• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Bookshelf
    • Audio
    • Complete List of Chautona’s Books
    • The Rockland Chronicles
      • The Vintage Wren
      • The Aggie Series
      • The Hartfield Mysteries
      • Sight Unseen Series
        • Sight Unseen Series Archives
      • The Agency Files
      • Christmas Fiction
    • Legacy of the Vines
    • Meddlin’ Madeline
      • Madeline Blog Archive
    • Ballads from the Hearth
      • Ballads from the Hearth Blog Archive
    • Legends of the Vengeance
    • Journey of Dreams
    • Wynnewood
    • Webster’s Bakery
    • The Not-So-Fairy Tales
    • Heart of Warwickshire
  • Start HERE
    • Characters
    • Suggested Reading Order
    • Free Books
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Podcast
    • Advertising
    • Podcast Guest Information
    • Podcast Interview FAQ
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • Bonus
  • Speaking
  • New & Coming
Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why It Takes True Grit to Read This Book

by Challice Neipp · Leave a Comment

Gators, Guts, & Glory takes you deep into parts of Florida that some might never want to go--physically. Instead, enjoy them from the pages of this book! via @chautonahavig

Sand crunched beneath my feet—my very hot, sweaty feet. In fact, considering I wore Keds-like sneaker, part of that heat was the burning of that sand through to said feet. Just sayin’.

While normal kids did Saturday morning things like watching cartoons, I trudged through the Superstitions (mountains in Arizona) with my dad. Snakes, scorpions, and horned toads—not to mention spiders and… lizards.

The desert’s “gators.”

Okay, so they’re nothing like alligators, but when you’re seven, hot, sweaty, and miserable, anything looks evil and vicious.

Look, I loved those times trekking through the desert with my dad. In fact, I’ve got stories coming to tell you that’ll make you laugh at me—and him. But, there was a downside to it.

I’m no nature girl.

Okay, I love nature. Trees, green, mountains, rivers, creeks—especially creeks—and the ocean.

Double especially the ocean.

Desert… trekking around in the sand? The lovely sting of cholla as it pierces my thigh from several feet (okay, an inch or so) away? Blech. Seriously. There’s a reason it’s called “jumping cactus.” You really do feel like it “jumps” over and attaches itself to you.

Look. Aside from stunning sunsets and the blissful petrichor after a thunderstorm, “nature,” in the form of the desert, just isn’t my jam.

Still, I love to read about it—experience it from the pages of a book or even a TV screen.

Safe, cool, clean.

Like this book I got. A free review copy of Gators, Guts, & Glory arrived a while back, and I finally read it.

Gators, Guts, and Glory Why It Takes True Grit to Read This Book

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

Why it Takes True Grit to Read This Book

Okay, so it doesn’t. It takes true grit to live it. Yep, this trail blazer’s (okay, hiker’s) memoir makes me feel lazy. Still, there was that moment, brief though it was, that I thought, “I should at least hike some small trail someday. I like hiking.”

Yeah. I’d always loved it—when I was young, had energy, and was half the person I am now. Literally. Oh, and in places like Wheeler Springs, California where lovely creeks kept me cool and refreshed and where I could ride down the mountain anytime I liked.

“Blissful” isn’t the wimp I am.

Written in an engaging, encouraging style, Gators, Guts, & Glory shares the good, the bad, and the amazing in her memoir/adventure guide of her trek up the Florida Trail—all 1,000 miles of it (or so Wikipedia claims).

I’m still reeling from that.

I think Gators, Guts, & Glory said something about 1,100 miles. Surely, that was a typo. I mean, I thought maybe the 1,000 was a typo—a stuttering zero at the end or something.

Lauralee Bliss tells tales of meeting gators—both stone and real. Poisonous trees—trees! Blisters… I mean, duh! And so much more. A book that hadn’t interested me much to begin with turned out to be a delight. I kept getting interrupted while I read it, so before I pass it on to #1grandson and then to a friend’s hiker husband, I’m going to read it one more time.

Seriously, one of the best things about the book is that you feel like you’re talking with someone you just met at a restaurant.

“Hi! How are you? What brought you here?”

“Oh, just hiking 1,000 miles through swamps and mud bogs for the fun of it…”

“Do tell!”

So she did!

And I for one am glad. Seriously, I loved the book and, to my own shock, I’m off to buy the other one she has on hiking the Appalachian Trail. I mean, come on! I go there, to the Appalachias EVERY YEAR! That means I needed to read this book of all the things I could do if I wasn’t so lazy, was half the woman I am, and didn’t live an opposite schedule from the more sane elements of humanity!

