• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

  • Home
  • Our Library
  • Math Freebie
  • Contact Us
  • Legal Policies
    • Disclosure and Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Book Review—Will Not See

August 30, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Will-Not-See2
About the Book

Book title: Will Not See
Author: Chautona Havig
Release date: August 29, 2017
Genre: Christian Fiction / contemporary / suspense (light)

My Thoughts:

Whew, what a book! Most of the time anymore, I am able to exercise self-discipline with books, and put them down when I need to get on with helping someone with school, or cooking a meal, or whatever needs to be done. This one, though— I was almost glad that I needed to be resting, recuperating from recent trauma, when Will Not See came in to be reviewed! I literally read it in one day. Not quite one session, because I had to stop for meals and reading to the children and a few other things, but I devoured the last half of the book in one go.

Imagine waking up in a motel room, not knowing who you are. The identification in her purse said she was Victoria Jeffries—but where did she live? What did she do for a living? Who did she know? Victoria had no clue. She could not remember anything at all. 

Enter Ella Weeks—main character in None So Blind. She had experienced much the same loss of memory less than a year earlier. After going to the hospital to talk to Victoria, she helped the young woman go back home and provided support as she tried to figure out her life. But when strange, menacing men started coming around and threatening Vikki, as she soon became known, how could the women deal with that? What were the men wanting, anyway? What had Vikki been into before this happened?

Will Not See is quite different from None So Blind. Besides the story of the memory loss, and having to rebuild her life, Vikki’s story has a crime mystery woven in. That’s why I couldn’t put it down: I had to find out if she would be all right or not. As always in Chautona’s books, though, I found gems that I loved. One was a quote from Ella’s husband, “But remember Who is really in control. All our little attempts to make everything go to our plans are illusions we give ourselves when we take our eyes off the Lord.”

Bottom line? I thoroughly enjoyed Will Not See, and will probably read it again soon—more slowly, to get more out of it, and I can hardly wait for the third book in the series. Somehow, we have to get to the bottom of what is causing these losses of memory—is it a strange virus, a drug that the victims have somehow inadvertently taken, or some weird scientist’s experiment, or something else altogether? I want to know!

WARNING: Prostitution is mentioned a few times, in passing, and Vikki was raped as a young girl. There is nothing explicit.

The Author’s Synopsis:

When Vikki Jeffries wakes up in a Rockland hotel with no idea of who she is  and why she can’t remember…well, anything, the Rockland medical community begins to take a closer look at what may have happened to cause a second case of inexplicable amnesia. But for Vikki, this is more than a medical anomaly. It’s her life. What is she doing in Rockland, thousands of miles away from her home in Apache Junction, Arizona? Who is she? Why is no one looking for her? Or are they?

The secrets of a past she’s discovering she doesn’t want to know lay locked away in a memory that refuses to acknowledge their existence.

When Brandon Marana finds his neighbor struggling to open her front door, his quiet life becomes a race to protect Vikki and himself from people who are determined to find her. He’s falling in love with her–but he shouldn’t. He’s a Christian. She’s not. But the more she depends on him to know who she is and learn why these things keep happening to her, the stronger those ties become.

About the Author:

Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert with her husbnd and five of her nine children.  Through her novels, she hopes to encourage Christians in their walk with Jesus.

Guest post from Chautona Havig:

The circle of death swirls on the screen and it shifts. The bank balance appears, and with it, my heart sinks. It’s been a tough few months, financially. The bottom line proves it.

My reaction? Inhale. Exhale. “Okay, now we know the worst. We can do something about it.”

My husband, on the other hand, suffers a definite blow. Kevin might not sleep that night. Instead, he’ll mull over what we could have done differently, how we can make changes, if he’s a failure at this thing called life. He’ll pray—for hours.

They say ignorance is bliss. And sometimes, that’s true. It’s also a personality thing, I think. I tend to be a “let me have your worst”kind of gal. But when the negative arrives, I also tend to want to shield Kevin from it all. I don’t know how he can worry so much. He can’t fathom how I can turn it off.

But sometimes those personality things go deeper—into what can be serious faults. It has been said, “There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.”

Or, in the words of Jeremiah, “Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.”

What does this have to do with not seeing?

As I work on the Sight Unseen series, one recurring theme happens, of course. Memory loss—the removal of all insight into one’s past. You can hear who you were, be informed of what you did and why others think you did it, but you can’t know your own self the way you once did. It’s a fresh slate, and it can be a good thing in some respects.

Those around you can now see the difference between habits and personality traits—true dislikes and those conditioned by life. What might have been a fear once could be gone if the cause of that fear is blotted out.

But even for these fictional characters, truth doesn’t change. In None So Blind,Ella takes her memory loss and uses it as an opportunity to reinvent herself,if you will. And you know what? If you asked her family about it, they’d tell you that it fits her personality. That take-charge, gotta get ’er done attitude Dani may have used in different ways, but both “manifestations”of the woman had those qualities. Sure, Ella’s was tempered by recent experience, but not much.

Vikki Jeffries, is almost the antithesis of Ella in that respect.

The past is in the past. It scares her. Is it because she doesn’t know it? Because she’s frightened by the unknown? We don’t know. But what we do know is anything associated with that past, even the few very personal items she finds, she rejects. It’s as if ignorance of them will protect her from them. Where Ella runs to face her problems, Vikki runs from them.

But despite those differences, I find it interesting that both women did the same thing, basically—just at different times.

Before her “episode,”Ella chose to blind herself to her faults. She knew them. Lived with them daily, but couldn’t face or address them. So, she “refused to see.”

