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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What on Earth Does Mental Health Have to do with Love and Romance?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Talking about favorite authors, mental illness and mental illness in fiction, and her latest release, Anchor My Heart with Sara Beth Williams via @chautonahavig

With the release of her latest book, Anchor My Heart, Sara Beth Williams talks about how mental illness plays a role in her most recent second chance book. For the record, Sara Beth doesn’t write rom-coms. Thought you oughtta know. We also went on a fan-girl gush over J’nell Ciesielski and a few other authors. #becausefiction.

I got to talk to Sara Beth a few months ago in Episode 37, but it was time to chat about her latest (and may I say timely in theme) book.

Anchor My Heart

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

What on Earth Does Mental Health Have to do with Love and Romance?

Read the latest novel from Sara Beth Williams, and you’ll find out! Drawing on personal experience when a series of family losses and crises left her with (understandable) anxiety, Sara Beth explores this in Anchor My Heart.

Sara explains how going through her late mother’s journals while she was in the editing process of this book gave her the title.  At the bottom of the pages of that journal were Bible verses, and one had Hebrews 6:19 which reads:

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil,

A significant part of our discussion focused on just how mental illness fits in the lives of Christians. It’s so easy to label all struggles as either spiritual or physical only, but the truth is, what the source is (aside from the obvious original fall of man!) depends on the person. And for some, it may even be both.

Sarah’s character really struggles in her book, but obviously, with hope as a strong theme, I suspect he gets his happily-ever-after.

When not writing, Sara Beth Williams enjoys reading a variety of authors including:

  • The Murphy Brother Series Jennifer Rodewald and
  • The Ice Swan J’nell Ciesielski  (we both agree that she’s a phenomenal writer.

Of course, she enjoys many others, but those were the ones she’d been reading most recently.

Her series is the Second Chance Novels

  • When Hearts Collide
  • A Worthy Heart
  • Anchor My Heart

Anchor My Heart Sara Beth WilliamsMore about Anchor My Heart by Sara Beth Williams

In the aftermath of tragic loss, worship leader Matt Lawson is grappling debilitating anxiety. The blessings he’d taken for granted—a dream job, a woman he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with, and his God-given musical talent have crumbled at his feet, leaving him reeling in despair, unable to face the wreckage of the life he’d envisioned for himself.

Tara Pierce is ready to put past hurts behind her as she prepares to graduate college and take a leap of faith in her career. When Matt’s grief causes him to isolate himself from everyone he knows, she refuses to stand idly by and do nothing. She has traversed similar terrain before. No one deserves to travel that road alone.

Unexpected attraction flares as Tara reaches into the sea of Matt’s grief and helps ground him in reality. But Matt’s not ready to give himself away again. Can Tara risk her heart and their friendship and let God step in to heal where she can’t?

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

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If you’d like to be on the Because Fiction Podcast, please go HERE and submit your topic idea! I’d love to hear about it.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

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

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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

  • Apple 
  • Castbox 
  • Google Play
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  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Stitcher
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
March 24, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 214: A Chat about After the Shadows with Amanda Cabot
March 21, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 213: A Chat about Daughter of Eden with Jill Eileen Smith
March 17, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 212: A Chat about Code Name Edelweiss with Stephanie Landsem
February 28, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
February 24, 2023
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Episode 210: A Chat with Jennifer Deibel about The Maid of Ballymacool
February 21, 2023
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Episode 209: A Chat with Tracie Peterson about Remember Me
February 17, 2023
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Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
February 14, 2023
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Episode 207: A Chat with Daniella Rushton about Portal Fantasy
February 10, 2023
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Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
February 7, 2023
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