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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

The first book in the Sweetheart Series by Shannon Sue Dunlap released this week, and Lone Star Sweetheart has me in stitches. via @chautonahavig

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t new to rom-coms, and her first book in the Sweetheart Series promises to be a literary riot, and it lives up to that promise. I’m only halfway through it and am thinking mean, ugly thoughts of everything keeping me from being able to escape into the crazy small-town politics and quirky characters. So far the com far outweighs the rom, which makes me thrilled to bits. Listen in to discover what makes Lone Star Sweetheart so much fun.

shannon sue dunlap

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

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

Well, I think we can safely blame Shakespeare for that. Shannon Sue Dunlap has taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in her Katherine, but unlike Katerina, Dunlap’s character is actually trying to learn to tame the tongue. Maybe someone should send her over to the book of James. There’s that whole bit about not being able to tame it, being an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Kate’s isn’t that bad, but not for lack of trying. Or something.

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t joking when she says that her Katherine is a “loveable” shrew. Seriously, I love this character. She’s forthright, no-nonsense, and “what you see is what you get” in her approach to life. I respect that. Add to that her boss who has shaken up the town of Sweetheart, Texas, and you’ve got the makings of a great story. I’m loving Lone Star Sweetheart.

But this isn’t all Dunlap has written.

Under the pseudonym, Shannon Kent, you can find her sweet and clean romances (including one Christian romance) inspired by Korean dramas. If you said I’d be not only chomping to read a sweet and clean romance about Korean tour guides and all that entails but also ready to watch a Korean drama on Netflix… Okay, I might not have laughed in your face, but I’d’ve been laughing on the inside.

Best part… one of them ties into her Sweetheart Series

Lone Star Sweetheart DunlapLone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Katherine Bruno’s passionate, unfiltered temper makes her the shrew of small-town Sweetheart, Texas. When she’s drafted to help the mayor’s wife run against her own husband, Katherine meets opposing big city political consultant Ryan Park. The good-looking, flirtatious campaign manager gets under her skin, but fraternizing with the enemy is off-limits.

Katherine must battle her lack of experience, campaign sabotage, and her growing feelings for Ryan as she strives to succeed. His unprejudiced acceptance of her strong-willed character beckons her heart, but his jaded rejection of God is an insurmountable barrier. Will Ryan return to his faith and stay with her in Sweetheart or leave when the election ends?

You can find out more about Shannon Sue Dunlap AND get that first novella in the Korean Crush series free on her WEBSITE.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
byChautona Havig

One thing good fantasy often has is the whole “prophecy” angle–and how it affects the folks involved. But what if, in addition to that, you also find out that who you thought you ARE… is all wrong? Listen in as R. T. Ward and I chat about her book, Prophecy Changer.

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

The creativity of God’s people never ceaces to astound me, and this conversation was further proof of that.

Prophecy Changer by R. T. Ward

Trauma has taken root in Thea’s soul, leaving behind questions she can no longer silence. When long-buried memories begin to surface, the truth presses in demanding to be seen, felt, and faced.

Adopted by the Mirascan people, Thea has always believed herself to be human. But as fragments of her past return, doubt follows. Drawn by questions she can’t answer and a pull she can’t explain, she steps beyond the only world she has ever known, hoping to uncover who she truly is.

Her search leads her into the unknown and into the path of Ilan. Through him, Thea begins to unravel the lies that shaped her life, awakening a deep ache of anger, betrayal, and grief. What she uncovers changes everything.

Caught in the center of a living prophecy, Thea learns of Creashu, the world of her origin, and the calling placed upon her life. As new gifts awaken within her, she must decide whether she will allow her pain to define her…or refine her.

Determined to pursue truth, forgiveness, and the path set before her, Thea faces a choice that will alter more than her own destiny. The future of two worlds hangs in the balance, and the role she was born to fulfill can no longer be ignored. But becoming a Prophecy Changer was never meant to be easy.

All proceeds go to livingseeds.foundation

Learn more on her WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads.

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

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Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
September 12, 2026
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Episode 576: A Chat with Ann Swindell
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Avelino Carrillo is home from the Pacific Theater and wounded in more ways than one. Determined to earn back his family's vineyard, despite the underhanded machinations of a local "land baron," his new life home is everything he could've hoped for and nothing like he expected. It's heartache and joy, love and acceptance, and rejection and disdain. As he shares his family's stories with the people living in his family home, he's even more determined to succeed than ever. If not for himself and his family, then for the young woman who has stolen his heart.
Deepest Roots of the Heart is available on Kindle, "free" through Kindle Unlimited, and also as an audiobook narrated by the fabulous Thom Rivera @thomriveraofficial. His ability to flip between accents is astounding.
When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
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When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
https://amzn.to/4yslLfs #affiliatelink
#Christfic
#ContemporaryChristianRomance
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A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of Ca A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of California's Napa Valley that it stretches back a hundred years.
Avelino Carrillo is home from the Pacific Theater and wounded in more ways than one. Determined to earn back his family's vineyard, despite the underhanded machinations of a local "land baron," his new life home is everything he could've hoped for and nothing like he expected. It's heartache and joy, love and acceptance, and rejection and disdain. As he shares his family's stories with the people living in his family home, he's even more determined to succeed than ever. If not for himself and his family, then for the young woman who has stolen his heart.
Deepest Roots of the Heart is available on Kindle, "free" through Kindle Unlimited, and also as an audiobook narrated by the fabulous Thom Rivera @thomriveraofficial. His ability to flip between accents is astounding.
When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
https://amzn.to/4yslLfs #affiliatelink
#Christfic
#ContemporaryChristianRomance
#SmallTownRomance
#KindleFree
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