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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Characters Influence an Author’s Life

by Chautona Havig · 7 Comments

Or:  How Willow Guilted Me into Work

On Tuesday, my daughter bought us two of the grocery store rotisserie chickens for dinner.  I remember her hinting strongly that we only needed one.  However, I like to use the leftovers for chicken soup and even on a half-empty house, one won’t cut it for two meals with my crew.  She dutifully bought what I asked.  Go Jenna.  (and can you please disobey me next time?)

Anyway. I was on the ball.  I had dinner planned for Wednesday night and then we would have chicken soup on Thursday.  That meant that I had to boil those birds, make broth, get the meat off the bones.  All in a day’s work. I mean, it’s not like I had to butcher the things!  They were cooked when I started!

I had another daughter (I have a superfluity of daughters–something for which I am very grateful) dump them in the Dutch oven and start the boil.  And they did.  For a long time (because we all forgot about them).  My husband turned off the heat before he went to bed.

A couple of hours later, I remembered them.  Gulp.  Surely they were cold and probably unsafe.  Yes.  Of course they were.  We’d forget the fact that I’d be reboiling it all before we ate it. Right.  Didn’t need to do it.

I worked on Past Forward for a little longer until the guilt nearly strangled me.  Sigh.  So, instead of replacing the previously expunged “McDonald’s scene,” I went into the kitchen and tested the pot.  Still hot.  Drat.  Resigned to my fate, I began the tedious task of removing meat from bird bones.

It took me fifteen minutes tops.

Really, Chautona?

Sigh.

Does it say something horrible about me that my conscience knew the right thing to do but did not do it (Oh, dear… James 4:17 strikes again), but knowing that some woman who doesn’t exist at all would be shocked was enough to get me off the couch and into the kitchen?

It probably does.

Double sigh.

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Comments

  1. Rebekah says

    August 24, 2012 at 8:20 am

    LOL I think the funniest part of this post might have been imagining Willow’s reaction if you had just stayed where you were and left the stock! :p

    I’m enjoying rereading Willow by the way. And if the McDonald’s scene is the one I think it is, now I’m going to be on the lookout to see if you ultimately decided to keep it, or get rid of it. 😀

    To the KING be all the glory!
    Rebekah

    Reply
  2. Kristi Stapler says

    August 16, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    ROFLOL! Nodding my head in complete and total understanding!

    Reply
  3. Marylin F says

    August 16, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Chautona,
    That is too funny… Thanks for sharing this.
    Question: Are you a late nighter? I’m in Oregon and many times late at night I get my emails from you and I thought you lived more in mid west.
    Also, I was driving around with my daughter the other day and we put in a cd. As I was listening to the song it made me think of Willow. Or how she would think of this change in her life. The song is by Tenth Avenue North (My nephew’s band) and it’s called – All The Pretty Things. If you’ve not heard it you should!! It talks about all the thinkgs that take us away from God. Enjoy! Marylin

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      August 16, 2012 at 4:00 pm

      I’ll have to go find that song!

      I am most definitely a night owl, but I’m west coast. California’s Mojave Desert.

      Reply
  4. Bethany Goff says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:51 am

    It’s good to know that you’re just as human as I am! And I appreciate you being so real with all of us. 🙂

    Reply
  5. barbara says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:01 am

    ROFLOL! I had a similar thought the other day when I wanted to buy $40 per bottle shampoo, thought about making some instead and then thought “Willow would NEVER buy that!”

    Reply
  6. Carla Linhart says

    August 16, 2012 at 3:30 am

    Sounds like Willow except she would have killed her chickens.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 568: A Chat with Chelsea Bobulski
byChautona Havig

Edwardian England? Yes, please! Listen in as Chelsea Bobulski and I chat about her book, Deal with a Debutante. Is it a marriage of convenience… or not?

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

I don’t think there are enough Edwardian novels out there, so when I heard this one wasn’t Regency but Edwardian… EEEP! Add to that an American heiress and an Earl? Double eeep!

A Deal with a Debutante by Chelsea Bobulski

She’s running from London’s marriage mart. He’s running out of time to save his estate. Neither planned on falling in love–but their hearts have other plans. American heiress Calliope Hart is thrust into London’s high society against her will, all because her mother is determined to marry her off to an aristocrat. Despite being named “the debutante of the season” back in New York, Calliope wants nothing more than to avoid becoming another pawn in the social game. Edward Chase, the Earl of Hayward, is on the brink of financial ruin. To save his estate, he must marry, and Calliope Hart is his last hope. When he boldly declares his intentions, she swiftly rejects him, making it clear she has no interest in marrying for convenience. Undeterred, Edward offers a deal: He will escort Calliope to all the best sights of London that she’s been dying to see if she agrees to visit his estate and consider what they could accomplish together. What begins as a business arrangement soon sparks something much more complicated–an undeniable chemistry neither can ignore. But as their hearts begin to soften, both must confront their fears: Can Calliope trust Edward with her heart, and can Edward truly win her love when she’s convinced he only wants her fortune?

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Can the small town of Berne support two bookstores Can the small town of Berne support two bookstores? Of course, not. Does that stop Anne Montgomery from opening one practically next door to the other one? It does not. Their friendship may be dead, but nothing will stop her from running her dream bookstore. And... she got the prime location. It's perfect!
Except it isn't. If something doesn't change, she'll flop faster than this year's over-hyped novel. After much pleading (and some interfering), Milton and his trusty parrotlet, Atticus (not Finch) arrive to help.
Book two in the Bookstrings series (aside from the two prequel novellas), Clock Tower Bound is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and coming soon to audiobook (and @ChristaDelSorbo's) YouTube Channel (where you can listen free!).
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#Christfic
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A tiny bookstore in an equally tiny town? Sure. Wh A tiny bookstore in an equally tiny town? Sure. Why not. Joshua Hart is determined to make it a success--to share his love of reading with his community. And it will... if the crazy baker (with the amazing cinnamon rolls) across the street will quit blocking his store's existence with her behemoth of a vehicle pointing everyone to those (yes, totally amazing but come on!) cinnamon rolls!
It's a battle royale and a bit of loathe-to-love all rolled into one town fighting to stay alive. Milton and Atticus do their part to reframe his business plan into something that'll work... and yeah. They're doing that matchmaking thing. Can you blame them? With a name like Honey, she's got to be perfect for him.
Available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited) as well as audio. You can also listen to the audio FREE on YouTube on @christaDelSorbo's channel
https://amzn.to/4bA7B32
#ChristFic
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#ChristFic
#BookStrings
#BookishBooks
A tiny bookstore in an equally tiny town? Sure. Wh A tiny bookstore in an equally tiny town? Sure. Why not. Joshua Hart is determined to make it a success--to share his love of reading with his community. And it will... if the crazy baker (with the amazing cinnamon rolls) across the street will quit blocking his store's existence with her behemoth of a vehicle pointing everyone to those (yes, totally amazing but come on!) cinnamon rolls!
It's a battle royale and a bit of loathe-to-love all rolled into one town fighting to stay alive. Milton and Atticus do their part to reframe his business plan into something that'll work... and yeah. They're doing that matchmaking thing. Can you blame them? With a name like Honey, she's got to be perfect for him.
Available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited) as well as audio. You can also listen to the audio FREE on YouTube on @christaDelSorbo's channel
https://amzn.to/4bA7B32
#ChristFic
#BookishBooks
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