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Aching Hearts Blog


Writing Against the Grain: The Soul‑Divergent Path in a Homogenized World
Soul‑divergent writers create from emotional truth, lived experience, and inner rhythm. Learn what it means to stay authentic in a world pushing for sameness.
Tanya Madsen
Jan 43 min read


Turning Pain into Purpose: Thoughts from a High-Functioning Hot Mess /Dark Romance Author
A misty road stretches endlessly through a dense forest, flanked by towering trees on each side. Lifelong Journey I have been on a journey to wholeness for so long that I’ve forgotten what the destination even looks like. That’s what trauma does—it reshapes you into a lifelong survivor. Survival becomes second nature, almost as if you were being trained for a post‑apocalyptic world. But when peace arrives, when the chaos quiets, survivors often don’t know what to do with them
Tanya Madsen
Dec 1, 20253 min read


New look for The Somewhere Aching Series
New Look for The Somewhere Aching series Original Look for The Somewhere Aching Series I opted for a new book design for the Somewhere Aching series to better align with my genre of dark romance. I had some negative feedback from reviewers on my original artwork and decided, yeah, they might be right. The color scheme is a bit too bright and pretty for the gritty content in the story. It was rather misleading! I liked my initial idea, though, and I was happy to find a way to
Tanya Madsen
Aug 10, 20252 min read


Astrology (synastry) of my characters!
For all of those who love astrology, you will appreciate this! Below are the infograms of the synastry charts for my couples. I write a synopsis for each couple. They can be read here: The Somewhere Aching Series - Astrology I will also conduct a deep dive on each character and post those as well. If anyone wants to talk astrology, I am always game!
Tanya Madsen
Aug 3, 20251 min read


A Closer Look at The Somewhere Aching Series
Recently, I released A Lover to Live For - book 2 . I have been busy trying to figure out how to market/gain reviews, and advertise, which is a lot. Especially when having a full-time job! I have received some great reviews on Amazon so far for A Daughter to Die For - book 1 and have decided to hire someone to help with the marketing/advertising side of things, which is exciting. I have been writing blog posts over the past month, but I haven't had a chance to post any of th
Tanya Madsen
Jul 20, 20253 min read


Sometimes, the journey isn’t as hard as you think it will be
So, my husband and I purchased some property two years ago with the intention of building a cabin. After realizing how much work and money that would be, we downgraded our plans to purchasing a destination trailer instead. The only issue was, how would we drive it to our property? We are on top of a mountain and it is a mile of four wheeling on a twisty-turning, steep road along the edge of a drop-off all the way to the top. The view is spectacular and well worth the difficul
Tanya Madsen
Jun 8, 20252 min read


Learning how to love my own dark mind
Goodness gracious. I read my books, and I wonder if people will think I need my head examined. I am preparing the second book in my series for publication and have been conducting rewrites that somehow make it even more darkly realistic. That's my dark mind running rampant. Why can't I write fluff? If I had enough imagination, I would probably write horror. The truth is, I want my readers to feel the pain of my characters—their poor choices, bad relationships, and mental angu
Tanya Madsen
Jun 1, 20252 min read


Let's talk about my stories—not me
I can write for 16 hours straight all weekend long, churning out 10k words a day. No problem. I can write a 90,000k word novel in two and a half weeks. I can pen and then edit project after project with ease. But the moment I have to construct three sentences about who I am, I am stumped! I can write about anything—but me. I imbue so much of myself into my stories that there isn’t much left, and what remains are the parts I don’t want anyone to see, not even myself. i wish I
Tanya Madsen
May 25, 20252 min read


Transforming Trauma into Triumph: How a Near-Death Experience Can Boost Creativity
Five years ago, I almost died. It was May of 2020. The hospitals were packed with those suffering from the Coronavirus. I had been sick nonstop for a year by this point. I had spent a fortune on vitamins and supplements: Chinese medicine, expensive colon cleansing products from the Netherlands, and weekly acupuncture visits did nothing to assuage my symptoms. I had developed gluten and dairy intolerance, so I could barely eat, my hair was falling out in chunks, and my body wa
Tanya Madsen
May 18, 20255 min read
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