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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Argosy Junction’s Unexpected Symbolism

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

What happens when “the rules” become more important than the people they’re meant to help?

Argosy Junction's Unexpected Symbolism

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In Argosy Junction, a small group of like-minded families grows more unified of mind until deviations from the core are seen as sin and rebellion rather than individual methods of applying principles.

I’d seen this happening more and more frequently with local friends and online and it hit home closely.  Look, I love rules.  I’ll even go so far as to admit that I like how spiritual I feel with rules to follow  I tend to lean toward Phariseeism in my heart so writing this book was somewhat cleansing. It showed me where I might end up if not careful.

Argosy Junction CoverIt’s so easy to twist what is good into what is ugly.

Nothing that the church in this book encouraged was wrong by itself.  This book was not intended to be a vilification of anyone’s personal convictions.  And my point in writing this book wasn’t to attack anyone’s application of scripture.

Rather, my purpose was to show what happens when we make our applications law where Scripture does not.  I took each tiny extreme to its “logical” conclusion and showed the pain that resulted and how that pain affects different people.

You see the varying ways that different people respond.  From growing hard to panic at change, clinging closer to the rules, to utter rejection of the Lord and His church,  people handle the extremes very differently.

But one of the biggest surprises came with some unintentional symbolism in the story. 

I’d originally chosen a bison ready to charge as an opening to the book. A dear friend of mine had an obstetrician who met her husband in Montana while she was reading a book and looked up to see a bison pawing the ground.  Her thought, “how picturesque.”

A Jeep raced across the countryside, a door flew open, and my friend’s doctor was ordered into the Jeep by a park ranger who eventually became her husband.  She later discovered that Mr. Bison was ready to “charge.” I had considered using that as my opening scene.  I thought it’d be fun to put her story into print, but I was changing it up quite a bit.  Then I learned that there is another book that begins with a very similar story happening in the Outback or some place like that.  Well, I didn’t want that.  So, I went for comic relief and brought in sheep.

So what’s the point?

Well, I just wanted to show how unintentional the use of sheep in the book was.  For the sheep rancher’s family to be the ones who have walked away from the Lord’s “flock” was a bit of irony that I couldn’t have planned if I’d tried.  On top of that, seeing the shepherd being one of the main people who led the Lord’s flock down that path away from His “green pastures” really brought home the point that we always look to The Shepherd, not just a shepherd and how important it is for the Lord’s shepherds to keep His flock in His fields and not lead them astray.

It became even more interesting when I looked at the cover more closely.  There’s so much unintentional symbolism on it that it almost hurts.  At first, I was looking at page after page of sheep pictures, pictures of the Montana Rockies, and horses.  I tried ranches, boots, and even guitars and hats.  Finally, I realized that maybe a piece of barbed wire would give enough empty space for words, so I looked for that.  The moment I saw this barbed wire with a bit of wool attached to it, I knew I’d found my cover.

As I recently contemplated the picture, my heart constricted. 

The Lord puts protective fences around our hearts and lives.  He does this out of love and concern for our physical, spiritual, and emotional safety.

That’s what the piece of fence on the book would symbolize, but it has a barb.  That barb is just like the additional rules and regulations man adds to the Lord’s fences.  Perfectly harmless if you keep an eye out for the fence and keep away, but if you aren’t careful and get too close, it can hurt.  If you look very closely, you’ll see that the wool on that barb is tinged with blood.  Oh, how I ache when I realize how often the church is the cause of Christians’ deepest wounds.

The cover shows all of this, and I can’t even take credit for it. 

It wasn’t intentional.  I don’t like to credit or discredit the Lord’s hand in anything.  To say the Lord did this implies that somehow my cover is ‘inspired,’ and that is not what I mean to say.  However, I can’t help but wonder if the Lord didn’t lead me to the very picture that I needed for my book, knowing that there was this subtle story within the picture that symbolizes a major theme in this book.

Note: this is a revised version of a post I wrote in 2009 on my old blog.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
byChautona Havig

Fans of Lisa Phillips’ Last Chance County series are doing happy dances following the release of an exciting new spin-off series, Last Chance Fire and Rescue. Expired Return brings back a few favorite characters and kicks off another of Sunrise Publishing’s author/mentor led fiction seasons! Listen in to find out what happens when an author brings back a guy she dropped a building on a couple of books back…

 

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When Fans Want More Exciting Stories, Smart Authors Listen and Deliver!

Let’s face it. Authors might SOMETIMES be “done” with a series, but readers often want more… indefinitely. Well, with the brilliance of Sunrise Publishing’s mentor model, authors get to collaborate with authors they trust to do their “worlds” proud while still having time to write new, exciting things as well. And some of the Sunrise lead authors even write in the spin-off series–like Lisa Phillips and Trisha Goyer!

This new Last Chance County series promises everything we love about Lisa Phillips’ world–danger, intrigue, heart-stopping suspense, drama… you know… all the feels. But in addition to her own release, Expired Return, this series also introduces us to new authors who have been carefully vetted and selected to ensure they do justice to Lisa’s Last Chance characters. I, for one, can’t wait to check it all out.

