What’s Happening In Narelle’s World?

Dear Friends,

Welcome to September! Spring has arrived, and brought us a few days of beautiful summer weather in Canberra, Australia. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the garden and planting basil and coriander (cilantro) now the frosty mornings are behind us.

I'm excited to share that Her Cowboy Blind Date is now available in paperback at Amazon and can be ordered by small stores. The ebook is also in Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.narelleatkins.com/books/her-cowboy-blind-date/

For those who are wondering how Her Cowboy Blind Date is connected with my other books: Bek (who's calling herself Becky while studying at Gilead Bible College in the US) is Zach Montford's youngest sister. Zach is my hero in Seaside Proposal (Sydney Sweethearts, Book 3). Zach and his wife, Billie, also make a cameo appearance in Never Find Another You (Trinity Lakes Romance, Book 1).

In other news, I'm reconnecting with my characters in my Chapel Cove Romance book, Honor Me, that was supposed to be published in 2022 before I got stuck with writers block and grief. It's eight years since our dear friend Marion Ueckermann was one of my roomies at an ACFW Conference in Dallas, TX, and we celebrated Marion's September birthday during the conference. Marion, Autumn Macarthur, and Alexa Verde created the Chapel Cove Romance story world, and we were all devastated when Marion sadly passed in 2021. I will honor Marion's memory by finishing and publishing Honor Me as my next book release.

During September I've spent a lot of time fixing the Australasian Christian Writers (ACW) blog after the website was hacked on June 30. We were offline for most of July while our IT contractors cleaned up the mess in the back end of the website. The blog wasn't running smoothly during August, which created unnecessary work for the busy group admins. Last week, after days of testing different things, we worked out that we needed a brand new Wordpress Theme with block editing functionality that would be compatible with updates to other plugins. If you follow the ACW blog, you should now be receiving daily emails, Mon-Fri (5am Syd/Melb timezone), when a new post is published.

I'm looking forward to reading:

I'm excited that my dear friend and local Canberra author, Jennifer Mistmorgan, has her debut book releasing on Friday! If you're a fan of WW2 Christian historical romance and enjoy novels by Sarah Sundin, Roseanna M. White, and Amanda Barratt (who have all endorsed the book!) then check out Heart in the Clouds at Jennifer's website: https://jennifermistmorgan.com

StoryChats @ InspyRomance Podcast/YouTube 

Valerie Comer, Elizabeth Maddrey, and I have so much fun recording our StoryChats @ InspyRomance episodes for the Podcast and YouTube. Here's the list of our recent episodes.

Episode 140: September Recent CCR Reads

Episode 139: The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer

Episode 138: Positively Penelope by Pepper Basham

Episode 137: CCR set in Iowa, North and South Dakota, Missouri, and Nebraska

Episode 136: Hero Debut by Angela Ruth Strong

Book Recommendations

I’ve shared a few book recommendations on my blog since I sent out my last newsletter.

Book Recommendation – The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer

Book Recommendation – Positively Penelope by Pepper Basham

Book Recommendation – Hero Debut by Angela Ruth Strong

For those interested in learning about Christian fiction new releases, I also compile a monthly new releases post on my blog — Christian Fiction New Releases - September 2023

Paperback Giveaway - Winners Choice from the TRINITY LAKES ROMANCE series

I'm excited that all seven books in the Trinity Lakes Romance series that have released in 2023 are now available in Kindle Unlimited. The stories share a simultaneous timeline with crossover characters. It's a series that's best read in order because there is an overarching series mystery connected to the town that's unpacked in multiple books.

My book, Never Find Another You, is Hannah and Joel's story. In the story I've introduced a number of characters who will appear in future books. The titles and main characters are below.

The Ocean Between Us by Meredith Resce (Caleb and Alanah - plus Kyla)

I'll Always Choose You by Lisa Renee (Leah and Justin)

Always By My Side by Iola Goulton (Tabby and Logan)

Love Somebody Like You by Carolyn Miller (Jackson and Lexi)

Where Our Hearts Lie by Jenny Glazebrook (Josh and Hallie)

No Matter How Far by Sara Beth Williams (Jocelyn and Dylan)

Learn more about the books and series at my website: https://www.narelleatkins.com/books/never-find-another-you/

The paperback giveaway is open to readers with USA and Australian mailing addresses who can receive paperback books from Amazon USA or Amazon Australia, The choice of book is subject to availability from Amazon.

I’m happy to substitute an ebook for readers who live outside USA and Australia, as long as they have digital access to ebooks at either Amazon USA or Amazon Australia and can redeem an Amazon gift card for the equivalent US or Australian ebook price at the US or Australian store.

To enter the giveaway, please reply to this email by SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 (USA Pacific West Coast Time Zone) and include your first name and the name of the country where you live and include the book title (from the Trinity Lakes Romance books that have released in 2023) that you'd like to win. 

The winner will be contacted by SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 to arrange the delivery of their paperback book. 

Our August winner, Amanda from USA, chose Second Time Around by Melody Carlson.

Questions for You

Are you a fan of multi-author series? Have you read any of the books in the Trinity Lakes Romance series?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I will do my best to reply to your emails within 7 days. If I receive an undelivered email message, I’ll try again and send a second reply. If you don’t receive a reply from me, please let me know because emails can go astray. I can be contacted via my website.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for journeying with me on my often crazy and challenging book publishing journey. If you’re a praying person, I’d love continued prayers for my family and my writing. Especially prayers that I'll continue making progress in writing Honor Me. My writing process includes a lot of thinking time, and I'm thankful I've been migraine-free and had time to ponder the story. I appreciate all your prayers, good thoughts, and support. 

Blessings and love to you,

Narelle xo