The Because Fiction Podcast Chautona Havig

 When I spoke to Lori DeJong last year, her True Calling series captured my interest right away. I mean, it isn't often you read stories where people truly have to choose what the Lord wants or what they want even if it seems as though choosing God is deciding against self. But Lori is BACK and she has another story--this time of two people in love with polar opposite paths. Listen in to see how that goes!
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
One of my favorite aspects of Love's True Calling was the center where students could gather in a safe place. Well, that's back in this book but with new characters to focus on. EEEP!  
Learn how Lori wrote this series, when we might see the next, and more!
 If you want to listen to Lori's first interview where we chatted about Love's True Calling, you can find that HERE.
  Love's True Home by Lori DeJong
 Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s been there, done that, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus.
When Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his seventh move in thirteen years, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries in a few months, then take a foreign mission assignment, his dream for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has him feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until he accepts an opportunity to work on foreign soil and Ally stays behind. He knows God put him there for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.
You can learn more about Lori (and join her newsletter!) on her WEBSITE.
Find her on GoodReads and BookBub.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

 Have you ever noticed that some authors do this annoying thing where they take what you thought was your favorite book and then tell you about another book coming and boom! You're all out of sorts because that one's totally going to be a favorite?  Well, now you know how I feel about Between the Sound and Sea. Listen in to see what book is the current fave and what probably will be. 
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
Oh, boy!  I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't love a good lighthouse story, and notes from a log book tucked into the stone walls of a lighthouse?  Sign me up, please!
Amanda shares her stories of going to the Outer Banks and chatting with a man who runs an antique store out of his house.  I've GOT to see that place!
 Don't miss out on the GoodReads giveaway going on through August... something. 
  Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox
 Every family has its secrets. Josephina Harris wouldn't mind if her family still had a few of their own after a lawsuit tarnishes their name. When an opportunity opens to become a temporary keeper of a decommissioned lighthouse on a North Carolina island, she jumps at the chance to escape her small town to oversee its restoration.  
 
As the work begins, "Joey" discovers strange notes tucked deep in the crevices of the old stone walls--pages torn from a lighthouse keeper's log signed by someone named Mae who recounts harrowing rescues at sea. Fascinated by a woman lighthouse keeper, Joey digs into the past only to discover there's never been a record of a lighthouse keeper by that name.
 
When things start to go amiss on the island, locals are convinced that it is the ghost of the lighthouse keeper and his daughter who were lost at sea during World War II. As Joey sifts through decades of rumors and legends and puts together the pieces of the past, what emerges is a love story--one that's not over yet.
 
Multiple Christy Award winner Amanda Cox is your guide upon the raging seas of young love, heartbreaking loss, and learning to risk it all for a chance at happiness in this timeless novel.
Get Between the Sound and Sea for 40% off with free shipping from Bakerbookhouse.com through August 5, 2024
Learn more about Amanda Cox on her WEBSITE. Follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

 The Cape Cod Creamery series has been one of my favorites by Suzanne Woods Fisher, and can I just say I was disappointed when I realized I hadn't ordered Love on a Whim before chatting with Suzanne. Listen in to see what's in this book!
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
 Oh, and can I just say that I was 100% wrong?  Yeppers. 100%. Bakerbookhouse.com says I absolutely did order it.  Finally found it.  Guess where?  Yeah! It was with the other two (already devoured) books.  I put the thing away. Who does that?
But seriously, I knew I'd love this book before I read the synopsis, but that synopsis grabbed me in a stranglehold and wouldn't let go. Come on! A woman gets married "on a whim" to a guy she just met and then runs away?  To Cape Cod?
Sign me up and take my money, please!
  Love on a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher
 Brynn Haywood's impulsive marriage to a man she'd known less than 24 hours leaves her with deep regret. She flees to Cape Cod, finding refuge with her loyal friend, Dawn Dixon. As Brynn grapples with her emotions, Dawn acts swiftly, eager to help secure a lawyer for her through her mother Marnie's good friend, Lincoln Hayes. However, Lincoln's preoccupation with his daughter's lavish wedding brings unexpected challenges.

The arrival of Lincoln's estranged son, Bear Hayes, stirs the waters further. Alarmed by his father's extravagant generosity toward the Dixon family, Bear ignites friction between Marnie and Lincoln. As the wedding day arrives, Lincoln vanishes--and an unwelcome guest makes a surprise appearance.
Psst... you can still get the book for 30% off with free shipping from BakerBookHouse.com (sorry... website is under maintenance as I type this, so I can't grab you a link).
You can learn more about Suzanne from her WEBSITE.  Also, follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

 What better book option for Jane Austen July could you ask for than a time travel, time-slip novel full of all the romance and elegance of Regency England through the eyes of a contemporary US protagonist? Listen in to learn more from Linore Rose Burkard!
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
Beware shawls! You never know what they'll do to you?  Linore Rose Burkard has created a fabulous series full of wonderful characters and unique settings that converge in this portal time-travel series.  
  Forever Lovely by Linore Rose Burkard
 This sequel can be read as a stand-alone.

