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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

When Reality Overwrites Fiction

by Chautona Havig · 8 Comments

 

“I can’t explain, just pray.”

The words came ten nights ago.  Frankly, five of the worst words I’ve ever heard in my life.  They signaled the beginning of my three year old grandson’s ordeal. If you ask Stephen what happened to him, he’ll say, “A bird died.”  It’s just a little more complicated than that, but it is how it happened.  A bird hit a power line, caused an explosion, which started a fire.  Stephen’s father rushed to help put out the fire (a few doors down from them).  Stephen and his sister Emma followed.  Mom called them back, but Stephen either didn’t hear or was too mesmerized by the fire to consider obedience imperative.  David, in a move that probably saved Stephen’s life, led his son back to the yard, leaving the fire for others to put out.  The explosion/fire caused the power line to fall.  It was nearly dark.  It blended with the street.  Stephen tripped over it (best guess), and the rest is history.

What does this have to do with anything?  I mean, this blog is about writing or at least not a personal blog about our family’s tragedies, right?  Well, bear with me for just a bit.  Do you remember what June is?  Camp NaNoWriMo.  After years of planning, detailed plotting, on June 1, 2012, at 12:00:01 I began writing the first words of Webster’s Bakery.  I haven’t had a book practically write itself like this in a long time.  The first day I wrote just under 6k words.  To see my progress, check out the graph on my “stats” page. Things obviously slowed down after June 6, but here I am on June 15, and I’m over 40K.  I’m happy about this.  However, this isn’t my point.  Subject matter– that’s my point.

This book is about the interpersonal relationships of women and how the church comes together to support one another.  Just as things became heart wrenching in the book–our disaster struck. The next morning, several wonderful things happened around the globe.  Children who have been waiting years to come home to their new families–from opposite sides of the globe–got the good news.  Two little boys from Haiti came home to America.  Two children from Ethiopia got a court date–after eighteen months of waiting!

If I had any doubt of my absolute need to write this book, it’s gone.  People need to see the relationships, the trials, the triumphs, the grief and the joy.  It is the heart of this story.  We’re living the grief right now.  I know there are worse things than little boys with bandages up and down their legs crying, “Don’t hurt me, Daddy,” but right now, it just doesn’t seem like it.  However, already we’ve had triumphs!  More will come.  He will recover.  He will walk again.  He will be a normal little boy climbing trees and tumbling off wood piles!

Stephen, this book’s for you!

What more could a little guy ask for than fresh bandages, a wagon ride, and a nice thumb?

 

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Comments

  1. Rebekah says

    June 19, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    Ive been praying for Stephen and I’m praying for all of you too! 🙂

    Reply
  2. angel says

    June 19, 2012 at 1:11 pm

    tears <3

    Reply
  3. Jo says

    June 16, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    Oh my goodness! Poor thing… I’m so sorry he had to go through that, but glad he’ll eventually be okay. Praying for him and for your whole family…

    Reply
  4. Dawn says

    June 16, 2012 at 5:32 pm

    Oh, thank goodness he is alright and will make a full recovery. How scary!

    I think your book is going to be wonderful.

    Reply
  5. Jo Ann Honaker says

    June 16, 2012 at 9:03 am

    Tears flowing freely here. Yes….as you say…there are worse things…but the tears are flowing for the “He will be a normal little boy climbing trees and tumbling off woodpiles.

    Reply
  6. Lorri Apel says

    June 16, 2012 at 8:09 am

    Chautona, your God given gift of the use of words never ceases to astound and bless me! Though the recap of Stephen’s story brought me to tears, it also brought me to a place of prayer and praise for how He, in the midst of such trials, finds a way to bless and send a message. Thank you for your willingness to share both, your personal experiences and your inspired tales. God bless you! We are continuing to pray for your family.

    Reply
  7. Kristi Stapler says

    June 16, 2012 at 7:35 am

    Major tears in my eyes. Love you, lady!

    Reply
  8. barbara says

    June 16, 2012 at 5:51 am

    Amen and AAAAAmen!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
byChautona Havig

Finally getting a chance to chat with Sarah Monzon was a total delight, and learning all about her latest release, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas was equally awesome.  My copy is here and waiting for me to dive into the battle of the celebrations!  EEEP! Listen in to see what that even means!

Note: I sound like I’m underwater. We heard it during our interview, but I couldn’t make it behave and couldn’t fix it. Sorry!

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

How Does an Intense Christmas Competition Lead to Love?

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas has so much going for it that I don’t know where to start! Fun mom who made our heroine’s childhood Christmases an international delight without ever leaving home?  Check!  Social anxiety adding to the stress of competing for a promotion?  Check?  Romcom hilarity?  Check, check?  And add to all that Sarah’s wonderful writing and delightful characterization?  I’m all in.

We also chatted about why she chose to write about a woman with social anxiety, her preferred reading methods, and some of my favorite books by her. For a refresher, those are The Isaac Project, 12 Days of Snowmen, and Book Nerds & Boyfriends (a collection of three novellas).

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

“Inspirational rom-com readers are going to love this one.”–BETHANY TURNER, bestselling author of The Do-Over

You can learn more about Sarah on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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