{"id":4503,"date":"2026-01-14T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/?p=4503"},"modified":"2026-01-13T21:33:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:33:26","slug":"newsletter-snippets-issue-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/?p=4503","title":{"rendered":"NEWSLETTER SNIPPETS; Issue #6"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6-768x304.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The last newsletter of 2025 went out a couple of weeks ago. I can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve sent out six of these already and also started sending out short stories with alternate ones. It&#8217;s something I enjoy doing now though, and I hope you all get some enjoyment from it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/open-pages.kit.com\/50313dd62b\">You can sign up here!<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been receiving the newsletters, you know I lost a few family members in the first half of the year. There have also been losses in the extended family, of an old friend I lost touch with, and some friends and family of friends as well. That&#8217;s not to say it&#8217;s only been a year of grief though. There have been joyous moments amongst all the rest of it &#8211; a new nephew, more new members of the family to come next year, and on personal levels, a lot of health wins and writing wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, some health&nbsp;<em>scares<\/em>&nbsp;in October in the span of five days too. My sisters and I have been joking with my dad that he didn&#8217;t need to have a heart attack to get us all to spend his 60th birthday with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-300x15.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-768x38.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It was also\u00a0<em>The Great British Bake Off<\/em>\u00a0season, and I found the Holiday season from last year on Netflix. Between that and\u00a0<em>Is It Cake? Holiday<\/em>, it&#8217;s been a great baking show time. Besides that, I also watched both seasons\u00a0<em>Mistletoe Murders<\/em>\u00a0which was actually fantastic. I hope they don&#8217;t cancel this show. And then the kids have been home from holidays in the past weeks, so I&#8217;ve introduced them to movies I grew up with. We&#8217;ve seen\u00a0<em>The Santa Claus<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Sister Act<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Sister Act 2<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>Home Alone<\/em>. I&#8217;ve even got the 8yo watching me play Final Fantasy XIV as if she&#8217;s watching a movie. I do have to tell her to leave sometimes, because it gets violent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-300x15.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-768x38.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the start of the year, I&#8217;d told myself I would write a story for every AA prompt and an exclusive story for Ko\u2011fi Dedications members every month. I struggled along the way, I&#8217;ll admit, and I can&#8217;t say every story is absolutely great, but I managed to hit this goal. Now did I hit every writing goal I made at the start of the year? No, not at all &#8211; Facets remains unedited, I&#8217;ve not worked on Desi Persuasion as much as I thought I would, and my poetry compilation languishing without illustrations &#8211; but I hit new goals I hadn&#8217;t planned to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of my writing in the past few months has been for RP, I will admit though. I&#8217;ve been enjoying the collaborative experience of writing with other people, getting into the interiority of character&#8217;s heads and their points of view and playing off the way other people write their own characters. It&#8217;s been a lot of fun, and I&#8217;m definitely going to keep at it &#8211; it can only serve to make me a better writer in the long run and it has the added benefit of reminding me why I love writing in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-300x15.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-768x38.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Ferryman&#8217;s Wife And The Black Fox<\/em>\u00a0which, if you&#8217;ve enjoyed, is on Goodreads as well as available on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/books2read.com\/u\/mZnYZl\">e-retailer platforms<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/s\/6ae08b29b1\">Ko-fi<\/a>. I would appreciate if you could share that. I&#8217;ll be adding it to Storygraph as well if you track your reading on that app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-300x15.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-768x38.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I have been adding new things to my Ko\u2011fi shop &#8211; bingo sets and reading trackers &#8211; and I&#8217;m hoping to FINALLY add bookmarks once I figure out shipping costs. It should all be up by the end of the first quarter, and maybe my first novel will be out then too. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pin-this-post.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3051\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pin-this-post.