What do you think?
Rate this book
Annals of Wynnewood #1
Shadows & Secrets
No one knows what the cloaked creature is or why it is so terrifying. The villagers of Wynnewood only know that they must stay away from 'the creature' for fear of their physical and spiritual safety. An unfortunate encounter with a dragon introduces Philip Ward to the creature, and to his surprise, he finds a friend, confidante, and companion in more adventure than he'd ever dreamed possible. Follow Philip and the creature as they rescue a lame child, discover 'pirate treasure', and test the mettle of true friendship Shadows & Secrets is the first book in the Annals of Wynnewood
248 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2009
27 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Chautona Havig
274 books1,840 followers**fingers skittle across the keyboard. Stop. Eyelids blink over the top**
Oh, was this bio day? Oops! I forgot. I was lost in my latest manuscript. Umm... bio. Yeah.
Hi! I’m Chautona Havig. (for those who care, that’s Shuh-TONE-uh HAVE-ig). Yeah. Just work with me here. I should have used a pseudonym, but when you grow up with a name like Chautona, it kind of sticks.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10: 23–25
Those aren’t just words on a page for me–they’re why I write. I write to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. The stories I create are to make people laugh, cry, question, consider.
They’re for you.
When the world screams for hope, I try to point you to the true Source of hope–Jesus.
Sometimes life in the church no longer seems a refuge from the pain of a self-serving world around us, but through my stories, I try to point you to the only Refuge that can truly help–the Father’s Everlasting Arms.
And sometimes we just need an escape from the monotony, the emptiness we see around us. We need joy, laughter–what I like to call “just the write escape.”
Christian fiction without apology or pretense–lived, not preached.
What does that even mean?
It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.
But I do.
And I write for you. I sit in my little house in California’s Mojave Desert and I write to show you why one sister believes one thing, why a brother believes another. I write to show you how some Christians handle trials or triumphs–for you. So when you’re faced with something–good or bad, it doesn’t matter–maybe it’ll spark a memory. Maybe that memory will smolder until you pull out your Bible and see what the Lord said about it–about His great love for you. For YOU!
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll share that love with another hurting, confused, or blessed-with-more-than-she-knows-what-to-do-with soul.
I just happen to think that’s the most blessed giving anyone could hope to receive.
Oh, was this bio day? Oops! I forgot. I was lost in my latest manuscript. Umm... bio. Yeah.
Hi! I’m Chautona Havig. (for those who care, that’s Shuh-TONE-uh HAVE-ig). Yeah. Just work with me here. I should have used a pseudonym, but when you grow up with a name like Chautona, it kind of sticks.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10: 23–25
Those aren’t just words on a page for me–they’re why I write. I write to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ. The stories I create are to make people laugh, cry, question, consider.
They’re for you.
When the world screams for hope, I try to point you to the true Source of hope–Jesus.
Sometimes life in the church no longer seems a refuge from the pain of a self-serving world around us, but through my stories, I try to point you to the only Refuge that can truly help–the Father’s Everlasting Arms.
And sometimes we just need an escape from the monotony, the emptiness we see around us. We need joy, laughter–what I like to call “just the write escape.”
Christian fiction without apology or pretense–lived, not preached.
What does that even mean?
It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.
But I do.
And I write for you. I sit in my little house in California’s Mojave Desert and I write to show you why one sister believes one thing, why a brother believes another. I write to show you how some Christians handle trials or triumphs–for you. So when you’re faced with something–good or bad, it doesn’t matter–maybe it’ll spark a memory. Maybe that memory will smolder until you pull out your Bible and see what the Lord said about it–about His great love for you. For YOU!
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll share that love with another hurting, confused, or blessed-with-more-than-she-knows-what-to-do-with soul.
I just happen to think that’s the most blessed giving anyone could hope to receive.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 11, 2019
Shadows & Secrets (Annals of Wynnewood Book 1) by Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian children’s fantasy
Format: Kindle
Timeframe: 13th century
Location: Northern England village of Wynnewood
Main Characters:
Philip Ward: 12-year old apprentice to the arrow maker (fletcher)
Dove: Creature the village calls Ge-sceaft (meaning creature)
Charles Morgan: Earl of Wynnewood
Brodor Dennis Clarke: Village cleric
Bertha Newcombe: Village midwife who took in Dove
In a time and in a land where Christianity hadn’t made that much of an impact, Brodor Dennis Clarke has shared Christ faithfully. Clarke refers to God as I Am, and so does Philip, a 12-year old who loves to hear the stories of I Am in this small village of people who still believe in gods as passed down from druidic times. Many people believe this Christian faith to be heresy, but the landowner of this coastal village, Lord Morgan, is a Christ follower and friend to Brodor Clarke.
