The USA Today Bestseller Writer Gal Letter

And The Writer Gal Novella - Part 6

Mahalo,

I’m writing this edition of The Writer Gal Letter listening to New Romantics by Taylor Swift and I am incredibly shaky, moved, and flat out INSANELY happy. But, first, let me catch you up on the week that was.

Saturday: I got unbearable toothache for biting down on a chocolate piece so I went to the dentist and he filled up my open cavity and said - we need to extract a tooth. It’s gone dead.

Monday: I get said tooth extracted. Eat lots of ice cream. Pray my face does not swell up.

Tuesday: I sleep the day away with the good good drugs. (seriously I have been floating for four days!)

Wednesday: I spent the whole day on my phone because I could not hold a coherent thought in my head. So, imagine my happy surprise when at 10 am USA Time all of my favorite author friends messaged me the EXACT same thing.

Postmate GOOD GOD! You helped me tick something on my Career Goals list that I’d only ever dreamed of since I started writing books back in 2014.

Postmate, I’m so incredibly beyond pleased thrilled to share that Dissent hit the USA Today Bestseller List for this week! And at #88!

This means that out of all the books sold in the United States, Dissent is #88 in the bestselling list. This list is second only to The New York Times Bestseller List, in my opinion, and to hit it with THIS book and for this story, THIS WEEK (my birthday week) is the gift of a lifetime!

Thank you, Postmate. THANK YOU! You helped make this happen for me. By supporting all of my books, by giving me a platform to share my kind of stories with you, and for loving those stories. I have no other words of love to say except Thank you - I am humbled by your generosity, your kindness, and your support.

I will try my damndest to earn it with every single word I write.

38 is just the beginning of Aarti V Raman, Postmate! So I hope you’re ready for it.

NOTE: Be on the watch for cover changes, bio changes, and general changes with the magic letters - USA Today Bestselling Author Aarti V Raman. :D

Special thanks to my amazing ARC readers who showed up and showed up in a big way for The Story of Us and read/reviewed/posted/shared everywhere. Thank you so much! THANK YOU!

Even More Good News

Postmate, you SHOWED up for the Dissent Charity Auction too! We managed to raise more than the donation amount - $20,000!!!! And you bid on my listing. Which legit made me cry, Postmate.

I have spent this whole week crying one way or another and I am slightly teary-eyed right now thinking of all the good you, as a romance reader, are doing JUST BY READING our words.

Not to mention how quickly Blaze is racking up reviews on Amazon, makes my heart so HAPPY!

Keep on keeping awesome Postmate.

Housekeeping Note

A bit of housekeeping before we begin the juicy bits of the newsletter:

As you may have experienced, heard, or known, Google and Apple are not allowing Kindle readers to buy books directly from the Google/Apple Kindle app. I know how frustrating it is to read an epically awesome book, click on the next book’s link, and be told I can’t buy it. But, worry not, Postmate, there are a few solves available for it.

1. Buy the book from the Amazon web page. Even on the phone, any phone. Just bookmark the Amazon home page on your device and pull it up whenever you want to buy a book.

2. Click on the link on the backmatter (after all the story is done) of an ebook and it *should* ideally take you to the web page of that author or book and you can make your purchase from there.

3. If you’re a Samsung user, you’re in luck. All you need to do is go to the SAMSUNG App Store and download the Kindle app from there and you’ll be able to continue buying books IN the app, itself.

I hope this helps you out, Postmate! I know how much you love reading and I want to make the experience as effortless as possible for you so you can read two or three or a hundred more books in the time you gain! :)

No Other Love - Chapter 6

Now, without any more fuss, let me share the next chapter of my sweetly angsty, second chance, marriage in trouble, small-town romance novella starring a desperately nerdy doctor and his feisty surgeon wife!

Author’s Note: I’ll be writing down the English translations of the Indian words to this story, as I introduce you to Indian culture :) If you’d like to read the previous chapter, click here.

Fun fact: This novella is actually set in a town founded by one of my oldest friends. I’ve been fascinated with Aronda since I heard her talk about it back when we studied together and wanted to set a story here forever! Vikrant and Anika’s is the one finally. :D

Anika made her way up the stairs to the first floor bedroom once she’d bid goodnight to Smita Aunty.

The woman was a riot and so practical and motherly at the same time. She was the only one who’d helped Anika when she’d visited Vikrant’s home as a new bride. Explaining the traditions to her, teaching her the right way to make the fucking tea so it would please Vikrant’s parents.

Apparently, they didn’t add milk right away to the water and tea leaf powder, preferring to steep the tea in the water so it became thick brown sludge before they lightened it with milk.

To give the devil his due, Vikrant had run interference between his parents and her as much as he could. But even he had to attend phone calls or go to the freaking bathroom and his mother was strict about having her precious son help around the kitchen.

