USA trip: The Great Train Adventure

Last Friday I shared the highlights from watching my first live American baseball game in Seattle. Suzie is a big fan of train travel and we decided to travel together to the ACFW writing conference in Indianapolis on the train. The Amtrak Empire Builder train travels along the main northern train line from Seattle to Chicago. Our plan was to catch a connecting train in Chicago to Indianapolis. Below is a photo of the Empire Builder train at King Street Station, Seattle.

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Suzie and I shared a roomette. During the day we had two seats facing each other, with a fold up table between us. At night the seats converted into a lower bed and an overhead shelf was pulled down to create an upper bunk bed. The sleeper carriages have an attendant who looks after you, and all your meals are provided in the dining car.

Amtrak have recently announced their new Writer in Residency program. They are offering free trips for writers, and I can understand why many writers are interested in applying. Suzie and I spent most of our time on the train writing and brainstorming new book proposals while we enjoyed the scenery. I started brainstorming and outlining three new book proposals that I hope to sell to my publisher.

There is something inherently relaxing about train travel. I didn’t get a lot of writing done on my current work in progress (The Doctor’s Return, August 2014 release) despite having a deadline less than three months later. My problem (if you can call it a problem, lol) was that I was entranced by the view outside the window. I’m used to seeing gum trees in Australia. The Pacific North West, for example, was a big distraction with miles of fir trees in the gorgeous Cascade Mountains.

We spent two nights on the train. The sun set on our first night while we travelling in Washington toward Spokane. We travelled overnight through the northern part of Idaho and woke up in Montana. The photo below was taken from the train in Montana.

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The Canadian Rockies were on the far northern horizon as we continued our journey through Montana toward North Dakota. The Amtrak staff were super-helpful and the servers quickly learned how I like my English-style cups of hot tea with two percent milk instead of cream. I also tasted grits for the first time, courtesy of another passenger who shared our breakfast table. We met some interesting people during our meal times, and I was delighted to meet a group of Aussies who were travelling to Minnesota.

I’ve always wanted to see prairies, since I was a little girl who loved Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and the Little House on the Prairie tv series. We travelled through hundreds of miles of flat prairie and beautiful mountain scenery in Montana.

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The sun set in Montana on our second night and we woke in the morning in North Dakota, not far from Fargo. We were supposed to be in Minnesota by morning and stopping for 45 minutes in St. Paul. Suzie and I had arranged to meet our other writing critique partner, Stacy Monson, at St. Paul station. We ended up seeing Stacy for ten minutes on the train station platform. Those precious minutes were a highlight of my trip.

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I was thrilled to see the Mississippi River for the first time in Minnesota. At one stage we stopped beside the river for half an hour while we waited for a freight train to pass us. The stops along the river provided great photo opportunities and another distraction from writing.

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By lunch time on our second day in Minnesota, we knew for certain that we were going to miss our train connection in Chicago to Indianapolis. The Amtrak staff were helpful, and kept us updated on our options during the afternoon and early evening as we travelled into Wisconsin. The sun set before we reached Milwaukee and travelled along Lake Michigan to Chicago, Illinois.

Stop by next Friday to learn about our unexpected overnight stop in Chicago and impromptu road trip to Indianapolis.

Love Inspired Heartsong Presents Goodreads Group

I’m excited to announce that the Heartsong authors have started a new group on Goodreads. We’re planning to hold regular Author Q&A chats with readers, starting next Monday. Debut author Helen Gray will be chatting about her March release, Ozark Sweetheart. Hope to see you there!

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/129196-love-inspired-heartsong-presents

USA trip: American Baseball

Last Friday I shared my Seattle highlights and visit to the Space Needle. I’ve always wanted to see a live American baseball game. I was thrilled when my friend Suzie Johnson told me that we’d be in Seattle on a baseball weekend. The Seattle Mariners are her team and they were playing an afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field.

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We visited the merchandise store and I purchased Seattle Mariners baseball caps to take home to the family. Since we had arrived early, we walked around the staduim and absorbed the atmosphere.

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The photo below was taken from the seating right next to the diamond.

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We had purchased seats in the cafe, which is different to what I’m used to back home at sporting venues. The seats came with a food voucher for lunch. We sat at a long bar style table right in front of the window. The photo below was taken during lunch while we watched the game.