There is a creature who stays away from the village, wrapped in a cloak to keep villagers from seeing her true identity. The creature makes Philip curious. He doesn’t believe the rumors about it (as the villagers call the creature). What he finds when the creature saves him from a fiery death is it’s not a monster, or a creature. She’s a tiny 9-year old girl with what he thinks is a disfigurement, but cannot know for sure because she never allows anyone to see inside the cloak. Philip befriends her like a sister. Their friendship, however, is not accepted by the villagers. They call her a monster, a thing upon whom they blame all bad things, saying she’s a bewitcher, evil and have no qualms about throwing rocks if they should run across her.
She was taken in by the midwife when she was three and has been a house servant ever since. She was never given a name by the midwife so Philip decided to call her Dove. Since the midwife still believes in gods, Dove never knew of another faith. She listens to Philip’s stories about I Am with skepticism, constantly challenging him, but in a curious rather than disbelieving way. This encourages Philip to share these stories whenever they spend time together in the woods or cliffs exploring or watching for dragons.
***************************************
I’ve had this Annals of Wynnewood set for four years, so I figured it was time to dust them off (figuratively) and give them a try. I rarely if ever read children’s books, but because this is Chautona Havig, I knew they’d be good. I was right. It’s a book children and adults can find entertaining.
I loved the interaction Philip had with his master, Tom Fletcher, whom he was apprenticing with to learn the art of arrow making. Philip learned nothing about arrows in the years he was with the fletcher who made him do menial tasks for the household. But Philip never badmouthed the fletcher with anyone, even when questioned.
Faith discussions with Lord Morgan, Brodor Clarke and Philip, as well as Dove were some of the loveliest I’ve read to date.
One thing I’ve known a while (and written into this story) is many names from long ago were derived from family occupations or something particular about an ancestor that stuck, such as Fletcher. A fletcher is an arrowsmith. Clarke came from the Latin word clericus or clerk. In the middle ages the only people who could read and write were members of the religious order. Baker, well that’s pretty obvious. Mason, also obvious. Ward came from castle guards. As for Lord Morgan, the name Morgan means dweller of the sea. Newcombe was from Bertha’s father who moved to a new area when he was young. All fun stuff for kids to learn and fun for adults to enjoy.
Genre: Christian children’s fantasy
Format: Kindle
Timeframe: 13th century
Location: Northern England village of Wynnewood
Main Characters:
Philip Ward: 12-year old apprentice to the arrow maker (fletcher)
Dove: Creature the village calls Ge-sceaft (meaning creature)
Charles Morgan: Earl of Wynnewood
Brodor Dennis Clarke: Village cleric
Bertha Newcombe: Village midwife who took in Dove
In a time and in a land where Christianity hadn’t made that much of an impact, Brodor Dennis Clarke has shared Christ faithfully. Clarke refers to God as I Am, and so does Philip, a 12-year old who loves to hear the stories of I Am in this small village of people who still believe in gods as passed down from druidic times. Many people believe this Christian faith to be heresy, but the landowner of this coastal village, Lord Morgan, is a Christ follower and friend to Brodor Clarke.
There is a creature who stays away from the village, wrapped in a cloak to keep villagers from seeing her true identity. The creature makes Philip curious. He doesn’t believe the rumors about it (as the villagers call the creature). What he finds when the creature saves him from a fiery death is it’s not a monster, or a creature. She’s a tiny 9-year old girl with what he thinks is a disfigurement, but cannot know for sure because she never allows anyone to see inside the cloak. Philip befriends her like a sister. Their friendship, however, is not accepted by the villagers. They call her a monster, a thing upon whom they blame all bad things, saying she’s a bewitcher, evil and have no qualms about throwing rocks if they should run across her.
She was taken in by the midwife when she was three and has been a house servant ever since. She was never given a name by the midwife so Philip decided to call her Dove. Since the midwife still believes in gods, Dove never knew of another faith. She listens to Philip’s stories about I Am with skepticism, constantly challenging him, but in a curious rather than disbelieving way. This encourages Philip to share these stories whenever they spend time together in the woods or cliffs exploring or watching for dragons.
***************************************
I’ve had this Annals of Wynnewood set for four years, so I figured it was time to dust them off (figuratively) and give them a try. I rarely if ever read children’s books, but because this is Chautona Havig, I knew they’d be good. I was right. It’s a book children and adults can find entertaining.
