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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

“Time, Time!” She’ll Cry, but There Is No Time!

by Chautona Havig · 2 Comments

Sometimes, all the best intentions, instead of being funneled into an efficient stream of effort end up in a salad spinner of chaos. Such was Fine Print. via @chautonahavig

“Where’s Madeline? I’m going crazy!!!”

It’s encouraging when you get emails from readers who saw you say somewhere that you planned to release a book on February 20, 2018 and then they can’t find it anywhere.

Add to this the fact that I have a blog tour for this book beginning… um… tomorrow, and you get emails going,

“Um, where’s the book? Have the books gone out yet? I didn’t get my copy!”

Poor panicked reviewers wondering why the book they’d been promised isn’t there. Talk about embarrassing. Tomorrow, when you visit Celebrate Lit’s bloggers, you’ll find my synopsis. And that’s about it. UGH. You can enter the giveaway, but… yeah. No reviews. No opinions. Nothing. Double-ugh.

Still, despite the embarrassment factor, it’s a good feeling to know that people are eager for the next book in a series!

It is!

So I was working on Madeline (still) last night when I realized I’ve been so bogged down in this story and making it better and better, (for more about it, read the blog tour post on THIS page) that I hadn’t even put up the bonus page. You know… that little page that tells you what the bonus for this story is? AAAK!

So, I had to stop and do two things.

  1. Tell you guys about it and
  2. Um, make the page!!!

"Time, Time!" She'll Cry, but There Is No Time!

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

Fine Print: Meddlin' Madeline 3Do you know how hard it is to make a page for a bonus when you don’t have a link for the book? Yeah. It became your classic children’s story parody.

If you give an author a deadline, she’ll need a thirty-six hour day to go with it.

If you give her a thirty-six hour day, she’ll spend every second of that and ask for more.

You’ll give it to her (because you want that book!)

She’ll write.

She’ll get dozens of new ideas and need lots of Coke and Denny’s to keep her fueled enough to write more.

You’ll bring them (thanks!).

She’ll revamp the second half of the book because of one of those new ideas.

The delay will increase.

She’ll become so frazzled trying to finish “on time for the delay of the delay of her release that she’ll ignore her email.

Forget to feed her family.

Dream of her other characters revolting and threatening to tar her character and decorate that one with feathers.

She’ll remember the bonus page. So, while she’s waiting to get signed in to upload the book information, she’ll whip together a cover for that bonus. It’ll make her smile.

That smile will deceive everyone around her. They’ll think the story is almost done. It is. But it isn’t.

So, with the story teetering at just the crucial moment, she’ll go to put the cover on the bonus page and discover that it needs a link to Amazon.

She’ll go there to create one—and while there, she’ll beg God for more time.

He’ll say no (considering He set time laws in motion at creation, you understand).

With the Amazon clock ticking, and the bonus page complete, she’ll rush back to write a quick blog post saying what’s going on…

The book will cry out for attention.

And even worse, the clock will crawl and spin at the same time.

She’ll drop her head in her hands and beg someone, anyone, for more time.

The new release date of March 15, 2018 (beware Madeline’s Ides!) will give that to her.

And chances are…

If you give her more time…

She’ll stop working on this blog post and go write.

Adios, mi amigos!

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Comments

  1. allofakindmom says

    March 10, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    I’m looking forward to reading this Madeline story, once it’s available! 🙂 Good luck! (I know all about getting bogged down and not meeting deadlines-uuuGH!)

    Reply
  2. Lucinda says

    March 5, 2018 at 5:58 am

    I love this blog! Praying for you. Anticipating “Fine Print” and know it’s going to be GOOD!

    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.

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