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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Clearing out Junk Helped Me Find Treasure

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

The Lost Dutchman's Secret is more than a great mystery--it's a dangerous secret that people will hunt you down for. Trust me! via @chautonahavig

the lost dutchman's secret

When you spend a weekend with a professional organizer who is trying to help authors declutter their spaces, their schedules, and their minds, it gets under your skin, okay? I am already prone to bouts of decluttering frenzies as it is.  I mean, I wrote a whole book on one woman’s quest to eradicate the excess from her life. It’s a thing for me.

So when I got home from the retreat, I didn’t even want to unpack my suitcase.  I mean, come on! I came home with stuff that I didn’t leave with!  A candle, a couple of books… or five or ten… um… yeah. Stuffness, okay?

But I couldn’t resist for long. See, I’d picked up Angie Hyche’s Unholy Mess and started reading, and the bug hit.  Laundry first.  Once that was done, I had to put the stuff away, and that’s when everything went south–right into trash bags. I filled one with clothes I hadn’t worn all summer.  Look, I don’t have many clothes to begin with.  I have a closet rod just barely over three-feet long.  Single rod, not double. Know what that means?  Yeah. limited clothing options.  I also do not have a dresser, bureau, or chest of drawers (covering my clothing storage bases). Three tiny squares in my closet hold underwear, t-shirts, and leggings. That’s it, folks.

And I chucked a bag.  A full bag.  I also found a couple of things I wanted to make changes to. A too-big jacket that I love too much to chuck.  Needs to be cut apart and redesigned.

You’d think with all that, I’d be DONE.  Not hardly.

the lost dutchman's secret

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

How Clearing out Junk Helped Me Find Treasure

Phase two began with hanging some prints I’d bought.  See?  Isn’t it lovely?

not the lost dutchman's secret

Doing that forced me to deal with papers.  And when you deal with papers…

Wait. This isn’t If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  This is more like, “if you find a treasure map, watch out!”

Look, I don’t remember where I got the thing.  It’s not mine.  Maybe it’s leftover from my father’s forays into the Superstition mountains when I was a kid.  No joke. Dad used to haul me up to the mountains on Saturdays to look for the Lost Dutchman Mine.   And that’s what the map is to. Supposedly.  I don’t buy it, frankly.

So there I was, trying to figure out if I should just chuck it or if maybe I should send it as a souvenir to Rebekah Jones. After all, she just wrote a mystery surrounding the Lost Dutchman Mine. What a great release present, right?

That’s when the call came in, and I punched the speakerphone in time to hear Rebekah say, “Liz says she sent my map to you to keep it from the clutches of treasure hunters.”

Had it come in while I was gone? Maybe that’s why I didn’t remember it.  Everything began to make sense. Before I could tell her I had it, I heard voices outside my room.

“I heard her say map.”  It was probably supposed to be a whisper, but um… not hardly. Maybe in a sawmill, as Audie Murphy would say.

I punched the speakerphone to regular, sneaked over to lock my door, and squeezed myself out my bedroom window. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pretty sight, and no one ever wants to see that again. From there, I raced off to the post office, stuck it in an overnight envelope, and mailed it to Marji Laine.  After all, she’s in Texas where everyone and their florist has a gun–except Quakers, apparently (name that movie).

So, I had the map (although, I didn’t know it), and now that I’ve decluttered my house of it, of the fellows trying to snag it, and of a bag of clothes, I think I’ll go work on the rest of my desk area.  Adios, compadres!

the lost dutchman's secretThe Lost Dutchman’s Secret by Rebekah Jones

There’s a deadly secret in them thar hills—and gold, or so they say.

Deeply in debt to a wealthy local, Charles Sinclair, Dorothy Hodges’ father finally promises she’ll pay and in gold, no less. If only Dorothy could take to take the promises he spins out of thin air and turn them into that gold, all would be well.

With the help of a strange, rumpled man, Dorothy does manage to bring payment to one of Sinclair’s sons only to discover it won’t pay off the debt. Will the next payment be enough?  The next?

When Charles Sinclair ends up dead, Dorothy is the obvious prime suspect, but Sinclair’s son isn’t so certain. Together they work to clear her name and find the real murderer of the Superstitions, but will they find the answers buried in those hills?

Find out in this next book in the Ever After Mysteries, combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries. The Lost Dutchman’s Secret offers a retelling of “Rumplestilskin” that requires more digging than a miner searching for The Lost Dutchman Mine.

Oh, and don’t forget to get in on the other authors’ giveaways and find out where that map has been!

Sandy Barela – November 2
Cathe Swanson – November 3
April Hayman – November 4
Liz Tolsma – November 5
Chautona Havig – November 6
Marji Laine Clubine – November 7
Denise Lauren Barela – November 8
Rebekah Jones – November 9

And get your entries in here!

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
byChautona Havig

Terry Garner joined me tonight to chat about his fascinating Biblical Fiction series, Magi Journey. Starting way back in Assyria, through Babylon, and into Persia, the series chronicles two timelines–first that of the Israelite kings, and then of a fascinating family back in Persia… Listen in to see the hope this Magi family found in Scripture and how it led them to Bethlehem. 

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

This isn’t just another “traveling to Bethlehem with gold” story of the Magi. No, Terry Garner links the Israelite kings from Ahaz through the destruction of the temple and into captivity with a family who discovers that God has promised redemption for those outside Israel as well. Follow a physical and a faith journey across the ages all the way to the hope of an age.

With extensive and meticulous research, Terry Garner looks at Scripture and compares it with historical secular accounts. Even more exciting, however, are the things he discovered along the way. He talks about Jewish historians discounting Scriptural accounts of historical events to explain away the supernatural as if God Almighty… isn’t!

And then, Terry explains how he’s also writing a nonfiction book to help readers pull all the pieces from Scripture and see what God has promised us… so that we may know His plans. I’m excited about that book, but I confess, learning he’s working on a spinoff of the Magi series excited me even more. EEEP!

Terry Garner has all his books on sale right now!

The paperbacks are on sale for 9.95 and the box set (also available on Kindle Unlimited) is on sale for 4.99!

Magi Journey by Terry Garner

A sweeping historical saga from the courts of Tiglath-Piliser III in Assyria to the sleepy town of Bethlehem. History is seen through the eyes of the Magi as they journey from 734 BC to -0- AD.

Explore with the Magi the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Witness God’s judgment on Israel, Assyria, and Babylon. And rejoice in the redemption of Israel and the coming of the Messiah.

Join the Magi as they answer the question that is critical to every man and woman, “Who Is This Messiah?”

Learn more about Terry on his WEBSITE.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
March 31, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 216: A Chat with Jaime Jo Wright
March 28, 2023
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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
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Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
February 24, 2023
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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
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Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
February 14, 2023
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