About the Book
Book: Twice Sold Tales
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian / Romantic Women’s Fiction
Release date: November 2, 2022
If only owning a bookstore didn’t mean dealing with people.
No one was more surprised than Harper Brevig when Great Aunt Lorene (not “Lori,” thank-you-very-much) died and left her least favorite niece her bookstore–including a prime piece of real estate in downtown Red Wing, Minnesota.
Making a go of the place shouldn’t be too hard. With her library science degree, she should be set. Then again, the website describing library degrees had said it would teach her excellent communication skills. It had not. Could she get a partial refund?
Still, owning the building should mean crazy-low overhead to offset her less than optimal “book-side” manner. Ahem. So when yet another huge bill arrives, and she starts getting twitchy about the low bank balance, Harper does the only thing she can think of.
Enter Milton Coleridge. He’d been excited about the possibilities of the store last year, but Harper had sent him packing before he could talk to her about them. Now he has a chance to make a difference. But she’s right. She’s bleeding money, and it doesn’t make sense!
Milton’s job is to figure out what’s going on, plug the financial leak, and maybe… do a little matchmaking. That dad with the adorable little boy would be good for her… and she’d be good for him. Probably.
Twice Sold Tales: the first full-length novel in the Bookstrings series releasing with The Mosaic Collection
Click here to get your copy!
I love this story, and truthfully, what’s not to love? If you love books, this story will have you searching out books you haven’t thought of in a long time or, alternately, looking for ones you have never heard of before. The t-shirts and their pithy, semi-sarcastic and witty quotes will have you laughing while nodding your head in agreement with the sayings. Then, of course, there is the author—Chautona Havig; there’s so much I love about her stories.
The characters’ personalities are remarkably true to life. Harper Brevig is a bookworm who dislikes people yet inherits a bookstore. She sports a lot of sardonic t-shirts, one of which reads, “Fictional characters: because people are overrated.” Not to be forgotten is Milton Coleridge, who is supposed to help Harper with her financial losses but instead decides to play matchmaker. Not to mention Benny, a child who mistrusts everyone and seems a little lost and adrift. There are so many fascinating people; I could go on and on.
I finished the book in a single evening, relishing and thoroughly enjoying every moment.
I received this book from Celebrate Lit. However, my review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.
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
“What kind of research does a contemporary book need? I mean, she’s a bookstore owner in a town you’ve been to several times. What’s there to research?”
I can’t be the only author to get questions like this. And I certainly can’t be the only one who has to fight the urge to laugh. Folks, authors research everything. In Twice Sold Tales, I think I looked up almost as much as I did in my Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries!
Because here’s the deal. What I didn’t know about Red Wing, Minnesota wouldn’t have hurt the story most of the time. Who cares that Bev’s Café has amazing creamy cucumbers? It doesn’t technically matter. Well, except to my character who hates veggies but will eat those. They make her feel virtuous. And you get to know about it.
But… what you discover about a place or a time or an occupation or whatever can totally change the course of your story. Case in point? I went to a website about River City Days because my niece suggested it might be a good thing for Noah to do with his son. That led me to the Farmer’s Markets and to other things. How I got to the first Ghost Walk in Red Wing taking place this year? I don’t even know. What I do know is that the moment I read about it, I knew Harper had to go. And if she did, and if Milton were the instigator, Noah had to go. #BecauseMatchmaker.
And this is where it got really cool. To make the walk as authentic as I could, I read everything I could find about it. And I discovered something super cool. Like… blow you out of the water cool.
Red Wing, Minnesota sits near the shore of Lake Pepin. Little House on the Prairie lovers will remember this as the lake that Laura Ingalls crossed in the wagon as they left the Big Woods of Wisconsin (you know, right across the river/lake from Red Wing???) Well… Lake Pepin has a monster—the Nessie of the Mississippi. Yes, you read that right… a monster! I went looking and guess what? The “monster” has a name. Pepie! Needless to say, Pepie became a an important part of my story. Because how could he not?
And… I happened to find a stuffed Pepie at Treats & Treasures in Lake City, just south of Red Wing, so I ordered a couple for giveaways—including the one with this blog tour. Happy reading, and what do you think? Shouldn’t someone write Pepie’s story?
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 21
Vicky Sluiter, January 21
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 22
Mary Hake, January 22
Texas Book-aholic, January 23
Where Crisis & Christ Collide, January 23
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 24
deb’s Book Review, January 24
All-of-a-kind Mom, January 25
Lots of Helpers, January 25
Cover Lover Book Review, January 26
Locks, Hooks and Books, January 26
Splashes of Joy, January 27
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, January 27
She Lives To Read, January 28
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, January 29
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, January 30
For Him and My Family, January 30
Divine Perspective, January 31
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 31
Aryn the Libraryan, February 1
Books I’ve Read, February 1
Blogging With Carol, February 2
Back Porch Reads, February 2
Pause for Tales, February 3
Spoken from the Heart, February 3
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback of the book, a stuffed “Pepie” and a few other bookish goodies!!
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/23bc5/twice-sold-tales-celebration-tour-giveaway
As I was reading I could almost feel myself in the quaint, snow-covered town where Hope is left in a lurch during a blizzard. I could easily picture myself stranded and having a great time at the Starlight Inn. Both the hosts and the other guests were enchanting. The novella had a wonderfully touching finish that made me happy for Hope, her family and her new friend.
Captive Dreams Window 