Even though I chose a fun school-themed image for this week, I feel like it’s worth taking a moment to remember 9/11/2001. It stands, for me at least, as a notable point in history that I’m unlikely to forget, joining in my memories the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, and the fall of the Berlin Wall kicking off the end of the Cold War. (That was especially fascinating as I was taking German that year in High School, so we read newspaper articles and watched – with the rest of the world – as history happened.)
I find it so interesting to talk to my Dad about those history milestones that he remembers and I remember sitting and listening to my grandparents recount their own memories of things that became notable history, even if they might not have seemed like it at the time. (My grandfather essentially lived the story line of The Grapes of Wrath, having left his Okie sharecropper cabin after dropping out of the 8th grade and hopping the rails to California. He lived in Tulare the whole time I knew him.)
And while it isn’t historic, the Back-to-School giveaway ends this week, so make sure you’re commenting (and that you’ve registered for the International giveaway if you qualify and the audiobook giveaway if you’re interested.)
Winners this Week
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 Ho’s winner was Dalyn!
Julie Carobini’s winner was Kim Hansen!
Tara Grace Ericson’s winner was Terry B!
Narelle Atkin’s winner was Cathy French!
Congratulations to all our winners!
Specials this Week
Sprouts of Love by Valerie Comer is 99c through the 14th.
Reader Gathering
Did you know Inspy Romance hosts a Christian Romance Reader Gathering group on Facebook? Carolyn Miller is our host this week, so come on over… but don’t forget to answer the questions for admittance!
StoryChats @ InspyRomance
Story Chats releases an all-new episode every Friday. This week on Episode 88, Elizabeth, Valerie, and Narelle talked about what they’ve been reading lately. You won’t want to miss it!
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Last Week on Inspy Romance
On Monday, Heather Gray talked about being overworked and overstressed
On Tuesday, Narelle Atkins talked about the completion of a series.
On Wednesday, Sarah Monzon talked about modern day Biblical retellings.
On Thursday, Elizabeth Maddrey talked about her series A Taste of Romance.
On Friday, Valerie Bodden talked about when real life sneaks in.
On Saturday, Valerie Comer gave us an interview with Farrier Noah Cavanagh.
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Toni Shiloh
Tuesday: Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Wednesday: Milla Holt (last day of the Back-to-School giveaway!)
Thursday: Carolyn Miller
Friday: Amy Anguish
Saturday: K. Leah
New Releases
September 2022
The Baby’s Christmas Blessing by Meghann Whistler
To Win a Prince by Toni Shiloh
Through the Blaze (Seasons of Faith 2) by Milla Holt
Love in Any Season (multi-author collection by Amy Anguish and 3 others)
Muskoka Shores by Carolyn Miller
August 2022
Choose Me for Always, Cowboy (Cavanagh Cowboys Romance 5) by Valerie Comer
A Reason to Stay (K9 Companions Book 9/Rocky Mountain Family Book 5) by Deb Kastner
Not Until Then (Hope Springs 9) by Valerie M Bodden
A complete list of Inspy Romance books by our authors is always available on our BOOKS tab. Find our audiobooks and our thank-you gifts for newsletter subscribers there as well!
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.
I remember 9/11 it was about 9.30pm my time and I was watching The West Wing when the breaking news went across the screen. I was chatting via yahoo I think with a someone from a new Christian group I had joined. I had only just got internet at home a few weeks prior.
The first big thing I remember was the moon landing. I had just started school that year and we all had to sit in the hall and watched it on TV. As a 5 year old I found it so boring. Next would be the end of the Vietnam War I just remember it being mentioned on the news in grade 3 and also watergate but had no idea what it was all about. I remember The Queen opening the Sydney Opera house which to Aussies is a big event.
Congratulations to all the winners! My favorite memory from school was my literature elective when I was 17 years old.
We were very few people in that elective hahaha
Hi Elizabeth! This retired high school German / English teacher was not aware you took German. Since I had relatives living behind the Berlin Wall and in East Germany that event was very personal. I remember telling my middle school student a week before to watch the news because something monumental will happen.
On 9/11 I was teaching high school. After my first hour class, I walked into the high school office to get a cup of coffee just as the scene unfolded. Lessons were over for the day, as my classes watched history in the making. My German classes were impacted, because we were preparing for a German group of students to visit in October.
This week we all will remember another historic event with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
Thank you to all the authors for their generosity in making the Back to School Bash so much fun. Best wishes to all – authors and readers. Enjoy Fall / Spring!
There are many moments in history which we shall remember and we will also remember exactly where we were at the time.
I have a hard time imagining the moon landing being boring, but as a five year old I guess I can see it.
I always loved small classes. You learn so much more and have such good discussions.
I wrote this before the Queen passed and meant to add it, because yes that, and the events coming (funeral, coronation of King Charles, etc) definitely qualify as history making.
There definitely are.
welcome today. and happy Sunday. I remember when 9/11 hit, I was on the road to bible study. oh my that was devastating. we have a friend who is a paramedic who was helping there. oh my but the stories he told. anyway, make today a beautiful day and give praise that we can encourage others and love on them
The stories of those closely involved in helping are inspiring and heartbreaking all at once.
I remember 9/11 really clearly, getting back from shopping and putting the TV on completely unaware of what was happening.
Here in the UK the sad death of the Queen certainly makes it feel like we are living in a moment of history. I remember watching Diana’s funeral on TV, 25 years ago but it doesn’t seem so long!
I remember 9/11. I was at work, we heard bits and pieces all day, and then I saw it on the news when I arrived home. As a native Floridian, and especially since I live on the Space Coast of Florida, so named because we have Kennedy Space Center, Patrick Air Force Base, now known as Patrick Space Force Base, and Cape Canaveral, all of the shuttle disasters strike close to home.
Oh yes absolutely! Even in the US, the Queen’s passing has been historic news. I also remember Diana passing, and before that getting up super early to watch her wedding.
Oh for sure, because it’s an immediate part of your world! My commute used to take me right past the side of the Pentagon that was impacted.
Good morning and Congratulations to all the winners! My husband and I were in a cabin in the mountains when 9/11 happened , both our grown children were in college. I also remember when John F. Kennedy was assainated, I was in the 3rd grade , we had just come in the classroom after our recess and our teacher was pretty upset. I also remember the landing on the moon, my mom , my 2 sisters and I were coming back from an egg farm where my mom had bought some eggs, we heard it on the radio . So many other things that I remember what I was doing when it happened . Have a great day and week and stay safe.
So many memories!
First of all, congratulations to all the winners this week. Thank you Inspy Romance and all the authors for this Back-to-School giveaway. It has been fun commenting on all the posts and learning about all the authors.
I always commemorate this day in some way. I was so moved that awful day 21 years ago. I remember it so well, that feeling of horror and disbelief that it was really happening. Another event that has always stuck to me was the assassination of President Kennedy. I was in 7th grade. We were glued to our television sets for days watching the events unfold. I also very clearly remember the challenger. I was watching the launch that day. It just didn’t seem real.
Thank you for your post today. Have a great week. ❤
I sort of remember the Challenger explosion, but I definitely remember 9-11. I was already in the working world, and had gone up to the lunch room to get a drink. Everyone was standing around watching the TV.
sad day
Both are such tragedies, I can’t imagine anyone living through them and not wanting to mark them at least in a small way.
It’s one that sticks with us!
Definitely
I am very emotional this week. Our most Beloved Queen has died.
I remember reading a couple of years ago how professors at universities were beginning to teach the generation that had been born after 9/11. Interesting how time passes so fast, yet always important to remember.
I remember 9/11 well. I was living in WI at the time and was visiting my parents in WV. I was fixing my hair getting ready to go to the airport to fly home when my dad started hollering for me. We watched in shock . Needless to say my flight was canceled and it was another 2 weeks before I had a flight.
Hugs. It’s so sad.
Yes! It’s been long enough now that kids born in the aftermath are adults or nearly.
Oh goodness. I’m glad you were with family stranded at least.
Now it wouldn’t be but then I was only just 5 and it was black and white and we couldn’t see it that well. Oh and sitting still that long for me wasn’t easy. I don’t remember a lot of lead up to the event. We only just got TV a few months prior and I use to be in bed by 7 or 7.30 at night as it was. We didn’t watch a lot of tv when we first got it. Not during tea/dinner/supper and living on a farm it probably wasn’t that big. Probably more interest to my brother at 9 and my parents. Its like the war and Watergate I didn’t know much about them or what they were but we ate lunch in the classroom and our teacher use to have the news on the radio. It seemed to be important to her I actually don’t remember it being on a lot but I think due to the nature of the events.
We will never forget. I am in the same generation as you. Thank you for sharing. Congratulations to the winners. God bless you.
I was talking with my son, who is a freshman in college, the other day about 9/11. He said it really feels like history to him as he doesn’t have a ‘where I was when it happened story’ for 9/11. But for more recent events they really don’t feel like history as he can say what he was doing when they occured. I hadn’t thoght about events that way before, but found that to be a very interesting perspective.
It makes me sad to think of all the people whose lives changed on 9/11!!
Like most Americans around my age, I vividly remember 9/11. It’s still impossible for me to talk about without tearing up. I also remember hearing about the Oklahoma City bombing while in high school. We visited the site years later and it was such a sober experience.
Don’t remember it cause I was only like 3 years old but I remember learning about it in school.
I remember being in a court house in downtown Atlanta that had to be evacuated bcz they had themselves received a bomb threat and quiet downtown was as we heard the towers falling on the radio. I was rushing to get to my kids and just terrified out of my mind as I was driving home towards them…
My niece celebrated her 21st birthday this year – she was born two hours prior the 9/11 happened.
This post reminds me I need to catch up on Valerie Comer’s books!
I still remember where I was and what I was doing on 9/11. I imagine everyone probably always will too.