What’s Happening In Narelle’s World?
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the middle of January! It’s summer here in Australia and we're having another wet summer with too much humidity for my liking. We've also experienced days of hot weather and afternoon hail storms. Golf ball sized hail from one of the storms smashed holes through the clear sheeting over our outdoor entertaining area. We're not going to replace the sheeting until April when the storm season should be over. Frequent storms have triggered my migraines, which hasn't been fun. Bring on winter!
In November 2023 I backed a Kickstarter campaign from Orna Ross (a founder of ALLi - Alliance of Indie Authors) called Go Creative! Planning Program for Authors & Poets. I needed help in restructuring my schedule because I was feeling swamped and not getting any writing done. I took a refreshing break over the Christmas and New Year period when my husband had time off work. In early January I assessed my time management and started making hard decisions on what to focus on. My goal is to have more creative time to work on my writing in 2024.
On 1st January I started listening to The One Year Chronological Bible and the Daily Bible Podcast - Audio Bible Reading Plan with Tricia Goyer and her friend Michelle. It's a few years since I last attempted to read the Bible in a year, and a chronological reading plan sounded interesting. I love having the audio option to listen to the daily Bible readings and the discussion with Tricia and Michelle that drops later in the day, Aussie time.
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 156: January Recent Reads
Episode 155: Rom Coms
Episode 154: Christmas Ella 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 – One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey
Book Recommendation – Meant To Be Mine by Becky Wade
Book Recommendation – Tropical Kiss or Miss by Liwen Y. Ho
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 - January 2024.
Paperback Giveaway - It's Your Love or Heart in the Clouds
My CCR selection is It's Your Love by Rachel D. Russell, part of The Fox Family multi-author series that's set in Susan May Warren's Deep Haven story world. Beth made a promise to never leave her dad and their home on Minnesota's North Shore. Grayson left Deep Haven years ago to become a cowboy in Oregon. He's back in Deep Haven to work as a temporary camp wrangler. I loved Beth and Grayson's romance journey and appreciated how they were challenged to deal with some big issues. I recommend It’s Your Love to contemporary romance readers who like small town cowboy romances combined with the brother’s best friend trope and a relevant faith element in the story. Read my book recommendation here:
https://www.narelleatkins.com/book-recommendation-its-your-love-by-rachel-d-russell/
My alternative selection is Heart in the Clouds, the debut WW2 historical romance novel by Australian author Jennifer Mistmorgan. Full disclosure: Jen is one of my real life writing friends based in Canberra and I loved reading her book. We have an English leading lady who's a radio operator at an English military air base and an Aussie pilot hero who's flying bombing missions across the English Channel to Germany. I recommend Heart in the Clouds to historical romance readers who like gritty military stories with a solid faith element set in England during WW2. Read my book recommendation here:
https://www.narelleatkins.com/book-recommendation-heart-in-the-clouds-by-jennifer-mistmorgan/
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 JANUARY 25, 2024 (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 (It's Your Love or Heart in the Clouds) that you'd like to win.
The winner will be contacted by JANUARY 28, 2024 to arrange the delivery of their paperback book.
Our December winner, Sonja N from USA, chose All's Fair in Love and Christmas.
Questions for You
Are you a fan of WW2 historical romances? Do you like reading books in multi-author series with shared story worlds?
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.
January Featured Author ~ Julie Carobini
During 2024 I'm showcasing a potentially new-to-you Christian romance author who has a free ebook available for their newsletter subscribers. I've enjoyed reading Julie Carobini's books with her beautiful California beach settings. Dreaming of You is a new-to-me novella that I downloaded via BookFunnel and added to my Kindle Library.
Here's the Book Description for Dreaming of You
A guy, a girl, and one big mistaken identity by the sea ...
When Juliana’s plan to remodel her boss’s house—and marry him in the process—falls apart, she’s mortified. Nursing a bruised heart, she runs off to Sea Glass Inn. There she meets Tom Sperry under unusual, and awkward, circumstances, awakening thoughts of romance in both of them.
Until she discovers Tom’s not who she dreamed he was. Will she turn around and leave the inn forever? Or find a reason to stay?
Dreaming of You is a bonus novella in Julie Carobini's popular Sea Glass Inn novel series and is available at the following link: https://bookhip.com/HJLSAKD
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 health and my writing schedule. Please pray that my migraines will become less frequent and that I can implement my new writing schedule with minimal disruptions. I'm thankful that the family member who I mentioned in my December newsletter is close to 120 days sober. A massive answer to prayer. I appreciate all your prayers, good thoughts, and support.
Blessings and love to you,
Narelle xo
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