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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Noble Pursuits: Re-edited!

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

Noble PursuitsThirteen years ago, with my newborn son sleeping in his Moses basket beside me and my other children doing schoolwork, playing, or otherwise engaged in doing kid stuff.  I’d been working on my first book–Aggie’s Inheritance (Now Ready or Not)–and had a new idea.  I’d read something once.  I think it was a Rod and Staff book or booklet, and in it a widow said she had to really think and pray about whether or not she actually wanted to remarry because she knew it would change her relationship with the Lord.  She’d developed a very unique bond with the Lord and wondered  if marriage was worth that change.  I wondered what would happen if a single woman had a similar mindset.

And then I saw a woman coming onto a man so blatantly that I felt sorry for him.  I’d always seen it the other way around–men treating women like objects rather than people.  After that, I saw it again–and again.  It seemed that everywhere I turned, women had become the aggressor.  It still bothers me.

The two ideas merged and Grace and Nolan appeared on the scene. When it came time to publish my first book, I didn’t know if I wanted to go traditional with a publishing house, or independent in the print-on-demand route.  I decided to experiment with Noble Pursuits (Which I think was originally Graceful Measures).  I figured the subject matter (a woman choosing not to use her physics degree because she preferred to keep house for herself and, at one time, her father) meant it would have a limited market.  I followed all the advice I could find.

One piece of advice prevalent around the Internet at that time was to send the book to a dozen or so grammar-Nazis and ask them to proof it.  It made sense to me.  Send it out and even if eleven people miss something, the twelfth is sure to get it.  Yeah.  It failed.  Epically.  I think it actually made it worse.  And, I couldn’t see the errors before or after.  My brain sees what it thinks it wrote, not what my fingers actually typed it out. There’s a lot going on in my home.  At that time, I had ten people living here.  Sometimes, I actually typed what someone said rather than the next word in my thought.  And as wonderful as those proofers were, they didn’t catch it all.

And I didn’t know it.  UGH.  However, with the advent of my Kindle career, I saw what people said about the editing, and I went looking. *Gulp*  So, I passed it onto one of my favorite editors.  Christy took that book and went over every single word, helping me find missing words, missing or incorrect punctuation, head jumping–you name it.  But now… now it’s much better.  I’m sure I could do the story  better justice now, but it might not be the story it was supposed to be.  So, I’ll just be satisfied.

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Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Rockland Chronicles

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Comments

  1. Betty Landes says

    March 28, 2013 at 4:49 pm

    Thanks Chautona. I deleted my Kindle copy of Nobel Pursuit and reordered the newly edited Kindle book. I love your books. May God bless you each and every day. You and other Christian authors bless me every day. I read several hours a day and am blessed to have a Kindle. I am recently disabled and no longer sworn but I do enjoying reading. Love you.

    Reply
  2. bn100 says

    March 27, 2013 at 12:24 am

    doing okay, hope you are too

    Reply
  3. Cathe says

    March 26, 2013 at 4:33 am

    Thank you! I did have the original version (and have the “real” book, too!) and was able to delete and receive the new one. I didn’t know I could do that!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Episode 448: A Chat with Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

 I fell in love with Nancy’s writing with The Shell Collector. Imagine my joy when I discovered she has a SEQUEL! Eeep! Listen in and discover which characters you’ll find in To Light the Way Forward and what’s coming next for one of America’s favorite authors!

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

It’s been three years since Nancy and I had a chance to talk, and in that time, she’s been BUSY.  So in addition to falling in love with her character, Tug, and wanting to give him his own story, she’s written a small-town duet (and maybe we talked her into a third?) as well as a romcom duo!  Think we can talk her into a third of that series as well?  Because… SPOILER ALERT… we’re getting a third Shell Collector Series book, too! EEEP!

To Light the Way Forward by Nancy Naigle

A novel of overcoming deep loss, taking risks, and learning that life—and love—often surprises you when you least expect it, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Shell Collector. “Bringing to life characters you can’t help but fall in love with, Nancy Naigle goes straight to the heart with this story of tragedy turned to triumph. A poignant reminder to never give up hope.”—Sheila Roberts, author of The Best Life Book Club Feeling adrift after the loss of her husband, Rosemary sets out to visit an old friend on Whelk’s Island, undeterred by the threat of a hurricane. Before the storm hits, she finds herself at Tug’s Diner where she quickly connects with the owner, Tug. But the storm destroys the diner, compounding Tug’s grief from losing his love the previous year. The longer Rosemary stays, the more she sees Tug’s deep sadness and resolves to help him. Together with Tug and friends Amanda and Paul, they all pitch in to help the close-knit community recover and rebuild. As Amanda and Paul reconnect after losing touch during the storm, their plans to take things slow seem increasingly impractical. While Rosemary and Tug help the young couple navigate their relationship, they also find themselves building a friendship that begins to restore them both. But can that friendship convince them that love is possible for anyone who’s willing to take a risk—even those who never hoped they’d find it again?

Learn more about Nancy on her WEBSITEand follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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