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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Do You Write an Exciting Fairy Tale Retelling as a Mystery?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

When it came time to write a mystery for the fairytale-inspired Ever After Mysteries, I started with a blank slate and dove in. via @chautonahavig

One of my all-time favorite movies is Something in the Wind with Deanna Durbin and Donald O’Connor. No, Donald doesn’t get the girl. When did he ever?  Sigh. But there is a song that gets me every time.  It explains so much about why I LOVE a good mystery!

To get a few of what is going on during that instrumental section, I found this…

write a mystery

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

How Do You Write a Mystery?

Especially an exciting fairy tale mystery?

Haven’t the foggiest. I probably did everything wrong. when I sat down to write a mystery for this series, I had a lot of ways I wanted to do it. From grandiose plans of making it feel like a mashup of all of Agatha Christies’ detectives (like I talk about HERE) to setting it among the Chicago mob or even in the East Coast elite—I thought of it all.

At some point, though. “Hollywood Royalty” got mentioned somewhere completely unconnected with the story.  I wasn’t even thinking about it at the time. But when I did, the millionaire mansion house parties of the twenties no longer grabbed me.  Who needed a Chicago nightclub and Al Capone? My cigarillo girl could work at Grauman’s Chinese Theater!

Except she couldn’t. *Insert dramatic sigh here*  You see, it didn’t open until May of 1927.  I couldn’t do that because my story had to take place in 1926—well before The Jazz Singer came out for reasons that only the book can make sense of.

Of course, when I realized that I planned a murder spree and more for the place, well… I couldn’t do that to our famous Hollywood theater. So I made up my own. Royalty and the exotic styles of the Egyptian and Chinese theaters decided for me. I’d do the Taj Mahal Theater. And I named it Goldman’s just so folks knew what kind of place it would be.  With the scene set, I only had one thing to do.

Figure out where the elements of the story would fit in.

Names and jobs took care of the prince and Cinderella.

Garrison Prince (Hollywood royalty) and Lucinda Ashton the cigarillo girl… done. Instead of a wicked stepmother, we have a landlady of a boarding house who has two daughters dying to be starlets. There we go!

A lost shoe?  That one was tough.  Most of the ideas I came up with were ridiculously stupid. Picture it, an overwrought Lucinda flees the theater after the shooting and leaves her shoe on the steps as she goes.

Oh, brother.

But I got it… and when it all came together, it really became a huge piece of the puzzle.  And it should, after all.  It was a huge piece of the original.

Motive?  I needed that.  But what?  Who would do this thing and how?  Here I had to deviate from the fairy tale setting and really focus on what was best for Lucinda and her story. Why would someone shoot someone in a crowded theater?  How would someone do that with accuracy? Or would they?

And then why would other people start dropping like flies?

Sorry… you’ll just have to read it and find out. After all, if I had to write a mystery, someone else has to read it, right?

Grab your preorder copy of The Last Gasp today while it’s still just $0.99!  It’ll go up after release day and preorders get a special bonus letter mailed to them “from” one of the characters in the story. Collect all the letters and you’ll even get a clue to a special game we’ll be doing online with all recipients!

Oh, and stay tuned for The Nutcracker’s Suite. Poor Milo and Clarice are in for some trouble when Topo the big mob king comes after them.

The Last Gasp

The Last Gasp

$9.99eBook: $4.99Audiobook: $12.50
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: Ever After Mysteries, Book 1
Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical, Mystery, Romance
Tags: Historical, Mystery, Romance
Publisher: Celebrate Lit Publishing
Publication Year: 2021
ASIN: B08S2Z449J
ISBN: 9781951839260

The first book in the Ever After Mysteries combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries, The Last Gasp. This Cinderella retelling blends murder with enough crime and story clues to keep you on the edge of your seat.

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About the Book

At the pinnacle of his Hollywood career, Garrison Prince’s reign ends tonight.

As plain old Gary Prinz, he can pursue his Bible education, buy a bungalow in Pasadena, acquire a few chickens, and marry the girl of his dreams. He just never imagined trading the silver screen for a pulpit would wreak such havoc.

A cigarillo girl, Lucinda Ashton spends her days with her boyfriend, Gary, and her evenings selling candy and “gaspers” to the Hollywood elite at the Taj Mahal Theater.

However, when gunshots ring out just as intermission begins, Lucinda finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a brouhaha that leaves three dead, and no one has a clue why.

All the police know is that the evidence points to Lucinda as the killer and Gary as the intended target.

Four new friends, one young orphan, and a potluck of clues that don’t seem to fit anywhere leave the police baffled, Lucinda in fear for her freedom, and Gary ready to trade in his acting shoes for gumshoes if it’ll save his “Cinda.”

The first book in the Ever After Mysteries combining beloved fairy tales and mysteries, The Last Gasp. This Cinderella retelling blends a murder with enough crime and story clues to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Related

Other Books in "Ever After Mysteries"
A Ransomed Grete
The Nutcracker's Suite
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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
Chautona Havig
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
Chautona Havig
Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
February 24, 2023
Chautona Havig
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
Chautona Havig
Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
February 14, 2023
Chautona Havig
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