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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

I’m So Excited to Present:

by Chautona Havig · 17 Comments

Six years ago, I had an idea just before the Valley Home Educator’s Convention in Modesto, California.  A friend of mine and I went every year (back before she up and moved on me.  Hmph.)  My idea?  Take some of the odd things I’d seen in my lifetime and explore them in a specific setting.  What would happen if someone was socially isolated from society but still given a very rich and loving home?  That idea became what I affectionately called a “Blog Opera.”  I wrote episodes daily, weekly, sometimes monthly.  Other projects crowded it out at times, but inevitably I came back to “Willow.”

From the beginning, Willow has always had a strong (if small at that time) fan base.  On a private message board, we even have a forum we called “Woupies” (Willow Groupies).  We did it because conversations about her and her story were taking over the main forum on the board.  About that time, people began asking when it would be in print.  I had no idea.  You see, I put the book up, in its rawest form, online as I wrote it.  There were “head jumps” as I explored each person’s point of view at any given moment.  Fun to write, and for me to read, but many people find it confusing.  There were punctuation and consistency errors everywhere.  To release it in print (or to the general public) would be a task so daunting I didn’t want to think about it.

Enter the publicist who has taken over my life (and I love dearly in spite of it!).  One of the first things Ashley said was, “We’re going to release Willow, in installments as you wrote it, and then into collections.  People are going to love Willow.”

I said, “Yes ma’am” and got to work.  After all, I was under direct orders to do whatever Ashley said from the almost highest authority.  No, God didn’t talk to me.  I got it from my mother.  You just do what Mom says.  You just do.  In that sense, she’s a little like “Mother.”

I began the daunting task of editing each “episode” (which consists of 6-10 chapters and approximately 20-25K words).  Essentially, every week, I rewrite the entire text of that episode. It is such hard work.  I have old dear friends and new dear friends who help me proofread every single chapter.  My editor, although in the US on furlough, worked to help us finish.

2016 Update:  Wow… those were fun times–stressful, but fun!  WOOT!

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Filed Under: General Information, New Release Tagged With: Past Forward

Previous Post: « So, Who Panicked?
Next Post: How Characters Influence an Author’s Life »

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Comments

  1. Jan Tribe says

    August 14, 2012 at 12:57 pm

    I love your books! I’ve read the Aggie series and also the Rockland Chronicles. I have been following the Past Forward and bought a few of them, caught a few for free and just bought episode 5 before reading this… oh well your books are worth more than the money spent.. Will you be making all of your books available on Kindle? I noticed some of your books on your author page on Amazon aren’t available on Kindle…just wondering. Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday!

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      August 14, 2012 at 1:00 pm

      Jan! Thank you so much for your encouragement. Every book that I have in print is also available on Kindle. A few books on the site are “coming soon” but haven’t been labeled as such yet. WE’ve been doing an overhaul of the site recently and it’s not quite finished. So the Journey of Dreams series, Everard, and 31 Kisses are “up there” but not actually available yet.

      We’ll have great promos when they come out. The first Journey of Dreams, Prairie, should be available soon!

      Reply
  2. Sharon says

    August 14, 2012 at 9:58 am

    l’ve read the Aggie books and waiting for tomorrow’s chapter 6. I will be downloading more of your wonderful books for future reading.

    Reply
  3. Jo says

    August 13, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    I am really enjoying Willow, I am ready for her and Chad to hook up.

    Reply
  4. Dawn says

    August 13, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Thrilled to see your work “out there” for everyone to enjoy! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Vicki H says

    August 13, 2012 at 9:16 am

    Okay. I didn’t realize I could click on the links and repin it. I did it’!!!! Yay!!!!!! Anyways am putting I repinned both because I did and hope I did it right. Shows on Books I love so…………..

    Reply
  6. Vicki H says

    August 13, 2012 at 9:09 am

    I’m new to.pinterist so have no idea how to do it. If I figure it out I will come back and do those too.

