Heidi Chiavaroli's Blog, page 5
January 21, 2021
Preorder Deals!
The Orchard House is set for release in just a little over two weeks! I can’t wait to share this story with you, dear readers!
Because we’re closing in on release day, there’s only a limited time left to snatch up some of these great preorder deals. I hope you enjoy!
Baker Book House Paperback Sale!
Ebook Deals Everywhere!Happy Reading!
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January 6, 2021
A Nativity Poem
I’ve always had a thing for nativity scenes. I remember rushing to go to a Christmas Eve service with my Mom while in high school but finding we had missed the service. Instead, we stood peering on the large nativity scene outside the church, pondering the gift of Christmas. It seemed enough for that year and that moment remains precious.
The Christmas before I married, my parents gave me a nativity set, my most valued gift. They knew how much it meant to me.
This year, one of my most favorite services—Christmas Eve candlelight service—looked a lot different in my living room.
Our family traveled to La Salette Shrine for their celebration of lights the day after Christmas. I most looked forward to seeing their nativity scene. As I stood there, pondering the baby in a manger, the grateful parents, the shepherd holding a tender sheep, an overflowing of emotion welled up within me along with a foreign urge to create a poem. I don’t usually write poetry or consider myself gifted for it, but I’m offering it here to share a glimpse into my heart and what Christmas means to me.
The Nativity
first gently tugging at my child-heart
the nativity scene called as a work of art
what it represented I could just glimpse
wrapped in a mystical element
as I grew and strived and strained
the babe found me again all but drained
in my brokenness and despair
God’s grace shone down upon me there
I understood why He must come
God’s son a man He did become
to free me from my constant race
to be the best, to never settle for second place
victory found at manger, cross, and grave
victory found within my soul that He forgave
love so perfect, so stain-free
that I first glimpsed in the nativity
may my lack now reveal His grace
may He shine as I live in Christ’s embrace
at Christmastime and all through the year
may I always keep the nativity near.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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January 5, 2021
Auld Lang Syne in the COVID Testing Line
I waited in the driver’s seat of my Subaru, one of many in a long line to have a COVID test. My husband had tested positive the day before after having mild symptoms for a few days. I didn’t have any symptoms, but it was my turn for a test.
It wasn’t my first rodeo, actually. Our entire family had been tested a couple months ago after one of my sons had been found to be a close contact with a classmate. Back then, I’d been brave for the sake of my kids. This time, irrational anxiety filled my chest.
Maybe because the thing we’d been avoiding since March was now sleeping in my bed. (Love you, honey!) Maybe because we’d been with a small gathering of family that included a high risk individual over Christmas (with open windows and while wearing masks). Or maybe it was the thought of the many who’d suffered and died at the hands of the virus—a virus that I hated to think I had inadvertently perpetuated in any way.
The line moved slow as we crept beneath a covered parking lot, and I observed the two workers in Hazmat suits and respirators. Seriously, they looked like Doc and Marty handling the plutonium in Back to the Future. Not an incredibly comforting thought paired with the four-inch swab about to go up my nose. (I mean, what if they missed and punctured my brain?)
I said a prayer, and tried to refocus with gratitude. Honestly, I was super appreciative of these hard-working health care workers. They stood outside in the cold, hour after hour, sticking swabs up people’s noses. We’re talking snots and nose hairs and things no one voluntarily wants to see. And they’re handling the virus that the rest of the world is trying to evade.
I pulled up to the front of the line, took a deep breath, and unrolled my window as the figure approached. Behind all that PPE, I saw a pleasant-looking woman.
“Hello!” she said cheerily. The smile, which I couldn’t fully see, went all the way to her eyes, putting me instantly at ease. My husband had not had this lady the day before, and those near angelic eyes met my worry and fear head on, helping to settle all that roiled inside me.
She told me information about how to get results and I thanked her for doing what she did, which she received warmly.
“Okay, tilt your head back slightly.” She inserted the swab until I made a funny face and my eyes began to water. She didn’t withdraw. Instead, she swished it around, singing sweetly. “For auld lang syne, my dear; For auld lang syne; We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet; For days of auld lang syne.”
It was something you might do for a child—sing while performing a less-than-pleasant procedure. But this woman didn’t hesitate to sing to a grown woman—and I suspected every person that came through her line.
Her warmth made all the difference. As I thanked her again and pulled away, I thanked God for her and for all the health care workers laboring tirelessly during this trying time. I can’t imagine how hard their job is—that some make it all the more pleasant by really seeing and caring for the person on the other side of the cotton swab, hospital bed, or pharmacy counter makes all the difference in the world.
Thank you, health care workers! You rock! And may this virus very literally soon find itself “auld lang syne,” meaning “in the olden days” or as I like to say, history.
