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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Sequels I Want to Write: or my literary ADD

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

We all have our faults–those little things that make us unique.  Some of us are just more unique as others. Add that to a unique name, a unique lifestyle–my whole life–and a unique almost everything else, when you add in those faults, it gets a mite… much. Me, I’m riddled with faults.  Since confession is good for the soul, and James tells us to confess our faults to one another, I’m here to confess.  Like Anne Shirley, I’ll make it as interesting as I can, but I promise not to make it up!

Trust me. I don’t need to.

In no particular order… I’m lazy.  Oh, so lazy. I’m selfish.  It’s embarrassing how selfish I am.  And let’s not even get into how easily I shut down when I get the slightest bit overwhelmed. I could go on indefinitely, but do you really want to hear about how I go weeks at a time without grocery shopping or how I never call my family?  Do you really want to hear all this?  Shall I go in alphabetical or chronological order?  Just how long do you have, anyway?

Sequels I want to Write:

Links in this post may be affiliate links and I’ll receive a small commission at no extra expense to you.

But as a writer, my biggest fault is my “Literary ADD” as I call it.

Let me explain. It started with Ready or Not. I was probably eight chapters into that book when I saw something somewhere and went, “Hm….” And I began the first chapters of Noble Pursuits. I hadn’t even gotten three chapters into that, when I got an idea for a murder mystery. So, I started that one. Home Improvements. I still need to finish that book. Then there was another one, not long after that.  Give & Take.  That book just got a revamp. So now I need to write it, right?

One by one, the books filled the folders of my laptop.  Hundreds.  No. Seriously. I’ve started hundreds.  Need proof? Here.

Series

That is just a FRACTION of one folder. I have several.  That particular folder has 107 documents.

And Ashley is no help.

Why? I’ll tell you why. Because I’m a helpful kind of gal.  Or because I like to share the blame. Then again, it could just be because it’s one of my faults–because I’m unique.  Yeah.  Let’s go with that.

Oh, yeah.  No help.  Why?  Because when she got a hold of my work, she went to town.  “Publish this.  Publish that.  Do this one.  Now, do that one.  Don’t do this. Do do that.”  She’s a rather demanding gal.  Someone compared her to Megamind once, and she took it way too much to heart.  Just sayin’.

And with that, came one of the biggest problems I have as a writer.

The Sequels

Or rather, All. These. Sequels  ALL of them.

What am I talking about?  Well, let’s start with what I’m not talking about. I’m not talking about series. I’ve got a dozen or more of those things–series, I mean. And I blame Ashley for every last one of them. I’m talking just about sequels. Deliberate and not-so-deliberate–I’m an equal-opportunity sequel…er.  So, here’s a list of books that I’m anxious to write sequels for!

  • Noble Pursuits:  I have a plan for Further Pursuits, but I’d rather do the huge revision I have planned for book 1 first.  Still, people often ask me about what happened with Grace after the book, so…
  • Argosy Junction: I’ve been planning this sequel ever since I finished the first and people asked what happened next. I had ideas for years… and a title.  The Reluctant Shepherd. And then last autumn, while driving through Tennessee, I got a much better idea. And The Reluctant Shepherd got a new title and new motivation. Argosy Crossroads.
  • Thirty Days Hath: There’s a gal in that book who gets her own mystery.  After all, not everyone wakes up to a dead body on her porch. The murder weapon–it’s a real kicker.  I can’t give you the title. It’d be a total giveaway for those who read that book after reading this post.

I don’t like to do that to folks. I’m unique that way, too.

  • Allerednic: While I call it part of the Heart of Warwickshire series, it’s really just a two-book thing because I wanted to write a sequel.  And the only reason I wanted to write a sequel is that I got the idea for a cool title.  Bullfinch’s Methodology. For those who remember Amelia Bullfinch, you’ll get a feel for the tone of the book. And it’s a mystery.  I like mysteries, obviously.
  • Moore’s Code:  Andy’s going to mail himself to the North Pole. Why?  Well…
  • Corner Booth: Within the first twenty-four hours after Corner Booth was released, I began getting emails. “Will there be a sequel?”  “What happens next?”  “I need more Dean and Carlie!”  So, I decided to write another one. I’d toyed with the idea, but with that kind of instant response, I knew I should.  And Corner Room was born.  Split between right after book one and forty or so years later, Corner Room will be a bittersweet combination of past and present–an exploration of a life lived together.