Those were the times Vikrant’s mother had twisted in the knife about the many differences between them.

If you’d been from our community, you’d know how to do this already.

Vikrant should have chosen someone who understood us all better.

My son is a good doctor and a good son. You’re lucky to have him.

Anika, insecure and under-confident anyway in family matters, considering the dysfunction between her own parents, had taken the woman’s words to heart. With the perspective of distance and the cloud of insecurity off her head, she could now see those unkind words for what they were.

An attempt to hold onto her son.

It was such an unoriginal story that she would have laughed if she hadn’t already cried so much over this man and this family.

~~~~~

Surprisingly, she had actually had fun once she put Vikrant’s parents in their proper places in her own head – which was at a respectful distance from her emotional heart – and focused on the tasks at hand.

She had a good eye for color and she’d attended previous Chathurthi celebrations enough to know how the thing was conducted.

So, yeah, it was fun.

It was even more fun to watch Vikrant be cutely domestic. He’d never shirked his duties when they were living together and he had acquitted himself well today too.

There was just that one disturbing moment when he’d helped her get off the ladder where she was sure, so sure, that he would kiss her. Where he’d tell her fuck the divorce, I love you forever.

Then, his mom had ruined the moment and Anika had come to her senses.

This was all a charade, an act, to keep his father stable. Nothing more.

All of the yearning and longing for love and happily ever after was on her part.

Vikrant wanted her, no two ways about it.

But, she wanted everything. She’d had it before and she was damned if she was going to settle for just lust…even if her hormones were sitting up and begging for him as they had been all day.

~~~~~~

‘Ani,’ Vikrant appeared at the top of the stairs. He held her duffel bag in one hand and the stuff she’d strewn on the bed was visible through the half-open zipper.

‘Yeah?’

He blushed. Her ex-husband’s ears went red and he had a flush under the healthy gold of his skin. Desire licked at her womb and made mock of her gritty resolve of moments before.

Anika physically resisted the urge to curl her hands into fists.

‘Ramesh and Smita are sleeping in here.’ He indicated the room she’d occupied for her nap with a jerk of his head. ‘My parents are next to them.’

The words sank into her desire-hazed brain. ‘Oh.’ Then she processed them and, ‘Oh.’

He nodded. ‘I’m sorry. You don’t mind, do you?’

She winked. ‘If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to get me into bed but you’re not, are you?’

God, she wished she didn’t sound as hopeful as she felt.

‘Haha. Very funny, Anika.’

Anika shook her head. ‘I’m an on-call doctor, remember? We can sleep pretty much everywhere.’

He looked visibly relieved and they walked up the stairs to his third floor bedroom.

~~~~~

Anika gasped in surprise as she took in the huge room, which covered half the floor in one large, flowing space.

It was gorgeous, done entirely in white with that same cerulean blue accent wall. The windows were covered with mosquito nets, the rain a pattering against the roof, with a balcony jutting out of the sliding doors. The furniture was simple wood and it was so…pleasant…but also so lifeless.

There were no pictures here, no books even. The king-size bed was pristinely made up with a navy blue spread and matching pillows. Surely the price tag wasn’t hanging off the corner of the sheet?

Then Anika spied a roomy couch. It sagged on one end and had a white pillow and bed sheet piled neatly on one side. A pile of books were stacked against the couch with Vikrant’s reading glasses and laptop flickering in the dark.

So, this was where he slept…

Her heart twisted fiercely at the idea of him sharing this huge bed with anyone. But it hurt worse seeing the lonely pillow and sheet.

‘You can take the bed. I’m comfortable on the sofa.’ He stowed her stuff in the massive wooden cupboard which looked woefully under-utilized.

‘It’s a big bed, Vikrant. You don’t have to suffer on the sofa.’

He shrugged and didn’t answer her.

 She didn’t push the point and went to the cupboard to sort her stuff out in the cupboard. His clothes were neatly folded in one half of the cupboard while the roomier shelves, with hangers – such as those required for maxi and mini dresses – and a jewelry locker were all bare. Stunningly bare.

And kept meticulously clean. As if they were just awaiting occupation by someone.

Anika shot Vikrant a look from downcast lashes. He was getting the sofa ready for bed, tucking the sheet into the sides of the arms, and placing the pillow on the side he preferred, next to the stack of books.

Could he actually be waiting for her?

What a ridiculous idea…

To be continued next month.

Before I end this edition of TWGL, I have a question for you! Please, do answer the poll if you have a second.

That is it for this edition of The Writer Gal Letter. I’ll be back next week with TWO banging giveaways you’re going to want in on because it is BIRTHDAY times and I love the whole world during Birthdays! I’ll also have updates on paperbacks for Blaze and Chaos and my next release news.

Till then,

Stay safe and awesome.

Xx

Aarti