Vikki—we don’t know. But I think the story shows that she couldn’t blind herself to truth before her episode. As much as she might have ached to, she just couldn’t. Now that the opportunity is here, however, she grasps it and if she insists on squeezing her eyes shut indefinitely, it may cost her everything—her life. Her soul.

Philippians 4:8, “…whatever is true.”

They say ignorance is bliss. Well, “they”also say, “Truth hurts.”And sometimes it does. But so do the consequences of that ignorance. I guess the next time the bank balance dips low, I won’tbe handling the fallout alone. Then again, one can always pray that it doesn’t dip low! I think we’ll start there.

Click here to purchase your copy.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit, Chautona Havig

Book Review—Manuscript for Murder

August 5, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

 
Manuscript-for-Murder
About the Book
mfmsm-200x300

Book title: Manuscript for Murder
Author: Chautona Havig
Release date: October 13, 2012
Genre: Mystery

My Thoughts: I have always shied away from murder mysteries. As a Christian who takes literally the teachings of Jesus not to kill and the guidelines throughout the New Testament that we are not to be involved with bringing criminals to justice, but rather to leave that to the civil authorities, I’m just not comfortable reading books like that. So, Manuscript for Murder was a bit of a stretch for me. I really enjoyed it, though, and plan to read the rest of the series. 

The main character of Manuscript for Murder is Alexa Hartfield, an author who writes bestselling murder mysteries. As she starts a new book, someone seems to be targeting her; she ends up in the emergency room one night. She works that incident into her book—and a few days later, someone is murdered in Fairbury in exactly the same way she described in her book! When the same thing happens a week or two later, Alexa and the police chief know that it can’t be a coincidence—but who is doing this, why, and how?

There were some things I really enjoyed about this book. In one discussion, Alexa explains to a friend why she, a Christian, writes murder mysteries. I had never thought about why people like to read murder mysteries, but the line of reasoning presented here really makes sense. I also appreciated Alexa’s attitude about clothing. She wore whatever she wanted to, no matter if it was in style or not. Her attitude is summed up in one sentence: “I wear what I like when I like, and I don’t worry about what anyone else likes or wears.” There is also some very real humor in the story; I loved the scene in which a 4-year-old told Alexa that what his mother needed for Christmas was new underwear!

In short, Manuscript for Murder is a murder mystery that I can recommend. I’m looking forward to reading more books in the series and find out if or how the relationship between Alexa and the friendly policeman Joe develops.

The Author’s Synopsis:

Alexa Hartfield. Author, local celebrity, fashion connoisseur. She chose Fairbury for its close proximity to Rockland, its small town atmosphere, and its low crime rate.

Then someone made her life a literary cliché. A mysterious accident with a light bulb sparked an interesting idea for her latest novel—and for Fairbury’s new serial killer. The first replication infuriated her. The second left an even worse taste in her mouth. The third blasted more than her self-confidence, and the fourth beat her down so far she’s considering giving up writing completely.

Who is killing Fairbury’s citizens, and furthermore, why and how are they using her novels to do it?

About the Author:

Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert with her husbnd and five of her nine children.  Through her novels, she hopes to encourage Christians in their walk with Jesus.

Guest post from Chautona Havig:

How Arrows & My Obsession with Vintage Clothes Inspired Murder

A swath of fabric cut across my bedroom at an odd angle but that angle ensured that I could stretch it all out. With painstaking precision, I pinned every last piece to the fabric, disgusted at the enormous waste stretching out before me.

The pattern called for three and a half yards. I’d crammed it into two at most.

Just as I picked up the scissors for the first cut, Mom popped her head in the door to see how I was doing. I pointed out the waste. “Grandma said patterns always told you to buy way too much, but I’ve got enough to make another dress!”

Mom stepped closer. I want to say a cigarette hung from her lips, but let’s face it. No way would Mom ever allow the ashes to drop on the carpet. But it felt like one was there, nonetheless. Mom pointed. “Chautona, I don’t know anything about sewing, but I think those arrows are there for a reason.”

And with that, she turned away.

I stared down at the pattern. My arrows zig-zagged all over the place. A glance at the directions showed all arrows going exactly the same direction. Straight up and down the fabric.

You know, if I’d been doing this for the first time in 2017, I could have just zipped on over to “the Google,” as Mom calls it, and looked up why. Instead, I grabbed a thick sewing manual I’d bought for a buck at Pick-N-Save and flipped through it until I found a section on laying out patterns.

A couple of minutes later, I flew down the stairs. “The book says that the long, smooth edges are called selvages. The arrows are supposed to run parallel or the dress might hang wonky.”

Here, I can guarantee Mom took a puff of that cigarette. Man, I hated those things. “Well, like I said. I don’t know anything about sewing, but they looked important.” She blew a puff of smoke.

That’s when I suspected that Mom knew more about sewing than she’d let on.

What does this little sewing lesson have to do with mysteries and murder?

Well, see. This was a test dress. I’d only decided to learn to sew because I’d also decided that I wanted Nancy Drew’s wardrobe. In 1982, you couldn’t buy trim, neat clothing from the 50’s. I had Gunne Sax skirts and preppy tops with ruffles that my parents hated. When they found out I wanted a sewing machine to make clothes like that, they got me one.

Yep. I cut my reading teeth on Nancy Drew and didn’t stop there. I read all the youth mysteries—Bobsey Twins, Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys, Meg Duncan (she was a fave, too), and when I got a little older, Phyllis Whitney.