Recommended for anyone who enjoys engaging true stories, hiking, or just seeing someone face difficult odds with a smile on her face. Oh… and clean. I love that it’s squeaky clean so I can hand it over to my grandson! I’m grateful for the free review copy, and I’m thrilled to say I loved it.

Gators, Guts, and Glory 

Gators, Guts, and GloryAbout the Book

Book: Gators, Guts, & Glory

Author: Lauralee “Blissful” Bliss

Genre: Non-Fiction, Hiking, Adventure

Release date: July 15, 2019

Wander on the wild and humorous side of adventure with long-distance hiker Lauralee Bliss (trail name Blissful), hiking the 1,100-mile Florida Trail from Big Cypress National Preserve to Gulf Islands National Seashore.

From alligators and cottonmouths to tenting among the palmettos and walking on water, from forests of cypress knees and lofty pine to the help of trail angels along the way, “Blissful” uncovers the hidden gems of glory in this National Scenic Trail with a unique journey unlike any other.

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Share
Pin
Tweet
Email

Related

Filed Under: Book Reviews

Previous Post: « Love at First Sight? Why This Author Is a Favorite
Next Post: Why Do Books about Healing Make the Best Reads? »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Or, you can subscribe without commenting.

Primary Sidebar

The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
byChautona Havig

Before I began the interview with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel’s Song, I kind of went crazy and left it in to give you a chuckle. But Naomi and I chat about her upcoming release, why she chose to write about Ezekiel, and what areas she focused on. Listen in and hear her heart for the Word and for stimulating readers to love it and live it.

Oh, and that song I couldn’t remember? Well, I found it after a BUNCH of hunting on YouTube. Here you go!

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

Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?

There’s SO much to write about in Ezekiel, but after talking to Naomi Craig, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp of where she’s taking this book without feeling like I don’t need to read it now that we chatted, and that’s always great. Naomi shows service in the temple, how Ezekiel could have had a mentorish relationship under Jeremiah, and even what kind of woman his wife might have been.

Personally, I love the “Darcy-ish” meeting where he totally insults her and accuses her of being an idolatress. Let me tell you something. I cannot wait to read that! Seriously!

God had Ezekiel do a lot of weird things, and I always wondered how he managed some of it, but Naomi brings out possibilities by focusing on this wife that we don’t know much (anything) about. How cool is that?

Naomi also gave us a couple of glimpses into what’s coming next!

She’s #TeamBlue in the Keeping Christmas novella collections, writing about Herod’s palace and the wise men’s appearance looking for “the King of the Jews.”  And… from a scribe’s perspective!  How cool is that?

Also… next up is a book about a woman in Ephriam’s lineage who built three cities. A woman credited with the building of these cities!  I cannot wait! I love how Naomi focuses on how strong Biblical women were. So often we think of them as downtrodden and little more than cattle, but God shows how much He loves His daughters in the Word, and He definitely allows them to shine. We saw that in Naomi’s debut novel Rahab’s Courage.

Ezekiel’s Song by Naomi Craig

A prophet’s heart broken, a woman’s joy gone. What does Yahweh have planned for His people?

On the brink of Jerusalem’s demise, devoted priest, Ezekiel, sees the insincerity of Judah’s worship. Despite his efforts to call the people back to true worship of Yahweh, priests, artisans, valiant warriors, and royals are exiled to Babylon. When God gives him messages of continued judgment for the people in his homeland, his heart breaks. How can he minister to the people from so far away?

The presence of the Lord is tangible when Shiriel sings in the temple, and her voice prepares the hearts of many to worship. When she is exiled to Babylon, her faith is shaken. Does the Lord’s presence extend beyond Jerusalem and His holy temple?

Ezekiel is struck mute and paralyzed as he begins his prophetic ministry, and Shiriel devises a plan to get the Lord’s message back to the unfaithful people of Judah. Shiriel struggles with discontentment as serving the Lord looks nothing like she’d imagined. Can she provide for her family and carry out her husband’s ministry when her joy is gone, and her own dreams are placed on hold?

How will Yahweh save His people from themselves? Find out in Ezekiel’s Song!

Ezekiel’s Song is available at 30% off paperback and at a discount for Kindle, too through release week, so visit Naomi’s WEBSITE for more information.

