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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Will Life’s Powerful Storms Make You Stronger or Break You?

by Chautona Havig · 1 Comment

Seasoned Grace by Melissa Wardwell released this week, and the Independence Islands authors are celebrating with prizes, posts, and fun! via @chautonahavig

I woke up about the time that my wooden stamp collection rattled off the rails on my wall and onto the floor.  A second later, my craft table fell over–just as I leaped out of bed. I made it to the doorway of my closet by the time the thing was really getting hard. And strong.  Everything in my bedroom had crashed down around me.  Outside the door, I could hear family shouting encouragement to each other as they dove for cover.

Rude awakening. I’m just sayin’.

Across town at our local high school, kids from the Mormon church were putting on their annual 4th of July show.  If you want a glimpse of that, it’s below.

The mess… unbelievable.  Damage everywhere. A town thirty miles away–without power and water. Magnitude: 6.4.

My grandkids had been in Walmart and had to dodge stuff falling off the shelves, but the next day they piled in the car with my daughter and headed over to the library to help reshelve thousands of books.

We’d be talking about it for years.  That much I knew.

I’ll admit it.  It was like deja vu when I woke up from my nap on July 5th and had to dash across my room and into the closet again. This one was harder. I could tell.  Trapped in my room by falling stuff, I wondered how the town would fare this time. By the time I got out–no power.  In July, remember.  In the desert.  Great.

The most amazing part of the whole thing wasn’t the forty-some-odd-thousand earthquakes we had the rest of the year. Most of those we didn’t even feel.  It wasn’t how only one person died–and that’s an assumption rather than fact. No, the most amazing part was how the town came together like Ridgecrest always does, and we began the enormous task of rebuilding lives.

The navy base sustained the worst of the damage. Airfields, the gym (the pool drained into the basement–gym is gone now), All Faith Chapel where we’d attended so many weddings and a funeral or two.  Gone.

The spirit of Ridgecrest? You saw it in the T-shirts that cropped up immediately–T-shirts designed to raise money for revitalization efforts.  “Ridgecrest Strong.”  “Ridgecrest, shaken not broken.”  “Ridgecrest: Shake & Bake.”

Yeah, we have weird humor around here.

2019 was a tough year for our family.  First, the earthquakes, then my mom’s illness, then my oldest and her family moved halfway across the country. There were a few months there that I couldn’t even think of my daughter without sobbing.  Now it takes times like this, writing about it and processing it all again. Got a tissue?

Ever noticed how tough times can bring out the worst in some people, but most people seem to rally together and become their best selves? Yeah. It’s times like this when you really see what the Lord does in the hearts of men.  He tells us that the heart of man is desperately sick and wicked… and yet when we see goodness and generosity–self-sacrificial actions on every side even by people who don’t acknowledge Him as God Almighty–you see that He affects change everywhere. It’s beautiful.

You see that in fiction, too.

seasoned grace

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

Will Life’s Powerful Storms Make You Stronger or Break You?

We’ve moved to another island in the Independence Islands Series releases.  Melissa Wardwell’s book focuses on a couple of different kinds of storms–the hurricane that just swept the islands and a personal one in her character’s life.  Raylin has been missing her father since 9/11… and now that she thinks she’s found him, he’s missing after the storm.

Be sure to check out Seasoned Grace and also all the other authors’ stories! There’s some good ones in there!

Seasoned Grace You can run from your past, but you can’t escape it.

Though he disappeared that day, Raylin McReynolds never believed her father died at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

So, when a mysterious letter arrives from Breakers Head, informing her that she would find him on the Independence Islands off the coast of Georgia, she has no choice but to find a job, get there, find her father.

As mainland troubles encroach on Hooper Island, Sean Anderson devises a plan and presents it to the island pastors and his cousin, Scott. The result: Grace Mission—a place where those struggling can find the help they need.

What he didn’t need was a distraction in the form of a newcomer to the islands—a mission volunteer, no less.

Others at the mission, Beth and Scott, see more than just frustration brew between Raylin and Sean. What will it take to convince Sean and Raylin to stop bickering long enough to see what’s obvious to everyone else?

Raylin’s on a mission to find her father and protect her heart, but neither seem willing to cooperate.

Seasoned Grace continues the Hooper Island stories of the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

Here are links to the other authors’ posts and giveaways!

  • Melissa Wardwell
  • Kari Trumbo
  • Rachel Skatvold
  • Tabitha Bouldin
  • Carolyn Miller
  • Chautona Havig (me!)
  • Celebrate Lit Publishing (Sandy!)

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Comments

  1. Lilly says

    September 5, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    Beautiful … not much related but I was thinking about how some dystopian books approach that in the face of great misfortune almost all of humanity would plunge into darkness and lose any trace of compassion, really? It may be, but it is undeniable that what you say also happens much more: people become a better version of themselves.
    I find it hopeful and I can’t stop thinking that this post is a response from God to something I’ve been pondering.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
byChautona Havig

Finally getting a chance to chat with Sarah Monzon was a total delight, and learning all about her latest release, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas was equally awesome.  My copy is here and waiting for me to dive into the battle of the celebrations!  EEEP! Listen in to see what that even means!

Note: I sound like I’m underwater. We heard it during our interview, but I couldn’t make it behave and couldn’t fix it. Sorry!

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

How Does an Intense Christmas Competition Lead to Love?

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas has so much going for it that I don’t know where to start! Fun mom who made our heroine’s childhood Christmases an international delight without ever leaving home?  Check!  Social anxiety adding to the stress of competing for a promotion?  Check?  Romcom hilarity?  Check, check?  And add to all that Sarah’s wonderful writing and delightful characterization?  I’m all in.

We also chatted about why she chose to write about a woman with social anxiety, her preferred reading methods, and some of my favorite books by her. For a refresher, those are The Isaac Project, 12 Days of Snowmen, and Book Nerds & Boyfriends (a collection of three novellas).

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

“Inspirational rom-com readers are going to love this one.”–BETHANY TURNER, bestselling author of The Do-Over

You can learn more about Sarah on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
September 26, 2023
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September 23, 2023
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Episode 261: Chatting with Christian Youth Fiction Author, Candice Yamnitz
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Episode 259: A Chat with Debut Author, Laura Conaway
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