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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Ready for the Great Stories from This Exciting Contest?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Classics, fairy tales, genres... All about an exciting contest. Don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what kinds of submissions Celebrate Lit gets. via @chautonahavig

This week is the final episode in our three-part series on classic retellings, continuing stories, and mashups with Sandy Barela from Celebrate Lit Publishing. Before we get to the brainstorming session (the last part of a nearly two-hour recording that I broke up),  I gave a short, mini-gush about one of the books we discussed in Episode 13 (about the great ones already in print).  I loved the book, Dust, by Kara Swanson and had to rave about it for a few minutes.  My review for that book is HERE.

Then… onto our brainstorming session and a reminder about the contest!

brainstorming with Sandy Barela and exciting contest

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

Ready for the Great Stories from This Exciting Contest?

One thing we didn’t remind authors of in this episode is that anything we came up with in this brainstorming session is fair game. If you liked any of the ideas or suggestions, please do feel free to run with it—either for the contest or just because you want to write it!

In no particular order, I know we discussed:

  • Alexander Dumas and his Three Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo, Man in the Iron Mask, and some of his family history.
  • Dickens, of course (in passing).
  • Edgar Allen Poe
  • Shakespeare (we pretty much turned everything of his into something)
  • Louisa May Alcott (Come on… Eight Cousins?  Please!)
  • Lewis Carroll
  • Sir Walter Scott:  Particularly Ivanhoe… in space!
  • Both The Scarlet Letter (Amish?) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (WWII?).
  • Jules Verne
  • Jack London
  • H.G. Wells
  • Frankenstein
  • So many more!

I wrapped up the episode with a couple of things.

The Celebrate Lit Story Mashup/Retelling Contest!

exciting contest

To enter:

Fill out THE FORM for this exciting contest with

  • Name
  • Email
  • Story idea
  • What inspired you

By August 31, 2020.

Then, by December 31, 2020,  Send in the following:

  • The first 3 chapters (as clean as you can edit them)
  • A full editor’s synopsis (tell everything that’ll happen—share all the spoilers)
  • A marketing plan

To learn how to make a good marketing plan, join the discussion at Christian Authors Anonymous over on Facebook.

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

  • Apple 
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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 593: A Chat with Thomas Goodman
byChautona Havig

The best stories have a strong ring of truth. So when I heard about Through Many Dangers by Thomas Goodman… I knew I wanted to know more. Listen in and learn about the “pistol packin’ preacher.”

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

And don’t miss The Last Man. You’ll regret it if you do!

Through Many Dangers by Thomas Goodman

“Thomas Goodman again shows why he is one of the finest historical fiction authors we have. His vision of East Texas, both the place and the people, is as accurate as it is spellbinding.” —James Wade, Western Heritage Award-winning author ofNarrow the Road Inspired by a remarkable true story,Through Many Dangerstakes readers to 1905 East Texas, where a young preacher arrives to lead a church—and finds himself drawn into a war for the soul of a town. Rick Burleson expects his first pastorate in the timber boomtown of Groveton to test his preaching. He does not expect murder, illegal whiskey, and a criminal operation protected by a corrupt sheriff, an indebted lumber baron, and a cold-blooded enforcer known as the Blade. When Rick begins challenging the lawlessness from his pulpit, threats turn to violence. His church and home become targets. The danger reaches his congregation, his wife, Sarah, and their children. Rick believes in prayer, patience, and the rule of law. But what happens when the law refuses to act? Soon the young Methodist preacher is carrying a holstered Colt and setting the loaded pistol on his pulpit every Sunday. Yet possessing a gun is one thing. Deciding whether he has the resolve to use it is another. Sarah, his steady and clear-eyed wife, faces the danger with him as the threats close around their family. Through Many Dangers is a historical crime novel of corruption, courage, marriage, and faith tested under fire. When evil has taken hold of a town, how long can good people wait for someone else to stop it?

Learn more on Tom’s WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

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

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
  • Libsyn
  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Amazon
  • YouTube
  • and more!
Episode 593: A Chat with Thomas Goodman
Episode 593: A Chat with Thomas Goodman
October 17, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 592: A Chat with Heidi Main
October 14, 2026
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Episode 591: A Chat with Jenny McLeod Carlisle
October 12, 2026
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Episode 590: A Chat with Shilo Creed
October 10, 2026
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Episode 584: A Chat with James Finke
October 6, 2026
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Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
October 5, 2026
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Episode 588: A Chat with Christine Suntz
October 3, 2026
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Episode 587: A Chat with Four Authors
September 30, 2026
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Episode 586: A Chat with Becca Kinzer
September 28, 2026
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Episode 585: A Chat with Jenelle Hovde
September 26, 2026
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Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the Meet Mitchell Bogaert (yes, that was a bit on the nose, but come on! I had to!). He's a great guy, if a bit of a drifter. But he has a storytelling degree, and an inheritance--under one condition. He must participate in the New Cheltenham Annual Christmas
Storytelling Contest to receive said inheritance. What could go wrong? Get it FREE through Wednesday, October 21st HERE: https://amzn.to/3WfPj22 #Affiliate
#ChristFic
#ChristianFiction
#ChristmasFiction
#Matchmaking
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