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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Don’t You Just Love a Brilliant, Intriguing, and Surprising Synopsis!

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Debut author, Sarah Anne Crouch, takes us to the little town of Shady Springs, Arkansas and gives us a glimpse of hope, joy, faith, and love. via @chautonahavig

Debut author, Sarah Anne Crouch, takes readers on a journey to the town of Shady Springs, Arkansas and a church that is home to a handsome youth minister and the last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be.

We talk about the book, the series I want this book to kick off, and an upcoming novella collection next year. Add to that some of Sarah Anne’s favorite books and let’s just say I had a great time chatting with her!

 

Sarah Anne Crouch

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

Don’t You Just Love a Brilliant, Intriguing, and Surprising Synopsis!

One of the most delightful things about this book (before I read it anyway!) is an unexpected little twist in the synopsis.  Knowing that the main character has rejected God, this little line about how she helps someone else rekindle his love for his job takes it out of the predictable and into the delightful.

I had a blast discussing not only the synopsis with Sarah but also her characters.  Aunt Clara sounds awesome, and I can’t wait to meet her.  A.J. sounds like exactly what Madeliene needs to see where her view of the Lord is skewed, and I don’t know. I’m just a sucker for a character who is honest about his or her issues with God.  Too often authors (and I’m including me!) act like it’s not really a thing. We tend to focus on our unworthiness instead of maybe… just maybe… our idea that God isn’t worthy of us.  I don’t know if that’s Madeliene’s issue, but it kind of sounds like it.

I really need to read this book!

A Summer in Shady Springs by Sarah Anne CrouchA Summer in Shady Springs by Sarah Anne Crouch

The last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be is back in Shady Springs, Arkansas—the town where her whole world fell apart. But when her beloved Aunt Clara begs her for help, Madeleine reluctantly takes a job painting a mural at her aunt’s church. Her plan is to finish quickly and leave her bad memories behind. But the more time she spends with the handsome youth minister and the more she reads her Bible, the more she wonders if she has been wrong about God and the Church all along.

Three years out of college and A.J. Young still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. He knows he wants to settle down and build a family but hasn’t found the wife he’d like to share his life with. Then Madeleine comes to town. Their friendship buds quickly, although it can never be anything more as long as she isn’t a Christian.

An undeniable attraction grows between A.J. and Madeleine, but she’s only in town for a few weeks, and he can’t date someone who doesn’t share his beliefs. How can Madeleine help A.J. discover a passion for the career he’s always wanted? And how can A.J. convince Madeleine to give God and Shady Springs a second chance?

Readers can find out more about Sarah Anne Crouch 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 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
byChautona Havig

Dystopian in the desert? Sign me up! Seriously, listen in while Lauren Smyth and I chat all things “glowy” in the desert!

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

Not a lot of people write books about the boring Mojave Desert. When they do, I take note. Especially when it’s a super-cool dystopian delight! EEEP!

All That Glows by Lauren Smyth

The apocalypse didn’t take everyone. It just took us. Ever since the rain turned green, Kyrie’s world has been bathed in glowing dust. She packs it into old mascara tubes and sells it as makeup alongside dried cacti, threadbare blankets, and long-expired canned food. There’s not much else to do when everyone outside Kyrie’s small town in the Mojave Desert died from the plague-bearing rain ten years ago. Everyone—except the man in the rubber mask. He’s on the dangerous side of the fence, huffing infected air like it’s nothing, babbling to Kyrie about college and umbrellas and yogurt and everything else that disappeared the day it rained. He doesn’t seem to know that the world ended, and he has no explanation for how he survived the apocalypse. But Kyrie doesn’t believe in ghosts. She can’t trust him, but he’s right about one thing: Towns without secrets aren’t surrounded by chain-link fences. And chain-link fences won’t keep out the plague forever.

Learn more on Lauren’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 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
September 9, 2026
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Episode 578: A Chat with Carolyn Bourke
September 7, 2026
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Episode 577: A Chat with Denise M. Colby
September 5, 2026
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Episode 576: A Chat with Ann Swindell
August 31, 2026
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A Chat with Dante Lupinetti
August 29, 2026
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Episode 574: A Chat with Laura DeNooyer
August 24, 2026
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Episode 573: A Chat with Cheryl Weber
August 22, 2026
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Episode 572: A Chat with Kari Trumbo
August 19, 2026
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Episode 571: A Chat with Lucas and Shauna Fischhaber
August 17, 2026
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Episode 570: A Chat with Niki Florica
August 15, 2026
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When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic th When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic throne for Bible college and a cigarillo girl, Gary Prinz assumes all threats against him are hyperbole rather than serious. But when shots ring out and people start dropping at his final movie premiere, things look dire--especially when that cigarillo girl is arrested for the murders.
Set in 1926 Hollywood, this Cinderella-esque mystery is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and audiobook (available on all platforms), or listen FREE on YouTube @ChristaDelSorbo.
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#ChristFic
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One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic th When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic throne for Bible college and a cigarillo girl, Gary Prinz assumes all threats against him are hyperbole rather than serious. But when shots ring out and people start dropping at his final movie premiere, things look dire--especially when that cigarillo girl is arrested for the murders.
Set in 1926 Hollywood, this Cinderella-esque mystery is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and audiobook (available on all platforms), or listen FREE on YouTube @ChristaDelSorbo.
https://amzn.to/4xvQRCQ #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#HistoricalChristianMystery
One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic th When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic throne for Bible college and a cigarillo girl, Gary Prinz assumes all threats against him are hyperbole rather than serious. But when shots ring out and people start dropping at his final movie premiere, things look dire--especially when that cigarillo girl is arrested for the murders.
Set in 1926 Hollywood, this Cinderella-esque mystery is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and audiobook (available on all platforms), or listen FREE on YouTube @ChristaDelSorbo.
https://amzn.to/4xvQRCQ #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#HistoricalChristianMystery
One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
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