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pin-this-post-300x15.jpg 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pin-this-post-768x38.jpg 768w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pin-this-post-600x30.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6-pin.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4505\" style=\"width:500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6-pin.png 600w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/newsletter-issue-6-pin-200x300.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"50\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-300x15.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/divider-768x38.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy New Year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"400\" src=\"http:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/FOOTER.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/FOOTER.png 1010w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/FOOTER-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/FOOTER-768x304.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1010px) 100vw, 1010px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you like my content, consider leaving me a tip on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/aradhnak\">Ko-fi<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last newsletter of 2025 went out a couple of weeks ago. I can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve sent out six of these already and also started sending out short stories with alternate ones. It&#8217;s something I enjoy doing now though, and I hope you all get some enjoyment from it too. You can sign up here! If you&#8217;ve been receiving the newsletters, you know I lost a few family members in the first half of the year. There have also been losses in the extended family, of an old friend I lost touch with, and some friends and family of friends as well. That&#8217;s not to say it&#8217;s only been a year of grief though. There have been joyous moments amongst all the rest of it &#8211; a new nephew, more new members of the family to come next year, and on personal levels, a lot of health wins and writing wins. Of course, some health&nbsp;scares&nbsp;in October in the span of five days too. My sisters and I have been joking with my dad that he didn&#8217;t need to have a heart attack to get us all to spend his 60th birthday with him. It was also\u00a0The Great British Bake Off\u00a0season, and I found the Holiday season from last year on Netflix. Between that and\u00a0Is It Cake? Holiday, it&#8217;s been a great baking show time. Besides that, I also watched both seasons\u00a0Mistletoe Murders\u00a0which was actually fantastic. I hope they don&#8217;t cancel this show. And then the kids have been home from holidays in the past weeks, so I&#8217;ve introduced them to movies I grew up with. We&#8217;ve seen\u00a0The Santa Claus,\u00a0Sister Act\u00a0and\u00a0Sister Act 2, and\u00a0Home Alone. I&#8217;ve even got the 8yo watching me play Final Fantasy XIV as if she&#8217;s watching a movie. I do have to tell her to leave sometimes, because it gets violent. At the start of the year, I&#8217;d told myself I would write a story for every AA prompt and an exclusive story for Ko\u2011fi Dedications members every month. I struggled along the way, I&#8217;ll admit, and I can&#8217;t say every story is absolutely great, but I managed to hit this goal. Now did I hit every writing goal I made at the start of the year? No, not at all &#8211; Facets remains unedited, I&#8217;ve not worked on Desi Persuasion as much as I thought I would, and my poetry compilation languishing without illustrations &#8211; but I hit new goals I hadn&#8217;t planned to. A lot of my writing in the past few months has been for RP, I will admit though. I&#8217;ve been enjoying the collaborative experience of writing with other people, getting into the interiority of character&#8217;s heads and their points of view and playing off the way other people write their own characters. It&#8217;s been a lot of fun, and I&#8217;m definitely going to keep at it &#8211; it can only serve to make me a better writer in the long run and it has the added benefit of reminding me why I love writing in the first place. The Ferryman&#8217;s Wife And The Black Fox\u00a0which, if you&#8217;ve enjoyed, is on Goodreads as well as available on\u00a0e-retailer platforms\u00a0and\u00a0Ko-fi. I would appreciate if you could share that. I&#8217;ll be adding it to Storygraph as well if you track your reading on that app. I have been adding new things to my Ko\u2011fi shop &#8211; bingo sets and reading trackers &#8211; and I&#8217;m hoping to FINALLY add bookmarks once I figure out shipping costs. It should all be up by the end of the first quarter, and maybe my first novel will be out then too. Fingers crossed. Happy New Year! If you like my content, consider leaving me a tip on\u00a0Ko-fi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[718,63,549],"tags":[881,843,880,59],"class_list":["post-4503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creation","category-discussion-post","category-quarterly-wrap-up","tag-a-quarter-of-the-way-through-the-century","tag-newsletter","tag-newsletter-issue-6","tag-writings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4506,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4503\/revisions\/4506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}