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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Falconry? Cut excerpt from Beneath the Cloak

by Chautona Havig · 9 Comments

Yes, Dove originally had ambitions for learning the fascinating art of falconry, but I argued with her until she agreed to cut it from her life.  However, because all that work shouldn’t be “in vain for nuthin'” (name that movie), I’m posting those sections for you here.  🙂

***

On that same autumn afternoon, four hundred miles away, Dove arrived home to find Letty gone and rabbit stew simmering in the hearth. She stirred the pot, checked the bread, and added a log to the fire. The cottage was already cool.

Bertha’s voice startled her from the corner where the woman lay resting on the bed after a long night with a sick infant. “She’s doing better. Today she separated all herbs without a single mistake.”

“That’s good. This smells right.”

“She can make a stew now. That’ll leave you more time to dig your hole.” As an afterthought, Bertha added, “Oh, and she saved a few pieces of meat for that bird. I didn’t let her feed it.”

“Good. Thank you.”

Dove didn’t move. She stood next to the fire, the flames flickering in the growing darkness and reflecting in her face. From Bertha’s vantage point, the child looked evil—possessed. Times like that made her regret the compulsion she’d felt to save the child from fear-crazed villagers so many years ago. It was no wonder that people feared the child. If they saw some of the things that she did, no one, even Lord Morgan, could have protected the girl.

The child flipped her hood back over her head and moved toward the door. “Do we have enough water?”

“Letty took care of it.”

“Good. I’ll feed the bird.”

“You need to name that thing, child.”

Dove nodded. “I will.”

The door shut behind the girl, and Bertha sat up in bed. She stepped outside, wrapping a shawl around her shoulders and crept to the corner of the cottage. Sometimes she learned more about Dove from what the girl told an animal or sang than what Dove actually said.

An old fisherman’s net, staked to the ground like a tent, housed the young bird. Each morning and each evening, Dove let the bird out of the makeshift cage and with a string tied to its leg, tried to help it learn to fly by tossing meat into the air and tempting it to “capture” it.

“Come on, Talon, you can do this. You can fly! I have lots of string—lots of it. You can go far before it’ll stop you. Just try.”

She tossed piece after piece into the air, but the bird just trotted across the grass to retrieve it. Dove cajoled, encouraged, and then squealed with delight when, at last, the bird dove for a piece as it fell to the ground. His wings spread majestically for such a small creature. “You did it! Good boy!”

With a sigh that Dove would have heard had she not been congratulating her pet for his first attempt at flight, Bertha turned and slipped back inside the cottage. Little things such as her childish happiness when an animal did what came naturally for it were what kept Bertha from violating her own code of ethics. She couldn’t be responsible for the loss of a life when it was her duty—her calling—to introduce life to the world.

***

The falconer, Alwin, saw the familiar gray cloak between the trees, and slowly made his way toward them as if unaware that he did. His voice carried as he spoke to the bird. “You seem a little jittery today. I think we’ll use the hood for a bit to calm you.”

On and on he talked, telling the bird how to fly, when to return, and what was expected. It all seemed very silly to Dove; after all, the bird couldn’t understand. Then comprehension dawned. The falconer knew she was there and was training her. It must be Lord Morgan’s orders, and that must mean that someone told the Earl of Dove’s bird.

At first, she was tempted to leave. Something about the man’s deception bothered her, but reason triumphed. It was silly to let pride override good sense. If he wanted to teach her how to train a falcon without her having to interact with him, so be it.

It didn’t take her long to realize she’d done the opposite of what she should have. She’d encouraged the animal to fly rather than trust her to give it food. Just as that thought occurred to her Alwin told the bird to eat the fur too—for health. I won’t have to skin Talon’s food anymore. That’s a little less work anyway.

Not for the first time, Dove wondered why she’d taken on the task. After all, it would have been easy to carry the injured bird to the castle and leave it for Alwin to nurse and train. However, the work seemed interesting, and with her pool nearly finished, what else was there to do? She was forced to sleep in her bed half the time now, although she’d considered the cave in the Sceadu. The warmth would have made it a comfortable place to be, but Jakys would have found her.

As the falconer rambled on about jesses to tether the legs, bewits to hold bells to the feet, and other such nonsense, Dove lost interest. She’d learned the most important lessons of the day. The bird needed fresh meat with fur, and the best way to learn to calm the animal was to use a hood. She’d have to make one immediately.

***

Dove wasn’t in the clearing. Philip spun in circles, debating whether it was worth the few minutes to dash to the cottage to see if Talon was tethered to the tree or if maybe his friend had taken the bird out for training.

***

His mind made up, Philip sprinted toward the cottage. If the bird was there, he’d look for the shovel. Dove might have decided to work on the pool. She was constantly transplanting new flowers and plants to enhance the beauty of it. The bird’s cry reached his ears just as he reached the yard. Couldn’t be that. The shovel was not on the pegs at the side of the house. She was planting.

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Comments

  1. Kelly says

    September 2, 2011 at 5:25 am

    I’m debating whether to show this to J or not. He’d love it I’m sure, but then he might be sad you didn’t include it. He’d love to learn falconry.

    Reply
  2. Cari says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:35 pm

    Me and this laptop are going to have a fight before this night is over. I tried posting and congratulating Bethany (after doing a quick Bing search on the quote).

    Reply
  3. Barbara says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:35 pm

    oh she’s good! 😉

    Reply
  4. Sharon says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    No clue on the quote.

    Reply
  5. Chautona says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    It was singin’ in the rain!!!

    Bethany wins!!

    Reply
  6. Rebekah says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    Very interesting! I like the deleted passages! 😀

    Hmm… I’m not sure I know what that quote could be from – though it does sound like a “Singin’ in the Rain” quote… Hmm…

    To the KING be all the glory!
    Rebekah

    Reply
  7. Katrina says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    Singing in the rain!

    Reply
  8. Bethany says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:25 pm

    Is the quote “in vain for nuthin” from “Singin’ in the Rain”?

    ~ Bethany

    Reply
  9. Chautona says

    September 1, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    I might throw in a free book for the first person to name that movie too. Just because I’m in a book giving away kind of mood.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
byChautona Havig

Finally getting a chance to chat with Sarah Monzon was a total delight, and learning all about her latest release, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas was equally awesome.  My copy is here and waiting for me to dive into the battle of the celebrations!  EEEP! Listen in to see what that even means!

Note: I sound like I’m underwater. We heard it during our interview, but I couldn’t make it behave and couldn’t fix it. Sorry!

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

How Does an Intense Christmas Competition Lead to Love?

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas has so much going for it that I don’t know where to start! Fun mom who made our heroine’s childhood Christmases an international delight without ever leaving home?  Check!  Social anxiety adding to the stress of competing for a promotion?  Check?  Romcom hilarity?  Check, check?  And add to all that Sarah’s wonderful writing and delightful characterization?  I’m all in.

We also chatted about why she chose to write about a woman with social anxiety, her preferred reading methods, and some of my favorite books by her. For a refresher, those are The Isaac Project, 12 Days of Snowmen, and Book Nerds & Boyfriends (a collection of three novellas).

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

“Inspirational rom-com readers are going to love this one.”–BETHANY TURNER, bestselling author of The Do-Over

You can learn more about Sarah on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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