Highs, Lows & Authentic Living in May
A wrap up of life, gratitude, inspiration and a cover reveal!
Hello Friends!
Here's what you'll find in today’s newsletter:
A Piece of Life in Focus This Week
Highs and Lows: Life Updates & Cover Reveal for my Novel!
Authentic Living This Month
Gratitude Corner - Natural Spaces & Kindy Teachers
Making Memories - Anniversary, Under 8’s Day & a Puppet Show
Inspiring Stuff - Substacks, Fiction and Craft of Storytelling Recs
Welcome to My Substack! My Name is Tania.
I invite you to join me on a journey of embracing authentic living. Through honest stories, personal insights, and reflections on authenticity, I seek to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Subscribe for free & tap the ❤️ if you enjoy this post!
Life in Focus This Month
There has been a lot going on in my neck of the woods, with twists and turns coming at me from all angles. Some good. Some not so good. Here are the biggest life updates for me right now:
My eldest son’s teacher has said he may need to stay back at Kindergarten another year as he is behind on fine motor, social and emotional skills. She also alluded to him potentially being on the spectrum, which is something we have pondered and tried to seek advice on in the past. We are going to get extra help from an OT and a developmental pediatrician and see if a diagnosis is needed. It’s overwhelming to hear our son is behind and that he may be autistic, but I also feel validated knowing that someone else outside of our home has seen signs that our son may be struggling in areas that others (our GP and health nurse) could not see. At least now he can get the help that he needs.
A multi-national corporation has acquired the company I work for. I only work two days a week, so I am not as heavily impacted as others I work with, but this acquisition has thrown my workplace into chaotic turmoil. A few weeks into it now, I would say the acquisition process has been a bumpy one for everyone involved. We will find out by early next month who will retain their jobs and who will be made redundant.
I’m closer than ever to self-publishing my first novel, ‘Ý2K Love’. The editing process has been far more gruelling and long-winded than I had expected, but it had to be done, and my story is so much better for it. I’m also attempting to self-format it in Word to save some money, so wish me luck on that one!
My biggest news is that I got the cover design sorted (I love it!), and if you haven’t noticed, I also have a brand new Substack newsletter dedicated to my fiction novel readers. Subscribe to it here if you’re interested. All my fiction book stuff will be living there from now on.
Since you guys have been along for the ride on my Substack since I first took off on this writing venture, I want you to be the first friends to see the cover of my new novel. So here it is!:
I haven’t shared this with anyone else yet (except for my husband), so you all get the first big reveal! Here’s a little reminder of what this story is about:
Love the nostalgia of the late 90s and early 00s? Think every great story deserves a soundtrack? Then you’ll devour Y2K Love, a coming-of-age Aussie rom-com that takes you back to the year 2000, where friendship, love, and music collide.
With a perfect blend of humour, heart, and betrayal, paired with a soundtrack full of Australian songs that capture the spirit of the times, Y2K Love explores the highs and lows of growing up and finding where you truly belong. Brimming with relatable characters, sizzling romantic tension, and nostalgic vibes, this irresistible story is sure to resonate with fans of contemporary NA fiction.
And once again, if you want to keep up to date with my author stuff, please do subscribe to my new author newsletter where I’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes extras about my stories and writing process, run polls for reader feedback, share exclusive bonus content and discounts and heaps more.
Authentic Living in May
This Substack series is devoted to everything that adds authenticity and realness to my life and I hope it helps you focus on the authentic joy you can create and experience in your day-to-day lives too.
Gratitude Corner: Finding Appreciation in the Everyday
Taking time to find things to be grateful for in everyday moments is a great way to stay grounded and remind yourself of the things that really matter.
In the last month, I was grateful for:
Natural Spaces
I often take for granted how lucky we are to have so many natural spaces to explore here in the outer suburbs of Brisbane. Rugged bushland, tranquil rainforests, sandy beaches with rocky pools and hermit crabs. There’s nothing quite like walking a bush or rainforest trail and breathing in the fresh, earthy air entwined with the scent of eucalyptus and golden wattle. It is magical. It calms the body and mind.
I think as humans, we all desperately need some space and time to soak up a bit of pure nature now and then.
Kindy Teachers
The feedback we received from the Kindergarten teacher about our son being behind was hard to hear, but I also know it would have been equally hard to share. We’re grateful that she has said what needed to be said for him to get the help he needed.
I shared my impulsive thoughts about it on threads too, and received over 500 supportive and encouraging messages from current and ex-teachers and parents who wanted to share their insights and support.
