Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

Book Review–God Storys

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About the Book:

Book: God Storys: Told By a Daughter of the Most High King

Author: Victorya Wright

Genre: Non-Fiction; Inspirational

Release Date: October 14, 2025

Do you have a personal mantra that guides you? Have you ever felt God’s presence so strongly that it seemed as if He was right beside you? Do you seek His wisdom when faced with tough decisions?

For me, my constant prayer is “Not in my own strength, Lord. Not in my own strength. Guide me. Direct me. Help me.” Since childhood I have experienced God’s undeniable presence, leading me in ways both profound and personal. There are moments when I turn, expecting to see someone beside me, only to realize it is His unseen nearness. When uncertainty arises, I seek clarity through prayer and my own version of the ancient Thummim and Urim – trusting Him to reveal the way forward. God Storys is a compilation of 30 true, standalone vignettes that testify to these Divine encounters – extraordinary moments that are not mere coincidences, but God-instances. May these stories inspire you, strengthen your faith, and open your eyes to His presence in your own life.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Victorya’s stories of how God worked through people who came into her life. Each chapter talks about a different person that God used for a different purpose. It is good to remember the ways God has cared for us, and to use those stories to encourage others. Part of her story is sad, as her marriage fell apart, but through that time, God cared for her and guided her. One caveat: Don’t bother with this book if you don’t believe in God speaking directly to people today. That happens in most of the stories.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Born at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles during one of the city’s largest earthquakes, I took my first breath as the building swayed and the gurney rolled – my parents recount a dramatic beginning marked by both chaos and grace. Life since then has been rich with God’s goodness, meaningful relationships, and profound learning. It has also brought seasons of hardship, loss and shame – yet grace has always abounded.  I am the mother of seven children, two of whom are already in heaven. My five God-fearing, compassionate, and well-educated adult children live in five U. S. states. My greatest joy is spending time with them and my 14 adorable grandchildren. I have spent most of my life working in healthcare and continue to serve part time in my orofacial myofunctional therapy private practice in San Diego County and beyond. I am passionate about proclaiming all that God has done.

More from Victorya:

I have been asked, “What is the purpose of this book? I believe that the answer to that question lies in the fact that you are holding this book in your hands and reading these God storys. That is not a coincidence; it is another God incidence. I do not believe in coincidence. I believe that our lives and our world are beautifully orchestrated by a very personal, very relational Creator.

This book is not about me; it is not about spiritual one-upmanship. This book is all about Him … about having a relationship with Him. I am an ordinary person; I am an ordinary Christian. I am merely His scribe writing out of obedience. Even the cover and subtitle of this book reflect God storys. I photographed the sunset from my front door before this book was ever written. The song that I refer to “The Truth”, reflects our royal relationship with Him as our King. The lock on the cover is to be unlocked as you explore your own relationship with Him, the God Who breathed life into our nostrils.

To purchase your copy, click here.

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Church Picnic and Coal Mine

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The first Sunday my brother was here, in mid-February, we were finally able to have the church picnic that had been proposed about a month earlier. We gathered at the Inangahua Swing Bridge for the picnic. The children had great fun playing at the edge of the river and on the bridge. Several hardy folks, including two of my boys, jumped from the bridge into the deep water underneath. I walked across, braving the swinging and swaying that is inevitable when several children are on it, and was amused at the warning sign at the far end.

Later in the afternoon, one of the church men took us to tour the coal mine that is up in the mountains above his dairy farm. We toured that mine several years ago, but Gayle had never been there, and we knew Mom and my brother would be interested. Because it was a weekend and the mine was not in operation, we got to drive all the way to the bottom of the pit.

Napoleon Hill

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While my brother was here, the boys took him on a four wheel drive trip over Napoleon Hill, which is only a few miles east of us. In the 1860s, there was a thriving town there–apparently until the gold ran out! I believe there was some lumbering there, as well, but the town didn’t last very long. I spent some time one evening researching the town, but couldn’t find much information. This picture is in the front of a book we have titled Westland’s Golden Century 1860-1960; it seems to be the only picture in existence of the small town.

