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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Discover California’s Fascinating History through This Adventure

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Yosemite Trail Discovered by Marie Sontag continues the exciting adventures of the Whitcomb Discoveries series for youth. via @chautonahavig

California’s history is full of adventure, and author Marie Sontag dives in with her Whitcomb Discoveries series. Beginning with the California Trail (and characters who were part of the ill-fated Donner party), Sontag mingles actual historical figures with her own characters to the past to life for today’s youth.

Marie Sontag Yosemite Trail Discovered

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

Discover California’s Fascinating History through This Adventure

Mystery, adventure, ill-fated treks across the wilderness, new paths across uncharted territories–Marie Sontag offers it all.  Not only that, but you see the good and bad of all sides of history in a frank look at California before it was settled after Westward Expansion and statehood.

Not only that, but Marie Sontag also has new middle-grade and YA fiction coming that showcases other historical eras and places. I loved hearing about how she met readers who were connected with both series in one way or another.  And I also loved learning that her website offers videos she took while in the very places she writes about.

Check out the Whitcomb Discoveries and see if Daniel ever learns what happens to his parents, how he knows the Donner Party, and what life was like during the Gold Rush era.

The Yosemite Trail Discovered Marie SontagThe Yosemite Trail Discovered by Marie Sontag

Join sixteen-year-old Daniel Whitcomb as he juggles a growing relationship with Virginia Reed, one of the survivors of the Donner Party, helps his Miwok friend learn how to read and write, and manages the account ledgers for his guardian, Jim Savage at his trading posts in the California goldfields.

Is Jim correct when he says, You can’t possess what you can’t protect? Does that justify fighting the Yosemites after they attack Jim’s posts or the Mariposa Battalion’s entrance into Yosemite to rout out the Ahwahneechee? And will Daniel ever make it back to Illinois to solve the mystery of his parents’ deaths?

Yosemite Trail Discovered provides an intriguing read for YA readers as they explore the clash of cultures that led to the whites’ first public discovery of Yosemite Valley.

You can learn more about Marie Sontag on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget to check out those videos!

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 490: A Chat with Lori DeJong
byChautona Havig

After a pile of sweet romances, sometimes you need something with… teeth. You know? And what’s better than a book with a bit of both? Listen in while Lori DeJong and I chat about Mistletoe and Malice!

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

This was such a fun conversation. And chatting about the fun of hiding from would-be abductors, reluctant bodyguards, and all the fun? How could it not be???

Mistletoe and Malice by Lori DeJong

After barely escaping an attempted abduction, Houston attorney Riley Hudson is forced to accept her wealthy father’s demand for private security. The last thing she wants is a bodyguard—especially one as maddeningly arrogant, bossy … and handsome as Colton Blankenship. Yet as the threat against her escalates, she begins to rely not only on his skills, but his steadfast presence.

Colton isn’t thrilled about giving up his hard-earned holiday vacation to protect a spoiled heiress. But he soon learns Riley is nothing like he expected. Fierce, independent, and unwavering in her faith, she’s everything he thought he’d left behind after tragedy shattered his own beliefs. As the unknown threat circles closer, the tension between them ignites into something deeper … and far more perilous.

When a second attempt on Riley’s life nearly succeeds, Colton faces a terrifying truth. Protecting her means risking more than just his life. Haunted by a past he can’t outrun, and a faith he’s all but lost, he must decide if he can trust God again … before he loses Riley—and his heart—for good.

We also talked about the final book in her True Calling series, Love’s True Measure.

You can learn more about Lori (and join her newsletter!) on her WEBSITE.

Find her on GoodReads and BookBub.

Listen to the first two episodes about the True Calling series HERE and HERE.

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

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
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  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 490: A Chat with Lori DeJong
Episode 490: A Chat with Lori DeJong
November 15, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 489: A Chat with Rachel Hauck
November 14, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 488: A Chat with Jane Kirkpatrick
November 10, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 487: A Chat with Jenny Marceline
November 8, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 486: A Chat with J. L. Burrows
November 7, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 485: A Chat with Katie Powner
November 3, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 484: A Chat with Taylor S Newport
November 1, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 483: A Chat with Sarah Loudin Thomas
October 31, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 482: A Chat with Lara d’Entremont
October 27, 2025
Chautona Havig
Episode 481: A Chat with Patricia Bradley
October 25, 2025
Chautona Havig
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