I loved the challenge of seeing events play out—and figuring out why. Why told me who. You get to where you can figure out things rather easily. But if you make me doubt my ideas, that’s good enough. I love that.

Is it any wonder that one of the first books I conceived was a mystery? I’d never put the ideas together until I began working on this post, but really… is it any wonder that I gave that author a love of vintage fashion? Too funny. But those arrows on that pattern? They taught me pretty cool lessons as a kid. Like Mom said:

“Those arrows are there for a reason.”

Isn’t that what God’s directional arrows in His Word are like? They’re there for a reason. They keep us from getting all wonky. It’s why Alexa writes the kind of books she does. I never could, but as she says when she describes telling someone why she writes horror/suspense,

“I tried to describe a world where we never see justice—where sin surrounds us, but the only response we see is a sweet romance or a heartwarming tale of doing good to our neighbors… And God is a God of more than love and mercy. [He’s also a God of] justice.”

Alexa writes what she does to help people sort out those crossed arrows and see that there is a point to it all—that eventually justice and mercy converge paths into one rather than criss-crossing all over the place, trampling each other. She doesn’t write Christian fiction, but I don’t know how a Christian can write fiction without some part of faith shining through. In Alexa’s, and I hope in mine as well, there’s an overarching theme that illustrates that the Lord hasn’t forgotten the people He created.

Click here to purchase your copy.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit, Chautona Havig

Book Review—None So Blind

June 25, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

None so blind FB Banner copy

About the Book

51gP-JXx5VL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_

Book title: None So Blind
Author: Chautona Havig
Release date: September 29, 2013
Genre: Contemporary

My Thoughts:

I have a new favorite among Chautona Havig’s books. I read None So Blind over last weekend, and felt like my toes were being stepped on. That’s one thing I appreciate about a book, though—when I get a lot to think about from a story that pulls me in.

None So Blind is based on quite an interesting premise. Dani Weeks wakes up one morning and can’t remember anything. She has no idea what her name is, who the person looking at her in the mirror is, or who her husband and children are. She doesn’t recognize her home, and in terror she takes off running down the street. After a couple of weeks in the hospital, where the doctors can’t find anything wrong, she comes home and the Weeks family try to rebuild their lives. As Dani learns how to live again, she tries to discover who Dani Weeks was—and hates what she finds. Taking a new nickname, Ella is a completely different person. Will she learn to love the man who claims he married her? Can she learn to love her children again? Will she ever lose her memory again?

What I liked the most about None So Blind was the picture presented of two vastly different mothers—which one am I to my children? Which one should I be? Also, which wife am I to my husband? Which one should I be? There are two very different women described in this story—in one body. The juxtaposition is fascinating—as well as the transformation of a family and home. I also loved the views of marriage that are presented. At one point I was getting downright angry with some of the characters and the advice they were giving Ella. The Biblical view of marriage came through very clearly, as well as today’s prevailing attitudes—which viewpoint would Ella accept?

This is a wonderful story for wives and mothers to read, and I ought to reread it every so often.

The Author’s Synopsis:
Dani and Ella Weeks–two women who share one thing in common. The same life, the same family, and the same body.

When Dani wakes with no knowledge of who or where she is–no memories of her life at all–David and Dani Weeks discover that “til death do us part” takes on an entirely unexpected meaning. Practically speaking, Dani died. But she didn’t.

What’s a gal to do?

In a desperate attempt to separate the old life from the new, Dani insists on a new name, a twist of her old one–Ella.

Ella’s doctors can’t explain what happened. Her children can’t understand why she doesn’t know them. David, her husband, finds himself torn between admiration for the “new” version of his wife and missing the woman he’s known for over fifteen years.

Will Ella ever regain her memory? Why does their pastor suspect it’s one great hoax?

About the Author

Chautona Havig lives and writes in California’s Mojave Desert with her husbnd and five of her nine children.  Through her novels, she hopes to encourage Christians in their walk with Jesus.

Guest post from Chautona Havig

“Who are you, again?”

“I’m Joe’s, daughter. Vyonie.” My sister pointed to me. “This is Chautona.”

For some odd reason, the niece she spent the least amount of time with, Aunt Doris remembered—somewhat. But she didn’t remember Vyonie from what I could tell. She smiled at me, that amazing, sweet smile I’d never forget. She asked how I was. I always thought that Mrs. Sanderson—mother of John, Alicia, and Carl on the TV show, Little House on the Prairie—looked and sounded like Aunt Doris. Of course, that memory of me didn’t last. A minute or two later, she gave me a big smile and asked if she knew me.

It gave me a picture of what it must have been like for my character, Ella Weeks—to wake up every day with these children there—children who knew her, but she didn’t remember. The hurt she caused every time she had to struggle to admit she didn’t know something she probably should—again. So, I thought I’d ask her to tell us about it.

Ella: People often assume that the worst part of losing my memory are the memories that disappeared, too. But it’s not. A much as I’d love to remember my wedding day, my daughter’s first steps, my son’s first words, or that moment I realized I was pregnant with my third, those are blessings that I don’t think about often. No, what hurts most is seeing the pain in my children’s eyes when they need me to remember something and I can’t. For me, not remembering their first day of kindergarten is an inconvenience. For them, it’s a further reminder that if they didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know them. That without them pushing themselves into my life, I wouldn’t care about them any more than any other human in my path. I do now, of course, but not at first. I hate that they heard David say once, “…she doesn’t know me. She doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t know our children. She tries, but she could walk out of our lives tomorrow and never miss us.”