I do not enjoy four wheel driving, but I decided to go along this time, since my entire family, plus Mom and my brother, were going. We took two vehicles: James’s Mitsubishi Pajero, and the Land Rover that Simon had just finished fixing. Some friends went along as well, with their two vehicles–a Land Cruiser and the Nissan Safari that Simon had restored and then sold to his friend. It was quite an adventure! I’ll let the pictures tell the story, for the most part. This first picture shows the house where the people live who maintain the track. They collect a small fee from each vehicle that goes on the track. The waterwheel generates their electricity.

This is a side track that apparently must be attempted each time. James only went downhill, but Simon and his friend both had to go up it, as well. This is Simon going up in the Land Rover.

Going downhill on another side track. The Safari went first, then the Land Rover, and then the Pajero. Simon stood in the track to direct James in driving the Pajero down. I was in that one. These gullies were terrifying enough going down….

When we reached this mudhole, we found the Safari stuck in the mud. Simon pulled him out, and then he went right back in…and got out on his own that time.

After awhile we came out into an open meadow, and climbed to a plateau above it for a lunch break.

Then, we had to go back up the rutted area.

At this point, I climbed out and walked around to the top of that area. I couldn’t handle seeing it, let alone being inside!

This is the Pajero, which I had just vacated.

Somewhere at the top of the hill is the Napoleon cemetery, virtually the only trace left of the town. There is a fence around the area, and a few grave mounds still visible.

We finally made it down to the level of the creek, and drove in the water for a long time.

A waterfall provided a car wash. There was so much mud on the windscreen by that time that a clean was quite welcome!

Shortly before reaching the river, we drove through two tunnels.

After going through the tunnels, the Pajero went home. Mr. Imagination had to do his paper run, and I was finished. The other three vehicles, however, stayed there to go through a number of mud holes. And get stuck. And get pulled out. And get stuck again.

I put together a couple of movies of the trip, using video clips taken by me, Esther, and Gayle.

New in the Library! March 2026

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I’m always astounded at the number of books we add to our library every month. This month is no exception!

The past two months, I have shared a quote from an old book. This time, I have a link for you. I just came across an article about getting into the habit of reading more. While I don’t need these tips (I read every chance I get!), maybe someone else will appreciate it. I like the author’s points about books and reading. Check it out here. By the way, the lady who wrote this post has a private lending library somewhat like ours!

I am trying out something new this month. A couple of weeks ago, Esther decided that it is time to close down the book reviews website (Ignite Lit) that she started over 11 years ago. It will still be live for the next year, but when the reviews we have written to date are all posted, by September, it will no longer be updated. Since I won’t be spending time anymore writing reviews for her, I decided to write more reviews of what I read on Goodreads. I’m going to start linking the titles I talk about here with the reviews I have posted there.

First up are some picture books I bought. I love using picture books to teach about historical events or people. The combination of beautiful pictures and a short story is great! That’s why I picked up The Day Gogo Went to Vote and Mandela. Before this, the only books on our shelves about South Africa were a middle-grade historical novel, Journey to Jo’Burg, and a book of animal stories. These two picture books work together nicely to talk about the end of apartheid. The Adventures of Madelene and Louisa is a beautiful book about two sisters in Victorian England who were avid entomologists, much to the dismay of their father and older sister. It is gorgeous–and hilarious! I paid more for it than I do for most picture books, but couldn’t resist it when I found it in a secondhand book shop.

I also found Dr. Seuss’ Sleep Book and I Broke My Trunk! at the secondhand book shop. I had fun reading the first to my youngest, and then sent it to one of my older children who was in hospital having surgery after an accident, to cheer him up (he loves Dr. Seuss). My youngest loves I Broke My Trunk! It is an easy reader, and she was able to read the whole thing–which she did, twice. She loved the repetition and the goofy story. Esther bought All You Ever Need to add to her collection of Max Lucado picture books. These are great to introduce Biblical concepts to children.

