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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

A Unique, Hilarious Interview with Essie from Madeline

by Chautona Havig · 4 Comments

Interview with Essie

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

One of the things I love to do from time to time is do an interview with some of my characters to get a feel for their take on their stories–what would they do?  Why did they do this?  Why did someone else do that?  It’ a fun way to really get to know a character.  And, since I plan to make Essie a bit more prominent in the next Meddlin’ Madeline book, I started thinking about this interview.  You know, for the future.  But Essie has a mind of her own and wanted to talk NOW.  So here we are.

Essie Chandler, folks!

Me: Hi there, Essie!  So happy to have you today.

Essie:  Hello.

Me: So, you got to meet the almost infamous Madeline Brown.

Essie:  Yeah.

Me: *blinks*  Now don’t talk my ear off….

Essie: I won’t.

Me:  Some might say you and Miss Brown were a lot alike.  What do you say to that?

Essie:  I don’t think so.

Me:  Why not?  What’s different about you?

Essie: She’s smart.  And older.  And she has to be all proper.  I can just be a kid. Yeah. We’re different.

Me:  Do you think she would have been like you as a little girl if she could have been?

Essie: Probably– if her a’nt would let her.

Me: Have you met Mrs. Farnsworth?

Essie: No, but Jimmy says she’s the real meddler in that family.

Me:  Jimmy might have a point there.  Um… Did you have fun rowing on the pond?

Essie:  *looks around*  Not really–not until me and Jimmy toppled the boat.  Miss Madeline’s hair looked all funny half up and half hanging down.

Me: Do you think she’ll send you on more errands?

Essie:  Maybe–if Ma says I can.

Me:  Do you think she’ll have more adventures?

Essie: Yeah.

Me: *takes deep breath*  Well, what makes you say that?

Essie: That snake Smythe.  He’s still here, ain’t he?

Me:  Point taken.  What about Miss Merton.  Do you think Mr. Smythe will get back in her good graces?

Essie: *shrugs*

Me: Just give us your best guess.

Essie: Haven’t met her.  But I hear she ain’t too bright.  Prob’bly.

Me: Essie, are you nervous?

Essie: Wouldn’t you be?  That thing is recording me without anyone touching it.

Me: Oh, my tablet–it’s just…

Essie: I gotta go.  Ma needs me for… something.  Bye.

Well, there you have it.  Essie’s gotta go.  For something.  She’s not confident on Edith’s ability to withstand Vernon’s *ahem* charms, she’s fond of Madeline with her hair half-up and down, and she might be helping out with errands in the future.  Let’s hope “Ma” says it’s okay, shall we?

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Filed Under: Characters Tagged With: Meddlin' Madeline

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Comments

  1. Tina at Mommynificent says

    May 8, 2016 at 7:54 am

    Ha ha ha!! That was hilarious. I love that girl!

    Reply
  2. Faith Derickson says

    May 4, 2016 at 8:38 am

    Chautona, you are such a tease! 😀 But it’s so fun! Can’t wait to read Essie and can’t wait for the next Madeline book!

    Reply
  3. Courtney says

    May 4, 2016 at 8:09 am

    This made me giggle. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Rita Neve says

    May 3, 2016 at 7:31 pm

    Cwhat fun. I like Essie. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Episode 600: A Chat with JPC Allen
byChautona Havig

If you love a good mystery, you don’t want to miss JPC Allen’s Rae Riley Mystery series. Listen in to learn about the next book, A Threat at the Feast! EEEP!

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JPC Allen has a great mind for mystery, and this series is proof of that.

A Threat at the Feast by JPC Allen

How can you trust when you don’t understand? In November, amateur sleuth Rae Riley can be thankful for many things but not the media attention brought by a couple of recent cases she and her dad, Sheriff Walter “Mal” Malinowski solved in rural Marlin County, Ohio. When the publicity also brings the estranged grandfather and mother of her sort-of boyfriend, Deputy Chris Kincaid, he wants nothing to do with his family. Chris says his actress mother and movie director grandfather have only come to bask in the publicity from the high-profile cases. But Rae notices that his grandfather carries a gun and seems afraid when a producer and his son, superhero movie star Talon Moore arrive in the county. When Chris’s grandfather is found murdered outside the library where Rae works, and someone attacks Rae’s friend Devon and searches the library, Chris becomes the main suspect for Chief of Police Simcox. Rae and Mal race to bring Chris home for Thanksgiving before he’s prosecuted for first-degree murder.

Visit Threat’s landing page to learn how to pre-order, earn a free bonus Rae Riley short story, and get Rae Riley #3, A Riddle in the Lonesome October, on sale. Here’s the link: https://jpc-allen-sfkgbd.subscribepage.io/

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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.
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#HistoricalMystery
#FairytaleRetelling
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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
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
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
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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