Living so close to it every day, I missed those little bits of pain that I inflicted without meaning to, but when I went with our Bible study to a nursing home and visited with the residents, then I saw it. Women with tears running down their cheeks as loved ones patted their hands and tried to comfort. I heard one man offer to find a woman’s father. She squeezed him close and whispered, “It’s okay, Daddy. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The man promised to try to find her father in the meantime.

Those people there—most of them didn’t realize they didn’t remember someone important. They didn’t struggle to remember this or that. Their dementia had gotten bad enough that their lives had gone from constant frustration to, by comparison, blissful oblivion.

And their families withered with each forgotten face, name, moment.

That’s what my “episode” did for my family. It caused them pain that just resurfaced every time something new happened. Pain that I didn’t know I inflicted. And since that visit, I have a greater compassion and awareness of just how amazing and powerful memories are.

I also have a greater appreciation for those beautiful words in Isaiah when the Lord promised… “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”

You see, there’s a lifetime of the sins that Jesus died for buried somewhere in my brain—or, at least at one time there was. I know that those sins were in there, because the ones I committed yesterday are there today. The ones I’ve already confessed and been forgiven for—I beat myself up for the next morning. A week later. A month. But the Lord has wiped them clean. I just keep smearing them back out there again as if to say, “But You don’t get how BAD I was.” Yeah. The arrogance, right? Because an almighty, holy God can’t possibly understand how sinful a sinner that He had to DIE to save from those sins… is. The arrogance? That’s an understatement.

But all those years before that horrible morning… gone. Maybe I stole something. I don’t know. It was forgiven, wiped clean, and then wiped from my memory. I can’t rehash it with the Lord over and over. I can’t drag it back up like a wife who won’t let her husband forget the one time he forgot her birthday. I can’t use it as a whip to beat myself up with. And I think there’s something beautiful in that.

Do I wish I could stop hurting my family with my blank past? Of course. But am I also grateful for a living picture of the fresh start the Lord gives His people at salvation? Definitely. I hope I never take it for granted again.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Click here to purchase your copy.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit, Chautona Havig

Book Review: Meddlin’ Madeline Book Two—Such a Tease

March 29, 2017 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

celebrate-lit-madeline-banner-1-768x284

About the Book

such-a-tease-1

Book: Such a Tease
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical/Mystery

My Thoughts:

After reading the first book in the Meddlin’ Madeline series,Sweet on You, last year, I really wanted to read the second book, but it hadn’t been written yet! Now it has, and it’s better than the first book. I loved reading Such a Tease. If you enjoy light mysteries, or stories about human interactions, you’ll probably like this book.

Madeline is still wondering about Vernon’s true character. She spent the whole of the first book trying to determine if he was a fit husband for her best friend, and now she’s trying to decide if his scheme of electrifying the entire city, starting with the slum area, is truly for the benefit of the people of that poor district—or for the benefit of his pockets? How can she expose him, if he is the fraud she thinks he is? Or is he the caring, loving man he portrays himself as?

Madeline has a new job in this book; she is now working at the bank. This, of course, gives her the opportunity to observe even more people, in different ways. It also gets her into some pretty interesting situations. Because she is working for Mr. Merton, the father of her best friend, she has to walk a tightrope, being very careful what she says, to whom.

There were many threads in this story that were skillfully brought together into one cohesive whole. Russell is still paying a lot of attention to Madeline, only, of course, because his sister asked him to keep her from becoming lonely while she was away in Europe. Madeline has several other friends, too, and they have a lively social life. The president is shot, and, as the city’s mayor, Madeline’s father is quite affected. I also appreciated seeing Madeline’s spiritual life growing. I’m liking her even more than in the first book! 

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I said. I loved the way Chautona Havig wrote in the style of the early 1900s, and I loved the little details that gave the flavor of the time—such as stepping around “an unfortunate package left by the passing horses.” Then there was Madeline’s statement, “That arrogance will cause mistakes. I only intend, if possible, to observe them.” I also had to chuckle at her thought, “Your pride in your humility serves only to create annoyance for all, Mrs. Hardwick.” So true! And then there was the word I was sure was a misprint—only to discover much later that it was intentional on the author’s part. I laughed out loud, literally, when I realized why she used that particular word.

WARNING: A woman is found murdered about halfway through the book.

The author’s synopsis:

Madeline, with a little assistance, discovers her old adversary is gaining a following in Rockland! Can she expose him for the fraud she’s sure he is? In book two of the Meddlin’ Madeline series, Madeline Brown has a new endeavor to occupy her time. But is it to keep her out of the way or a reward for her work in Sweet on You? With the help of her young friends, Madeline discovers her old adversary is gaining a following in Rockland! What’s a girl to do? But her new position also gives her opportunities to observe, and what she sees sets more than one new investigation in motion. What does her old suitor, Delbert Jackson, know? Why is Mr. Merton giving important papers to that scoundrel, Vernon Smythe, and whatever happened to poor Abigail Cooper? Add to these intriguing questions Henry Hardwick’s continued attentions, Edith’s newfound devotion to the temperance movement and Madeline’s determination to find her a more reliable suitor, and strange behavior from her Aunt Louisa and things heat up as summer fades from Rockland. Her dear friend, Russell, busy with an important project at work, finds himself unable to help keep her out of trouble and away from danger. Is Madeline going too far? Will her meddling get her in serious trouble this time, will it destroy her reputation irreparably, or will she rid Rockland of a scoundrel once and for all?