Lisa and I chatted about what she plans for the series,Lisa hinted about a possible super-secret reveal coming soon, and I even poked her with the idea of a Last Chance Christmas.

Help me convince them on that, will ya?

But this new book… Whoa…

Expired Return by Lisa Phillips

Pepper stood up. “How dare you.” She could spit fire at him right now. She’d loved and supported Victory since the day she was born. “You know nothing about me.”

“What’s this?”

Pepper whirled around at that voice. Heart. Breaking. She loved that gruff, commanding voice more than anything else in the world.

He wore a look a lot like Aiden’s. Blank, which she knew—or hoped—had to do with protecting his heart because he still cared for her. Except he probably hated her.

Donaldson sat back in his chair. “Allen.”

Former police officer Allen Frees had both hands on the wheels of his chair. He wore a fire department uniform of slacks and a white shirt. Emblems. A badge. His life of service hadn’t ended when he landed in that chair after a building blew up over his head.

As far as she’d been able to tell, it barely slowed him down.

She’ll give everything to protect her family.

He always knew she was the one.

Veterinary tech Pepper Miller lives a quiet life in Last Chance County. She’s watching her niece until her sister shows up…if she ever does. When Victory’s father demands he take over her care, Pepper knows something has gone wrong. With a new drug in town, and her sister embroiled in a dangerous bargain, it’s up to Pepper to protect the people she loves.

Even if it costs every secret she’s ever kept.

Fire Department liaison Allen Frees lives with the injuries he sustained as a police officer in a raid gone wrong. He’s put his life back together but getting the truck crew and engine squad to succeed might be his toughest assignment yet. When Victory is nearly kidnapped at a community event, Allen steps in to help Pepper keep her niece safe. The one thing he couldn’t fix was the love he lost, but he isn’t going to let Pepper walk away this time.

No matter what walls he has to break down.

Last Chance County returns in this blazing new series from Sunrise Publishing.

Last Chance Fire and Rescue

  • Book 1: Expired Return
  • Book 2: Expired Hope (coming soon)
  • Book 3: Expired Promise (coming soon)
  • Book 4: Expired Vows (coming soon)

Last Chance County

  • Book 1: Expired Refuge
  • Book 2: Expired Secrets
  • Book 3: Expired Cache
  • Book 4: Expired Hero
  • Book 5: Expired Game
  • Book 6: Expired Plot
  • Book 7: Expired Getaway
  • Book 8: Expired Betrayal
  • Book 9: Expired Flight
  • Book 10: Expired End

Learn more about Lisa and her books on her WEBSITE.

Learn more about the different seasons (series) offered by Sunrise Publishing or how to audition with them on the Sunrise Publishing WEBSITE.

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Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
February 7, 2023
Chautona Havig
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January 24, 2023
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Episode 201: A Closer Look at This YA Dystopian Series
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A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story.

When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

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But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

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Reposted from @steampunk_tales Death stalks Alice Reposted from @steampunk_tales Death stalks Alice at every turn, but will he catch up to her?
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Heath Karras has a problem. Lots of eager first da Heath Karras has a problem. Lots of eager first dates... no second dates. With his propensity to spout random (and often bizarre) animal facts while nervous (he's always nervous around women) it's no wonder. 
His sister has a solution--lots of dates. Great, heaping gobs of them. Go ahead. Be awkward. Get used to it. Then... then try with someone you really want to get to know. He's not so confident, but when a man gives his word... (Note to self: no more agreeing to Selby's plans without knowing what they are!)
Find out what happens in Random Acts (or is it Facts?) of Shyness.

This book just got a fresh makeover, thanks to the genius of @PlethoraCreative & @PerryElizabeth.
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Reposted from @katherinereay My next novel A SHADO Reposted from @katherinereay My next novel A SHADOW IN MOSCOW will be available on June 13, 2023!! I can’t wait for you to meet Cold War spies, Anya Kadinova and Ingrid Bauer. You can pre-order your copy today!!
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Heath Karras has a problem. Lots of eager first da Heath Karras has a problem. Lots of eager first dates... no second dates. With his propensity to spout random (and often bizarre) animal facts while nervous (he's always nervous around women) it's no wonder. 
His sister has a solution--lots of dates. Great, heaping gobs of them. Go ahead. Be awkward. Get used to it. Then... then try with someone you really want to get to know. He's not so confident, but when a man gives his word... (Note to self: no more agreeing to Selby's plans without knowing what they are!)
Find out what happens in Random Acts (or is it Facts?) of Shyness.

This book just got a fresh makeover, thanks to the genius of @PlethoraCreative & @PerryElizabeth.
There's a link to how to find it in my bio.
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomCom
#InspiredByATrueStory
Reposted from @sarahsundinauthor The Sound of Ligh Reposted from @sarahsundinauthor The Sound of Light is now available from @revellfiction , and it received a starred review from Booklist!

In WWII Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt assumes the identity of a common shipyard worker, rowing messages to Sweden for the Resistance. His life depends on keeping his secret hidden--a task that proves challenging when he meets Else Jensen, an American physicist who seems to see right through him.

Read more and find purchase links in the Linktree in my bio!
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