Some relatives sent gifts to us with my brother when he recently came for a visit. Among them was Blind Martha, the story of a Mennonite woman who went blind. It is a beautiful account of a life yielded to God, and shows how much even the blind can do if they work hard. I also added two more Heroes for Young Readers books to the library: Brother Andrew and Lottie Moon. My youngest discovered this set last week and wanted all of them read to her.

We happened upon two of The Church Mouse books. What fun they are! I’m not sure they are really children’s books; a lot of the humor seems to be aimed at adults. Totally impossible, but totally fun!

I purchased Bears in the Night, even though I don’t like the Berenstain books as a rule (the father is portrayed as a bumbling idiot, and Mom is the smart, level-headed one who saves the day), I like this one. It is an easy reader that my youngest had no problem reading. Hero of the Hill joins the other New Zealand picture books. It is about a locomotive that pulled trains up a hill in the North Island. I bought Leonardo’s Horse because I was intrigued by the cover and the unique look at Leonardo da Vinci’s life–and then realized that it was written by one of my favorite picture book history authors: Jean Fritz! It is delightful. Now, I want to make sure to get to Grand Rapids next time I’m in Michigan and have a look at the second copy of the horse. You Choose turned out to be greatly popular with my two youngest daughters. They enjoyed picking their favorite objects from the wide variety on each page.

My final purchase at the local secondhand book shop was Bear Stories, a Dolch reader from the 1950s. I remember enjoying these readers when I was young, but they are now quite scarce. I have added it to the Independent Readers shelf. The Blizzard Challenge and I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 are also on that reading level, just above Easy Readers, but because they are about more intense situations than I like my 6-7-year-olds to read, I am keeping them with the Junior Fiction books. My Father’s Dragon also fits into this age level. I read it aloud to my youngest, and she absolutely loved it.

Jock’s Island was a Bookarama purchase. I’ve learned to take a second look at older Scholastic books, because most of them are fairly good. This one is about a dog who found himself abandoned on an island somewhere in the Atlantic when a volcano erupted. Flight of the Fugitives joins a few other Trailblazer Books on our shelf. I would love to have all 40, but I don’t have the money to buy them new! This one tells the story of Gladys Aylward. We already had a copy of My Side of the Mountain, a favorite of our boys, but one of them wanted his own copy–and he wanted the one that was on the shelf already because he liked the small size! So, he bought this one and swapped with me. A Hound for Hannah was an unknown when I bought it. I found the writing quality mediocre, but I liked that it described healthy family dynamics, life on a farm on a remote, off-grid island, and homeschooling. Also, it centers around a dog, which will make it appealing to my youngest.

A couple of months ago, I bought five of the seven books in The Russians series. This month, I needed a book with a weapon on the cover for a reading challenge, and noticed that Book 2, A House Divided, had a gun. Well, I don’t read books in a series out of order, if I can help it, so I read The Crown and the Crucible first. By the time I had read the first two, I had to find out what happened next, so I read Travail and Triumph. I’m thankful that it wrapped up the story fairly well, because we don’t have Book 4, so I have to wait a month or two to finish the series! These are Adult Fiction. I found Book 1 a bit slow-going, since there is a lot of history, but the pace starts picking up in Book 2, and by the time I got to Book 3, action didn’t let up and my new friends were in constant danger, so I kept turning pages as fast as I could.

We have had a book about McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm for a long time, but when I saw this book, including Here Comes McBroom, I snatched it up. It turns out that the book we had only includes part of the stories about the farm! These tall tales are outrageously exaggerated–but so fun to read! When the War Came Home is the story of a boy trying to survive the influenza epidemic in Auckland at the end of World War I. He found himself in some terrible and some quite unexpected circumstances. I was delighted to find Jungle Doctor’s Africa; I’m trying to source all the books in that series.