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

  • Apple 
  • Castbox 
  • Google Play
  • Libsyn 
  • RSS
  • Spotify
  • Stitcher
  • Amazon
  • and more!
Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
August 12, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
August 9, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 161: A Chat with Christian Women's Fiction Robin W. Pearson
July 26, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 160: A Chat with Liz Johnson about The Last Way Home
July 22, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 159: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Mesu Andrews
July 19, 2022
Chautona Havig
A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Stephanie Landsem
July 12, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 157: A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Lynn Austin
July 8, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 156: The Fragrance of Violets by Susan K. Beatty
July 5, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
Chautona Havig
Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
June 28, 2022
Chautona Havig
Search Results placeholder

Join a Reading Challenge

2022 Write Reading Challenge

Love Audio Books?

audio book ad

Check out the Sparrow Island novels. A tiny island with a lot of heart

independence islands series

Featured Books

Finding a Memory

Finding a Memory
Buy This Book Online
Purchase with Paypal
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Amazon
Finding a Memory
Buy now!

Penelope’s Pursuit

Penelope’s Pursuit
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Amazon
Purchase with Paypal
Penelope’s Pursuit
Buy now!

The Last Gasp

The Last Gasp
Buy This Book Online
Purchase with Paypal
Buy from Audible.com
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon Kindle
The Last Gasp
Buy now!

Upcoming Posts

Sorry - nothing planned yet!

Or just subscribe to the newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Book Club Capers: July Part One
  • Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?
  • Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

I buy my stickers here! (affiliate)

Custom Stickers, Die Cut Stickers, Bumper Stickers - Sticker Mule

Footer

What Am I Working On?

Book, Chapter & Vows
Book, Chapter, & Vows
Phase:Week 3
100%
Get Book Updates

Featured

Finding a Memory

Finding a Memory
Buy This Book Online
Purchase with Paypal
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Amazon
Finding a Memory
Buy now!

Dial W for Wrangler

Dial W for Wrangler

Disclosure:

Disclosure: Links on this website may or may not be affiliate links and as such, I may receive compensation from the retailer indicated for linking to their product. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Note: I DO NOT link to products that I do not recommend.

Privacy & Cookies. This website uses cookies (not the delicious kinds that make life grand) to do stuff it needs to do. By staying on the site, you agree to this evil substitution of yummy cookies for internet calorie-free substitutes. For more info, click here and read the boring stuff. Cookie Policy
Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road t Reposted from @mwardwellwrites A mother/son road trip isn’t always fun, but it was a bonding experience for Liz and her son, Matt.

Finding Hope in Savannah is on Sale now through the 19th, only on Amazon.

https://amzn.to/3vZypVq

#book #firstlinefriday #savannahgeorgia #romance #Christfic #singlemother #redemption
Fascinating moon tonight. Fascinating moon tonight.
If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing wit If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing with people.
Harper Brevig has two skills—picking out snarky bookish t-shirts and alienating customers. 
Oh, and racking up bills out of thin air. Make that three skills. She loves the elderly and the very 
young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
Milton Coleridge and his parrotlet Atticus (not Finch) come to the rescue… but is it too late to 
save this bookstore?
Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings Series releases on November 2, 
2022. Link to more information is in my bio! 
#amwriting
#amreading
#bookishbooks
#bookstrings
#comingsoon
#ChristianFiction
#becauselunch #becauselunch
While I was in Minnesota, I went to Red Wing for While I was in Minnesota,  I went to Red Wing for research,  and the shop manager of the salon I've appropriated for my bookstore in Twice Sold Tales was so encouraging and helpful.  She even gave @catheswanson a great bang trim.
#amwriting 
#christfic 
#bookstrings 
#comingsoon
If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing wit If only owning a bookstore didn't mean dealing with people.
Harper Brevig has two skills—picking out snarky bookish t-shirts and alienating customers. 
Oh, and racking up bills out of thin air. Make that three skills. She loves the elderly and the very 
young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
Milton Coleridge and his parrotlet Atticus (not Finch) come to the rescue… but is it too late to 
save this bookstore?
Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings Series releases on November 2, 
2022. Link to more information is in my bio! 
#amwriting
#amreading
#bookishbooks
#bookstrings
#comingsoon
#ChristianFiction
Reposted from @karitrumbo Look at this lovely grap Reposted from @karitrumbo Look at this lovely graphic and review!! ❤️📚
.
.
Repost from @lakesidereadingsite
•
6 Days to Release!  Preorder today!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B92P2B55/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0? 
_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660407148&sr=8-1
Check out my review at https://lakesidelivingsite.wordpress.com/2022/08/13/battle-for-her-heart-by-kari-trumbo/
#karitrumbo #battleforherheart
#cleanread #christianfiction #historicalfiction #preordertoday #mustread #bookrecommendation #bookreview #bookblogger #bookstagram
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
  • New & Coming
  • Blog
  • News!
  • Disclosure & Policies
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Chautona Havig · All Rights Reserved · Coding by Gretchen Louise

Don't go before you grab your FREE short story collection!