NEWSLETTER SNIPPETS; Issue #3
The 31st of March saw the third issue of the newsletter – and the first issue of this year – go out. I’ll let the snippets speak for themselves.
These few months have been filled with very high highs – some weddings, a trip we decided to go on last minute with extended family to Cairo and Dubai – and a couple of very low lows – my mother’s oldest brother passed away pretty unexpectedly in early March and barely a week later, our community’s spiritual godmother also unexpectedly passed. The grief comes in ebbs and flows, and it hasn’t really hit, you know? My emotions have therefore been all over the place, and with next month also expected to be busy and the date of my next round of treatment, I don’t expect life to slow down very much any time soon.
In an unfortunate turn of events, I’ve fallen into reading those cheesy and convoluted stories that pop up as ads on Instagram. Some of them are so captivating – in a train wreck sort of way – that I cannot help searching them out to read. Never mind that they’re badly translated or that they go on for hundreds of chapters that are just the same thing, they’re quite engrossing. I’m trying to stop, but I can’t quit.
Thankfully I have read books so far this year despite this newfound obsession. A total of six, two of which are really, really making me want to turn my Mary story into a novel.
On top of this, I’m hoping to get a few more cosy reads in this year. I already have my eyes on some!
I’m also back to my Hallmark movies, not that I ever really stopped. I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s Paging Mr. Darcy, which I only got to this year. The Perfect Setting was another really fun movie. Give me more David Elsendoorn in Hallmark movies! I love him, he’s so endearing.
Of course, there have been others I’ve enjoyed, and I keep meaning to watch more musicals and finally finish Young Justice, but as I said, the reading bug for those pesky Instagram ad stories has bitten me and refuses to let go!
Speaking of Mary Bennet novels, I am seriously considering taking the long fanfic I posted online and publishing it. I’ve gotten some interest in that quarter so I’m planning to send it out for some feedback before trying to tackle any edits I may need for it. If it holds up as is, I may just add in an epilogue. No thoughts on release date except for second half of the year!
FS WIP is coming to a nice 10k words, which is what I’m aiming for my first draft. Then it’s printing it out to rearrange and make notes on scenes that I’ll need to add in to make things flow better. As excited as I am about it, I do want to finish the edits and formatting for Facets. I’m giving myself a tentative birthday deadline for that. It will not go on into 2026! I am manifesting.
Channeling my grief and the chaos of my emotions into my work has helped me somewhat manage them better. Not all of these bits and pieces will make their way online, but having the words down helps. I have managed to keep to the uploads of my short stories and poetry though!
What I will be doing is sharing a short story – one of the ones exclusive for Ko-fi members – with newsletter subscribers twice a year. We’ll have a little poll to gauge which story garners more interest, via title vibes only. You can reach out to me on any of my platforms with your answer.
Which story would you rather get in June?
- Lasting Impressions
- The Ferryman’s Wife And The Black Fox
Grief is a nebulous non-linear thing. It comes in ebbs and flows. I’m not entirely sure I’ve processed mine yet.
Here’s hoping this doesn’t set the tone for the rest of the year, and it goes up from here. We’ll heal together, like a family.
Until next time.
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Ara
I’m Ara, a Southeast Asian writer who someday hopes to have published a novel, and who is currently losing herself in the worlds created by others. I love books and food and television and blogging and I get distracted and sidetracked easily.