We finally have the entire My Side of the Mountain trilogy. I ended up spending a bit more than I usually do for middle-grade books to get Frightful’s Mountain. The Gold Dog was a Bookarama purchase. It’s a fun story about children living near the site of one of New Zealand’s gold rushes, in Otago, long after the gold was gone. Ambari! is a book I picked up sometime last year. It features two boys in Africa who got swept out to sea, and the perils they faced in trying to get home.

I brought Bright April home from America last year. I have always loved Marguerite de Angeli’s books. They are delightful, gentle stories, and her artwork is gorgeous. This one is a luxurious hardcover edition. Two in the Wilderness is a book I picked up at the Bookarama last year. It is the story of two children who were left to watch over the family’s new cabin and land in New Hampshire, far from any other humans, while their father went back to fetch their mother and siblings, and how they survived on their own.

Here are some of my more serious recent reads. I started reading The Read-Aloud Family as soon as it arrived here, and loved it. It affirms what I have found to be true in reading aloud to my children for a quarter of a century. The past few years, when people ask for advice about homeschooling, my first suggestion is to read aloud. After reading this book, I will certainly continue to recommend that! The Complete Gut Health Cookbook has some good suggestions, and a few recipes I might try. Wilderness Treasure, the source of the quote at the beginning of last month’s post about the library, is a fascinating story of early botanists exploring America. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I was given these two volumes of The Bible Companion for review; they join three other volumes that I received previously. I have enjoyed reading these as part of my morning quiet time.

We read a few books that have been on the shelf for a long time. Fever 1793 tells the story of a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. It is the story of a girl who survived, and how she managed. The Apple and the Arrow has been a family favorite for over 20 years. I think we need to find a better copy! Timmy O’Dowd and the Big Ditch is a fun story of a boy whose family lives and works on the Erire Canal.

I read The Good News Must Go Out to my youngest. It is the amazing story of a woman who did mission work in Central Africa for many years. I read Doctor in Rags to all the children. I had read it before, but found it quite disappointing this time. Though it is a rare historical fiction featuring Paracelsus, an innovative doctor in the 1500s, the story felt rather flat to us. I also finally read String, Straight-edge & Shadow, a history of geometry. I was quite disappointed with the first two sections (six chapters); the author assumes that humans started out as stupid cavemen who gradually realized the passage of time and that things have shapes. After that part, the story got much better. I liked the way she presented the discoveries of the Greeks. Other than the first two sections of the book, this is a good way to learn geometry.

I found ways to fit Jip and Jacob Have I Loved into a reading challenge in February. As with other books by Katherine Paterson, there are elements in each that make them unsuitable for reading aloud, but they are good for early teens who are ready for tougher books. At the Foot of the Rainbow is a romance set in Indiana over 100 years ago, describing the results of a lie in the lives of the liar and those he deceived.

Our read-alouds this month included several old favorites that are worth mentioning again. Adventures With Waffles is a very fun story, set in Sweden, of a boy and girl who live next to each other and are best friends–at least, Trille hopes Lena considers him her best friend! The escapades they get up to kept us laughing. Adoniram Judson: Bound for Burma is an amazing, inspiring account of the first missionary sent out from the United States to Asia. James Herriot’s Treasury is a wonderful collection of the famous vet’s picture books for children. If you haven’t enjoyed the gorgeous pictures and delightful tales in this collection, you have missed out!

And, here are a few more books that have been on the shelf for awhile that I finally got around to reading! I read The Silent Whistle aloud to the children. There are some accounts in here of terrible abuse–but all of the stories point to the power of Jesus to care for his people in Romania and Ukraine, when both countries were ruled by communist governments. Shadow of the Wall turns out to be a story from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. It was written to honor a man who did all he could to save as many children as he could from the Nazis. I have spent the last few months reading Captivating a few pages at a time and being inspired to be the woman God made me to be. I recommend this for every woman or older girl!

