• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • 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
    • If You Like…
    • Characters
    • Suggested Reading Order
    • Free Books
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Podcast
    • Advertising
    • Podcast Guest Information
    • Podcast Interview FAQ
  • Merch Shop
  • 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

Amelia’s Interview: Deepest Roots of the Heart

by Chautona Havig · 20 Comments

drothcoverOne of the ways I try to get to “know” my characters is to try to type up an “organic” question/answer session.  I’ll try to let each question spark the following one–really working to get into the character’s head.  I did that with Avelino, but for this release party, I thought it might be fun to do it with Amelia. So, let’s interview the young woman who stole my heart while I wrote the book.

Chautona:  Hello, Amelia.  Why don’t you tell us just a little about yourself–not too much.  Let’s not give away the whole book, but just enough so we get a feel for where you’re coming from.

Amelia: It’s nice to have a chance to tell “my side” of the story.  Thank you.  Um… well, I am from Oklahoma.  My whole family is from that area.  In ’39, Granddad, Grandmom, and I left western Oklahoma for California and eventually settled in Napa after a few years in Fresno.  That’s where Granddad learned about grapes.

Chautona:  Now why do you think I made such a big deal of your hair?

Amelia:  Well there is the historical element, of course.  It was special to the Carrillo family for quickly obvious reasons. And then there is the fact that I also think you were being a little ornery about the book that inspired this story.  Instead of the constant references to beauty and innocence, you indulged in just a little of the redhead repetition as your rebellion against that novel.
As for why it would even matter that I had red hair even without that history, my story takes place in the forties when people still teased redheads.  I think children are always a little cruel to the different child–whether she has different colored skin, red hair, an accent, or perhaps a physical disability.  Since you learned that redheads only make up 1-2% of the world’s population, it makes sense that it would be considered an oddity.  And, after learning that during the time of the Spanish Inquisition all redheads in Spain and Italy were presumed to be Jews (an undesirable thing at that time), I think those stereotypes and prejudices continued.

Chautona:  True.  And, that brings me to another question.  Why do you think that Avelino encountered prejudice upon his return that he didn’t feel before he went off to war?

Amelia:  Well, I think that there are many reasons.  Life isn’t as simple as we’d like to think or as complex as we tend to make it.  But several things come to mind.  First, he was so young when he left–so inexperienced.  He grew up in a loving family, supportive community, and really had no experiences that showed him the more racist and bigoted side of life.  Add to that, his experience in the army, and when he came home, I think he saw rejection where there was none.  Pain tends to do that to us.  It festers so that it clouds our judgment.

Chautona:  There were times that I wanted you to slap him, scream at him, do something to make him stand up and take notice of what he was doing to you.  Why didn’t you?

Amelia:  I think that I made a bigger impact on him because I didn’t.  He would have found it easier to justify his attitudes if I had wounded his pride that way.  But because I dealt with my emotions myself, he had to see his own responses without justifying them as a reaction to mine.

Chautona:  Some might say you stuffed down your emotions.  How do you respond to that?

Amelia:  Because it was stuffing down my emotions when I–oh.  Right.  You told me no spoilers.  I suddenly feel like River Song.  Suffice it to say, I make my emotions very clear.  I may  not scream when I am angry or slobber over him when I share my feelings, but I do not stuff them down.

Chautona:  You go girl!  Did you read the epilogue?   What did you think of what Avelino said about your father in that?

Amelia:  I wish I would have known.  But, like Avelino with Ray and his cronies, I doubt I would have seen it at the time.  I think learning of it afterward is the only way it really hit home.  And that is okay.  Knowing at all is what matters, right?

Chautona:  That is true.  And sometimes learning after the fact makes a stronger impact.  Sometimes we are too blind to really grasp it–like when we hear how proud a parent is of you after that parent is gone.  Part of us screams, “Why didn’t you ever tell me!”  But you know, sometimes they did–or if they had, we wouldn’t have “heard” them.

Amelia: I think that was definitely how it was.

Chautona:  Do you think Avelino did the right thing regarding the vineyard and marriage?

Amelia:  Well, I don’t think I ever managed to make him see it, but as much as I didn’t like it, I was so proud of him for sticking to his convictions.  Lyman was a weasel, and in our family, we shoot weasels.  Avelino was honorable even when the law didn’t require it.  That says something about him.

Chautona:  If you could say one thing to the readers, what would it be?

Amelia:  When it seems like nothing is going how you think it should, trust Jesus.  Because either it is and you just can’t see it yet, or it shouldn’t be going that way in the first place.  If God knew all before the foundation of the world, I think we can trust Him to build the foundations of our lives as well.

There you have it.  A few minutes with Amelia and her take on themes and events in Deepest Roots of the Heart. 

Share
Pin
Tweet
Email
Share
Pin
Tweet
Email

Related

Filed Under: Interviews, New Release

Previous Post: « Juana Briones: a California Heroine (Deepest Roots of the Heart)
Next Post: Speaking Scripture into Our Hearts »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Or, you can subscribe without commenting.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Anitra King says

    January 30, 2015 at 11:08 am

    I just shared on facebook.

    Reply
  2. Alicia Grab says

    January 21, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    Shared on Google+!
    Love your Books!

    Reply
  3. Carolyn G. says

    January 21, 2015 at 3:18 pm

    I sent this one to my mom, too!

    Reply
  4. Tristan says

    January 21, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    I love this, I’m sharing the idea with my daughter. I also shared the link on FB.

