{"id":4534,"date":"2026-04-08T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2026-04-07T12:43:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:43:50","slug":"newsletter-snippets-issue-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/araopenpages.com\/?p=4534","title":{"rendered":"NEWSLETTER SNIPPETS; Issue #7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I can’t believe the first quarter of 2026 has passed. The first newsletter went out about a week ago now, with an update on just how eventful 2026 has been so far!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can sign up here!<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both of my kids have their birthdays during these three months \u2013 the youngest in Jan and the oldest in March \u2013 so there was the trappings of making sure they had a celebration they enjoyed in school with their friends. Youngest actually started what she calls \u201cbig school\u201d, ie the same school her sister is in, this year! Her birthday was literally the second day of school, so she\u2019s endeared herself to her classmates pretty well, methinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then my youngest sister got married at the end of Jan! She was just shy of 11 when\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0got married, how time flies! She was an absolutely STUNNING bride, and I am so happy for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s something ironic that a movie about colourism cast a lighter skinned Indian woman and put her in brownface. The worst thing about it is that Tera Kya Hoga Lovely<\/em> was a genuinely fun movie with a stellar soundtrack that reminded me of why I enjoy Bollywood. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a little bit enamoured by Randeep Hooda. (Please, Bollywood, cast him in more romances, especially romcoms.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve also been reading comics again. Fallen into them, really. Counting individual issues when I read them that way for my Goodreads goal meant I hit my challenge target of 15 really quickly this year. Not that I’m only reading comics. I’ve found a number of books that are My Type too – I finished the second Emily Wilde <\/em>book and then A Witch’s Guide To Magical Innkeeping<\/em> which wound up being my first 5-star read of the year (to no surprise). Cosy fantasy continues to be my<\/strong> genre, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were showing the extended versions of\u00a0Lord Of The Rings<\/em>\u00a0over three weekends in the cinema for the 25th anniversary of the series and hubby and I took the chance to do date nights to watch it. It’s been\u00a0years<\/strong>\u00a0since I’ve seen the extended version – I think the last time I did was before we moved back here from Auckland, before our oldest was born! It was so much fun quoting the movie at each other as we watched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Can you believe Facets<\/em> is finally out? I sure as hell can’t! It’s been a labour of love to get it publish worthy, but I can happily say I have done it! It’s out in the world, my Goodreads page officially has three things on it – can I say I’m an author and stop feeling like an imposter now? I’ll get back to you on if that feeling ever goes away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final edits for Kind Regards And Warm Wishes<\/em> are also done. Formatting is underway, and it is also with CPs, whose own manuscripts I also have the absolute honour of reading, and I can’t say if this is the final<\/em> final draft until I get all this last round of feedback, but it still feels like an accomplishment, you know? It means I can take stock of my next Big Project, which in this case is the Hallmark novella, aka FS WIP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been doing a lot of writing on RP, which has also been fun for me. Collaborating with other people, delving into established characters and just sometimes generally being silly about our favourite characters is always fun. A light hearted way to keep creative when the Big Projects are a struggle, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And now for another poll! As the last times, it will be posted on my blog, Ko-fi, Bluesky, Tumblr, TikTok, Youtube and LinkedIn and on my Discord server as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which story would you rather get in June?<\/p>\n\n\n\n