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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Book Reviews

shadow review

When Shadows Take on New Motives Readers Better Beware

Last year, an author made me fall in love with a story I'd always hated.  Or, perhaps a better way of saying it is: last year an author retold and expanded on a story I'd never liked... and I LOVED what she did. So, when the opportunity for me to read a review copy of book two came along it was kind Continue Reading

The Ice Swan

Two Wars, Two Perspectives, One Chance at Life and Love

Look, I expected to like this book.  I mean, who wouldn't? J'nell Ciesielski wrote it!  It was bound to be fabulous. Still, I hadn't read the synopsis before I requested a review copy, and wow... Not only do we have a Russian princess, we have a Scottish Marquis!  Wait, what? Yeah. It's a Continue Reading

pint of no return

Grab a Spoon and Magnifying Glass & Dig Into This Delicious Mystery

Okay, confession. I love ice cream.  So much so that I actually make it.  Often.  The day I bought my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker, is the day that my life changed. Then I chatted with Dana Mentink about her book on the Because Fiction Podcast and the freakshake contest she had for her release, and I Continue Reading

Bridge of Gold

This New Split-Time Series Keeps Getting Better and Better

The series concept intrigued me when I read about the first book, The Lady in Residence. Then I read the next book, Hope Between the Pages, and we all know how much I gushed about that one. So of course, when The Bridge of Gold came up for review, I signed up faster than... something that does Continue Reading

Island charm review

Take a Romantic Vacation to Key West in This Compelling Book

While in the middle of writing my own island novel, I was given the opportunity to review Island Charm by Audrey Wick and snapped up the free review copy lickety-splickety!  Okay, so I just put in my request and waited for the day to read it to arrive.  Would I like it?  Would I love it?  Did I find Continue Reading

lainey of the door islands

Looked Forward to It, but Was the Book Worth the Wait?

So I was planning my week a couple of weeks ago, and put in the back-to-back reviews I had.  At the end of the session, I double-checked everything and found that I'd switched one book with another--opposite dates.  OOPS.  So, I covered them up with white stickers and rewrote. One of them. Only Continue Reading

Summertime Lilies

Friendship, Family, & Romance: What More Could You Want from Summer Reads?

The cover grabbed me and wouldn't let me go until I'd filled out the form requesting my review copy. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a great cover. The synopsis--too funny for words.  I had to give this book a shot.  I mean, what could be better than a fiercely independent single mother, an Continue Reading

How Was My Nightly Walk after Reading This Riveting Book?

Got an email tonight.  It asked about my review of The Silver Shadow.  I was confused  What about it?  Then it hit me. Yeah. I was supposed to have read and reviewed it for Saturday morning.  As you can see, it is not Saturday morning.  UGH. Last night I got busy cleaning and completely forgot to Continue Reading

At Lighthouse Point

3 Solid Reasons I Hate Saying Goodbye to a Great Series

Time to read At Lighthouse Point. I remember the night I read the first book in the Three Sisters Island series. I was in a rush to get it done (like tonight) and expected that I'd have to reread later because of that rush.  Instead, I read it and reread it, finishing pretty late in the morning for Continue Reading

Hope Between the pages

That Moment You Know You’re Actually Reading a Great Book

By the time I swiped left the first time, I had this feeling. Hope Between the Pages wouldn't be a good book. I wouldn't walk away satisfied. That feeling grew to a certainty by the time I swiped left again. After searching for an hour (or more) to find my print copy, I'd given up and purchased Continue Reading

wishapick

Is Wishapick Actually a Great Children’s Fantasy Novel?

I'll never my first foray into fantasy. I was seven and my beloved teacher who wasn't even five feet tall let out a lion's roar that far outdid Aslan in the Narnia movie. It was many years before I read the rest of the series--an adult, actually.  C.S. Lewis said it best when he said, Continue Reading

Dead Man's Watch Review

Dead Man’s Watch Did It. It Made Me Believe the Lie.

Strange.  This week I read two books that had watches as a key element of the plot. Of course, the books took place a hundred fifty years apart, and the first book's main character would have been astonished at the concept of a digital watch without moving cogs and such. Still, I found the use of Continue Reading

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When Mom makes pepper jack bread and you butter an When Mom makes pepper jack bread and you butter and fry it. Yum.
With 45,000 words "on the page," it’s time to cele With 45,000 words "on the page," it’s time to celebrate with Box #3! 🎁☕

