proposal?)

I buy my stickers here! (affiliate)

Custom Stickers, Die Cut Stickers, Bumper Stickers - Sticker Mule
The fabulous @ChristaDelSorbo has narrated many of The fabulous @ChristaDelSorbo has narrated many of my books, including The Last Gasp--a mystery set in 1920s Hollywood and with a Cinderella twist.
You can listen FREE on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@christadelsorbo/videos
Check out the other books she has on there... also free! https://www.youtube.com/@christadelsorbo/videos
OR
You can also get The Last Gasp and several of my other titles on popular retailers like Audible, Spotify, Everand, and more!
#Audiobooks
#FreeAudiobooks
#ChristianMystery
#HistoricalMystery
#FairyTaleRetelling
The fabulous @ChristaDelSorbo has narrated many of The fabulous @ChristaDelSorbo has narrated many of my books, and now she's on the first book (after the prequel, Induction) of The Agency Files.
When Erika is ripped from her bed (literally) by strangers claiming to be doing it for "her own safety," she's not convinced. Can you blame her? Listen in to learn more. One chapter a day throughout the month and the whole book will be uploaded as one video at the end. So listen FREE daily (or to each chapter so you can find your place easily), or all at once on a long car ride or decluttering binge (oh, wait. Is that just me?).
Check out the other books she has on her channel... also free! AND, please subscribe and make her day (it's a lot of work!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hnf_Ztodag&list=PLGJaJiSo6mQ2CQxqZjoGUiFK5mPPbJIbb

OR

You can also get Justified means and several of my other titles on popular retailers like Audible, Spotify, Everand, and more!
#Audiobooks
#FreeAudiobooks
#ChristianRomanticSuspense
14h
Who is he, who is after him, and why is a woman ab Who is he, who is after him, and why is a woman abducted to protect her from him?  Bioterrorism, Russian mafia, and what? Another agency?  What's going on in The Agency now?
Listen to the whole book FREE, narrated by the fabulous @ChristaDelSorbo (don't forget to subscribe!!!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-TZlGhUFcE&list=PLGJaJiSo6mQ1Cg738W1MSQlHIuFe45v_WListen to a chapter a day OR to the whole thing at the end of the month.  The previous four Agency books are also available to listen to FREE.
#TheAgencyFiles
#ChristFic
#ChristianSuspense
#kindleUnlimited
I know... I've said it before. It's why I try not I know... I've said it before. It's why I try not to promise when/what. #BecauseLife.  I can't control what's happening, but I can control not starting to release stuff only to have it stall again.  I am determined that when I start sending out episodes again (they are being written every chance I need a break from other things), they won't ever stop until the story is done.  I just need a huge lead and it's not big enough. Sorry.
If you have a question you want me to answer, leave it in the comments OR... zip me an email at chautona@chautona.com.  I'll try to work them in (and will probably combine those that are really similar.
#AuthorLife
#WriterLife
#AuthorsOfInstagram
#CharacterDevelopment
#AmWriting
#TheVintageWren
#SerialNovels
#365THOUSANDDaysOfGreen (or so it seems)
Austria, 1939. Before the "death trains," Hitler's Austria, 1939. Before the "death trains," Hitler's regime deported ten thousand children to Holland, Sweden, and even England on what was known as the Kindertransport. Two desperate mothers send their only childrent to safety on this Kindertransport, but when those children arrive, nothing is as it seems or should be.  A war-time mystery twist on "Hansel and Gretel" set just before the invasion of Poland.
Available as an audiobook FREE on Youtube, narrated by @ChristaDelSorbo
https://www.youtube.com/@christadelsorbo/videos

#FreeAudiobooks
#ChristFic
#HistoricalChristianMystery
#KindleUnlimited
Last night's moon was particularly lovely. #Ridge Last night's moon was particularly lovely. 
#RidgecrestCA
#Walking
Ever feel like you've lost control of your house.. Ever feel like you've lost control of your house... and your life?  Yeah. You're not alone. Meet Kaye. Wife, Mom, and competitive shopper (or so she wishes--erm, wished). But when the day comes that she can't find even ONE of the half dozen whatzits that they've bought over the years, she sort of loses it (her mind). Then her whole FAMILY loses it (their stuff, that is!).
Narrated by the FABULOUS Christa DelSorbo, Confessions of a De-Cluttering Junkie is availble FREE on YouTube at https://youtu.be/WPgAaOP-cvA?si=MZtVxW39q7RMmwB *whistles
#FreeAudiobooks
#KindleUnlimited
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristianWomensFiction
#Decluttering
#Minimalism
#Humor
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
  • New & Coming
  • Blog
  • News!
  • Disclosure & Policies
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Chautona Havig · All Rights Reserved · Coding by Gretchen Louise

Don't go before you grab your FREE short story collection!