I will never do this again.
Help me make decisions for 2026!
Hopefully y’all are off to a good start to the holiday season!
You may have noticed I skipped a newsletter last month. When words are in short supply, I imagine y’all would rather I use them for books instead of newsletters.
In this newsletter
Work-in-progress updates
Southern Discomfort update
Reader survey
2026 intentions
Work-in-progress updates
✅ title chosen
✅ blurb written
✅ editor booked
✅ cover designer booked
❌ manuscript completed
Yeah… I don’t know what to tell y’all except it’s still a struggle for me to write.
I’m still writing draft one. Chapter five, to be exact. I stalled out pretty hard in the middle.
Week 1 word count: 3,205
Week 2 word count: 7,384
Week 3 word count: 2,981
Week 4 word count (so far): 823
Side note: Looking back at the last word count tracker I have on file, 2,000-3,000 words per week seems to be the trend. So, looks like Aurora Graves is just a slow writer now. 😕
I’m tired of being on the computer all goddamn day, and it’s frustrating having to force myself to sit at the computer after work to, well, keep on working. Because that’s what writing has turned into: work.
It also doesn’t help that I’ve had a total of 16 migraine days in November, so obviously the last thing I want to do is keep staring at a screen for a couple more hours on top of the day job. Ironically, I’m on day two of another migraine as I write this newsletter, but thankfully it’s started to subside.
In any case, I’ve finally reached the ✨nasty✨ part, so it’s hopefully all downhill from here and will be in your hands when I originally intended it to be. I made the executive decision to push back my editor due date by a week and a half, which may slightly delay the release date, but we’ll see.
What I can confirm is I will never challenge myself to write a story to completion within a short period like this again. I thought this was going to be fun, but it really wasn’t. It’s been a lot more frustrating than I thought it would be.
On a lighter note: I’m pretty stoked about the cover! And I’m kinda in love with the MMC 😅
Southern Discomfort
Yes, finally, some news about Southern Discomfort! I have a cover for it and will be publishing once it’s finalized.
Due to the short length, it will be available only as an ebook.
My annual reader survey
It’s that time of year again! I have decisions to make for 2026, and I’d like to hear from you before I finalize anything.
Looking into 2026
This is the time of year when everyone starts sharing their plans and goals for 2026, and I will admit: I do have plans and goals of my own floating around. What I’ve learned from 2024 and 2025, however, is that I can plan and set as many goals as I want, but it will never fail that either life or myself will give me the middle finger and say, “Fuck off. I’d like to see you try again.”
That said… since I don’t expect to send another newsletter before the new year, here are my two biggest, most important intentions for 2026.
Figure out sustainability
I feel like most of my year has been spent bitching, bitching, bitching, especially about writing and being an author. I’m tired of having that attitude and I don’t want to bring it into 2026.
When I’m being extra negative to the point of giving up, that’s always been a trigger for me to hit the pause button and think long and hard about why I feel the way I do, why I’m complaining about the things I’m bitching about.
Oftentimes, I just need an attitude adjustment. I need to step away, take a break, go outside for some fresh air, touch grass. That usually helps, but in this case since I’ve been off and on breaks for the past two years, I need to figure something else out to make sure this whole author thing is sustainable.
Focus on finishing outstanding projects
I’m gonna level with y’all: I have a suspicion – paranoia, really – that I’ve been fudging this whole author thing because I have never finished telling the Witch Father’s story.
What’s even more sus about that is the timeline kind of adds up to confirm that 😳
So my second biggest intention for 2026 is to work on projects I’ve delayed, starting with the Witch Father.
Aurora’s outstanding projects (that y’all know of!):
the Witch Father
the New Year’s Ball universe
dark vampire horror romance
Ugly Like Me novel
dark surfer romance
secret project LITS
Halloween novella
death metal romance
What I’m into lately
My Ticket Home’s new album dropped and I swear to god, this has been the LONGEST edging of my fucking life, holy shit.
I’m not sure which track is my favorite, but I think it might be “One for the Garden.”
Keeping it short this month so I can get back to redacted. Don’t forget to take my 2026 Reader Survey – it’ll really help!
Stay fucked, abominations.
This is a superb plan against 2026.
You never mentioned Beta reader on your list. Don't you use them?