About the Author

Author of the Amazon bestselling Aggie, Past Forward, and HearthLand series, Chautona considers herself blessed to live in California’s Mojave Desert with her husband and five of her nine children. When not writing, which she admits isn’t often, Chautona enjoys blogging, paper crafts, sewing, smocking, photo editing, and old (read: before her parents’ time) music.

Guest Blog Post from Chautona

Leon Czolgosz is my new nemesis. He’s dead, but he ruined my book. No, really. The guy totally destroyed the opening pages of Such a Tease. Now, these days, not a whole lot of people remember the name of Leon Cozolgosz. I didn’t. But I’ll never forget him now (although I may never remember how to spell his name). Who is he? Only the guy who shot President McKinley. Why am I annoyed with him over a hundred years later? The idiot did this thing on September 6, 1901. You know, four days after this book opened? Yeah. Couldn’t he have done it on say… January 6, 1901? Even January 6, 1902 would have served my purposes. Look, I’m not as callous as I appear. Truly. But if President McKinley had to die, did his murderer have to do it when it would completely mess up my book?

How did it mess up my book you ask?

I’ll tell you. I left it out—the whole assassination thing. There I was, fixing a wedding date for one of the characters, when a thought occurred to me. She could be married on Flag Day—if Flag Day was a thing then. I didn’t think it was. I really thought Wilson was responsible for that—you know, creating holidays in between his notes to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany or something like that. But I hoped. Somehow—just maybe. I mean we had Labor Day from Cleveland, why not Flag Day from McKinley. But noooooo. He didn’t. What did he do? He got shot. Four days after my book opened. And there wasn’t a single word about it in the story. Like I could ever get away with that. This was news! Big news. And nothing about it in the life of a daughter of a politician? I think not. Not only did this Leon Czolgosz (no, really. It’s spelled correctly) shoot the president on September 6th, but he didn’t do a good job of it! Look, I think I’ve established that I didn’t want President McKinley killed. But if the guy with the unpronounceable last name had to do it, couldn’t he have done a good job of it? Couldn’t he have shot the president in the head? McKinley suffered for eight days before he died. Eight days! They thought he was getting better and then gangrene killed him. It would have been a mercy had Leon just shot McKinley in the head or the heart. Why the abdomen? Cruel, if you ask me, even for an anarchist. And it made adding the whole affair to my book even more problematic. No, really! Think about it. I couldn’t have the newspapers announce the death of President McKinley on September 7th and then have a few mentions of the bank being affected or something. No… no… now I had to have a headline event, give false hope, and then add the death on top of it all. Look, I do an obscene amount of research for my books. No, really. Keen was slang in 1901. Woohoo! Look up “peachy keen”? Yeah. Can’t use it. 1950s. The telephone? Can Madeline expect to use one in a burgeoning city in 1901? Considering there were over 850,000 telephones in use, yes. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that a photographer who works for a local paper might have a telephone in order to receive calls requesting him to come photograph some big event—like the Mayor’s speech on the death of President McKinley, perchance? Yep. Somehow, I almost missed one of the biggest events in US history. Research saved the book—and ruined my timeline. All at the same time. Gotta love history. Or not. And Leon Czolgosz? Yeah. Thanks for nothing.

Buy the book on Amazon here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit, Chautona Havig

Book Review—New Year’s Revolutions

December 30, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Chautona Havig has written yet another book this year! After writing Christmas Stalkings, she wanted to tell Neal Kirkpatrick’s story—he’s sort of the villain in it. New Year’s  Revolutions, therefore, is both a prequel and a sequel to Christmas Stalkings (see my review here).

51XpHkxL0vL

Christmas Stalkings is told mainly from Wendy’s point of view, as she prepares for Christmas with her seven cats and deals with someone entering her house and moving things around. New Year’s Revolutions tells the story from her neighbor Neal’s point of view—but starts earlier and goes on a long ways after the first story ends.

Neal Kirkpatrick is the town grump; some teenagers even call him Jerk-patrick. Wendy is sure he hates her, the way he is always barking at her. Neal, however, sees something in Wendy that he hasn’t seen in many, if any, other women of his aquaintance. Neal has always looked on women as purely sexual objects, to just enjoy, use, and walk away from. Wendy, though, is different. She isn’t perfect, but when she does something wrong, she makes it right. What makes the difference in her life? When Neal finds out that she reads the Bible, and actually believes it, he buys one and starts reading it from cover to cover, over and over, trying to figure out if it is true and if God really exists. Can an atheist actually turn around and believe in God? If so, how? How can God prove that He exists?

I found the process Neal went through quite intriguing. His entire view of life was revolutionized—his New Year’s resolutions were truly revolutionary that year. There is so much in this book. Read it and be challenged yourself! I really appreciated the way Wendy lived her faith. I also enjoyed the humorous scenes. You don’t want to miss the time Neal bought kittens!

WARNING: Men’s temptations with lust are mentioned frankly, and Neal refers to sex a number of times, although never with any details. Two or three times a woman tries to get him to go with her.

To buy the book, just click on the title. I used Esther’s affiliate links, so if you buy a book through them, she will get a little money to put toward maintaining her website and it won’t cost you any more.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

Book Review—Christmas Embers

November 25, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Chautona Havig has written yet another wonderful book! I’m losing count of how many she’s launched this year, but it’s quite a few. Christmas Embers (renamed Shattering Secrets) is a powerful book. To read Esther’s great review, go here. If you want to buy the book, go here.

