About the Book

Book: The Title Wave

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: April 25, 2023

All he wants to do is help people, but local women want to help themselves… to him!

When Henri Tupuola returned to Suamalie to open his holistic mental health clinic, he had no idea what he was getting into. After ten years in Australia getting his degree and practical experience under his mentor, the locals had all but forgotten the quiet “boy”  who had always made them feel like he could see right through them.

Not anymore! The ladies of Lafoina are eager to meet the island’s therapist and spend hours staring deeply into his eyes on their weekly dates… ahem, sessions.

Desperate for relief, he hightails it down to The Title Wave and begs Ezra to order him a couple dozen copies of his own book. Yes, author copies would be cheaper, but he needs these things fast. Maybe if he hands out his book like an old-time quack handed out pills, the ladies will get the hint and leave him alone.

But when he tells his troubles to Ezra (who’s the therapist now?), and she jokes at how much her father would love to have people flocking to his “sessions” so to speak, Henri gets an idea that could save his sanity… if only Ezra will agree.

Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.

Click here to get your copy!

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

It happens with every book—probably for every author. What “it” is… that’s always different. Sometimes it’s the moment you realize that your character has morphed into someone you didn’t intend for him to. Other times it might be that you discovered a huge plot hole in your mystery and there’s no way any of it would have happened (not that I’ve ever had to deal with that or anything). It could be that your characters don’t have chemistry (and that doesn’t have to be romance—friends should have it!). Let’s face it. Lots of things can derail a book.

And if you don’t lay some new track fast (think Gromit in A Grand Day Out laying tracks as fast as he can as the toy train hurtles him after the penguin), your story could end up as the biggest trainwreck this side of… wherever they have bad train wrecks.

Or in my case, sink the book boat.

So there was blithely typing my first chapter when I realized something was wrong with my premise for The Title Wave. See, I had a plan. This would be a fake-dating romance. A local therapist needs a fake girlfriend to get the women to quit hitting on him when he was supposed to be helping them with their problems. Reasonable right?

Yeah. There’s all kinds of problems with this… starting with the fact that I don’t actually enjoy FAST romances… and I wanted them together—like totally committed—by the end of the book. OOPS! Not only that, but come on. Fake boyfriend/girlfriend? Ezra is an MK. This girl isn’t going to want to live a deception like that. She’s got a sensitive conscience, thanks to close ties with the Holy Spirit Who indwells her. She’s not going to do that.

But I needed her to.

I have this group of ladies who read everything as I write it. Most have been with me for over ten years! So, when I realized my book was in serious trouble (as in drowning before it really got out to sea!), I went to them and told them what I wanted/needed to happen and why it wasn’t going to work.

Guess what? They came through for me (as they always do—love you, Escapeables!). After just a bit of tossing out ideas and lobbing them back and forth, things fell into place.

Yes, Henri will approach Ezra with the idea.

Yes, Ezra will have a fake boyfriend.

And yes, being the romance it is… they WILL be committed by the end and without irritating myself with a bunch of insta-love.

Somehow. Since I’m writing this before it all plays out, we’ll both have to see just how that all works out. Join me for a cruise through love-tossed waters?

Interview with Chautona

Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.

That’s a hard one, because… well, I’m an open book! I’ve probably shared most things about me that are remotely interesting. (I grant you, there’s not much, so…). Oh! I know, about the time you’re reading this, I will either be on my first trip out of the country OR will have just arrived home! 😀 I’m heading to Ambleside, England for two weeks. I can’t wait to figure out how many book ideas I can possibly wheedle out of one trip!

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Creative, imaginative, and plain old weird!

What book is currently on your bedside table?

Well, I actually don’t have a bedside table and don’t read in bed! There’s a fact about me that no one knows, I suppose! I do read in the living room, in the car, in offices, and of course, in my shed-i-ffice. Right now, I’m in the middle of several books stacked up by my shed-i-ffice chair. Greetings from Witness Protection—a middle-grade book about a foster kid who is used by WITSEC to help disguise a family. Amberwell by D.E. Stevenson—I’ve just read the history of the house in the book, so I don’t really know what it’s about. Cold Clay by Juneau Black—a cozy mystery involving woodland animals. Cold Dead Night by Lisa Phillips—a thriller about a gal the FBI kicked out… and now they need her.  And (no joke) Cold Light of Day by Elizabeth Goddard. I sense a theme here…

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey? 

Honestly, I don’t think of it as a “publishing journey.” For me, it’s about the writing and the readers. Publishing is just something that happens in the middle. My favorite part is that moment when I crack myself up at what I just wrote. Sometimes it’s because it’s funny! Other times it’s because I write something utterly ridiculous like, “The light shone in her eyes as bright as a light!” At times like that, I wonder why I ever thought I could write. Then I laugh at myself again, hit delete, and start over.  Actually, that kind of nonsense is why I almost never use similes.

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

It was supposed to be a fake relationship story. I had every intention of it being them kind of at odds with each other until they just… weren’t. But then Ezra told me about the crush she’d had on him for years, and Henri told his friend about seeing her again, and… yeah. Once again, characters were far less obedient than my children would ever have dared to be. I think my kids are both impressed and jealous. Or maybe they’re just annoyed. Probably that.

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

Yes. Leonie. She’s the sweetest little bookworm of a girl, and I want to take her home with me and show her my massive numbers of books. She can sleep on my new, extra-wide window seat and I won’t make her read in French. And I just realized I answered about a side character… not main. I’m sorry.

What were the highlight or key challenges you faced when writing this book?

Exhaustion and burnout. Guys, it’s real. After running on fumes since 2019, my entire body and mind gave out at the end of 2022. I spent two months doing practically nothing. Then I had to write and write fast, but taking that break definitely helped. I am confident it made this book a far better book than it could’ve been. Oh, and hearing about Mallory’s baby’s blowout… I don’t know why, but I just loved that.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

Saying hard, embarrassing things to stay true to who and what the Lord calls you to be is more important than finally getting what your heart has desired. And the Lord promises that if we delight in Him…

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

The best place is my website. It’s under update right now, so there are lots of cool new things to see. Chautona.com

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Well, I’m about to announce (and it should be by the time this goes live), that Random Acts of Shyness just became a series. Book two should be out in April or May! (but I make no promises that it won’t be June. LOL!)

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, May 24

Lots of Helpers, May 24

The Sacred Line, May 25

By the Book, May 26

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 27

Aryn The Libraryan, May 28

Texas Book-aholic, May 29

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 30

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 31

For Him and My Family, June 1

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 1

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, June 2

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 3

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, June 4 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, June 4

Simple Harvest Reads, June 5 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

She Lives to Read, June 6

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/26266/the-title-wave-celebration-tour-giveaway