Are you glad it’s the weekend? I’ve just finished a big 4 week project for my day job. This weekend I’m catching up on a few things at home before I fly to Sydney early next week. It’s also the last week of summer here in Australia, and I’m looking forward to the start of autumn and cooler weather and my birthday. Fun times!
I have a question for you: What would be your dream vacation if you had an unlimited budget to visit Australia? Tourism Australia put together an ad for the Superbowl. You may have seen it?
Did the ad fit your expectations of Australia? Would it entice you to visit Australia? If you’ve visited Australia, what did you think of my beautiful country? If you’re an Aussie (waving to Wemble and our Aussie reader friends): What’s your top holiday destination in Australia?
On Valentine’s Day Ginger launched our brilliant Birthday Bash. The lucky Grand Prize winner will be able to snuggle up with the throw and their favorite beverage in a pretty Inspy Romance mug. In their Inspy Romance tote they’ll have a notebook, a selection of inspy romance print books, and the Voyager! A fabulous reading experience for the winner of the Grand Prize Bundle!
There are 10 prize bundles to be won – 4 print book bundles – 4 ebook bundles – 1 international print book bundle (for our international reading friends who live outside the US) and the Grand Prize bundle!
Every comment you write on our blog posts during the giveaway period (2/14-3/16) will give you an entry in the drawing. Check out our 2018 Birthday Bash Giveaway Page for the terms and conditions and the full list of prizes.
If you’re a winner, you should have received an email from the author in charge of the giveaway. If not, please email us at
prizes at inspyromance dot com
Liwen Y. Ho’s winner is Lisa Phillips!
Lee Tobin McClain’s winners are Debra Gray-Elliott and Elizabeth and Katie Anderson!
Don’t forget… every comment you make qualifies you to win one of the monthly Amazon card giveaways!
Specials this Week
A Splash of Substance by Elizabeth Maddey is on sale for $0.99 through February 28! Click here.
Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, Ginger Solomon invited Lynette Bonner to visit with us and share her latest release!
On Tuesday, Lee Tobin McClain talked about bad dating experiences and shared an excerpt from her new release! … and giveaway (closed)
On Wednesday, Deb Kastner encouraged us to dig deeper and explore themes in Christian romance stories!
On Thursday, Marion Ueckermann shared a book excerpt! … and giveaway
On Friday, Elizabeth Maddrey shared a character interview with the Baxter Brothers! … and giveaway (closed)
On Saturday, Autumn Macarthur gave us a peek inside a writer’s brain and shared plot bunny stories! … and giveaway
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Heather Gray
Tuesday: Sally Bradley
Wednesday: Krista Phillips: Meet Will and Hanna
Thursday: Alexa Verde: Don’t Buy My New Book
Friday: Janet Ferguson: Audible Giveaway! Going Up South with Narrator Naomi Karez
Saturday: Cecelia Dowdy
New Releases
February 2018
Wishes on Wildflowers (Urban Farm Fresh Romance 4) by Valerie Comer
The Heart Collector (Madison Creek Town 3) by Jackie Castle
His Father’s Son (Sweetapple Falls) by Autumn Macarthur (previously released in the Cherish boxed set)
March 2018
Donuts & Daydreams (Baxter Family Bakery 3) (Arcadia Valley Romance 15) by Elizabeth Maddrey
The Reluctant Groom (Brides of Seattle 1) By Kimberly Rose Johnson
Second Choice (Belikarian Weddings 2) by Ginger Solomon (re-release)
Love’s Harmony (First Street Church Romances) by Jackie Castle
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Find our audiobooks and our permanently free e-books, as well as new releases, on our NEWS tab.
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
As an aussie one of my favourite places is Western Australia. I like Perth. I like the friendliness of people and there is so much to do there. There is a lot to see in the state also. The next place to visit I would go to Tasmania. I love the different areas and want to visit and see more of the state.
Hi Jenny, WA & Tassie are on my travel wish list to explore, too. I’ve always wanted to catch the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth, and also The Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin. :)
Happy Birthday, Jenny!
Thanks Andrea
Hi Narelle, what a fun ad that was!! We were able to get out for a quick mountain bike- good to get outdoors. Wow, Autumn already- thank God for a relatively quiet bushfire season!
I am blessed to have travelled to a few amazing places in our country so it is very hard to narrow it down. I feel like there is loads to do and see (and eat!!) here in Victoria, as well as get a taste of the country. Australia really has somewhere for everyone!
Blessings and safe travels to Sydney:)
Hi Wemble, I’m glad you had a chance to mountain bike ride. We’ve had flooding in Canberra today, and torrential rain this morning. Crazy weather! I’m glad I’m flying to Sydney rather than driving. Yes, the bushfire season could have been a lot worse. I love Victoria and there’s so much to do there without having to travel long distances. I associate Melbourne with great coffee and cakes, lol. Blessings :)
Here in Central Illinois we are looking forward to spring and nicer weather. Have had a lot of freezing rain this year. Anywhere with nicer weather would be a great vacation.
Hi Pat, I hope Spring arrives ASAP in Central Illinois! We’ve had desperately needed rain today that led to flooding. Usually Australia has nice, warm weather, and our winters in northern Australia are very mild. On the flip side, summers in the north are hot and humid. It’s good to have nice weather when you’re on vacation. :)
Hi Narelle! In August 2016 my Book Club for Foodies read Bill Bryson’s travel log In a Sunburned Country about Australia. In addition to our lively book discussion, our local School of Cooking cooked a scrumptious Australian fest. Even though I have seen Indiana Jones many times, the ad made me chuckle. I would not enjoy the back country; I am a city girl. Therefore I would visit Sydney, Perth, Victoria, and Canberra and explore Australia’s beautiful coastline cities, vineyards, museums and eat in your delightful restaurants.