P.S. My test was negative, hubby is back to work, and my high-risk family member has had no symptoms so far. So thankful. Stay well, and may the God of hope find you during this season.
Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay
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October 25, 2020
Yodeling in the Immunization Booth
He stepped forward, gesturing for the elderly woman behind him to follow. “Yes, we’re here to get my mother-in-law her flu shot.”
I gathered the necessary information, smiled at the quiet woman beside him.
She glanced at my name badge. “I can yodel,” she told me.
“No way. I’d love to hear that.” I meant it. I mean, it’s not everyday someone offers to yodel for you, right? Much less an eighty-one-year-old woman. I wondered if it was my name (you know, Heidi the mountain girl!) that triggered the yodeling conversation or if it was something she usually told strangers.
Her son-in-law turned to her. “Let’s wait until after your shot, okay?”
It was not hard to hide my smile beneath my mask. “Yes, probably better to get all the business out of the way first,” I agreed, trying to make the man comfortable.
I ran the immunization through the computer, screened the woman for Covid symptoms, and took her temperature.
“I can yodel,” she repeated as I held the thermometer to her forehead.
“I really would like to hear that.” Now I was curious, though her son-in-law seemed hesitant. I assumed this was something they often went through when in stores or perhaps at doctor’s appointments.
“We have to fill out these papers, Mom.” He led her to the immunization booth while I turned my attention to the next customer.
Several minutes later, as the pharmacist went in the booth to give the woman her shot, the most spectacular, clear, jolly yodeling filled the pharmacy (and probably most of Walmart). It brought many smiles, and from what I could tell, that woman yodeled right through the pinch and pain of her flu shot.
This is one of the many reasons I am grateful to work at Walmart. Yes, there’s the tough moments. The busy days where it seems you are disappointing customer after customer with news of a medicine out of stock or a long wait-time. The cancer patient you’ve been praying for finding out bad news. The harried customer who wonders how they’re going to pay their copay. And yet there’s a lot of good, too. There’s smiles (they are there behind the masks!) and cancer victories. There’s pictures of grandchildren and laughter with co-workers. There’s the gratefulness in the eyes of a customer who truly appreciates your help. There’s glimpses of humanity—the value of it, the story behind it.
There’s yodeling.
In a year as crazy as 2020, I think we could all stand to do a little yodeling. To express joy in our individual, God-given ways. To peel back the curtain of our differences and see the humanity of those on the other side. To not hold the smiles back, even when they’re hidden by a mask. To grasp onto the tender, the humanness, the gifts, and the joy.
Will you yodel with me through the rest of 2020?
With Hope, Heidi
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October 22, 2020
ARC Instagram Giveaway of The Orchard House!
Friends, this holding-a-real-live-book in my hands never gets old. And I want to celebrate with you!
I remember visiting Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House as a girl. I remember standing in her bedroom, looking at the very desk where she wrote her beautiful novel, Little Women. There was something special about that place, something almost magical that stayed with me throughout the years.
The idea of writing a story surrounding Orchard House and Louisa May Alcott has been on my heart for some time now. But truthfully, it both thrilled and intimidated me. To take on such a formidable literary hero as Louisa May Alcott was no small task. But friends, what a blessing it was! The research alone amazed me. Diving into Louisa’s letters and journals was both insightful and touching. Writing a story with her as a character was both terrifying and unexpectedly fun.
And now, in a little more than than three short months (February 9, 2021!) The Orchard House will be released to the world. But you might not have to wait that long because I’m mailing one Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of my upcoming novel to one reading friend on Instagram!
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July 1, 2020
Fourth of July E-Book Deal!
Happy July!
To celebrate this month that signifies our country's birth and freedom, my publisher is offering a limited-time deal on the e-book version of The Tea Chest! Pick up your copy at your favorite online bookseller or visit here. Happy Fourth!
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June 26, 2020
Independence Day Book Giveaway!
I've been digging around in my giveaway bag and I've come up with some Revolutionary ideas!
To celebrate Independence Day, I'm giving away the following to one winner:
~ 3 signed copies of my Revolutionary time-slip books
~ a lightweight American flag scarf
~ a ceramic Boston mug
~ a Woodland pen from The Boston Tea Party museum
~ Freedom Trail mints
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March 25, 2020
The Essentialness of Walmart and Story
Many of you know that when I'm not writing, I work part-time at Walmart Pharmacy. I started in the Lawn and Garden department four years ago. This was pre-writing contract, a way to bring in some money and get out of the house at night in the midst of homeschooling our two boys. I eventually switched over to the pharmacy and last year I became certified as a technician.
Most of the time, I love my job. I love the people I work with, the customers I've gotten to know, and the inspiration a place like Walmart can give for a myriad of story ideas.
