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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Deep Secrets Are You Hiding Behind?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Just what does "the camera never lies" actually mean? David Rawlings, in his allegorical style explores this concept in a story that will keep you riveted. via @chautonahavig

“He knows things about me that no one else does.”

The words rocked my world a bit.  It wasn’t that someone would know her secrets.  It was more that she is the kind of person who’s very open and transparent about who she is. I had the hardest time imagining that she had any secrets.  But what else would “things that no one else knows” be but secrets?

That conversation came to mind as I read a book last night.  Funny thing is, I requested the book months ago and promptly forgot about it.  However, when I returned from Missouri, among the stacks of packages–mostly all books, of course–waiting for me was that free review copy I’d requested.  I couldn’t wait to dive in, but I still had a month or more to go.

Was it worth the wait?  What did I learn from it?  Will it change my life?  So many questions… and of course…

The Camera Never Lies

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. Additionally, I received a free review copy of this book and chose to review it.

What Deep Secrets Are You Hiding Behind?

In his signature, almost allegorical style, David Rawlings sends you on a journey of self-discovery in The Camera Never Lies. A deep story, just enough twists and turns, and a lesson that should feel preachier than it actually does. Don’t even ask how that’s possible. I’m calling it great writing.  With all that in the book, what more could you ask for?

How about excellent characterization?  A multi-layered personality just flawed enough to make him relatable and deeply flawed enough to learn from, Daniel Whiteley offers more than a great protagonist… he offers a glimpse into your own soul as well.

Rawlings understands human nature and reveals it for all its raw imperfections and ugly shadows as well as its beauty and worth.  Best of all, he does it by stripping away everything that Daniel can hide behind until the man is forced to see himself as he really is.

The cross does that for us.  Jesus does that. 

My only quibble with this book is that once again, Thomas Nelson, a Christian publishing house has given us so-called “Christian fiction” without bringing Christ into it.   Sure, there are allusions to Biblical truths, but they are weak and any reader without a solid grounding in Scripture would find it difficult to know where the Biblical truths are hidden.  If Thomas Nelson hadn’t made a habit of putting out this “clean” fiction instead of Christian fiction lately, I might lay the responsibility at the feet of the author.

As it is, I beg Thomas Nelson to let readers know if they’ve shifted their focus from Christian fiction or not. I’d rather not be disappointed every time I pick up one of their books. Regardless, I enjoyed the book, am glad I requested and received a free review copy, and will continue to read Rawlings’ work in the future.

Recommended for lovers of cautionary tales and truths told through story.  If you enjoyed the author’s first book, The Baggage Handler, you’ll love this one, too.

Just be careful.  The book will make you examine yourself to see the deep secrets you’re hiding behind.

The Camera Never Lies 

The Camera Never LiesAbout the Book

Book:  The Camera Never Lies

Author: David Rawlings

Genre: General fiction/allegory/magical realism

Release Date: December 3, 2019

David Rawlings, author of The Baggage Handler, returns with another probing story: what would you do if your secrets were revealed to those around you?

Daniel Whiteley is a successful couples counselor who regularly puts families back together, helping them face up to the things in life they hide. But his own marriage is falling apart.

His wife, Kelly, knows Daniel is hiding something from her, but she doesn’t dare probe for fear her own secrets will be revealed.

When his grandfather dies, Daniel inherits an old SLR camera from a time when cameras pointed away from the person taking the photograph. On the camera is an inscription: “Use this camera wisely and remember, regardless of the picture you think you took, the camera never lies.”

When Daniel first uses his new camera he finds someone has already filled the roll of film. Annoyed, he processes the film and finds photos of a secret that he’s been hiding from his wife and daughter.
He has no idea who took them.

Now every time he uses the camera, the photographs reveal another secret about himself that he is desperate to keep–as well as those of his wife, which he is desperate to uncover.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
byChautona Havig

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t new to rom-coms, and her first book in the Sweetheart Series promises to be a literary riot, and it lives up to that promise. I’m only halfway through it and am thinking mean, ugly thoughts of everything keeping me from being able to escape into the crazy small-town politics and quirky characters. So far the com far outweighs the rom, which makes me thrilled to bits. Listen in to discover what makes Lone Star Sweetheart so much fun.

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

Why Did This Author Write a Rom-Com about a Loveable Shrew?

Well, I think we can safely blame Shakespeare for that. Shannon Sue Dunlap has taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in her Katherine, but unlike Katerina, Dunlap’s character is actually trying to learn to tame the tongue. Maybe someone should send her over to the book of James. There’s that whole bit about not being able to tame it, being an “unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Kate’s isn’t that bad, but not for lack of trying. Or something.

Shannon Sue Dunlap isn’t joking when she says that her Katherine is a “loveable” shrew. Seriously, I love this character. She’s forthright, no-nonsense, and “what you see is what you get” in her approach to life. I respect that. Add to that her boss who has shaken up the town of Sweetheart, Texas, and you’ve got the makings of a great story. I’m loving Lone Star Sweetheart.

But this isn’t all Dunlap has written.

Under the pseudonym, Shannon Kent, you can find her sweet and clean romances (including one Christian romance) inspired by Korean dramas. If you said I’d be not only chomping to read a sweet and clean romance about Korean tour guides and all that entails but also ready to watch a Korean drama on Netflix… Okay, I might not have laughed in your face, but I’d’ve been laughing on the inside.

Best part… one of them ties into her Sweetheart Series

Lone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlap

Katherine Bruno’s passionate, unfiltered temper makes her the shrew of small-town Sweetheart, Texas. When she’s drafted to help the mayor’s wife run against her own husband, Katherine meets opposing big city political consultant Ryan Park. The good-looking, flirtatious campaign manager gets under her skin, but fraternizing with the enemy is off-limits.

Katherine must battle her lack of experience, campaign sabotage, and her growing feelings for Ryan as she strives to succeed. His unprejudiced acceptance of her strong-willed character beckons her heart, but his jaded rejection of God is an insurmountable barrier. Will Ryan return to his faith and stay with her in Sweetheart or leave when the election ends?

You can find out more about Shannon Sue Dunlap AND get that first novella in the Korean Crush series free on her WEBSITE.

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Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
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