The idea of keeping our son back has been hard to accept, but we have a whole six months left in the year to implement interventions. So things could turn around. But if he does have to stay back, of course, we will do it. We only want what is best for him.
So this spark of gratitude is for teachers who speak the truth about their students so they get the help they need, even if it is hard to say and even harder for the parents to hear.
What are you grateful for this month?
Making Memories: Cherished Moments & Milestones
Making memories and recording them has always been incredibly important to me. Our memories tend to fail us, so keeping a record of precious moments enhances our memory-keeping abilities.
Here are my favourite memories from last month:
Happy Anniversary
My husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary (we have also been together for 17 years). We left the boys with my parents and went out for dinner at a Hong Kong inspired restaurant. The food was amazing. Roast duck, egg noodles, crispy beef, dumplings and more. We ordered more than we could manage and ate too much, but it was worth it. There’s so little time to connect as a couple once you have little kids, so it was nice for us to have some genuine one-on-one time together.
Under 8’s Day
My eldest son and I went on an excursion together with his kindy friends to the under-8s day at the primary school across the road from his Kindy. Lots of fun activity stalls were set up for the kids to enjoy. He had no interest in any art and craft stalls, but instead wanted to make a beeline for any science tents. One with microscopes to look at coral, bark, and fabrics close up, one with a beehive where he could see how bees make honey, and he enjoyed playing on the playground.
Puppet Show
I took both of my boys to a free puppet show at the local community centre, on my own, like a crazy person. Two boys under 5 who needed to keep their bums in seats for an extended period were nearly impossible. My eldest did wiggle and squirm on my lap most of the time, while my youngest either stood on the chair beside me or did laps around it. Once the show was finished, they did have free hot-dogs, which was a nice bonus that resulted in the boys only eating the sausages and Mummy eating the bread. It was all worth it, though. The boys had a blast.
I also wrote this poem about that experience to release some of my anxieties from the experience :-)
Fidgeting limbs on my lap.
Grabby hands on my clothes.
Smooshing, wiggling, clinging.
Never still but always safe.
Anxiety flows out. Love flows in.
Keep them contained.
Bums on seats, feet on seats
But still attached to me.
The show begins. Eyes on stage.
Gaping, smiling, clapping.
Squirming, standing, holding.
Boredom settles, stillness gone.
Society says no. Stay in your seats.
Please stay in your seats. No.
Don’t go. So stay with me.
Squirming, snuggling, smothering.
In my arms. Full and overflowing.
Spilling. Pouring. Contained.
What memories have you made this month?
Inspiring Stuff
Inspiration helps drive us to do more, be more and perhaps even take our lives in a whole new direction.
Substack Articles
I Thought if They Believed Me It Would Hurt Less by
Fiction Stories
This list will likely be moved to my other fiction Author newsletter soon!
The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory by Corey White: A gripping and well-written true story from my home city of Brisbane about a boy brought up in a patriarchal, drug-fuelled family that resulted in him ending up in the foster care system. The story shows his hard slog through life until he finally found contentment and a successful career in adulthood. Heart-wrenching and difficult to read, but worth it.
Quicksilver by Callie Hart: A slow starter for me, but it packed a punch at the end. This is a romantasy I had seen recommended a lot, so I had to see what the hype was about. I get the hype, and there are parallels to ACOTAR if that is your kind of story.
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton: Similar to my first recommendation, this story is also about a boy growing up in a household influenced by drugs in my home town of Brisbane. This one has elements of the Author’s true life story blended with fiction it has also been adapted into a Netflix series. Another great, gritty read.
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren: A classic contemporary second-chance romance story that had me hooked from start to finish. The tension, pacing and story art were expertly executed and enjoyable to read.
Story Craft Books
Story Genius by Lisa Cron: This book gets into the psychology behind storytelling. Fascinating stuff and very insightful for adding more depth to your characters and creating a deeper connection with the reader.
The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird: Really helpful insights from a screenwriter of movies and TV shows, with advice that is also very helpful for authors. I’ve taken many notes from this one that I’ll continue to refer to in my fiction writing journey.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Wow! This book re-framed my thinking about creativity and transformed it on a deeply spiritual level. It includes a practical step-by-step guide towards the path of finding your authentic creativity and becoming unblocked in your creative path. A must-read for any creative.
What books have inspired you this month?
Here are a few words I shared on Substack notes recently:
Stop consuming, start creating ✍️🎨🪡
Do that hard thing if it's something you want to do.
Don't be afraid to ask questions and seek out the answers you need. That is what has gotten me so far in my writing and soon-to-be-published journey. Oh and a dash of self-belief helps too ❤️
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