When Massachusetts shut down all non-essential businesses this past Tuesday, I faced the fact that, like so many of you, I was considered "essential" in this fight against COVID-19. It was a weird thought. Because to me, the essential part was always writing and telling stories, not my part-time job at Walmart. And while helping people get their medicines is certainly essential, I truly believe that stories are also essential in this battle. And I think we're seeing it now more than ever....
When we see the story of Italian citizens, forced into their homes for their own good, yet uniting in song.
When a group of family and friends (in individual cars, of course!) arrange a drive-by parade for a four-year-old's birthday celebration.
When a woman comforts an 81-year-old lady crying in a grocery aisle, fearful there isn't enough and even if there is that her $37 won't stretch for what she needs. When that same woman buys groceries for the elderly lady and even gives her a ride home to save her the fare of a taxi.
When a 72-year-old Italian priest dies after giving his respirator to a young stranger.
When a low-risk person simply stays home, doing their part to stop the spread of the virus.
When any of us sacrifice, even a small bit, for the greater good.
These are stories that are essential in the fight against an invisible enemy.
Yes, there are the sad stories too. But I can honestly say, being out in the public during this chaotic time, that for every person getting angry about the line they have to stand in, there are three people giving up their spot in line for a needier person than themselves.
This is a time of contradictions. A time where ordinary workers who stock grocery shelves become heroes. A time where faith has the power to replace fear. A time where the Holy Spirit unites worshipers miles apart in a virtual church service. A time where people come together in a bond against an invisible enemy while being kept isolated from one another.
Yes, there are the bad stories, birthed from fear. But the good one are so much stronger. So keep creating them. Keep telling them. Keep living them.
You are essential in this battle.
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March 17, 2020
Winners!
Congratulations to the three winners of the private giveaway I ran for the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!
Mimi Noble
Pam Graber
Rebecca Litton
Happy Reading!
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March 11, 2020
Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #25
Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!
~ The hunt BEGINS on 3/12 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
~ Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
~There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 3/15 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
~Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!
Hello! My name's Heidi Chiavaroli and I write split time fiction. My ideas are always inspired from actual history that I love to carry into fiction, taking both present-day and historical characters on a connected journey. I live in Massachusetts with my husband and two sons. You can learn more about me and all my books here on my website and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
My newest release, The Tea Chest, is about a woman intent on becoming America's first woman Navy SEAL. But before she begins the biggest feat of her life, she returns to Boston to put the abuse and neglect of her childhood behind her. When an unexpected encounter with the man she once loved leads her to the discovery of a tea chest and the document hidden within, they unearth the 247-year-old story of a young colonial woman—one caught in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and kept from the man she loves by means of a vicious blackmail.
So what inspired me to connect an aspiring woman Navy SEAL and a tea-partying colonial woman? Read on to find out!
Navy SEALs and Tea Parties—Writing Dual Timeline Fiction
In July 2017, it was announced that for the first time, a woman would enter the training pipeline to become a Navy SEAL. A couple weeks later, it was reported that she had dropped out. I couldn’t help imagining what this unidentifiable woman had gone through and what had propelled her to enter such rigorous training. I decided to explore her story in fiction.
Only it wouldn't be just her story. Because I write dual timeline stories. And I love to tie the heart struggles of the characters in my novels together, showing that no matter the technological advancements we achieve, some things—like the plight of the human heart—are timeless.
What better way to explore the journey of my contemporary character, a physically strong woman who longs to make a difference, than showing her alongside a historical woman who plays a major part in one of the most important events that led to the American Revolution?
That's when fictional Emma Malcolm was born. She is the daughter of a real historical person, customs official John Malcolm, who was brutally tarred and feathered by a group of Patriots. I imagined what it’d be like if he had a daughter—one who sympathized with the Sons of Liberty…one who sympathized with the very political side her father was intent on squelching. What if his daughter befriended those plotting to dump the tea? What if she aided them? What if she were even in love with one of them?
The Tea Chest came alive for me as I explored these two women. Women who long to fight for freedom, but also women who struggle to know their own worth. I hope you take the journey with them, and I hope you are challenged and changed by their adventures.
Here’s the Stop #25 Skinny:
If you’re interested, you can order The Tea Chest on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Christianbook, or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: worlds.
Link to Stop #26: the Next Stop on the Loop: Christina Suzann Nelson's site!
But wait! Before you go, I'm offering three books to three different entrants (winner's choice--either Freedom's Ring, The Hidden Side, The Edge of Mercy, or The Tea Chest). All you have to do is Sign Up To Get My Newsletter or note that you're already a subscriber. Additional points to those who follow me on Goodreads, Bookbub, or Instagram--Entry Form Here. (USA only) Winners announced March 16th!
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