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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Many Times Can Someone Get Beaten Down Before She Gives Up?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Craig Hastings uses the difficulties of life to show hope and comfort that faith brings when you learn to trust the Lord. via @chautonahavig

Author of Moose Ridge: Ending to Beginning, Craig Hastings speaks candidly about the difficulties of life, how God is faithful in the middle of it all, and why he wrote a book about a young woman beaten down by life so much that she’s ready to give up.

The Moose Ridge series looks at difficult issues through the eyes of faithful Christians and an atheist and inspires readers to place their trust where it’s safest–in the Lord’s hands.

craig hastings

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

How Many Times Can Someone Get Beaten Down Before She Gives Up?

When Craig Hastings told me he’d run across Francena Arnold’s Not My Will during a difficult time in his life and shared the profound effect the book had on him, I knew my first impressions of Moose Ridge were spot on.

Craig opens the interview with a solid backstory for his character, Jazmine, that allows readers a quick intro into the opening scene. The synopsis gives you a hint that Jazmine is going to get hit with something hard, but as that opening scene unfolded, every idea that came to me was the wrong one.  I loved that it wasn’t predictable (at least to me, anyway).

Great, realistic characters, a fish-out-of-water story, and an appeal to faith.  What about Moose Ridge: Ending to Beginning isn’t to love?

Listeners will want to know that Craig Hastings speaks candidly of a difficult time in his life when he lost his infant son just a few months after birth and how that loss became part of the impetus for this story (although there’s nothing similar about the events).  Craig’s heart for people and the Lord shines through the entire conversation, and in the end you’re left ready to read more.

And this is only the beginning!

Craig has already written two more books and this one just released!  WOOHOO!  I’m eager to read more.  I’m especially eager to read book two and see if I agree with the publisher on things being “preacy.”  I suspect that a candid look at faith is the root of that label, and if so, I disagree. Craig said he has other books planned, so stay tuned for more information about those.

I’m also intrigued by his spy novels. He said some have criticized him for the lack of smut and foul language in them, but all I can say is, “Bring it on!”

Craig Hastings Moose RidgeMoose Ridge: Ending to Beginning by Craig Hastings

All beginnings lead to endings, but some endings bring beginnings.

Attending Harvard was the first positive thing in Jazmine’s life in a long time. While a member of an affluent New York family, her mother died when she was five and her father went to jail when she was twelve. Jazmine lost everything leaving her a ward of the state and becoming a foster child.

Meeting Michael, a medical student was the second positive experience. Now she’s looking forward to the perfect life she dreamed about. Leaving Boston and New York behind, the only cities she’s ever known, she’s on her way to join Michael and start their new life together in Wyoming where he will complete his neurosurgical residency. She’s had a lot of hard blows, but now all her hard work and dedication are going to pay off. The day has arrived for her and Michael to start the beginning of their future life together. Jazmine just knows, for once, everything is going to be exactly how she always dreamed it could be.

Then she’s handed the letter.

You can find out more about Craig Hastings and his books on his WEBSITE.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
byChautona Havig

Nothing says fairy tale like a sweet western romance by an author like Karen Witemeyer… unless it’s a fairytale retelling set in Texas in the late 19th century, right?  Fairest of Heart takes the familiar “Snow White” and turns it on its head with retired cowboys, a self-absorbed actress, a Texas Ranger, and a sweet girl who knows the true Source of her beauty.  Listen in to see all the genius Easter eggs Witemeyer planted in this book.

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

Sometimes All a Girl Needs Is a True Change of Heart

I fell in love with the cover of Karen Witemeyer’s Head Over Heels a few years back (only to learn it’s much older than that, even), and meant to read that book.  I didn’t.  #BecauseIdiot. Well, that’ll be rectified just as soon as I’m done listening to her first book in a trilogy of fairytale retellings. I loaded it up on my Audible app tonight and wheeeeeeee. Here I go! So much for no new books until October. HA! 

Karen talks about her heart for young women today and how they’re taught by every bit of media blasting at them that they need to use their bodies to get what they need or want when the Lord has a better plan. And I can’t guarantee it, but I strongly suspect she does it without preaching. SQUEE!

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters–and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather’s ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope’s acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope’s guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

You can learn more about Karen Witemeyer and her books on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget the book is 30% off on BakerBookHouse.com.  

Follow Karen on BookBub and GoodReads.

And don’t forget her Posse Group on Facebook.

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

  • Apple 
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  • Google Play
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  • and more!
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
September 29, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
September 26, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 263: A Chat about The Love Script w/ Toni Shiloh
September 23, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 262: Chatting about The Legacy of Longdale Manor with Carrie Turansky
September 19, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 261: Chatting with Christian Youth Fiction Author, Candice Yamnitz
September 15, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 260: A Chat with Rachel Hauck
September 12, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 259: A Chat with Debut Author, Laura Conaway
September 8, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 258: A Louisiana Christmas to Remember
September 2, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 257: A Chat with Fantasy Author, N. Ford
September 1, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 256: A Chat about Summer in the Spotlight w/ Liz Johnson
August 29, 2023
Chautona Havig
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