Not a good week weather wise in Michigan and Northern Indiana. After receiving 15 inches (38 cm) of snow on February 17 on Wednesday (21st) we had 60 degrees F temperatures (16 C) and received 5 inches of rain in 12 hours. Our creeks and then our river overflowed. All the flatlands and many farms are flooded. The worst I have seen in 60 years. Fortunately the dam held. Yesterday felt like spring – sun shining and birds chirping / this morning the winds are howling. Welcome to Michigan. Part of the effects of living so close Lake Michigan (the 5th largest lake in the world). Best Wishes and enjoy your autumn.
Hi Renate, Your Aussie itinerary sounds fabulous! I’m glad to see Canberra on your list :) I’m sorry to hear about the terrible floods In Michigan and Indiana. We had flash flooding yesterday that closed roads, flooded basement parking lots, and caused a lot of damage. Only the very low lying areas were affected. I hope Spring arrives in your part of the world soon!
I have no idea what my dream vacation to Australia would look like. I’m a little afraid to venture out in an unknown place without a guide. I suppose if they do guided tours I choose to do that.
Hi Kimberly, yes, there are plenty of guided tours available. The hard part would be deciding which places to tour. :)
I know I will never be able to visit Australia (age/health) so I will enjoy virtual visits through your posts/books and also the posts of Jenny, Wemble and other Aussies!!
Hi Jackie, Enjoy your virtual travelling in Australia! :)
I do want to visit Australia, and I’ve got lots of travel guides there – a cousin, good friends from Hong Kong who emigrated there years ago, and a couple my parents entertained as visiting scholars here in California years ago. Also, I have family history there – my mother’s great-great-uncle went there from Switzerland and was in on the gold rush. My parents got to visit the area once and found distant relatives!
Hi Margaret, It sounds like you’d have a fabulous time visiting family and friends here. The 1850’s Gold Rush started after the California Rush and brought many people to Australia from all over the world. :)
Hadn’t seen that ad. I’ve always liked the idea of going to visit Australia. Not so sure anymore, but it looks to be a beautiful area.
Hi Andrea, There are many beautiful places in Australia to visit. :)
Australia looks like a beautiful place to visit. Just like Canada, I am sure that there are many different areas with vastly different ecosystems. I’m sure a person could spend quite a bit of time discovering them.
I didn’t see the super bowl ad before now, but it is great.
Hi Tammy, The ad is fun :) There are many places in Australia that I haven’t had a chance to visit!
Australia and New Zealand are on my must see list. Honestly, I’m not sure how I’ll narrow down where to go though. I always love reading about it from you and our Aussie commenters – it helps scratch my travel bug a little.
Hi Elizabeth, The time of year and the weather tends to be what sways people when they’re planning their itinerary. I hope you’ll have a chance to visit down under!
I’d really like to see all of Australia, but especially the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback. When our children were young, we watched the series Five Mile Creek, which takes place in Australia.
Hi Becky, I remember the Five Mike Creek series. I hope you’ll have an opportunity to see the reef and the outback. :)
I would want to see the animals native to Australia so I’d choose a safari or zoo.
Hi Elizabeth, A great idea! Taronga Zoo on Sydney Harbour is a lovely zoo to visit. :)
Poor health keeps me from traveling much and I can no longer fly, so traveling to Australia will only be through books, movies, and tourism ads. I have seen some fantastic National Geographic and BBC Earth videos of most of the country. It is stunningly gorgeous!
I saw the Super Bowl ad. It was funny, like a spoof of all stereotypical things from “down under.” I laughed when I realized it was just an ad and not a movie trailer.
Hi Andrea, The ad was fun play on all the stereotypes! Thank goodness we can travel to all the places we’d love to visit via books and movies. :)
If I could visit Australia,Longreach,Queensland would be my first stop.
My Dad was there in World WarII and he told us lots of stories.
Hi Linda, wow, it would be great if you could visit the town where your dad was based in WW2. :)
I think it would be great to visit Queensland. The reef also sounds like a beautiful place! It would also be nice to visit Australia to see all of the different animals than we have here.
Hi Jenny, Queensland is a beautiful place to visit. :) The Queensland weather in summer is too hot and humid for my liking, but I have family and friends who live there and love it. Our zoos and wildlife parks are fun to visit, too! :)
Since my mom has been to the Gold Coast in Australia, I think I’d like to go there first :-) I’d also love an outback tour so I can take photographs. I’m not familiar with all there is to see, but that ad does make me want to go! :-)
By the way, my mom lives in New Zealand (since 2001) so I’d more likely pop over there to visit…lol!
Hi Trixi, yes, you must visit NZ if you plan a trip down under! I love visiting the Gold Coast and I’d love to head out west and see more of the outback. One day… :)
Would love to visit Australia! Someday, when hubby and I can take a LONG extended vacation, we’ll go….
Hi MJSH, yes, to see a large part of Australia you’d definitely need to take an extended vacation. I hope you’ll have an opportunity make the trip. :)
I would love to see Australia. I especially love that accent! :)
Hi Susanne, lol, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to visit Australia & hear us all talk! :)
Australia would be such a fun place to go.
Hi Deana, There are lots of fun things to do and see in Australia :)
Awesome prizes!
It’s a great giveaway :)