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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

Note: Links in this post may be affiliate links that provide a small commission at no extra expense to you.

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 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
byChautona Havig

Debut Author, Sara Brunsvold, is bursting on the Christian Women’s fiction scene with an amazing book, The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. With characters who have captivated my heart from page one (and enough quirkiness to keep my attention to the last), Sara Brunsvold is sure to become a favorite author, and this book is already on my top five of the year before it’s even released!

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

This Novel Isn’t Even Available Yet, and It’s in My Top 5!

If you’d told me that I’d fall so in love with two chapters of a book that it would push that book into my top five of the year so far, well… I’d have laughed.

The joke’s on me because it happened with Sara Brunsvold’s The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. This debut women’s fiction novel has a bit of a split-time element and is set in Kansas City. Trust me when I say that meeting Clara was one of the most fun introductions to a character I’ve ever had. I just love this woman, and I’m drumming my fingers to get to read more about her.  Not surprising considering it won the ACFW Genesis’s award a couple of years back. 😀

Sara says her passion is intergenerational stories, and you definitely get this with Aidyn and her “assignment,” Mrs. Kipp.  But you also get inter-cultural and ideological influences in this book as well.

And then there’s that next book she has coming out.  You know, the one about a gal cooking her way through her grandma’s German cookbook?  Yeah.  The one we have to wait until early 2024 for?  Yeah. That one.  Sigh.

When Sara told us about her favorite authors, a lot of things made sense.  Just sayin’. Find out which of Katherine Reay’s books are her favorites and how she fangirled over Reay’s response to an email (and why you should email your favorite author!).

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care.

But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her–but she’s going to have to work for it.

Debut author Sara Brunsvold delights with this emotional multigenerational story that shows that the very best life is made up of thousands of little deaths to self. You’ll want to be just like Mrs. Kip when you grow up!

This book is 40% off with free shipping from Baker Book House. That’s less than the Kindle version if you like paper!

You can learn more about Sara at her WEBSITE (and sign up for that newsletter so you can get Mrs.Kip’s 8 Rules to Live By). Oh, and if she does those videos of her cooking through that book, you’ll want to know when/where to find them.

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Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
May 20, 2022
Chautona Havig
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May 13, 2022
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Episode 142: A Chat about A Promise Engraved by Liz Tolsma
May 10, 2022
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Episode 141: A Chat with Elizabeth Goddard about Critical Alliance
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Episode 140: A Chat about When the Meadow Blooms by Ann H. Gabhart
April 29, 2022
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Episode 139: A Chat with Middle-Grade Author, RM Ruiz
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Episode 138: A Gush about a Good (more like GREAT) Read & GoodReads
April 22, 2022
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Episode 137: A Chat with Contemporary Romance Author, Mandi Blake
April 19, 2022
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Episode 136: A Chat with Middle-Grade Historical Author, Marie Sontag
April 15, 2022
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Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used recliners and old, broken wagon wheels.  She can't help it if folks keep asking for help with their love lives... can she?
See the lengths Wade goes to in his quest to behave like a rational guy.
Releases Tuesday, May 24. Available on 
#Kindle
#KindleUnlimited
#PaperbackBooks

#ChristFic
#YouAreOnTheAir
#ContemporaryChristianSweetRomance

Leave a comment request and I'll send you a link. :D
Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used recliners and old, broken wagon wheels.  She can't help it if folks keep asking for help with their love lives... can she?
See the lengths Wade goes to in his quest to behave like a rational guy.
Releases Tuesday, May 24. Available on 
#Kindle
#KindleUnlimited
#PaperbackBooks

#ChristFic
#YouAreOnTheAir
#ContemporaryChristianSweetRomance

Leave a comment request and I'll send you a link. :D
Reposted from @karitrumbo Repost from @sweetandswo Reposted from @karitrumbo Repost from @sweetandswoonyromance
•
Wherever the Road Will Lead by Kari Trumbo... have you read it?? 

Tamar came to the west to find a husband. Instead, she has no choice but to accept a position on Johlman’s sheep farm. Out of money and with nowhere to turn, the handsome rancher she’s just met offers exactly what she needs at the moment, a job and place to stay.

She finds herself thrust in the middle of a dangerous feud, and falling in love with the rancher’s son, Leo, puts her in grave danger.

Leo has been praying for a wife, and he’s convinced she’s arrived in a beautiful green dress…only Pa’s approval evades him once again. As Leo’s love grows for Tamar, will offering his heart be enough to make up for what she’s lost?

