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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Kind of Fiend Would Break a Poor, Unsuspecting Nutcracker?

by Chautona Havig · 1 Comment

Who stole the nutcracker? We're out to find out as part of the release fun for The Nutcracker's Suite! Read and enter to win the giveaway! via @chautonahavig

the nutcracker release

Twenty nutcrackers lay spread out before me.  One by one, I grabbed my gold cord and tied it on. Must. Get. This done.

Around me, young people walked through the house–first out to my son’s “shed-room” and then back into the bathroom or to the kitchen for a drink and a piece of Hungarian coffee cake.  Those kids can plow through a Hungarian coffee cake, let me tell you!

My chair rolled–maybe it was an earthquake, or perhaps I rocked weirdly without noticing, but out of the blue, it rolled. I grabbed for the table, and in doing so, knocked off one of the nutcrackers.  When I bent over to pick it up, my heart sank.  “Oh, no!  I broke the nutcracker.”

That shock was nothing to the “Aha!” I got when a guy burst into the room, Tommy gun drawn, and pointed right at me.  “Aha!”

Somehow, I managed not to blurt out, “You already said that.”  Survival from mobsters 101. Don’t antagonize the guy with the gun.

Part of me wanted to ask just what the “aha” was about, but again. Gun.  I was willing to wait to be enlightened–preferably not as a prelude to my demise.

What Kind of Fiend Would Break a Poor, Unsuspecting Nutcracker?

the nutcracker

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

“Where is it?”

“What?”  Okay, so I kind of squeaked it out. Who knew what a wimp I was?  Not me.  After all, after nearly shooting out my own eye as a kid, you’d think I’d be hardened to the dangers of guns or something.  Apparently not.

“The nutcracker.”

Okay, so my prudence went out the window right about then.  I pointed to the table with nineteen perfect little nutcracker ornaments.  “Right there.”

“No, the nutcracker–the one you broke. We know you broke it. You admitted it. I heard you.”

Okay, this guy was just weird.  “Okay…” I held out my hand with the three broken pieces of my little ornament–just a flat, laser-cut piece of wood. Nothing special. “Here. I did it.  Sue me.”

“Not that one!  The one in Meyer’s office.”

Is it just me, or is it rude for people to ask for something, you give it to them, and then it’s not good enough.  As if it’s your fault the idiot–I mean, person–didn’t get specific to begin with?  Just asking… for a friend.  Okay, fine. For me. It’s for me.

“I broke this…” I shook the pieces at him in my clenched fist (you know, the one I wanted to shove through his face) nutcracker ornament when I obviously got startled.  Probably my subconscious hearing you come in, which makes it your fault, by the way. As for Meyer? That was in a book… and happened a hundred years ago almost.  Go read it to find out who did it.  I’m innocent.”

When the guy raised his gun as if to coldcock me for not being cooperative, I tapped a button on my phone.  The contact info for a friend of mine–a local detective.  “Hey, Nathan? I’ve got this guy in my house threatening me with a Tommy gun because I don’t have and won’t confess to breaking a fictional nutcracker. Can you do something about this?”

“Fictional nutcracker?  Did you write the book?”

I swallowed hard.  “Well, yes.”

“Then, I’d say you broke the nutcracker in the book, anyway.  Meanwhile, let this guy know that I’m on my way and will arrest him for assault if he’s still there when I get there.”

When I turned away from the phone, the room was empty… save one kid who stared at me holding a fistful of Hungarian coffee cake pieces. “I’ll put them back… I’m sorry…”

Okay, I’ll admit. I was tempted to let the kid squirm, but I couldn’t do it. Clearly, whatever nutcracker he’s all broken up about, I didn’t damage it. I suspect he saw my addressed Christmas cards on the table, though, so watch out, Cathe Swanson. I bet he’s headed your way next.

The Nutcracker’s Suite

“Time to dance, sugarplum.”

A painter at the Meyer’s Toys factory, Clarice Stahl, knows something is strange about the way so many men come and go through Mr. Meyer’s office, especially one in particular.

Then murder strikes a little too close to home and uncorks a barrel of secrets.

When mob king, Mario Topo’s, enforcer goes missing the race is on to prove he’s behind the murder. Police and mobsters alike are after Milo Natale, and he who finds Milo first might determine the enforcer’s fate.

A race through the city, a new friend… or more… a new life in the offing. Milo and Clarice must find who killed Topo’s man and why before the police arrest him for murder or Topo’s men bump him and Clarice off, too.

This next book in the Ever After Mysteries combines “The Nutcracker Suite” with a murder mystery set in the heart of 1920s Rockland.

Friday, The Nutcracker’s Suite Released!

Follow all the stories to find out who did it and how or why!  (And to get entries in to win one of the fabulous prizes!

April Hayman – Nov 26
Marji Laine Clubine – Nov 27
Chautona Havig – Nov 28
Cathe Swanson – Nov 29
Denise Lauren Barela – Nov 30
Rebekah Jones – Dec 1
Sandy Barela – Dec 2
Liz Tolsma – Dec 3 

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Comments

  1. Cheryl Arcemont says

    November 28, 2021 at 5:57 am

    This sounds like a great book added to this collection! Bravo!

    Reply

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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.

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

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Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
Episode 231: A Chat with RomCom author, Shannon Sue Dunlap
May 26, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 230: A Chat with Bryan Timothy Mitchell
May 17, 2023
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Episode 229: A Chat about Murmur in the Mud Caves with Kathleen Denly
May 12, 2023
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Episode 228: A Chat with Author Emilie Haney
May 9, 2023
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Episode 227: A Chat about the New Jewels of Kalispell Series
May 5, 2023
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Episode 226: A Chat with Archaeological Thriller Author, Doug Powell
May 2, 2023
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Episode 225: A Chat with Dani Pettrey
April 28, 2023
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Episode 224: A Chat with Author Megan Besing
April 25, 2023
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Episode 223: A Chat with Tosca Lee about A Long March Home
April 21, 2023
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Episode 222: A Chat with Regina Rudd Merrick
April 18, 2023
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And frankly, she's tired of it all--except the fighting off females thing. The women can just back off. Henri is hers... not that she'd admit that. Yet.
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