    Reply
  5. Michele says

    January 21, 2015 at 6:41 am

    Shared via twitter.

    Reply
  6. Paige Trueheart says

    January 21, 2015 at 5:36 am

    Emailed!!

    Reply
  7. Cathy says

    January 21, 2015 at 5:19 am

    Whew! At least I have email….sent that! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Carol Paine says

    January 21, 2015 at 2:51 am

    On facebook last night

    Reply
  9. Brenda says

    January 21, 2015 at 1:01 am

    Shared on facebook, pinned it and tweeted it…

    Reply
  10. Deborah G says

    January 20, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    shared!

    Reply
  11. Lucinda says

    January 20, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    shared on fb 🙂

    Reply
  12. April says

    January 20, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    Facebook

    Reply
  13. Charlene Barnes says

    January 20, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Face booked it. Love the interview

    Reply
  14. Jackie says

    January 20, 2015 at 8:00 pm

    Fb’d it =D

    Reply
  15. Jennifer Miles says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    Pinterest “want” board and Facebook! Sounds like such an interesting character and plot!

    Reply
  16. jennifer says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    Tweeted 🙂

    Reply
  17. Susan says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    That is a very fun idea. Facebook share.

    Susan

    Reply
  18. Cathe Swanson says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    facebook, tweet, google plus

    Reply
  19. Cathe Swanson says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    This is very insightful.
    “I think that I made a bigger impact on him because I didn’t. He would have found it easier to justify his attitudes if I had wounded his pride that way. But because I dealt with my emotions myself, he had to see his own responses without justifying them as a reaction to mine.”

    Reply
  20. Sharon B says

    January 20, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    G+ it!!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

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

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
March 24, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 214: A Chat about After the Shadows with Amanda Cabot
March 21, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 213: A Chat about Daughter of Eden with Jill Eileen Smith
March 17, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 212: A Chat about Code Name Edelweiss with Stephanie Landsem
February 28, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
February 24, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 210: A Chat with Jennifer Deibel about The Maid of Ballymacool
February 21, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 209: A Chat with Tracie Peterson about Remember Me
February 17, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
February 14, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 207: A Chat with Daniella Rushton about Portal Fantasy
February 10, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
February 7, 2023
Chautona Havig
Search Results placeholder

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

A Ransomed Grete

A Ransomed Grete
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon Kindle
A Ransomed Grete
Buy now!

Twice Sold Tales

Twice Sold Tales
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Twice Sold Tales
Buy now!

Under the Hibiscus

Under the Hibiscus
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Under the Hibiscus
Buy now!

Upcoming Posts

Sorry - nothing planned yet!

Or just subscribe to the newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Why I Can’t Wait to Read the Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing Series!
  • What Kinds of Lessons Can We Learn from the First People?
  • Why Would Anyone Send Beautiful, Thorny Roses with Strange Messages?

I buy my stickers here! (affiliate)

Custom Stickers, Die Cut Stickers, Bumper Stickers - Sticker Mule
Reposted from @sunrisemediagroup Incoming! Expired Reposted from @sunrisemediagroup Incoming! Expired Hope will be released next month—be sure to pre-order it at the discounted price of $3.99 before release day!⁠
⁠
@LisaPhillipsBks ⁠
@MeganBesing⁠
⁠
#LastChanceCountyCollection #LisaPhillips #suspense #romanticsuspense #christianfiction #christiansuspense #cfauthor
It's here!!! Eeeep! Have you read @author_jocelyn_ It's here!!! Eeeep!
Have you read @author_jocelyn_green 's newest release?
#AmReading 
#ChristFic 
#historicalChristianFiction
Found this book at our local bookstore, Red Rock Found this book at our local bookstore,  Red Rock Books. It changed one direction of my next Bookstrings novel. I think we need more emphasis on picture books. So... this will sit around to inspire. 
#Bookstrings 
#bookishbooks
Reposted from @lornaroseboutique Annnnnnnd here th Reposted from @lornaroseboutique Annnnnnnd here they are!!! I’ve been anxiously waiting to see how they turn out, and they’re AMAZING!!! Gahh I love these post cards! 
If you love them too, you can check out the link in my bio!!

#digitalart #redbubbleartist #iloveart
When @kathleendenly offers to send an ARC, you squ When @kathleendenly offers to send an ARC, you squeal and accept before she changes her mind d. Eeep! I love her Chaparral Hearts series!
#AmReading 
#historicalromance 
#ChristFic
My first Goudge this month was a DNF. However, I My first Goudge this month was a DNF. However,  I found this while sorting my books in our home library and decided to read it now. Delightful. 
#yearofgoudge
#ChristianFantasy
Reposted from @susankbeattyauthor Take a trip to t Reposted from @susankbeattyauthor Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart with Book 2 in the series, Wheelers Design.

Clay is messy and so is Sabrina’s life sometimes, but will God mold it into a work of art?
	
Wheelers Design releases March 28, but you can pre-order now: 

Pre-order the ebook copy now to get a special pre-order price of $2.99 https://buff.ly/3TPO7NT

Preorder the paperback copy to get 30% off plus free shipping. Just fill out the form https://buff.ly/40aLI2s 

#preorder #newrelease #cleanreads #contemporaryfiction
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
  • New & Coming
  • Blog
  • News!
  • Disclosure & Policies
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Chautona Havig · All Rights Reserved · Coding by Gretchen Louise

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