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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Rewarding Would It Be to Go Back to the Past?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Wendy Jo Cerna seems to write supernatural stories that make readers think more deeply about what the Lord might do in their lives. via @chautonahavig

As I listened to Wendy Jo Cerna talk about her books, I kept getting the feel of supernatural time-slip stories unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I’ll be honest. When she first started describing them, I wasn’t certain they were the books for me. But… by the time we got done chatting about each one, I’d already added it to my TBR. Wendy has a unique perspective in her fiction, coming at ideas from a sideways perspective that intrigues me. Listen in to see why!

Wendy Jo Cerna

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

How Rewarding Would It Be to Go Back to the Past?

Author of The Baby Catcher Gate, The Agreements, and Solbakken, Wendy Jo Cerna chatted with me about how she began writing. As a recent empty nester, she describes praying about it and the Lord asking her what she wanted to do. I don’t know about you, but that kind of throws me. I always picture the Lord as having a plan for what HE wants me to do. I never consider that He might want me to acknowledge my desires. And this from the God of whom David wrote in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”   Duh.

From a book about a baby-catcher gate in heaven to one about agreements people sign before being born on earth, to a woman in Minnesota who visits her family’s farm… and then their lives… well… she’s got quite a diverse and intriguing booklist.

Not only that, but Wendy Jo Cerna is also passionate about encouraging authors who feel like the Lord wants them to write a book. To that end, she has a podcast chronicling what she’d learned along the way.

Wendy Jo SolbakkenSolbakken by Wendy Jo Cerna

A house. A mess. A mystery.

“Hey, Tor.” My cousin’s tone is serious. His words clipped.

“What’s going on? Everyone okay?” I ask.

“Yes, we’re fine but… well, I was just driving by your Uncle Einar’s place… I hate to tell you this, Tora, but somebody broke in. The sheriff is coming out in the morning. It’s quite a mess in there. Looks like every drawer and cupboard was emptied out.”

Uncle Einar’s home stands empty much of the year, and is the original family homestead my grandparents built in Solbakken, Minnesota, in the early 1900’s after immigrating from Norway.

Amongst the scattered papers and photographs, intriguing questions lay unanswered in the Anderson family lineage, hidden for decades. When a stash of ancient coins is found, and a gifted stranger moves in next door, windows are opened to incredible possibilities that transcend imagination and transport Tora throughout her family generations.

You can learn more about Wendy Jo Cerna on her WEBSITE.

Her books are also on GoodReads and BookBub if you’d like to follow her.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
byChautona Havig

Most of us are used to Amanda Cabot writing in the late nineteenth century, but post WWII? Sign me up! Listen in and see what you can expect from Amanda’s Beyond the Melody.

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

I love jukeboxes, and a book with someone who knows all about them? Sign me up! EEEP!

Beyond the Melody by Amanda Cabot

Neither one is looking for love, But sometimes all it takes is one dance. By the spring of 1946, life in Sweetwater Crossing is almost back to normal after the war. Not Anna Finley’s. She lost her chance at happily-ever-after when the man she loved was killed in France. Anna does her best to hide her sorrow and a secret that haunts her as she works on the jukeboxes she inherited when her brother died in combat. There’s no point in dreaming about what might have been. Jim Smythe is also grieving a shattered life. His fiancee broke their engagement, reminding him that a respected magazine said it should take no more than three weeks for a veteran to forget the war. But Jim cannot forget the men in his platoon who didn’t return home, and he’s made it his mission to visit each of the fallen soldiers’ families, hoping to give them some small measure of comfort. Sweetwater Crossing is his final stop. After that, he’ll have to return to Boston and the life that holds no appeal. If only he could find an alternative, one where people saw him for himself, not his family’s name. He’s given up hope that anyone will understand what his parents and fiancee did not, but everything changes when he enters a small cafe and sees a woman whose eyes reflect his own pain standing next to a jukebox. Jim knows he’ll never see her again, yet it somehow feels right to extend his hand and say, “May I have this dance?” It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for two wounded people unless they can overcome their fears and find the courage to love again.

Learn more about Amanda on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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

  • Apple
  • Castbox
  • Google Play
  • Libsyn
  • RSS
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  • Amazon
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  • and more!
Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
Episode 589: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
October 5, 2026
Chautona Havig
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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Episode 584: A Chat with James Finke
September 23, 2026
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Episode 583: A Chat with Elizabeth Goddard
September 21, 2026
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Episode 582: A Chat with Terrie Todd
September 19, 2026
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Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
September 14, 2026
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Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
September 12, 2026
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Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
September 9, 2026
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Are you ready to get matched with your next fall read?

Booked for Love is a collection of novellas featuring meddling book club members who work their matchmaking magic to create love matches within their communities.

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Available on October 1st!!!
https://amzn.to/4yjIMBH (#AffiliateLink).
#bookedforloveanthology
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A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be m A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be more fun? Grannies gettin' their gutsy on? Hunky cops protecting book clubbers from stalkers? Harvey Girls? Choosing real people over AI chat bot buddies? Friends working together to bring two book-loving hearts together? And more!
Available on October 1st!!!
https://amzn.to/4yjIMBH (#AffiliateLink).
#bookedforloveanthology
#bookclub
#Matchmaking
A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be m A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be more fun? Grannies gettin' their gutsy on? Hunky cops protecting book clubbers from stalkers? Harvey Girls? Choosing real people over AI chat bot buddies? Friends working together to bring two book-loving hearts together? And more!
Available on October 1st!!!
https://amzn.to/4yjIMBH (#AffiliateLink).
#bookedforloveanthology
#bookclub
#Matchmaking
A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be m A bunch of matchmaking book clubs? What could be more fun? Grannies gettin' their gutsy on? Hunky cops protecting book clubbers from stalkers? Harvey Girls? Choosing real people over AI chat bot buddies? Friends working together to bring two book-loving hearts together? And more!
Available on October 1st!!!
https://amzn.to/4yjIMBH (#AffiliateLink).
#bookedforloveanthology
#bookclub
#Matchmaking
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