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The Mariners ended up losing the game, but Suzie and I enjoyed a lovely day at the baseball despite the loss. The other thing I’ll always associate with baseball is dirty chips. I walked around the stadium and all I could smell was garlic. We have hot chips in Australia, usually seasoned with salt and occasionally with chicken salt. My kids like hot chips with tomato sauce (ketchup). Dirty chips are seasoned with garlic, chilli, parsley, parmesan and chopped pork belly. I couldn’t resist ordering a bowl, just to see if they tasted as good as they smelled!

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Stop by next Friday to read about another highlight from my USA trip…the great train adventure.

Book Cover Reveal: The Nurse’s Perfect Match

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NURSE AMY WILKINS HAS COME HOME 

After her marriage ends in tragedy, Amy returns to Snowgum Creek to rebuild her life. There she meets widower Ben Morton, who’s not looking for romance, though his young children are eager for Amy’s attention. She’s given up on her dream of being a mother, but can’t ignore how she’s drawn to Ben’s little ones, and to their handsome farmer dad.

As love kindles between Ben and Amy, she worries how she’ll ever measure up to the wife he lost. And Ben is concerned about how Amy will ever truly fit into life on the farm. They could be the answer to each other’s prayers—if the secret Amy is keeping doesn’t tear them apart.

Narelle: I’m thrilled to reveal the cover for my second contemporary inspirational romance set in Australia. The Nurse’s Perfect Match will be released on May 6, 2014. It’s available for pre-order at the following stores:

Harlequin

Amazon

Christianbook.com

The Book Depository (free delivery worldwide)

Barnes and Noble

Parable Christian Stores

Cokesbury

Books-A-Million

IndieBound

Deeper Shopping

AllBookStores.com

Australian Christian Book Stores:

Koorong

USA trip: Seattle

Last Friday I talked about visiting the Peace Arch in the Pacific North West. My USA trip continues to Seattle. Suzie Johnson and I travelled by train from Mount Vernon to Seattle. A scenic trip south along the picturesque Puget Sound.

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We arrived at King Street Station in Seattle. The interior of the main waiting room has been restored and I’ve included a picture below.

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We were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the Seattle Space Needle on a clear day with no rain or fog obscuring the views.

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The photo below has lines through the picture because I couldn’t bring myself to take photos with my iphone by holding it over the edge. I was surprised that we could stand outdoors and walk 360 degrees around the viewing platform without getting blown away by the wind. I had originally thought there were clouds on the horizon, to the right of the city skyline, until Suzie informed me I was looking at Mount Rainier.

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Seattle is a pretty city and we travelled by monorail to the Space Needle. Many of the streets we passed were tree lined and reminded me of Melbourne, Australia. The photo below was taken from outside the Space Needle.

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We enjoyed a lovely sunset from the rooftop of our Seattle hotel. Western sunsets over water always fascinate me because I’ve only ever lived on the eastern coast of Australia. In Canberra, where I live, the sun sets over the Brindabella mountain range.

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Our hotel was located across the road from Safeco Stadium.

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Next Friday I’m going to share one of the highlights of my stay in Seattle…American baseball.

ACRBA Tour Falling for the Farmer by Narelle Atkins

3 – 7 March 2014

is introducing

Falling for the Farmer

Heartsong Presents

By

Narelle Atkins

About the Book

KATE LAWSON IS A RUNAWAY BRIDE

And she’s incredibly grateful when Jack Bradley offers her a job on his apple farm. Working side by side in the orchards with her best friend’s brother seems like the perfect way to get over her disastrous engagement. Until Kate finds herself falling hard for the handsome farmer.

Jack Bradley knows city-girl Kate isn’t here to stay. Yet suddenly he’s imagining a life with her in the country. When Kate considers going back to the city, can Jack find a way to show her that her real home is here on the farm, by his side?

About the Author

NARELLE ATKINS writes contemporary inspirational romance and lives in Canberra, Australia. She sold her debut novel, set in Australia, to Harlequin’s Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line in a six-book contract. She is also a member of International Christian Fiction Writers group blog.

http://internationalchristianfictionwriters.blogspot.com

Narelle is a co-founder with Jenny Blake of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA). http://acrba.blogspot.com

Her debut book, Falling for the Farmer, will be a February 2014 release, followed by The Nurse’s Perfect Match in May 2014 and The Doctor’s Return in August 2014.

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com

Blog: http://narelleatkins.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarelleAtkinsAuthor

Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins

Narelle: I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to tour Falling for the Farmer with ACRBA. Please check out the ACRBA post and visit the participating blogs in the tour.

http://acrba.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/acrba-tour-falling-for-farmer-by.html

USA trip: The Pacific North West

Over the coming weeks I’m going to blog the highlights of my 2013 USA trip. I attended the ACFW Conference in Indianapolis and took a scenic route from Australia to Indy. I hope you enjoy my travel adventures.

