November Newness

I turned a year older and wiser earlier this week!

As is wont to happen on occasions such as these, and thanks to the spectacular, full-house event I had last week at the local library where I gave my first talk as an author, I've been taking a long and hard look at my body of work.

I primarily started writing, way back in 2007 actually, because I wanted to tell great stories. Over the years, I've gone in many different directions, mainly blogging and writing poetry.

Off late though, I've been wanting to come back to the kind of writing that truly informs everything else for me: writing fiction.

That is one big reason why I've resumed writing and posting Tales for Dreamers, short wanderings into whimsy and wonder, every Friday morning over on the website.

To bring everything else to align with my main goal, I'm also changing how I present Monthly Missives to you.

We'll begin with On Writing, a section bearing book- and writing-related news to keep you updated on what I'm writing and when to expect my next book. Then will come Tales for Dreamers so you have new short fiction to indulge in while you await the next book release from me.

This will be followed by Life, Unadulterated in which I'll still share anecdotes and musings on just about everything else, but I'll (try to) keep this brief. If and when I have something to say that merits a long post, I'll publish it as a separate piece on the website and point you to that.

There will still be a Books You May Love section with a focus on one or two books that really stood out for me that month.

Life is short and we all have limited time. I want to continue making these missives valuable for you to read in the midst of the busy lives we all lead.

On Writing

I'm close to finishing a new novel! Hurrah!

It's a fantasy read with an element of romance. It's the first full-length novel I've written since I published Erased From Existence, a YA paranormal mystery, in the summer of 2022!

But I won't be releasing the new book just yet. You see, I was in the midst of writing the first book of a fantasy/sci-fi duology, when one of the secondary characters wanted his own story to be heard. Who am I to refuse what the muse offers!

Thus began the writing of 'A Life of Purpose/The Making of Alexi' (still a working title), which is a touching tale of the transformation of a carefree young man into a restless seeker.

It won't make sense for you to read it until you've at least read the first book of the duology, which is still a work-in-progress! Do you see my dilemma?! I hope to have these stories — the original duology plus this additional tale — ready for you to read by spring/summer 2025. 🤞🏽

Tales for Dreamers

Do you remember 'a way out for the werewolf', a tale of a werewolf that shape-shifted and found itself within the confines of a supermarket?

In the weeks that followed, my meanderings led me to where the creature had turned up. And he had a very interesting story to tell!

Read the sequel, 'a new place, a new life', and three other enchanting tales—featuring a witch in a yacht, hands protruding from a wall, and a rather innocent-looking, placid lake with dark secrets lurking beneath its surface—in the collection here!

Life, Unadulterated

These past few weeks have been extremely busy.

First there was Diwaloween, what with Diwali and Halloween falling on the same day this year! See my attire for that day? A salwar-kameez topped with a bat poncho.

Following that, I was deep into preparing for my talk at the library: Myths & Realities of Self-Publishing.

More than 70 people turned up! The organizers had anticipated an audience of 30 initially and had to expand capacity twice to accommodate all that interest.

People most certainly came because of the topic, but they left feeling seen, informed, amazed, and entertained by the end of those 90 minutes. So, mission accomplished!

If you'd like to download my presentation and the handout all attendees received, you'll find them at the link below.

Then it was my birthday. My age is a symmetrical number now, and my 44 falls right in between D's 8 and my dad's 80, so I'm loving the mathematical harmony of it all.

Little D had chosen for me a lovely LEGO set, the Tiny Plants collection, and we had a ball building it.

KrA got me an amazing productivity kit from Minimal Desk Setup including a sleek metal pencil! Never knew an everlasting pencil was a thing. And I got myself Brianna Wiest's The Pivot Year, which I've been savouring a page a day.

We devoured Black Forest cake, and it was a great birthday even though it fell on a Wednesday!

The eventfulness of this month has made me realize that I actually love being busy. I'm way more productive and efficient, not to mention happy, when I'm juggling a lot of things and getting them done, starting with writing stories first thing in the morning as soon as D leaves for school.

Speaking of which, have you seen those memes in which children write funny, unexpected answers in their homework or school tests? Turns out little D has his own contribution to make to the collective genius of children around the world.

And isn't there so much to love about a teacher who responds with a smiley-face?

Books You May Love

With all that was going on, I turned to Charles Todd for some comfort reading. I read two books from their Bess Crawford series: A Casualty of War, and A Forgotten Place.

In both these stories, Todd masterfully examines the plight of soldiers, many wounded, having lost a limb or more, left to fend for themselves after the war has ended. Forced to return to their old lives but no longer able and 'useful' as they had once been, they lead lives of desperation.

Very few writers have been able to depict World War I and its impact on people with such empathy as Charles Todd does.

That brings us to the end of November's missive, dear Dreamer!

In the weeks to come, I'll retreat deep into the writing cave, emerging only to read, hang out with KrA and D, and send you these monthly notes.

As we're headed into the holiday season, I hope these coming weeks bring you a lot of joy and love even if they become stressful and overwhelming at times. Because nothing in life exists without its antithesis.

~ Anitha