Hi everyone!
I’m happy to be back on Sunday Edition duty for November. With the strong caveat that I can’t wrap my mind around it being November. Didn’t the year just start like two minutes ago? Am I the only one struggling with this? (Please say no.)
If you’re around writers much (or you read Carol’s post earlier this week), you’ll know that a lot of us are currently engaging in the questionable sanity of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I, too, am doing this with the hopes of getting between 50 and 55 thousand words put down in the guise of a coherent novel that is due to a group in mid-December. So…not a lot of wiggle room for failure here. *Gulp*
It’s also the time of year that we here in the US at least start focusing on things for which we’re thankful in a more overt manner than the rest of the year. (I’ve always wondered if countries where Thanksgiving isn’t in November have the spate of 30 days of thanksgiving and so forth that I see here every year?)
Regardless — I’m thankful for YOU! Not only because you hang out with us here at InspyRomance but because you read our books and love romance and you get us. And that is a lovely, amazing thing.
If you’re a winner, please email us at
prizes at inspyromance dot com
Winners for JoAnn Durgin’s post are: dottysramblings, Jennifer Craig, and Robin.
The winner for Carol Moncado’s post is Tina Radcliffe
The winner for Jessica Keller’s post is Cassandra
The winner for Ginger Solomon’s post is Trixi
The winner for Autumn Macarthur’s post is L Marie
The winners of the 2 Amazon gift cards for October are Barbara Scott and Tammy Francis!
Don’t forget, every comment you leave enters you into the drawing for the 2 Amazon gift cards we give away monthly!
Last Week
On Monday, Deb Kastner talked about Climbing Back on the Horse
On Tuesday, Narelle Atkins talked about a Christian Writer’s Conference…Aussie Style
On Wednesday, Jessica Keller celebrated the Bestselling Mistletoe Memories Bundle with a Giveaway
On Thursday, Carol Moncado told us about NaNoWriMo? What’s that? with a Giveaway
On Friday, Cheryl Wyatt talked about When Romance Goes Wrong
On Saturday, Marion Ueckermann talked about a New Christmas Box Set and a Giveaway
Next Week
Monday: Lee Tobin McClain
Tuesday: Lindi Peterson
Wednesday: Valerie Comer
Thursday: Lynette Sowell
Friday: Kimberly Rose Johnson
Saturday: Carolyne Aarsen
New Releases
October 2016
A Christmas Homecoming (Sunriver Dreams 2) by Kimberly Rose Johnson
More Than a Tiara (Christmas in Montana 1) by Valerie Comer
Seaside Christmas (A Sydney Sweethearts Novella) by Narelle Atkins
By Grace Draw Near (Wondrous Love 3) by JoAnn Durgin
The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby (Big Sky Cowboys) by Carolyne Aarsen
A Love to Call Mine (Front Porch Promises 2) by Merrillee Whren
Blown Together (Southern Hearts 4) by Janet W Ferguson
Calm & Bright (Huckleberry Lake 1) by Autumn Macarthur
The Wedding Bond (A Sacred Bond Standalone) by Lee Tobin McClain
November 2016
The Ranger’s Texas Proposal (Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch) by Jessica Keller
Operation Back-to-School (Operation Romance book 4) by Elizabeth Maddrey
Other Than a Halo (Christmas in Montana 2) by Valerie Comer
An Informal Date (Informal Romance 4) by Heather Gray
Pursuit (Lewis Legacy 8) by JoAnn Durgin
Mistletoe Daddy (Cowboy Country 5) by Deb Kastner
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Check out our perma-free novels, audiobooks, and more on the NEWS tab.
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
Hi Elizabeth, hope your writing continues to go smoothly, with not toooo many interruptions!:) I’m with you, the year has flown by. My youngest son started school this year, and it only feels like yesterday he dressed in his uniform for the first time. Now, he is excited because soon he will move up to grade one! This year also marked my return to full time teaching- I think that makes time seem to go by even faster! We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in any formal manner, (have celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with some Canadian friends- is it different?), but love the idea of deliberately taking time out to remember to give thanks.
Starting school and going back to work definitely make the time zip along faster! I’m not sure what Canadian Thanksgiving is like (Valerie!? Help us out!) But like you, I do enjoy the reminder to be thankful and make that a priority. It’s something I am working on doing year-round, though I fear I fail miserably. :)
Neither Brits or Aussies have a formal Thanksgiving, either. I do try to remember to give thanks more consciously all through the year. It’s one of the items on the bedtime review in the journalling form I use. But when I’ve had a grumpy day, guess what I skip?! ;)
I feel the same about this year. It’s just disappeared! “Winter again already? Who stole my year?”
Ha. Yeah it’s easy to skip when you’re grumpy. But if I can make myself start, the grumpy often goes away :)
One of the things I like about celebrating Thanksgiving in October (I’m Canadian) is that it is so far distant from Christmas that it isn’t remotely logical to kick off holiday shopping with TDay.
I’m also a gardener and local foodie, and in October we still have garden produce. About ten years ago we began focusing more on the local food aspect of our Thanksgiving dinner than tradition. Thankfully (ha) we have local turkey farmers! And apparently an exception must be made for cranberries, which don’t grow anywhere nearby.
The holiday is on a much smaller scale in general than it is in USA. I haven’t seen anyone doing a 30-day lead-up in Canada, but our Thanksgiving is the second Monday of October, not late in the month. I’m not sure if that makes a perceived difference.
It’s a welcome day for a family get-together but the purpose of it (actually giving thanks) is often ignored or thought of generically. That is, people don’t think to give GOD thanks.
We have the same lack here (leaving His out of the thanksgiving.) Our CSA just let us know they’re taking orders for turkeys from a local farm. So we might do that (I have to look up who’s in charge of the turkey this year.)
I too can hardly believe that it is November already. This year has just flown by and left skid marks on me as it ran me over lol. Sent in my email for Jessica Keller giveaway thanks y’all!
Oh Yay – congrats :) and thanks for following directions ;)
The year has truly flew by but thank God we are blessed to see another day.
Indeed!
I am not ready for the year to be winding down either! At least this year, most of the stores I shop in waited until after Halloween to start putting out Christmas decorations! I’m thankful that this year Thanksgiving is early enough that I’ve got more of a breather before Christmas :-)
Not here — the Christmas stuff came out right after school supplies. That seems…a little excessive. :) But now I’m starting to get excited — we always decorate the day after thanksgiving.
Hi Elizabeth! Good to have you with us for the month of Novemeber :-) And no, you aren’t the only one who wonders HOW we got to the (almost) end of another year again! I think it goes by faster every year.
My mom lives in New Zealand and I don’t believe they celebrate Thanksgiving there. Not sure if they do anything similar there or not, I’ve never really asked. They also have what they call “Boxing Day”, I think it’s the day after Christmas. Not sure what it’s all about, but it’s a huge celebration there :-)
Happy SONday everyone, looking forward to another great week on Inspy romance! The picture of apples reminds me that I need to go buy some as my husband has been wanting to make fresh applesauce. :-)
You are not the only one. Where has this year gone? Seems like just when we get the hang of writing 2016 on all our documents it will soon be time to change to 2017. So thankful for Inspy Romance and all the wonderful new authors I have discovered. Please keep writing.
This year has gone by so fast.I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas it’s nice to end the year with family and friends gathering.