#ara's linkedin posts

[talesfromopenpages]

It's been three years! Three whole years of writing a prompt story every month. Even when they were a little late, I was consistent with these stories, and they really challenged me to write something new every month.

July was the last prompt I filled. I'm very happy with the stories I managed to write over these past three years. I've enjoyed these prompts so much, and while we're not doing them anymore, we are still sharing themes for inspiration and hyping each other on.

I'm so very glad our writing community exists.

Volume 1 and Volume 2 can be found on Ko-fi.

All stories from Ajahta are free to read on Ko‑fi and will remain so as long as I am capable to share them!

INDEX:

The Blessed Aches Of Aging (August 2025)

A Long Awaited Reunion (September 2025)

The Last Bowl Of Kichdi (October 2025)

The Will & The Power (November 2025)

Five Days Of Vesakhi (December 2025)

Tangled Bonds (January 2026)

A Little Chaos (February 2026)

The Dragon, The Old Lady & Me (March 2026)

A Glitch In The System (April 2026)

A Wait Now Over (May 2026)

Madness/Faith (June 2026)

Broken Mirrors (July 2026)

And that's that, folks! It's not that I won't be sharing stories on here. I am continuing with the exclusive short stories, of course, and as for free stories, I still may, if inspiration strikes. But I'll also be focusing on my longer stories. Second drafts, final drafts - hopefully you'll be seeing my name on the cover of a book soon!

Cheers, Ara

[talesfromopenpages]

I'm so absolutely stoked to be a small part of the newest issue of Mahogany Journal. My creative nonfiction piece about food and family and grief is being featured in issue 5 titled Rojak, which is now out!

This was an incredibly personal piece to write, and a huge thank you to the editors at the journal for their help in refining it. It's also thought me a little more about my editing process, and I'm hopeful this will be a positive sign of things to come!

You can grab a copy of the journal here.

[talesfromopenpages]

I’ve been working on edits and formatting of The Ferryman’s Wife And The Black Fox for sending out at the end of the month. I'm currently at 5 subscribers on the newsletter and I'd love to hit double digits before the next one goes out even if it goes into your junk folder! After that, I will be focusing on edits and formatting my Pride & Prejudice sequel. I’m hoping to figure out a way to get physical copies of this printed as well. Fingers crossed for a late 2025 release before I’ll focus on FS WIP. A lot of things I’m hopeful and excited for as we go into the second half of the year.

[talesfromopenpages]

We really did decide to switch things up for the new year of prompts. And I couldn’t be more excited about it! This time around Hannah Joy suggested interviewing our OCs, and of course we’ve all got different approaches to it. I think they speak for themselves, really.

[IMAGE TEXT: AUTHOR AVENGERS AUGUST PROMPT

What's your go to snack?

Who do you go to when you need help and why?

How do other people know you're nervous?

Do you consider yourself the Soldier, the Mage, or the rogue? Would others agree with you?

What is something (material, not a person!) you couldn't live without? ]

I don’t explicitly mention it in the story, but in my mind, this was absolutely connected to a previous short story in this series. Can you guess which?

INDEX: Lou Yardley - Interview With Morga Kelsey Clarey - From The Journal Of Kairi Hirata Morris Wayts - Interview at the Campfire Aradhna Kaur (me!) - The Questionnaire

And as per usual, any prompt fills going up after this post will be added in!

Cheers, Ara

[talesfromopenpages]

I am currently taking commissions over on Ko-fi. You can find the full list here.

But for a brief breakdown as well:

WRITING

Prose: SGD$0.05 per word, with a minimum word count of 100 words. Maximum word count, 10k words, but negotiable.

Fiction and non-fiction applicable. I can write ranging from blog posts and articles, or original short stories and TTRPG character backstories, etc.

Poetry: SGD$0.25 per line, with a minimum of 4 lines.

I am putting together a poetry collection and have been featured in local poetry magazines, so I am capable and willing of writing on almost any subject and style. (Full disclosure, I’ve never written a haiku or limerick, but am always up for anything!)

For some insight onto my writing style, check out my blog!

[talesfromopenpages]

It's now been two months since the release of my novella What Happened In Vegas. It feels unreal to say I'm published, that I have a book out in the world. Unreal to know people have bought it. It's an accomplishment I wasn't sure I'd ever reach, and yet here we are.

And here we go, with more things being written and shared - short stories on Ko-fi, short stories being collected for an e-book, a short story to be published in a literary journal later this year - and I am so unbelievably gratified and excited for it all.

You can pick up What Happened In Vegas on Ko-fi and other online retailers now.ara

[talesfromopenpages]

Hello, my lovely friends!

It is almost 2024, and I am equal parts excited and anxious for what the new year is going to bring. I had actually written - a while back! - a post about what I was hoping to bring to my page in the next year, but if you've been following this page, you might have seen me mention that those plans have been shelved indefinitely. Personal and health reasons mean that I do have to put those on hold. Fingers crossed for either the mid-year or 2025!

That does not mean that 2024 will not see some new plans and projects and aims to reach! No, no, much like the first time I wrote a post like this in 2022, this coming year brings more than a few goals I want to reach. With your help and encouragement, I am sure I will get there.

read the rest on Ko-fi.

[talesfromopenpages]

It is almost the new year. Where has time gone? Between the holidays and family and all other things, I almost did not write this month’s prompt - but then I think that was also the push some of us needed to write the prompt. It was an interesting one, for sure, and we’ve all got different takes on it.

This has been a very fun initiative we have started this year - so many stories coming out of these prompts, so much new friendships from the Discord, so much encouragement. I am grateful to have been a part of it, and who knows what sort of stories 2024 will bring? I’m excited to find out.

[IMAGE TEXT: AUTHOR AVENGERS DECEMBER PROMPT In the dark of night, you hear a voice: the voice you most want to hear in the world, and the one you know is impossible to be hearing again.]

Index: Morris Wayts - A voice from the waves Victoria Audley - By Good Angels Tenanted Kelsey Clarey - The Christmas Village Lou Yardley - A Winternight Reunion Deborah Kelty - The Cab Without A Driver Aradhna Kaur (me!) - Reflected Detour

There are still a few days left to the month, so as and if more stories go up, this list will be edited!

Cheers,

Ara