After a long layover in Hawaii, I arrived in Bellingham, WA on a drizzly Saturday morning. My dear friend and writing critique partner Suzie Johnson met me at the airport and we drove the short distance to the Canadian border. I’d managed to sleep on the flight, largely due to acquiring a last minute upgrade to first class with Alaskan Airlines. I was awake and getting used to travelling on the wrong side of the road. Our cars are right hand drive in Australia.

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Our first stop was the Peace Arch at the border of Washington State and British Columbia. The Peace Arch Park is international territory and shared by the USA and Canada.

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The Peace Arch Monument, dedicated in 1921, is in the middle of the park. It commemorates the 1814 signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

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This is the view of Washington from the Canadian side of the arch.

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This photo was taken under the Peace Arch. The Canadian flag flower garden can be seen in the distance. We watched a couple of cute American and Canadian squirrels playing together in the park. You can stand in the park and see residential houses in Surrey, British Columbia, across the road. If you cross the road into Canada, you need to meet the Canadian visa requirements and re-enter the USA via customs. The busy highway in the photo below is full of cars waiting to cross the border into Washington.

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Stop by next Friday and I’ll share my highlights from the beautiful city of Seattle.

Heartsong Presents March New Releases

My first fiction book release with Harlequin’s Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line, Falling for the Farmer, was released in February 2014. Today I’m posting information on the new Heartsong Presents releases for March.

Four Heartsong Presents books are released each month under the Love Inspired brand: two contemporary inspirational romances and two historical inspirational romances. The Love Inspired range of books include contemporary romance (Love Inspired), historical romance (Love Inspired Historical) and romantic suspense (Love Inspired Suspense).

International readers outside the USA and Canada can purchase the print books online from Amazon and The Book Depository (free international shipping). If you’re looking for inspirational (Christian) romances to read, please check out the Heartsong Presents and Love Inspired books.

A Love Discovered

BEN JACOBS HAS BIG PLANS 

None of them involve moving back home to his family’s Tennessee farm after college. But when he plunges into a web of gambling debt, he has no other choice. Until beautiful single mom Maggie Grant comes into his life.

Widowed Maggie works tirelessly to make a better life for her young son. A relationship with a troubled soul like Ben is a risk she can’t afford to take. Can Ben convince Maggie he’s a changed man, willing to do whatever it takes to win over the two loves of his life?


Read a FREE sample at Amazon.com

Table for Two

MANDY SEYMOUR ALWAYS BOOKS A TABLE FOR ONE 

So the pretty food critic is stunned when she captures the eye of dashing chef Leo Romano. Leo’s good looks and fabulous cooking are swoon-worthy, but it’s his tender care of his ailing father and affection for his warm Italian family that really touch her heart.

A broken engagement has made Leo cautious. And as he grapples with his dad’s illness he’s skeptical about starting a new relationship, even with a woman as compelling as Mandy. But as he spends more time with Mandy, Leo starts to realize maybe the last thing he should give up is love.

Read a FREE sample at Amazon.com

Ozark Sweetheart

CALLIE BLAKE CAN’T AFFORD TO FALL IN LOVE 

She’s too busy helping her family survive the Depression. When she returns home to their Missouri farm, she sees her childhood crush, Trace Gentry, and it stirs up old dreams she tries hard to ignore. Trace is kind, handsome and wealthy. He’d never be interested in a poor girl like her—would he?

Successful businessman Trace is crazy about Callie, and he knows she thinks she’s not good enough for him. But he’s clueless how to woo her. Until he devises a plan that will prove his love to Callie and make all her dreams come true.

Read a FREE sample at Amazon.com

The Preachers New Family

PREACHER T.J. O’BRIEN ISN’T LOOKING FOR A WIFE AND FAMILY 

Yet every time he sees Sarah Anne Rycroft, he feels a powerful urge to protect the beautiful young widow. When she’s in danger of losing the farm to the bank, T.J. steps in to defend Sarah against the unscrupulous banker.

Sarah knows T.J. has vowed to live a solitary life of devotion to God. Still, the single mother can’t resist the comfort and safety of his strong arms. But when he sells his most prized possession to save the farm from foreclosure, she wonders if the handsome preacher could have marriage on his mind, after all.

Read a FREE sample at Amazon.com