I loved the interaction Philip had with his master, Tom Fletcher, whom he was apprenticing with to learn the art of arrow making. Philip learned nothing about arrows in the years he was with the fletcher who made him do menial tasks for the household. But Philip never badmouthed the fletcher with anyone, even when questioned.
Faith discussions with Lord Morgan, Brodor Clarke and Philip, as well as Dove were some of the loveliest I’ve read to date.
One thing I’ve known a while (and written into this story) is many names from long ago were derived from family occupations or something particular about an ancestor that stuck, such as Fletcher. A fletcher is an arrowsmith. Clarke came from the Latin word clericus or clerk. In the middle ages the only people who could read and write were members of the religious order. Baker, well that’s pretty obvious. Mason, also obvious. Ward came from castle guards. As for Lord Morgan, the name Morgan means dweller of the sea. Newcombe was from Bertha’s father who moved to a new area when he was young. All fun stuff for kids to learn and fun for adults to enjoy.
September 30, 2022
Shadows and Secrets is a fantasy novel by Chautona Havig. After reading the book in a span of four days, I’ve ultimately decided to give it two stars.
Let’s start with the premise: a boy befriends a mysterious cloaked figure who’s feared by his village. Over the course of the story, they have many adventures. Not a bad premise at all. Not the most unique, but it doesn’t need to be. If it’s pulled of effectively, it could make for a very interesting story. Unfortunately, I think the story itself is very flawed.
First, while the friends go through many ordeals such as saving the princess from kidnappers and finding a pirate’s treasure, there’s no overarching plot connecting the major events. They just seem to happen, and the characters move on. While I get that many books have separate plot point and scenes, I wish this book tied them together to make sure that each scene serves an overall purpose. Perhaps give us a dastardly villain behind the various incidents.
At that leads me to my next point: most of the villains and threats are off-screen. We don’t see exactly what’s threatening the characters. Instead, we’re told that they’re there and left with the characters fighting a threat that’s separated from them. While keeping a villain hidden can be done well if we have a payoff where they reveal themselves, we only get off-screen one-time threats that don’t have much weight.
Before I get to my last point, I want to list a minor issue. There are quite a few punctuation errors throughout, most noticeably missing quotation marks.
And finally, the last scene. The castle is under attack, and the heroes have to work together to keep the princess safe. Sounds good. And sure enough, I think it’s the best scene in the book. But it still suffers from the fact that most of the danger is off-screen. And the person behind it all is only mentioned. If this scene had some better build up and execution, it could have been much better.
Overall, I think the story has potential, but its concepts need a good rewrite to truly be great.
Let’s start with the premise: a boy befriends a mysterious cloaked figure who’s feared by his village. Over the course of the story, they have many adventures. Not a bad premise at all. Not the most unique, but it doesn’t need to be. If it’s pulled of effectively, it could make for a very interesting story. Unfortunately, I think the story itself is very flawed.
First, while the friends go through many ordeals such as saving the princess from kidnappers and finding a pirate’s treasure, there’s no overarching plot connecting the major events. They just seem to happen, and the characters move on. While I get that many books have separate plot point and scenes, I wish this book tied them together to make sure that each scene serves an overall purpose. Perhaps give us a dastardly villain behind the various incidents.
At that leads me to my next point: most of the villains and threats are off-screen. We don’t see exactly what’s threatening the characters. Instead, we’re told that they’re there and left with the characters fighting a threat that’s separated from them. While keeping a villain hidden can be done well if we have a payoff where they reveal themselves, we only get off-screen one-time threats that don’t have much weight.
Before I get to my last point, I want to list a minor issue. There are quite a few punctuation errors throughout, most noticeably missing quotation marks.
And finally, the last scene. The castle is under attack, and the heroes have to work together to keep the princess safe. Sounds good. And sure enough, I think it’s the best scene in the book. But it still suffers from the fact that most of the danger is off-screen. And the person behind it all is only mentioned. If this scene had some better build up and execution, it could have been much better.
Overall, I think the story has potential, but its concepts need a good rewrite to truly be great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2017
I had the privilege to read "Shadows & Secrets", the first book in the "Annals of Wynnewood" series. I found the book to be easy to read. I think that young adults/ middle grade kids would also enjoy the book. Philip and the town's outcast, known as the "Creature", become friends and they help and encourage each other. Philip teaches her about the things he learns about God and the Bible and she teaches him about the forest and how to shoot. They had several adventures together and learn to trust each other. It is set in medieval England and features dragons. It was interesting that the reader was able to know what everyone was feeling in a somewhat omniscient way. I look forward to reading the other two books in the series to learn more about Philip and his friend.