I am officially halfway through writing my upcoming historical Christmas novel, Dear Uncle Nick! Writing this story—which centers around a cozy, small-town advice column in a 1934 farming community—has been such an encouragement even to me!
To keep my momentum going so this book is ready for you by Black Friday, I’m treating myself to a little joy: opening a beautiful @ArcherandOlive Advent Box "gift" every time I complete 5,000 words. 45K means Box 3 is officially MINE! But now how to use this amazing journal? HELP!
Because this book releases on Black Friday without a preorder, I’d love for you to follow along here so you don’t miss the release day announcement. Your prayers and encouragement mean so much to me (and to Eddie Morten--I'm sure of it!)
#DearUncleNick #HistoricalFiction #ChristianFiction #ChristmasNovels #InspirationalFiction #AmWriting #CozyReads #BlackFridayRelease #HistoricalChristmas #AuthorLife #ArcherAndOlive
Dear Uncle Nick, Our town has a lot of people in n Dear Uncle Nick,
Our town has a lot of people in need—no mistake about that.
We can’t meet them all, but we can do what we can to help.
Everyone loves a good box social, but that can be expensive, especially this time of year.
I propose a “dessert social.” We apply the same premise, but the boxes only hold enough dessert for two. Penny bids can be augmented by work or other goods. Folks can even buy the “augments.”
What do you think?
Hungry for cinnamon rolls!

Ever heard of a box social? 📦✨ In 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, communities had to get creative to help neighbors in need.
This "unprinted letter" from the archives of my upcoming historical Christmas novel, Dear Uncle Nick, shows the exact heartbeat of a small farming town trying to survive winter with a little sweetness and a lot of grit.
✍️ The Question: If you were bidding on a dessert box for two tonight... what dessert would you hope is inside? Let me know in the comments!
#HistoricalFiction #AuthorLife #DearUncleNick #FountainPen #1930s #ChristmasNovel #ChristFic #HistoricalRomance #BookReels
Awesome movie. Don't remember a single foul word, Awesome movie. Don't remember a single foul word,  despite rough subjects and scenes. Well done.
#jimmymovie
Writing with white gel ink on kraft paper just hit Writing with white gel ink on kraft paper just hits different. 🖊️🤎
I’m currently sitting at 42k+ words for Dear Uncle Nick, plotting a storyline that is giving me all the feels.
Meet our Banker dude. He can handle the town's finances under the pressure of the Great Depression, but put him in a social setting and he completely freezes up. He is incredibly shy. But winter is coming, and he's being pressured into a marriage of convenience to save his late friend's daughter from the freezing 1934 streets. ❄️💍
Despite his quiet, protective pining and our main couple's semi-secret admirer flirting through the newspaper columns, this book is more than just romance. It's a huge found family of cast that I'm loving.
Only a few thousand words left until the 45k milestone and Box #3! Let’s go! ⌨️✨
#archerandolive #writinggoals #historicalromance #blackfridayrelease #writingprocess #cozyvibes #stationery
From the unpublished archives of "Ask Uncle Nick". From the unpublished archives of "Ask Uncle Nick"...
Dear Uncle Nick,
Do you remember last year when the water main burst and flooded the picnic grounds near the town square? Everyone had so much fun skating on it once it froze over.
Why can't we do that again, but deliberately this time?
I enjoyed watching the little ones learning to skate and knowing there was something wholesome for the young folks to do on their "dates."
How can we make this happen again, (without costly pipe repairs)?

Be sure to leave your answers for "Hopeful" and stay tuned. I got to open another box today!
A Hopeful Citizen
#DearUncleNick
#ChristFic
#HistoricalFiction #ChristianFiction #ChristmasBooks #Bookstagram #WritingCommunity #BookLaunch #CozyReads #ItsAWonderfulLife
FREE through November 3, (and it takes place mostl FREE through November 3, (and it takes place mostly in autumn!)

October 1939. They fled Vienna looking for sanctuary.
They found a trap.
Following the Anschluss, Austria is no longer recognizable.
For its Jewish citizens, survival means listening to the whispers—whispers of a
hidden chalet where a courageous woman keeps hunted children safe, fed, and far
from Nazi hands. Driven by desperation, parents face an agonizing choice: part
with their children forever, or risk their lives by keeping them close.
Hans Hartmann arrives at Chalet Versteck with a hardened
heart and a terrified little girl in tow. He found young Grete abandoned at a
train station and couldn't leave her behind. But the chalet is far from the
haven they were promised.
The air here is thick with secrets. Children vanish in the
dead of night. And before Hans can uncover the truth, a high-ranking Nazi
officer is murdered right inside their sanctuary.
With the Gestapo closing in, the chalet becomes a pressure
cooker of suspicion. To save Grete and escape with his own life, Hans must
untangle a web of deadly lies. In a place where trust is a liability, Hans will
have to find a glimmer of faith to guide them out of the darkness—before the
killer strikes again.
https://link.amazon/B04ONq0y4 #AffiliateLink#ChristFic
#HistoricalMystery
#FairytaleRetelling
#HanselAndGretel
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