Arthurs Pass

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A couple of days after my brother arrived, Esther took him and several of the children to Arthurs Pass for the day, to walk a number of tracks. I thought I would go, but that morning I turned my ankle. I’ve done that a lot of times, and while it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t walk, I knew it would get a lot worse if I did a lot of walking. So, I stayed home with Mom and Mr. Imagination, who didn’t want to pay anyone to do his paper run.

I let Little Miss take my camera along, and she had fun taking pictures. I tried to pick out the best here. They walked to the Devil’s Punchbowl Waterfall, the Avalanche Creek Waterfall, and up the Bealey Valley Track.

Somewhere in the tops they found a patch of sundew plants! I’ve never actually seen these carnivorous plants in person. They are tiny, about three inches tall. The red flowers are apparently part of them, too.

Everyone looks for unusual mushrooms for Grandma!

Book Review–The Bible Companion Book 7

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About the Book:

Book: The Bible Companion Book 7 Proverbs-Song of Songs

Author: Karen Westbrook Moderow

Genre: Bible Study

Release Date: September 6, 2025

Are you disappointed with life?

The Bible Companion Book 7 helps you reconcile the realities of life with the promises of God. A simple one-chapter-a-day format lets you engage with Scriptures without the pressure of schedules, homework, or heavy reading loads. Short daily readings and thought-provoking questions connect your story to God’s Word. For personal, group, or homeschool Bible study.

In the Books of Wisdom, God speaks to us in poetry—the language of the heart. These books reveal a God concerned not only about our minds and bodies, but also our emotions. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs bridge the gap between life as we hoped it would be and life as it is. If you struggle with your life’s circumstances, The Bible Companion Book 7 will help you find guidance, comfort, and strength in the poetry of men and women who searched for God in the dark and found Him.

My Thoughts:

I have really appreciated this book. I used it by, each morning, reading the next chapter of the Bible in sequence, and then reading the commentary included in The Bible Companion. There are some very encouraging thoughts included in this. I enjoy the pages of special information about various people or customs that are inserted between some chapters, as well. Each chapter contains 2-3 questions at the end, to help apply the chapter to our daily lives. This is the fifth book I have read in this series, and it may well be my favorite so far. I especially appreciated the treatment given to Song of Solomon, which can be quite hard to understand. Our family had recently gone through Ecclesiastes together, so that was quite interesting to study again, too.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

KAREN WESTBROOK MODEROW is a Bible teacher and author who brings a storyteller’s perspective to Scripture. She holds master’s degrees in theology and creative writing and loves introducing others to Jesus through the stories told in God’s Word.

More from Karen:

The Promise Box

My mother had an intricately carved wooden box approximately 4” x 3” that was passed down to her by her mother. It was called a Promise Box and held 150 small cards in assorted colors. One side had a Scripture verse, the other a prayer. Most of the verses came from Proverbs.

The Promise Box was always kept in place we passed many times a day. A place where we’d be sure to see it and be enticed to pull a card. I’d lift the lid and breathe in the musty smell of years gone by then choose a card, eager to see what message from God awaited me. The limp cards with their faded colors told me I wasn’t the first.

My mother’s Promise Box had belonged to her mother. When my mother-in-law died, I received the Promise Box that had belonged to her grandmother. By then the metal box engraved with an intricate family scene had seen better days. The hinges had broken apart. The once shiny box had darkened to near black. But I couldn’t part with it. It had to be more than 150 years old. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times those who owned it reached for a word from the Lord to get them through their day.

Most had lost children. They depended on God for daily bread literally as the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl took their family members and livelihoods. As an adult, I understood that we aren’t to treat the promises of God like fortune cookies we hope will bring us good luck. A daily visit to the Promise Box doesn’t substitute for time spent with God in prayer and His Word but it has value. The Promise Box reminds us that God is not only in the church, He is in our homes. He wants us to see Him, to reach for Him, and rely on His promises. If a little box nudges us to look to Him with expectation., then it is not only a gift we should treasure, but a treasure we should pass on.