1819, England
Miss Margaret Andrews’ sister disappeared into the future three years ago and Margaret hasn’t seen her since. Julian St. John brings her to visit, but only for a day since his wife Claire is about to give birth to their first child. He doesn’t know Margaret’s real desire is to find a modern invention to bring back with her. A bluestocking by nature and lacking her sister’s famous beauty, Margaret knows she must make her way in society by becoming an inventress. But when the tallit, the magical time-travel shawl, goes awry, she finds herself alone and stranded in 21st-century New York City!

Present Day, Manhattan
Stewart Russell is a grad student studying early British female writers when he meets Margaret at a Jane Austen Society Conference in New York. Margaret is mistaken for an attendee but fits right in. Stewart is thrilled by her knowledge of the writers he’s studying, almost as much as her effortless acting with the speech and manners of Jane’s day. Until she claims to be from Jane’s day! Worse, he is a wanted man due to a mix-up, and time is running out.
Margaret longs to keep him safe from the blackguards pursuing him, but first she must convince him she really is from the past. But when she can’t even get herself back to 1819, how can she hope to bring Stewart too? It’s a race against time, and she must find a way before the unthinkable happens!

If you enjoyed the time-travel romance of Outlander, then you'll love Margaret and Stewart's story in Forever Lovely. Buy now before the price changes!
Learn more about Linore on her  WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.
Don't miss out on Linore's book (and the other eleven) in the Once Upon a Courtship collection.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

 The Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing comes to a close with Amanda Cabot's upcoming release of Into the Starlight. Listen in to learn more about the series and about the mystery that has kept us all curious as we read through this series!
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
This whole series has fascinated me since the first time Amanda and I chatted about it.  I was certain that book two, After the Shadows would be my favorite, but... I don't know. Now that I hear more from Amanda about this book, I'm not so sure.
Add to that learning that there will be a Christmas novella available for preorder soon (don't forget to sign up for her newsletter so you can find out when it goes live!), and well... come on!  EEEP!
  Into the Starlight by Amanda Cabot
 After more than a year in Europe, Joanna Vaughn returns to Sweetwater Crossing, her dreams of becoming a concert pianist shattered. As if that weren't enough, her husband, whom she married after a whirlwind courtship, has died. The only thing sustaining her on the journey back to Texas was the thought of her childhood home. But to Joanna's dismay, she's changed so much that the place she once loved no longer feels like home.
 
After his fiancée married his partner and both blamed him for a patient's death, Dr. Burke Finley believes it's time for a change. A quick trip with his almost-aunt Della Samuels to Sweetwater Crossing turns into an extended stay to discover what happened to his uncle and her would-be husband. But the beautiful and musical Joanna makes it more than bearable.
 
As the two join forces to help Della, there is no denying the attraction felt on both sides. But ghosts from the past are coming to call--and threatening to destroy any chance at happily-ever-after.
 
Get swept away by this emotional tale of family, friendship, and the kind of love that overcomes every obstacle.
Into the Starlight is 40% off with FREE US shipping from BakerBookHouse.com through July 15th!
Learn more about Amanda on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

Patricia Raybon has such a compelling author voice, and combined with rich characters and historically riveting settings, her Annalee Spain mystery series keeps readers on their toes. Listen in to learn what inspires Patricia's writing and what you may learn from it.
note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. 
One of the coolest things about Patricia Raybon's writing is that it shows part of American history that we don't often see. We're familiar with KKK activity in the South, but Denver?  
Add to that a character who is a theologian with her own family secrets to uncover even as she works to find out who killed someone and why, and the story grips you from page one and won't let you go.
Additionally, Patricia's handling of racial tensions and atrocities serve to educate without being preachy.  She handles these situations in a compassionate and intelligent way, offering readers a look into history that can be tough to encounter.
I for one, can't wait for the next... and the next... and...
  Truth Be Told by Patricia Raybon
Denver's newest detective. A garden's deadly secrets.

On a lovely June night in 1924, amateur detective Annalee Spain is mingling bravely at a high-class political fundraiser in the lush backyard garden of famed political fixer Cooper Coates, one of the wealthiest men in Denver's Black neighborhood of Five Points. When Coates’s young daughter discovers a pretty stranger dead in her father’s garden shed, Annalee is thrust onto the baffling new case just as she’s reeling from another recent discovery—a handwritten letter, found buried in her own garden, that reveals the identity of her mother.

Not ready to face the truth about her hidden past, Annalee throws herself into solving the mystery of the young woman’s demise. With the help of her pastor boyfriend Jack Blake, her orphaned buddy Eddie, and her trustworthy church friends, Annalee follows the clues to three seemingly disconnected settings—a traveling carnival set up downtown, a Black civic club, and a prestigious white seminary on the outskirts of Denver. Intriguing advice also comes from a famous, real-life Denver visitor. But is Annalee on the right track or just running in circles, fleeing from conflicts racing in her heart?

In a taut, heart-gripping narrative driven by secrets, romance, and lies, Annalee must unravel a case with higher stakes than she imagined—one where answers about a lovely woman's death point to truths and tensions still throbbing today.


A clean historical mystery featuring an amateur female detective, from the Christy Award–winning author of All That Is Secret Third installment in the Annalee Spain series Includes discussion questions for book groups You can find out more about Patricia on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.
Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:
Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Amazon and more!