***Grab your free copy! Check the link in the bio for our FB page. The pinned post up top has the link to download this and 90+ other sweet romances! 

#sweetandswoonyreads #ayearofsweetandswoony #freebooks #romancestagram #romancebooks #novellas
Reposted from @beckylewis345 Life can be hard. Ent Reposted from @beckylewis345 Life can be hard. Enter cozies like A Sprinkle in Time by Dana Mentink. Clean, with a sweet romance, whose amateur sleuth runs a delectable shake shop. A dog, a child, precocious twins who work for the shake shop, and lovable Papa Luis. Plus, of course, plenty of suspects. “Murder, mayhem, and milkshakes. Who’d a thunk it?”

Trinidad Jones becomes someone I truly care about in this book. I am amazed at how she and Gabe’s two other former wives forgive each other and actually become friends. Not just friends, but family, as thick as blood. Now there is a small cluster of characters to follow and enjoy in this town of Upper Sprocket. Fun!

I enjoy the inclusion of dogs, children, and special-needs people, and Dana Mentink brings them all to our Shimmy and Shake Shop story. Noodles is old, but what a loyal companion, and, wow, does he have an amazing ability or two! Little  Felice adds warmth and vulnerability to the tale. Doug, the special-needs brother of Trinity’s love interest, Quinn, adds reality and complexity to the novel. 

Mentink has a good sense of humor and I laughed out loud several times. Just what I want out of a cozy. Mystery, romance, great characters, laughter. A fun occupation that the sleuth actually works at. I am happy to report I made it through the book without indulging in ice cream! But, can you?

I am looking forward to more murder and mayhem in Upper Sprocket! Plus more Freakshakes! 

———————————————————————
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. (I also bought my own copy.) No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
———————————————————————
Notable Quotables:
“He was merely a friend the way a Ming vase was just an old pot.”

“There’s your plan and God’s plan, and your plan…” “Doesn’t count,”

“Maybe it’s one of those weird small-town happenings.” “A body in your trunk isn’t a happening, it’s a horror movie,”

“It wasn’t an easy thing to command the heart to feel what the brain ordered.”

“Rumors carry so much more weight than the truth, sometimes.”
Giveaway on blog in bio.
#celebratelit
#danamentink
#frozendesserts
#justdeserts 
#justiceforsprockett
#amreadingcozies
Reposted from @celebratelit Did you know that When Reposted from @celebratelit Did you know that When the Pilot Falls by April Hayman from the Ever After Mystery series is 25% off with the Celebrate Lit Summer Sale? 

More about the book: 
In 1923, there aren’t many pilots, but Willie Labeau didn’t let that stop… her.

A bear of a man, Hugh Taylor, needs a stunt plane pilot, and despite their rocky introduction, Willie sets off for golden California and a new life as his pilot. There’s just one little thing she has to do in addition to flying.

Leave his past alone. Period.

When the flame of her own curiosity becomes fanned by encouragement from Willie’s sister, the feisty pilot can’t help but do just a little investigating.

And Hugh vanishes.

Friends rally around her, and with all the information she can find in hand, Willie sets off to rescue Hugh and battle the evil family holding him hostage.

A fierce air race, a sincere act of humility—are they enough to free Hugh and give Willie a chance to be with him… forever?

Find out in this next book in the Ever After Mysteries, combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries. When the Pilot Falls offers a retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” that will keep you gripped to the edge of your seat as you watch hearts soar and daring dos.

Link in bio! 

#aprilhayman #whenthepilotfalls #everaftermysteries #celebratelit #christianfiction #historicalfiction #bookstagram #bookloversofinstagram #readersofinstagram
Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used Dial W for Wrangler: Vi's just trying to sell used recliners and old, broken wagon wheels.  She can't help it if folks keep asking for help with their love lives... can she?
See the lengths Wade goes to in his quest to behave like a rational guy.
Releases Tuesday, May 24. Available on 
#Kindle
#KindleUnlimited
#PaperbackBooks

#ChristFic
#YouAreOnTheAir
#ContemporaryChristianSweetRomance

Leave a comment request and I'll send you a link. :D
Ready for giveaways and fun? I sure hope so, beca Ready for giveaways and fun?  I sure hope so, because I'm planning on loads!
Win books (mine and others'), fun swag (Do you see those cute pins and reading list bookmarks?), and more!
Starts off Tuesday morning! (or maybe tomorrow... or this evening... depends on how much willpower I actually have!) Join us in the You Are on the Air Reader group!
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Link to group is in my bio!
And tomorrow the GoodReads Giveaway begins!
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