November Newsletter: Writing, Recovery, and What Comes Next
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Hi Friends,
October was surprisingly peaceful.
I had a huge deliverable at work. In my day job, I'm a technical writer, and I spent two weeks putting together a massive report. Somewhere along the way, I missed something, and it
nearly went to the customer with dual markings on five of its thousand pages. Nothing humbles you faster than making a mistake at work.
Thankfully, I caught it in time, fixed the issue, met the deadline, and kept all the stakeholders happy. Then I immediately got sick.
This report seems to get me every time. Stress and lupus are quite the combination. But that's life. The good news is that I finally got my infusion (see last week's post), and it worked wonders. I feel like myself again.
In the Somewhere Aching world, I've been revising Book Five. It's easy to get swept away by the action when writing a series, but I always want to stay focused on the emotional experience. I call it the eye of the storm. No matter how chaotic the circumstances become, I always ask myself: What are they feeling? What are they thinking?
And I don't want to write only one character's emotional truth. I want to explore what everyone is feeling, which is one reason I love writing in multiple POVs. It pushes the story forward in a way that's compelling to write and, hopefully, compelling to read.
In a surprising twist, I also wrote a shocking 80,000 words of Book Six.
Originally, I thought this series would end with Book Five. Instead, I hit a brick wall. Now I'm sitting on multiple possible endings and even ideas for one final, absolutely final, Book Seven.
My husband is my favorite brainstorming partner, and he's offered a solution that would certainly make for a powerful ending. The problem is that I don't think I have the heart to make the story quite that tragic.
My alternative is... unconventional.
It might get me canceled. Then again, this entire series might.
If you've read the books, you'll probably understand what I mean. I'm not trying to be provocative. I just need my stories to pulse with reality, and reality doesn't always fit neatly into expectations.
On another front, after having some success selling books and merch, I'm taking another
run at launching a Shopify store.
I tried over the summer and quickly realized I was in over my head. This time, I'm tackling it again, and honestly, it might be harder than writing a novel. The alt text alone feels like its own manuscript. Even with generators and copy-and-paste!
Still, I believe my jewelry designs, thoughtful stickers, and other darkly inspiring creations deserve a place in the world. My job now is figuring out how to help the right people find them.
Now we're heading into the holiday season.
I may not have a fully released short story compilation ready by December 1, but whatever I have finished, I'll be sharing with all of you.
Until then, get ready for winter, hold on to your savings, and I'll catch up with you again next month.
Tanya
📚 Book 4: A Karma to Kill For — Out Now
Book 4 is brutal, emotional, and the buildup to Book 5 is intense. I take you on a rollercoaster of romantic drama, trauma recovery, and hard‑won strength. It’s one ride you don’t want to miss.
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