506—Christmas-Embers-by-Chautona-Havig

Adultery. What really happens to a family when a spouse commits adultery? Is it really a big deal? It’s so prevalent today; surely that makes the impact less? Emily, a mom blogger, thought it was a big deal. As she discussed the issue with her husband Sean while she wrote a blog post about the topic, she thought of it as a sexually transmitted disease—it affects everyone you have been in contact with, including your spouse, your children, your extended family, and even your church. She had just seen firsthand the devastation caused by a man’s repeated affairs. Emily was so very thankful for the agreement she and Sean had to tell the other at the very first hint of any attraction to another person, to talk about it and stay open about it.

Emily’s Christmas project that year would hopefully lead to a book contract. She visited her daughter’s classroom and drew a cartoon picture of each of the children while she discussed what they wanted for Christmas—anything, whether it could be wrapped and put under the tree or not. As she had hoped, she got some unusual answers. One little girl wanted “nothing”. One boy wanted his Mom home again when he got home from school. And Joey wanted his father. After just a little digging, Emily discovered that he didn’t know who his father was or where he was, and she set out on a mission to find him and help Joey’s mother, who was dying of hepatitis. And the next thing she knew, her world was spiraling out of control.

Christmas Embers is, in some ways, a hard book to read. The subject matter is not something we want to ever even think about, much less discuss. It needs to be brought out into the open at times, however, to be able to help people who are affected by the sin of adultery. Jesus made it plain that adultery is sin; it is listed as one of the sins that will keep people out of heaven if they don’t repent and turn from it. Christmas Embers shows clearly how adultery can affect a family, a community, and a church. This is a powerful story. Chautona Havig has crafted a masterpiece here, a beautiful, and ugly, picture of love and sin. She vividly shows the emotional fallout after sin is revealed. Can those hurt by other’s sin ever learn to forgive and trust the one who has wronged them—or is this sin unforgivable? Is it ever possible to reconcile a marriage that has been damaged by this sin?

The characters are so real. I identified in many ways with Emily, and really grew to dislike her friend Kate. Why are some people so determined to drag others down to their level? As always, there is humor along the way. I loved the scene on Christmas morning when the children woke Emily up, and her daughter announced, “She’s awake! She wasn’t, but I fixed that.” You’ll find yourself laughing along the way, occasionally, and crying at other times through this story.

I appreciated the author’s care in writing this book to not show any graphic scenes. With the subject of the book being what it is, it would have been very easy to cross lines that should not be crossed, but she didn’t. She was afraid she had, and sent out the first half of the book to several people to make sure it would be all right. I read that first half, and told her I didn’t mind allowing my teenage daughter to read it—she was that discreet.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book and chose to write a review of it.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

Christmas Lights

November 11, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Edited to say: As of December 21, this set is no longer available. If you want to read these books, they are still available individually.

I really enjoy being an advance reader. Not only do I get to read books for free, I get to read them before they are published—and tell people about them! The latest one I got as an advance reader copy is the boxed set Christmas Lights. I’m not sure why it’s called a “boxed set” when it’s on Kindle, but I guess it just means you get four books together, in this case. Here is my review of the set, which is no longer available on Amazon. All the books can be purchased individually, however; follow the link to find them.61Z2chujtCL

Christmas Lights is a collection of four Christmas novellas. They are all very clean, as far as romance and language go. I enjoyed the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication, although due to family circumstances I was not able to write my review in time.

The first book in the collection is The Heart of Joy by Vikki Kestell. Apparently, it is a addendum to a series titled A Prairie Heritage. Maybe it would have meant more to me if I had read that series; as it is, I wasn’t very impressed. It struck me as pretty much just romance, with nothing else to add value. Like I said, though, if I had read the series it would probably have been fine. Basically, Joy, a young widow, must decide if she can allow another man to capture her heart several years after her husband’s death—or if anyone she loves will inevitably be hurt.

The second book is Snow Angels by Cathe Swanson. I really enjoyed that one. The main character is another young widow, dealing with guilt from her husband’s death. She starts a project to help a homeless man find a job and get some self-respect, only to discover that everything she believes about him needs to be rethought. I loved the thoughts about not allowing grief to overshadow your entire life, and I loved the humor towards the end of the story.

Trip the Light Fantastic by April Hayman is the third book. I’m sorry, but I didn’t get a lot out of it. I thought that was because I had just started reading the book when my son suddenly died, and that maybe that was why the story didn’t make sense. When my daughter had the same reaction, though, and I read about someone else who also thought the same thing, I decided maybe something needs to be clarified in the story. I’m not sure what, though. As far as I can tell, the main character, an FBI man who desperately wants to make one more arrest for the year, is set up in a situation to force him to take a break. I couldn’t quite get the point of the story, though.

The last book is Christmas Stalkings by Chautona Havig. Anything by her is sure to be great, and I was not disappointed by this one. The main character is another widow, this time middle-aged—that makes three out of four novellas in this collection with a widow as the main character! Wendy is also rather crazy about her seven cats, and one of her obsessions is putting up a Christmas tree each year for each cat. This year, however, mysterious things start happening when she does; someone is entering her house and moving things. The police can’t solve the mystery; will Wendy be able to?

I also have longer reviews of two of the books, which will be available as stand-alone books after the collection is no longer around.

Snow Angels: Snow-Angels-Cover

When Cathe Swanson asked for advance readers for the novella she wrote for the Christmas Lights collection, it sounded interesting. I was not disappointed! I found Snow Angels very funny at times, heart-breaking at others, and Lisa Marsh all-too-familiar at still other times.