And that’s my sequels list, folks. 

As for series.  Let’s just not go there.

 

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Filed Under: General Information, Writing Tagged With: Corner Booth, Rockland Chronicles

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Comments

  1. Andrea Rossignol says

    March 17, 2017 at 7:32 pm

    ASHLEY!!!!!!!!! Tell Chautona she has to hurry and finish the Legends series!!! My kids will want to read them before they’re grown! And I wouldn’t complain if there were more Not-So-Fairy Tales, either. 😉

    Reply
  2. Lucinda Culp says

    March 17, 2017 at 4:11 am

    I have finally discovered a book of yours that I DON’T have! Bullfinch Methodology. I need to rectify that and soon. You keep writing the stories God lays on your hearts, I’ll gladly keep reading them.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      March 17, 2017 at 4:14 am

      You can’t do that. It’s not out yet. 🙂

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Episode 283: A Chat with Debut Author Denise L. Barela
byChautona Havig

Having the chance to chat with a dear friend about her book is always a treat.  So when Denise L. Barela chatted to me about her mystery, Silencing the Siren, I knew we’d have a lot of fun. Boy, did we. From the first ideas on this mystery through the new series she’s considering, and where she wants to take her writing in the future, Denise has a lot to share.  Listen in to learn about her writing and how you can listen to her book free!

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

Why an Almost Love At First Sight Mystery Actually Works!

Denise L. Barela’s debut novel is the seventh in the Ever After Mysteries. These fairy-tale retellings set in the twenties (and now the forties!) feature fun mashups of those beloved tales with some kind of mystery. Denise chose “The Little Mermaid” and went to town combining 1920s New York City and Coney Island with that fairy tale and a freak show attraction that causes all kinds of trouble in various ways.

One thing I liked is how the “love at first sight” aspect of the original story played out in Denise’s. She focused on Annabel’s character and, being so different from the superficiality he lived with, it drew him in.  No, it’s not a romance, but this mystery does have romance in it, and Denise made that tough trope work.

The research Denise did involved widely differing topics–from novelty gifts (doorbells, folks!), to car technology advancements, to just how hard it was to find a map of New York City for the era!

Of course, that sparked a discussion on research for her other book and how she discovered rewritten history ruining her plans for it.  Enter rewrites. Sigh.

Finally, we discussed the sorts of books she wants to write, her conversation with Jaime Jo Wright, and where she plans to take things after she does one more mystery-themed series.  Clue is coming like you’ve never seen it.

Silencing the Siren by Denise L. Barela

Andrew Grayson thought he had everything… until he met her.

The indulged son of wealthy parents, Andrew has always gotten whatever he wanted almost before he knew he wanted it—clothes, gadgets… even a car! What more could a young man desire?

Enter Annabel Thompson. Freakshow mermaid extraordinaire… in a wheelchair!

Of course, her beauty attracts him. How could it not? Add to that a kind heart, and Andrew can’t help but fall for her.

Annabel’s connection with the freakshow repels his parents and their society friends. They want him to sever all ties with her and his new friends. Oh, and marry the “right” girl with the “right connections.” But he won’t do it. He’ll defy them and marry his little mermaid.

When Annabel turns up missing, declared dead, things don’t add up, Andrew begins asking some difficult questions, the most important being, “What happened to the little mermaid of the Coney Island freak show?”

Find out in this next book in the Ever After Mysteries, combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries. Silencing the Siren offers a retelling of “The Little Mermaid” that will keep you gripped to the edge of your seat as you watch the story unfold.

Learn more about Denise L. Barela on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.  You can listen to Silencing the Siren free on her YouTube Channel.

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