Grandma’s Promise Box

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Nelson Creek and Croquet

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My youngest brother came in early February to spend two weeks with us, returning home with Mom when she went. It was wonderful to get to know him! He is enough younger than me that he was only four years old when I left home, and I never really knew him. We did a lot while he was here! We let him rest on the first day, and the next day took him to Nelson Creek for a picnic lunch. Mom had been wanting to go there ever since she arrived, and we never made it, so it finally happened. We ate lunch and then went across the swing bridge to walk the tracks through the bush.

I found this little garden on a log and thought it was beautiful. These plants are about an inch tall at most.

There were cicadas everywhere! The noise was so loud it was hard to hear each other talk at times. A funny thing I noticed? When I said the sound “s” I couldn’t hear it; the sound of the cicadas drowned it out!

I believe it was that same evening that someone called us to say that the old church in Ngahere was on the move, and would be going past our house after awhile! The building had been bought by someone from Arahura, near Hokitika, and after about three years it was finally being moved there. We wanted to watch it go past, so we went to the park across the road and played croquet while we waited. Such a fun evening! The first person had just gotten around the course and won when the church came into sight.

January 2026 Photos Part 2

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Here are the rest of my pictures from January. The big project in January was to replace the roof of our church, Reefton Baptist. The building is an old A-frame Scout hall. The first picture here was the day they trimmed trees away from the building and took part of a wall off, and started taking the top off the chimney.

The next Saturday, more people went. They took off the old roof and replaced it, and a couple of people spent the whole day jackhammering and sawing the chimney to finish taking it down below the level of the roof. They had the building water-tight by late that night.

Little Miss wanted a picture of my harvest one morning.

One day, Mom and I took the three youngest on a walk to the bridge. We located all three geocaches that are around the bridge–what fun!

Esther was in Timaru for a couple of weeks in January, and one evening she sent me a picture of the sunset. I returned the favor–ours was more brilliant!

The budgies are tamer all the time. Mr. Imagination enjoys them.

So do the girls!

When I went to the greenhouse one day to work, I found two cats enjoying the dry warmth in there!

A friend of ours bought a berry farm last year. He allowed us to come in and pick crops that would be going to waste. These were blueberry bushes in among tayberries. We came home with enough blueberries to last us most of the year!

Picking peas and beans is very enjoyable–see all the colors!

January 2026 Photos Part 1

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I’m not going to attempt to organize these pictures into categories. I’ve had enough trouble getting anything posted that I’ll just put them up in a few posts.

We finally threw this old foam mattress out, after it hadn’t been used in many years and was just taking up valuable space. The girls had fun with it for a couple of days, and then Mr. Imagination cut it into pieces for archery targets.

Some friends from Australia came to visit one evening, and the girls appropriated the man’s hat and sunglasses for a little while!

The cat got dressed up, too. Think she liked it?

One of Mr. Imagination’s knives.

One Sunday we had lunch with and spent the afternoon with some friends at Maruia. They have an outdoor aviary with a number of budgies, and the girls enjoyed seeing them.

This is the view from their deck, as one storm after another rolled through the mountains.

We did a lot of puzzles with Mom. That was a great way to spend relaxed time together! This first one was Miss Joy’s; the others were a group effort.

We had another hatch of chicks in January. After I took them out, while the unhatched eggs were still in the incubator, Princess took a nap with them. As soon as I started picking them up, to take them outside and open them to see what went wrong, she was wide awake. She knows that they will be her snack!

Book Review–Induction

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About the Book:

Book: Induction (Prequel to The Agency Files)

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: November 10, 2023

Someone wants her dead. Not happening on his watch.