Lisa was roped, unwillingly, into helping serve Thanksgiving dinner at the local community center in Chicago. Dealing with crowds of people was difficult for her at the best of times, but when Pete, a scruffy man with a horribly-looking beard accosted her, asking for potatoes, when she was serving turkey, she couldn’t handle it. Then, a few days later, she was asked to look at his foot when he arrived in the emergency room in the hospital where she worked as a podiatric nurse—and he looked even worse!

Lisa’s sister-in-law challenged her to do some sort of project in memory of her late husband, something out of her comfort zone, which would help other people. They came up with a perfect project: Help Pete find a job and turn him into a respectable citizen! So, Lisa set to work, not realizing who he really was. You’ll have to read the story to learn the rest, and watch Lisa gain a new compassion for others and humility as she tries to help people.

Cathe has done a very good job with this, her first published book. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in her Great Lakes series, and not only because they are set near my home area.

I received a free advance copy of this book and chose to write a review.

Christmas Stalkings: christmasstalkingscover-sm

Christmas Stalkings is purely a fun book! I enjoyed reading quotes from it as Ms. Havig was writing it, and hoping I’d get a chance to be an advance reader. I wasn’t disappointed! As with all of Chautona’s other books that I’ve read, the action starts right away and the characters seem very real.

Wendy Nabity is known in Fairbury as the crazy cat lady. She has seven cats in her house! And not only that, but she puts up a Christmas tree for each cat every year. Each tree, of course, is custom-designed for that cat, and she can’t wait each year to get all the trees put up. This year, though, as she starts putting up her trees, mysterious things start happening. It’s obvious that someone is entering her house and moving things around. Who could it be?

Peter Windish lives on one side of her. He’s nice—might even be thinking about asking her out on a date! Can she get him to help her solve her problem? Neal Kirkpatrick, on the other hand, lives on the other side. He is probably the intruder. How can she prove it and put a stop to the invasion of her house? The police don’t seem able to help her. What is a woman to do?

I’m not sure how well you’d like this book if you hate cats, although I happen to know that the author doesn’t like them. How she pulled off a story about a cat-lover so well, I’ll never know. There were some very funny parts in the story. The climax is absolutely hilarious. I wish I could tell you about it—but it would spoil the story. Let me just say, it involves killer cats and a broken bathroom door.

If you like light Christmas fiction, try out Christmas Stalkings. You won’t be disappointed. It’s a short book, too, more like a novella than a full-length book. This was a fun, easy read. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, New Year’s Revolutions, when it’s finished.

All links in this post are Esther’s affiliate links, and any purchase you make through them will help support her website.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

Book Review—Front Window and Hartfield Mysteries series

September 27, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I am loving the fact that my favorite author is a prolific writer. Her fourth book for the year is publishing this week! Because this is the fourth book in a series, I “had” to read the first three, of course, so I’ve had a fairly steady diet of Chautona Havig lately. I’m not tired of them yet!

I really enjoyed Front Window. It was really hard to put it down—sometimes it’s pretty frustrating to only be able to read for a couple of minutes at a time, although it’s good discipline. 

There have been a lot of changes in Alexa’s life. She has switched houses again, and her relationship with Joe is better than ever. She is also enjoying having Aunt Faye in Fairbury. However, Aunt Faye has found the perfect way to disturb a honeymoon. When things start disappearing from the retirement apartments Aunt Faye is living in, and the police don’t seem alarmed or helpful, how can Aunt Faye prove that one of the residents isn’t stealing the items? Things go from bad to worse over the next few weeks. Aunt Faye just isn’t impressed with how the police are investigating the string of crimes, and she lets Joe and the rest of the force know in no uncertain terms. 

This is definitely not just a mystery story. There is so much else included! Ask my children about the time Mom was laughing out loud in the bathroom—the Christmas gift scene is hilarious! There are several other very funny scenes as well, and some serious ones. Aunt Faye, though never married, has some extremely good advice and observations. For example, “I decided that if I had to act a fool to get a fellow’s attention, then I didn’t want it.” I also loved, “I always despised those arrogant kids who set themselves up as authorities when God gave them perfectly good ones in parents.”

For those who love mysteries, this is a good one. You will be kept guessing at the identity of the thief until nearly the end of the story. I appreciated the Christian values portrayed in it, although there wasn’t nearly as much about Alexa’s and Joe’s faith in this story as in some others by Chautona Havig. I’m still not convinced that I want to read very many murder mysteries, but I don’t mind reading hers.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

WARNING: A couple of the characters say a mildly bad word when under great stress.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

Book Review: Ante Up!

June 25, 2016 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

If I’m totally honest, the primary reason I signed up to be on Chautona Havig’s launch team last year was so that I could read about Aggie. Of course, I love her other books, too, but Aggie is my favorite character. My introduction to Mrs. Havig’s books was the first Aggie’s Inheritance book, Ready or Not, in which Aggie, freshly graduated from college at age 22, suddenly inherits her sister’s 8 children. I loved the book so much that my daughter gave me an Amazon gift card to get me to buy the other two books in that trilogy! That was over a year ago, and I’ve been waiting impatiently since then for more about Aggie. It’s finally here! Ante Up! publishes this week, on the 26th of June, but it is available for preorder already. If you do purchase the book, any time between now and July 7, you can ask for the bonus that Chautona wrote. It is a devotional with a chapter for each chapter of the book, exploring the song that was used for the title of that chapter. I’ve read the devotional, Tune My Heart, already and it is very good. One thing that especially spoke to me was a sentence in Chapter 15: “Mrs. Keary said that she believed those things that interrupt our great plans were sent by God to keep us from becoming selfish.”