    Reply
  7. Debbie Griffith says

    August 13, 2012 at 8:26 am

    I love that you combined the first five episodes into one book, it will make it much easier to read them in order on my kindle. I’m almost finished with “Here We Come” (Aggie’s Inheritance”) and I think it’s going to be hard when I read the very last page. I love Aggie, the kids, Luke, William and everyone else who I’ve gotten to know, I’m really going to miss them. I will be starting “Past Forward” series next and I’m sure I will enjoy them just as much!
    Thanks for the giveaway and also for writing such great books!

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      August 13, 2012 at 11:26 am

      You’ll find Aggie and her kids in Past Forward. In a few months, Ellie and Tavish will be staying there!

      Reply
  8. Joybell74 says

    August 13, 2012 at 6:37 am

    Really enjoying your books. Can’t wait ’til my girls start reading them!

    Reply
  9. Bethany Goff says

    August 13, 2012 at 6:07 am

    I’m having so much fun reading your books, and learning things too! This is a great idea to combine them into one, as I do have a hard time finding the correct episode on my Kindle app on my tablet! (tiny print, aging eyes, lol)
    I’m very excited to share with my friends!

    Reply
  10. Susan says

    August 13, 2012 at 5:36 am

    Love.

    Reply
  11. barbara says

    August 13, 2012 at 5:32 am

    All done! I made a “collection” for you on my Kindle app 😉

    Reply
  12. Sharon says

    August 13, 2012 at 4:39 am

    Thanks so much for offering the first episode again. That was the only one I didnt’ have!

    Reply
  13. Ginny says

    August 13, 2012 at 3:13 am

    You know I love Willow and want to be her friend! Thanks for sharing her with me.

    Reply
  14. Lynn says

    August 13, 2012 at 1:45 am

    I’m getting quite the collection of all your e-books – even though I don’t own an e-reader. (I hope they are transferable from my laptop if I ever do get one.)
    Keep up the good work Miss Neighbour Lady. Now I just have to make me some time to sit and read :O)

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      August 13, 2012 at 2:06 am

      You’re the best neighbor ever!

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

Hey, we’re back after a couple of weeks of vacation, and boy did I need it. And, have I got a fabulous interview for you. Nancy Naigle and I talked about her books, her most recent release, What Remains True as well as her Christmas books and the one I’m most anxious to read, The Shell Collector. Listen in and learn about what Nancy says about this bet she has going on in What Remains True. Great stuff!

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

Need a Great Romantic Read to Wind Up Your Summer Reads?

As I said in the podcast, a while back, someone told me I’d LOVE The Shell Collector–one of those people who recommends books you HAVE to read if they say you do.  So I bought it and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. Well, now it’s on my GoodReads shelf, and I’m about to start it (and I optimistically thought I’d be done with it by the time this episode released. Oh, me of too much faith in myself and my time management!)

Author of over thirty books, not to mention a bestselling author who also has movies made of her novels (And The Shell Collector has been optioned! EEEP!), Nancy loves to write Christmas books and small-town stories. Seriously, as we talked, I felt like she was talking about me half the time. We’re so very alike in so many ways. It was fun.

Nancy also pointed out that her first books (if you go WAY back) are not Christian fiction and are a bit spicier than she prefers to write and definitely more than she writes today. So be warned there, but she did assure us that they are all closed-door books.

What Remains True by Nancy Naigle

One woman wants to win a bet. One man wants to become a rodeo champion. One little girl may give them both something even better—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle.

“A commitment-phobic rodeo star and a divorcée with secrets find love in this wholesome romance. . . . As uplifting as it is sweet.”—Publishers Weekly

Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek?

Adam Locklear, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care.

Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan too?

You can learn more about Nancy’s books and movies on her WEBSITE.

Oh, and PSST… I’m loving the audiobook of this one!

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Episode 162: A Chat with Author, Nancy Naigle
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
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Episode 160: A Chat with Liz Johnson about The Last Way Home
July 22, 2022
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Episode 159: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Mesu Andrews
July 19, 2022
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July 12, 2022
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Episode 157: A Chat with Historical Christian Fiction Author, Lynn Austin
July 8, 2022
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Episode 156: The Fragrance of Violets by Susan K. Beatty
July 5, 2022
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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
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Episode 154: A Chat with Romantic Suspense Author, Sami A. Abrams
June 28, 2022
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Episode 153: A Chat with Historical Author, Tracie Peterson
June 21, 2022
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