When Roman Simon goes missing, the small town of Fairbury burns with rumors hotter than the sidewalk in July. They’re certain he’s either left his wife, or she killed him (not that they’d blame her). As the weeks pass and the police fail to find answers, things heat up more when Anna Simon disappears, too. If that’s not strange enough, the chief of police orders his officers to leave Anna out of their investigation.

As a new recruit into a secret protection service known only as The Agency to the few who know it exists, Keith Auger doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he’s determined to do his new job well. But when he finds himself guarding a woman before he’s fully trained, he already begins to doubt the wisdom of this career path.

Pressure mounts as Keith tries to stay one step ahead of the men out to kill Anna and another step ahead of Anna who is determined to find answers no one will give her.

Keith can’t help but wonder: will his first assignment with The Agency be his last?
Induction is an introductory novel to The Agency Files.

My Thoughts:

I read this book and wrote this review a few years ago, when the book was first published. One of these days, I plan to read the entire series again, now that it is complete. For now, here are my thoughts from my first read:

What a story! As with all of Chautona Havig’s books, I loved the interactions between characters in Induction. I was immediately drawn into the story and did not want to put it down until I was finished, although I had to because I had other things to do than read. I did end up staying up late one night to finish it, though.  If you enjoy suspense, you will want to read this book. There is more romance in it than in most of the other books in the series. Personally, I could’ve done without that part of it, but I really enjoyed the story anyway. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours, and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona:

Way back in the dark ages of my writing career (you know, around 2009…ish), I had an idea for a couple. She was a plain woman in many ways—a good student.  He was the star quarterback for a college football team.  And one day, while goofing around with his teammates, he bumped into her and caused her to drop everything, ruining a library book.

She wasn’t happy.

Did several chapters follow with him trying to make it up to her?  Yep. Did she cave?

Eventually.  And a couple of years later, the day before their wedding, his mother begged him not to marry someone so dull and uninteresting.

But all this came out about a quarter of the way into the book.  The first chapter opened with her eating lunch with her husband, who ordered her least favorite dish because it’s good for her. Employees scowled, and the rumors of how awful he was to her flourished.

If only they knew. No one loved anyone more than Ramon Simon loved his Anna.  Abusive?  Never. Not even a hint, but no one in Fairbury would ever believe that.

But that was my problem.  That’s all I knew.  I called it “A Man and a Mouse” while waiting to find out what their story really was.

Twelve years later, I finally knew.

See, I had this character from one of my favorite series. The Agency Files is a suspense/romantic suspense series focusing on protecting people from “the bad guys” until law enforcement can round up those bad guys and it’s safe to go home.  They’ll do anything they have to in order to keep you safe—even kidnap you. The best of the best?  Keith Auger. And well… he wasn’t born an agent, was he?

I decided to write his “induction” into The Agency, and what better way to do it than to introduce him to Anna Simon?  Her husband is missing, and someone’s after her.  So, after a crazy ride at his job interview, and a few weeks of training, Anna is his first assignment. Keep her alive until those trying to kill her are caught.  But that’s when things get complicated.

The series has grown a lot since Justified Means released.  From that one book to last month’s exciting conclusion to this “branch” of the series with Take Cover, we’ve seen human trafficking, a drug running biker gang out to kill an ex-member who met Jesus, a crisis of faith combined with bioterrorism, a guy running for his life—he just doesn’t know why, an office manager gone rogue, an unemployed woman hiding out from “goons” in a Michigan castle, a traitor in the agency, and a bad guy who just might be the only one who can help them thwart a hostile takeover.

It’s been a bit of a wild ride for The Agency, but with the series “complete” (there will be spin-offs), it seemed like a perfect time to introduce folks to the series prequel, Induction.  All of the series books are available in print, on Kindle Unlimited, and as audiobooks (they’re even FREE on Christa DelSorbo’s YouTube channel!).

Happy reading!  And I apologize in advance for Flynne’s slang.  That girl!

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