Ante Up! by Chautona Havig 400

In some ways, Ante Up! is my favorite of the series. Aggie has now been married for nearly four years, and she has been mothering her sister’s eight orphaned children for nearly five years. Her second pregnancy is nearing its end, and she has the perfect birth plan mapped out. However, God throws a few monkey wrenches into her plans, as He does to all of us at times. How will Aggie respond? Will she continue to lean on the Lord and trust Him for grace? Or will she snap and show her all-too-human side? As one thing after another goes wrong for her, the challenges to her faith grow harder and harder to handle. Christmas is coming and she doesn’t have anything ready. 

Meanwhile, the children have their own challenges to face, besides helping Luke to take care of the house and the little children. Vannie and Laird are faced with young people of the opposite sex being attracted to them (I loved the advice Laird got from older men—it was right on). Tavish is suffering physically from a somewhat foolish action, and Ellie desperately wants to try science experiments. Ian and Ronnie egg each other on as they act like typical little boys, and neither Luke nor Aggie has time or energy to deal with them properly. As the home spirals into chaos, what will bring back the order that Aggie thrives on?

I loved the humor that was woven into the story. My favorite scene involved stitch witchery and a worried little girl (Mommy wouldn’t have used that!). I also loved the roll-baking scene. Poor Ellie wanted to crawl into a hole at the end (“My career as a scientist is over before it even began.”) If you enjoy reading about large families or mothers, you will enjoy this book. If you enjoy watching God work to refine His people, you will enjoy this story. You will be challenged to check out your relationships with others, especially your husband, and your faith in God. Once again, Chautona Havig has crafted a great story that makes you think.

To get your own copy of this wonderful, encouraging book, the Kindle version is available here, and the print version here.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  If you read this, Chautona Havig, thank you very much for allowing me to be on your launch team!

WARNING: Not a story for children or men; there are a lot of details about pregnancy and labor.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

What I’ve Been Reading Lately

June 2, 2016 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

One of these days I’ll get caught up on my regular posts about our life. Having a lot of computer trouble has put a damper on that project. I think my computer is working right again, and most of the programs I use are back in it. For tonight, though, I thought I’d just share a few of the books I’ve read recently and really enjoyed.

Mr. Intellectual was given the book Returning Home, by Loreen Plett, for Christmas. I finally read it a few weeks ago and loved it! Returning_HomeI wrote a long review of it for IgniteLit, so I won’t write a lot here, but it is a great book. It’s not quite a biography, but based on family history. It almost reads like an epic novel, though! It follows the life of Johann Plett, born into a Mennonite family in Prussia in the late 1700s. His life was one long series of tragedies and disappointments. He became more and more bitter against God, who never gave up on him. I definitely recommend this book, as well as its sequel, Crossing the Distance. Crossing_the_DistanceThis book, which I finished reading a few weeks ago, tells the story of Johann’s son Knals (Cornelius). He was born in Prussia, but grew up in Russia only a short distance from the Crimea. After watching his father’s life, he  became a Christian at a fairly young age, and was baptized into the Kleine Gemeinde church—an offshoot of the Old Colony Mennonnites. His strong, forceful personality caused some major problems and heartache in his life, but was also used greatly by God to strengthen the church and aid in the migration of the Mennonites to Canada. His actions were not always right, but his heart was in the right place and eventually he made right what he had done wrong. Both of these books are very inspiring.

I’ve also been enjoying a lovely series of fiction books. I read the three Aggie’s Inheritance books a year or more ago, and loved them! 73db7ab95fd3a550b9666f52ca9a3dd7In fact, Ready or Not was the first modern Christian novel I have found that I was interested in rereading. For Keeps and Here We Come are just as good. They tell the story of Aggie Milliken, who at age 22, fresh out of college, inherited her sister’s eight children when Allana and her husband suddenly died. Through reading this series of books, I discovered a new favorite author, Chautona Havig. She has let me be on her launch team now when she publishes new books, and since the fourth Aggie book is publishing this month, I reread the first three. They are just as good as I remembered, and every bit as engrossing the second or third time through! This week, I got to read the advance reader copy of the fourth book, Ante Up! It is great, too. It’s not necessarily a fun read; Aggie has some major struggles. There is a lot of food for thought in it, though, which is something I really love about Chautona’s books. There is some humor, too—I love the scene in which Kenzie is aghast at the thought of using stitch witchery (Maybe we should pray over it), and Ellie’s attempt to bake rolls is quite funny, too.

If you’re looking for a good read, check out one of these books. They are all well worth your time.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Chautona Havig

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • RSS Feed
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Goodreads

Recent Posts

  • New in the Library! May 2026
  • March 2026 Photos
  • Recovery
  • Book Review–Blaze of Honor
  • February 2026 Photos

Archives

Disclosure

Some links on this site are affiliate links.

Subscribe to the Blog

/* real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

Intuit Mailchimp

The Family:


Dad and Mom (Gayle and Emma)

Girl #1, Esther, my right hand

Boy #1, Seth (Mr. Handyman)

Boy #2, Simon (Mr. Inventor)

Boy #3, Mr. Intellectual

Boy #4, Mr. Diligence

Boy #5, Mr. Sweetie

Boy #6, Mr. Imagination

Girl #2, Little Miss

Girl #3, Miss Joy

Book Reviews Website

IgniteLit

COPYRIGHT © 2026 · TWENTY SEVEN PRO ON GENESIS FRAMEWORK · DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER · PRIVACY POLICY