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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Book Reviews

heart of a royal review

Who Is Your King, & Why Does It Matter?

About two chapters into the book, my server brought a fresh glass of Coke and said, "No good?" I shook my head.  "Well written, but I don't think the princess trope is my thing." Still, at least the book contained a plot.  So, I kept reading... Note: links may be affiliate links that Continue Reading

How Do You Comfort the Horror of Child Death?

How Do You Comfort the Horror of Child Death?

They knocked on the door just as I awoke from a nap--two women from my church.  One carried a ceramic teddy bear they'd both worked on. The other woman gave me a sympathetic smile and attempted to offer verbal comfort. "Perhaps the Lord was telling you that you have enough children Continue Reading

3 Reasons I'm Thankful for This New Release

3 Reasons I’m Thankful for This New Release

“Halstad House is like Grace Livingston Hill—you know, the good ones.” My daughter nodded. She knew exactly what I meant. “So like Found Treasure and The Obsession of Victoria Gracen?” Exactly like those two. We both realized that few people would understand what I meant, though. She threw out Continue Reading

My Dearest Dietrich: Is It My Favorite Book of the Year?

My Dearest Dietrich: Is It My Favorite Book of the Year?

It began with a little green book.  I liked the title. The Cost of Discipleship. A friend had given it to me with assurances that I’d love the book. Odd thing is, I don’t even remember the first part of it.  I only remember when I got to the contrast between “cheap grace” and “costly Continue Reading

Do You Have a Smoke Screen Killing Your Confidence?

Do You Have a Smoke Screen Killing Your Confidence?

"I can't do it." Across the room, my Uncle Lon looked up over his glasses and interjected himself into the conversation. "Can't usually means won't try." The words burned in my twelve-year-old heart because, well, I knew he was right.  I didn't want to try. Again. Fail. Again. After Continue Reading

Do I have Strong opinions on men's ministries?

Do I Have Strong Opinions on Men’s Ministries?

"Why don't they open the stupid Bible once in a while?" Okay, so calling the Bible "stupid" was probably not the best choice of words, but I understood my daughter's frustration. Seriously, didn't she have a point?  Who goes to Youth Group and expects not to at least hear a little something from Continue Reading

The Odd Things Books Make You Think of Sometimes

The Odd Things Books Make You Think of Sometimes

"I have to find my son!" How many times have I heard that line from Finding Nemo?  At first, I was bugged by the idea that, once again, the parents are wrong and the kid is right.  That's what I got out of it the first time I watched it.  But after a few more rounds, mostly skipping parts to see Continue Reading

Be Sure the Truth Will Find You Out

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out

I'd like to apologize to both Robin Helm and the Celebrate Lit team for the lateness of this review of Lawfully Innocent. I'd signed up to have it posted on November 1, and here we are, half a month later. Things have been difficult lately, and I appreciate the grace both Celebrate Lit and the Continue Reading

What Do You Do When a Book Is Hard to Review?

Sometimes a book comes along that you just have to read. The Wonderful Yah is one of those for me. Despite a cover that didn’t appeal to me, any book that seeks to help readers understand the depths of Scripture is a book I want to dive into. The questions remain, then:  First, “Who is Yah?” and Continue Reading

The Painted Castle

The Painted Castle Review

Before I left Ridgecrest, I got a book I've been anxious to read since I read the last "castle book" by Kristy Cambron. Since I  didn't expect to be gone for SIX WEEKS, I left it there.  It's still there.  I'm still here in Missouri.  What does that mean?  Sorry, but no review yet. I'll do it as Continue Reading

Second Chances

Life Is Full of Second Chances What Was Yours?

We planned a fiftieth wedding anniversary party--across the miles and one we never actually held.  My parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary happened smack dab between #1son's and #5daughter's graduations from college.  Oh, and just after that, I had to teach at a conference. It would have been Continue Reading

Do I Think You Will Love Whats Next?

Do I Think You Will Love What’s Next?

Here at Mom's, it seems like every time we turn around, something else happens. I've caught both of us saying (with a little trepidation tiptoeing around the words), "What's next?" It started with medical records not being ready when promised... with the sale of the house falling through.  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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