I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received.
I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received.
May 30, 2020
Delightful. Proves once again that Chautona can write whatever she wants and it will always be awesome.
June 26, 2023
Highly due for a reread but im scared it wont live up to the fond memories i have
Love this series tho
Love this series tho
Read
August 31, 2023YA
I'd like to know why Dove wears a hood,why is she so afraid to show herself. This is definitely YA
I'd like to know why Dove wears a hood,why is she so afraid to show herself. This is definitely YA
February 5, 2010
I really enjoyed this historical fiction/fantasy young adult novel. The setting is Medieval Northern England and is very realistic. There just also happens to dragons near the village.
This is the story of a young boy who meets the mysterious village outcast. She is just a girl and keeps herself covered at all times, but refuses to reveal why. The pair have adventures around the town and castle while their friendship grows. Some of the adventures turn out to be much more dangerous than they had bargained for.
As an adult, I found the book had enough happening to keep me interested. The descriptions of daily life was interesting as well. The book also described the village's conversion to Christianity. It seems Christianity had come to village some time earlier, but the native beliefs still remained in some form for many of the residents. I think this book would have a lot to offer the young adult audience.
I look forward to the rest in the series!
This is the story of a young boy who meets the mysterious village outcast. She is just a girl and keeps herself covered at all times, but refuses to reveal why. The pair have adventures around the town and castle while their friendship grows. Some of the adventures turn out to be much more dangerous than they had bargained for.
As an adult, I found the book had enough happening to keep me interested. The descriptions of daily life was interesting as well. The book also described the village's conversion to Christianity. It seems Christianity had come to village some time earlier, but the native beliefs still remained in some form for many of the residents. I think this book would have a lot to offer the young adult audience.
I look forward to the rest in the series!
May 5, 2016
From one adventure to the next..
And what girl doesn't like a little adventure? Or boy for that matter? Annals of Wynnewood introduces us to a peculiar girl, a singular boy and the friendship they forge as they eschew all the conventions of 14th century England.
What do you fear when you're what people believe goes bump in the night?
I won't spoil it for you, but I must say: this is Havig at her best as she achieves in their tale everything the rest of her stories only hinted she could!
And what girl doesn't like a little adventure? Or boy for that matter? Annals of Wynnewood introduces us to a peculiar girl, a singular boy and the friendship they forge as they eschew all the conventions of 14th century England.
What do you fear when you're what people believe goes bump in the night?
I won't spoil it for you, but I must say: this is Havig at her best as she achieves in their tale everything the rest of her stories only hinted she could!
July 2, 2012
Wynnewood is a wonderful medieval setting; the characters are well established quickly. A good tale with morality as a theme, not thrown in for the sake of it. A great read for both kids and parents. The map is amazing. Action, adventure and a dragon, what more can anyone want? You'll certainly want to read the whole series to discover the mystery that lies Beneath The Cloak.
September 21, 2016
Fun read
This book was so different than any other I've read by Ms. Havig that I had to keep reminding myself that she wrote it. That being said, it was another great story. As always she has created delightful characters one cannot help liking; and inserted wonderful Biblical messages without sermonizing. Looking forward to reading book 2 in the series!
This book was so different than any other I've read by Ms. Havig that I had to keep reminding myself that she wrote it. That being said, it was another great story. As always she has created delightful characters one cannot help liking; and inserted wonderful Biblical messages without sermonizing. Looking forward to reading book 2 in the series!
January 25, 2013
It wasn't quite what I expected, but overall it was a good read. Some of the religious under pinnings were over my head, but a couple were extremely profound. It's a quick read, with a simple story line but deeper meaning that I think would come out with repeated readings
January 26, 2015
The first of a series about irrational superstition and the suffering that goes with it in a medieval setting. Strictly speaking it is fantasy, but that is incidental to the story. The series has depth of character and thought.
January 31, 2013
Very charming with characters I really grew to care about. A little bit much of telling and not showing, however. Still, a good read :)
June 15, 2013
Surprisingly good free Kindle book. Ya/Christian/Fantasy was an unexpected twist. Nice character development, good plot line, and not preachy at all. May have to read more in this series.
September 29, 2013
Cute book. I could read this with my kids. I like that it has a Christian theme running through it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews