Happy Sunday! The big news in Australia this week has been our Matildas reaching the semi-finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™. We are a sports-obsessed nation, Australia and New Zealand are the host nations, and our Aussie women’s soccer (football) team have never made it past the quarter finals. An extraordinary achievement on home soil! Even our men (Socceroos) haven’t made it past the Round of 16. The Matildas lost their semifinal match on Wednesday night to England, and last night lost to Sweden in the playoff for third. We’re proud of our girls who are finally getting the sporting recognition they deserve. When this post goes live, England and Spain will be playing in the Final. Are you a football/soccer fan?
Our annual Back to School Giveaway launched on Monday! We have 6 ebook bundles, 4 paperback bundles, 2 audiobook bundles, plus the Grand Prize. Enter the giveaway by commenting on blog posts during the giveaway period (August 14 to September 12, 2023). More information on the giveaway can be found here.
The GRAND PRIZE includes 8 paperbacks plus tote, pen, notepad, bookmark, wooden thumb holder, hand painted journal, book annotating kit, and book sleeve. Here’s a photo of the book annotating kit.
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.
Emily Dana Botrous’s winner was Victoria Lucas!
Congratulations!
Specials this Week
Elizabeth Maddrey’s A Heart Restored is FREE through August 24.
Reader Gathering
Have you visited Inspy Romance’s Christian Romance Reader Gathering group on Facebook lately? 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 136, Elizabeth, Valerie, and Narelle talked with Angela Ruth Strong about her latest release, Hero Debut. You won’t want to miss it!
Listen to our fun show on your favorite podcasting app, through the player on our podcast tab, or watch us on YouTube! Wherever you listen or watch, please be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
Last Week at Inspy Romance
On Monday, we launched our Back to School Giveaway!
On Tuesday, Lindi Peterson talked about Excitement and Fear
On Wednesday, Valerie Comer shared Once Upon a Belated Prequel…
On Thursday, Amy R. Anguish discussed Working Together
On Friday, Judith McNees talked about National Day of What???
On Saturday, Jan Thompson shared Meet Photographer Amy Untermeyer on #WorldPhotographyDay
Next Week on Inspy Romance
Monday: Angela Ruth Strong
Tuesday: Erin Stevenson
Wednesday: Julie Carobini
Thursday: Emily Conrad
Friday: Merrillee Whren
Saturday: Deb Kastner
New Releases
August 2023
A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy (Sweet River Ranch Romance 1) by Valerie Comer
Muskoka Spotlight (Muskoka Shores 4) by Carolyn Miller
The Love Script by Toni Shiloh
Window of the Heart (Stained Glass Legacy 3) by Amy R. Anguish
Her Cowboy Blind Date (Easter in Gilead 4) by Narelle Atkins
Unkissable by Jaycee Weaver
Hero Debut (Love Off Script 2) by Angela Ruth Strong
September 2023
The Billionaire’s Teacher (Billionaire Next Door 5) by Elizabeth Maddrey
You Make it Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh
Their Surprise Second Chance by Lindi Peterson
Perfect Light (We Three Kings Collection) by Angela Ruth Strong
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!
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.
Blessings this Sunday Narelle! While early morning in Michigan, it is evening in Australia. Congrats to Australia’s Women Soccer team. This German / American is not a soccer or sports fan. Both my 9 year old granddaughter and 15 year old grandson started playing soccer at age 3 and both called it quits this year to focus on new skills. Granddaughter is trying cheerleading, while grandson is practicing his flying. He has permit and waiting for his 16th birthday in December. Best wishes to all authors and readers.
Congratulations on the Matildas reaching the semi-finals!
Congratulations on the Matildas reaching the semi-finals. I am not a sports fan at all. When my grandchildren are in sports at school, I always go to their games. If my son’s family invite me to a hockey or baseball game, I’ll go with them, because I want to spend time with them.
fun week
Not a sports fan so don’t watch much sports.
I don’t watch soccer except for during the olympics. Congrats to your team! That’s very exciting for them.
Well done to the Matildas! Sad about the final result, but very pleased with how well the England Lionesses did, it’s been a great tournament!
Happy Sunday to you all, there have been some great posts in the back to school bash this week.
Happy Sunday my sibblings start school Aug 30th my mom is getting ready for them to go back to school.its been smoky here because there has been fires in the area as last week was over 100 degrees. I have had a very busy summer
Good morning, Congratulations on your teams Semi Finals win. Have a great week.
I’m not a big sports fan! I can watch baseball and enjoy it, and I can watch a little basketball, but I really don’t watch any sports much! I used to watch baseball a lot, but I refuse to pay to get sports channels, and the channels I do get don’t show sports much, unless it’s American football, which I totally refuse to watch.
Glad the Matildas are being recognized! I’m not a soccer fan, but I love American football and baseball. I’m also a fan of the Olympics, but only watch the sports I’m interested in.
Happy Sunday, Narelle!
Feeling proud of Australia and the Matildas – enjoyed our news coverage of them here in the US.
Also, I’m excited because my KU page counts from Australia account for 17% of this month’s sales thus far. In fact, everything KU has been all Australia these past few days.
Thank you, Australian readers of CF; you are making me smile! It’s especially fun since, due to the time difference, I wake up to the page counts. What a great way to start my day in the US!
Have a lovely week,
Jennifer
Congratulations to the Matildas! 🎉
I don’t watch or follow any sports so this is the first I’ve heard about it—on a Christian fiction blog! 😆
Also, I just want to encourage everyone to run out & get Valerie Comer’s A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy when it releases on Tuesday! I was blessed to win an ARC of it recently & enjoyed it so much! She has a way of writing fabulous cowboy stories ❤️
Hi Narelle,
Wow! Congratulations! That’s huge! I’m not a fan. I just watch some of the Men’s World Cup, but that’s it. I’m more excited about the B2S event going on. ;) Congrats on the 10th edition!
Congrats to the Matildas for reaching the semi-final! I enjoy following a lot of different sports but soccer has never been one of them.
I am not a sports fan. Congratulations to England. That is a great feat. Thank you so much for sharing. Congratulations to Victoria. God bless you all.
Hi Renate, How fun that your granddaughter is cheerleading and your grandson is practicing his flying. I played soccer for fun when I was younger, but I didn’t actually play for a team. I was too busy on Saturdays playing netball when I was in primary (elementary) school and netball plus field hockey in high school. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Lori, Thank you! Very exciting, and inspiring for our young soccer players. 😊
Hi Bonnie, Watching grandchildren play sports, and enjoying family time at the games, is fun. My dad was a big sports fan, and he spent years on the sidelines every Saturday during winter watching my sister and I play sports. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren play tennis and golf. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Yes, it is! 😊
Hi Andrea, That’s understandable. Plenty of other things to do, like reading! I do more reading than sports watching. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Kimberly, The Olympics are so fun! I still remember seeing the 2000 Sydney Olympics live when we were still living in Sydney. We’re very excited for the girls, and the future opportunities for women’s soccer. Thanks for commenting. 😊
while not a soccer fan I did watch the Tillies in a few games (yes I fell asleep but did watch). I actually started watching in the Olympics, I think Rio when we lost to a penalty shootout. I actually like the womens much better than the mens. I am proud of how the women did.
Hi Ruthie, We were cheering for the Lionesses last night, and it was a fun game to watch. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Kendra, I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with high temps plus fires. Not a good combination, especially if the smoke is heavy and air con/evaporative cooling can’t be used. Enjoy the rest of summer and your family back to school season. 😊
Hi Alicia, Thank you, and enjoy your week. 😊
Hi Trudy, We’re fortunate that all the major sporting events are on free to air tv and their associated streaming apps. 18 million plus viewers in Australia tuned in to watch the world cup, and our population is only 25 million plus. I didn’t grow up watching American football. The arrival of cable tv in the mid-90’s is when American sports started being televised here. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Kathy, It’s exciting to see women’s sport being recognized and inspiring the next generation. I’ve been to a baseball game in Seattle – so much fun! Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Jennifer, I’m glad you had coverage in the US. The time zone differences for live matches are terrible. At this time of year, our early evening is the middle of the night in most of the US. It could work for the early risers on the US east coast? I’m glad your books are connecting with Aussie readers. Thanks for commenting. 😊
We’re very excited for the Matildas! I tend to be the unconventional group Admin who does things like reading series books out of order, for example. Listen to StoryChats episodes and you’ll discover my many Aussie quirks, lol. I have something planned for next Sunday that I don’t remember seeing in a previous Sunday post.
Unfortunately I’m not travelling to cool places like Valerie, who has previously shared polar bear pics from her travels to the Arctic Circle. Yes, definitely buy/borrow/read Valerie’s next book. I have it on preorder. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Priscila, The B2S giveaway event is much more exciting than soccer! I can’t believe our 10th birthday is coming up! A milestone that not many blogging communities reach these days. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Jessica, Soccer is a much bigger deal in Europe than Australia, but that could be changing. When I was growing up, soccer wasn’t really an option for girls. We didn’t play it as a school sport, and I learned to play soccer from the playground and youth group events. I preferred touch football (when it didn’t turn into tackle football). Many of the Matildas have stories about playing in boys competitions because there weren’t any opportunities for girls. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Debra, You’re welcome, and thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Jenny, The Matildas have had more playing success than the Socceroos in recent years. I’ve watched soccer during the Olympics – I pretty much watch everything if I have the time, lol. The whole country is proud of them. 😊
Congratulations 🎉 My favorite sport is baseball.
I wouldn’t call myself a fan but I watch it sometimes.
Not really a sports fan but I can watch a game now and then.
Congratulations! I am not personally a huge soccer fan. I have watched the occasional game through the years, but I am definitely not a steady follower.
Sounds amazing
Hi Susanne, Thank you! I love baseball. 😊
Hi Natalya, It’s fun to watch. 😊
Hi Megan, It’s an entertaining game to watch. 😊
Hi Cherie, I like too many sports and can’t watch them all! A good book will drag me away from the tv screen. 😊
Hi Nancy, It was fun! 😊
Congrats to your team! I played soccer all through my growing up years, but none of my kids played more than a couple of years. They all would rather do different physical activities. My oldest son runs cross country and track which my younger son will play any sport that’s in season, except for soccer. My middle child, my daughter, likes to take a dance class.
I don’t really watch sports but I do find them interesting
Hi Melynda, You have a sporty family! It’s fun when our kids play a range of sports. 😊
Hi Angeline, Sports are interesting. 😊
This sounds like a fun giveaway. Thank you.