April at the start: writing, and more writing

A short(ish) and sweet update because April is jam-packed with projects on all fronts.

Hello friends, this was supposed to be an end of March newsletter that turned into a start of April update because it’s a mad dash to the end of the semester here. But March was a busy and productive month.

So let’s get into all the things I’ve been up to, and what I’m planning for next month.

First, I’ll be recording another episode on microtropes with Liz and Libby for the Romance Roundup podcast in April, so stay tuned for that episode, and I’ll share more in next month’s newsletter about our chat.

Photo by Illiya Vjestica on Unsplash

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What I’m writing ✍🏽

Since the start of February I’ve written over 100,000 words, cumulatively, across various fiction projects. I have the soft goal of completing at least five books by the end of August 2026, (but hoping for possibly six, since I have one draft that’s hibernating for a bit). I’m on track with four of them that have been started in drafts already, and I will be starting the fifth one as soon as we make some decisions for the collab I’m in for that. Two of these books will have a release date in Fall 2026.

Based on anticipated approximate final word count targets, here are status updates on my 5 first drafts in progress:

• Thanya & Ramsgate: 70% complete

• Parents’ Diwali Prequel: 85% complete (Fall 2026 release)

• Jaipur Newsletter Subscriber Story: 50% complete

• Rohan & Mina: 30% complete

• Eila & Dhanesh: outlined, need to add a bit more there, have written a few scenes already (Fall 2026 release)

With that in mind, as soon as this newsletter is out I’ll be setting up an away message on Instagram so that I can focus on wrapping up the semester and diving into that deep drafting space for the summer. I’ll still be sending out regular monthly newsletters with the occasional Savitastack special issue as time allows for that research and writing around work and drafting these books.

Three of these priority WIPs are the upcoming books in my Panchal siblings’ series, with a specific focus on the parents’ Diwali holiday prequel, and the next two books after The Deed with the Duke—Thanya and Ramsgate’s book, and Rohan and Mina’s book.

I started the month by writing 14K words in a single weekend for Rohan Panchal, and his book is after his parents’ Diwali prequel, and his sister Thanya’s book. But the man was persistent and won his way. I adore how his raking around is going to catch up to him, and the widow heroine, Mina, who makes him completely unravel. I’m very excited to come back to this one.

Also, I have nearly finished the first draft of the parents’ Diwali prequel with Tarun and Rachika and have written 50K for Thanya and Ramsgate in less than six weeks. That is unprecedented levels of first draft progress for me. Especially during the semester. Especially when teaching a class that is grading heavy with lots of student writing assignments to read. And I am also drafting an open-education textbook on top of that. So, this tells you how much I love all of these characters and their stories. Thanya and Ramsgate are so angsty and fiery, just horny, moody, and dramatic idiots that are so fun to write as they clash. I started with the black moment first, and goodness, they’re a treat.

The other fun thing about writing a sibling series is that as I write pieces for one of the siblings or their parents it unlocks pieces for the others. I can see where they start or where they end up with their love interests. This means that, yes, I’ve accepted I’ll be drafting in parallel to take advantage of this incredible worldbuilding energy.

So, I also pinned down the epilogue lead-in from Rohan’s book to his next youngest sister’s book. Rajni and her blacksmith hero, Ashwin, will be Book 4 and set up some threads for my third Regency series, along with the seeds planted for that in Thanya and Ramsgate’s book too. And I got the epilogue seeds planted from Rohan’s book to Pravi and her hero’s Book 5 as well as their meet-cute pinned down. Pravi’s leading man, Ivaan, will also lead into the next English countryside Regency series I’ll be writing about his sisters. One of my Fall 2026 releases is the prequel/first book in this series, I talked about Eila and Dhanesh already in my March special issue, if you haven’t read that yet. This series will have more working class heroines, and possibly heroes, too. The Panchals have a mix of aristocratic and working class heroes and heroines, so I imagine I’ll do a bit of the same. Currently, the sisters’ series is set in a neighboring town to Robin Hood’s Bay, but they’ll do a bit of popping back and forth to see Pravi and their brother, Ivaan, too.

I love this world and these characters so much that jumping between books is helping me really get deep into fleshing it out. Since I’ve been flipping between writing the set ups in meet-cutes and epilogues, I was starting to miss these characters already at the thought of leaving them behind. But then I remembered I’m nowhere near done with all these books, so I still have time to stay in this story world—there’s a lot to write in the middle, haha.

All these sibling series taking up space in my head is a lot to manage, but I suppose it’s part of my brand to write large Indian families now, and I love the multiple generations of characters in this cozy, comedic, and chaotic village.

Leaving voice memos and texts for myself to compile in the evenings and on weekends has really helped to keep things organized, and I’m glad I did most of the plotting prep work over my winter break because that has also helped the prose really fly onto the pages.

So yeah, a lot of writing all around in March. Here’s hoping it continues in April, too.

🕰️ Research Rabbit Hole 🐇

For a book that isn’t about the Panchals, I’ve been reading all about lambing season and rejected lambs. It’s something I picked up from All Creatures Great & Small.

For Thanya and Ramsgate’s book, I’ve also been reading about: Thomas Spence and the Spencean Philanthropists, The Cato Street Conspiracy, The Trial of Queen Caroline, Avalon, the Norman Conquest, May Day traditions, Robin Hood lore, the Royal Astronomical Society, Hawthorn trees, the Strait of Dover, Sea Campion, stockings and garters, and childbirth in the Regency era.

For Rohan’s book, I’ve been reading about: the Horns of Ammon.

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What I’m listening to 🎧

Four tracks on repeat rotation in my writing playlist this month.

Some days I listened to one of these songs on repeat for the entire day to make sure I stayed in the emotional state needed for a scene, and uh, they’re not exactly light (lyrics-wise). So that tells you Thanya and Ramsgate’s dynamic is a lot of things, but easy is not one of them.

Which, don’t get me wrong, is very fun to write, but they really locked me in for my entire spring break trying to keep up with them enough to get all the words on the page.

And I did, and they’re words I’m very happy with, which is rare this early in the process for me. I can’t wait for you all to meet them and love them as much as I do.

I definitely need more sleep though. Going to work on that for April…

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What I’m reading 📖

Here’s a roundup of books that are on my mind. Follow me on BookBub and Instagram so we can keep up with each other’s recommendations there too :)

The Tribune Temptation by Jenna Bigelow.

Anger unfurled in Crispina's chest like a sail catching wind.

I love a prickly heroine and Crispina, Aelius, Gaia, and Max are all wonderful characters. I loved the uniqueness of this story and Aelius’s character, which presents a new angle on class differences in a romance between the hero and heroine. Jenna also has some excellent and creative sex scenes, I don’t want to give anything more away about them, but I love a reading/reenactment moment. And I told her immediately that Catullus was a favorite side character for his quick wit and comedic quips. I am already looking forward to reading the second in the series with Max and his love interest, check out the ARC call below (these covers are gorgeous). The prose is wonderfully restrained with sharp turns of phrase as well, something I always adore.

The pieces came together in his mind like repairing a shattered vase.

A Midsummer Night’s Duke by Colleen Kelly.

This is a free novella via author newsletter signup, so go get your copy today!

Colleen’s prose is lovely and the novella starts with, quite literally, a bang. A multi-chapter bang, to be exact. It’s wonderful. It’s hot. It’s long. It’s viscerally detailed sex, which I love, really comfortable with all of it—sounds, scents, the reality of human bodies. It’s midsummer y’all. There are Shakespeare references I loved, (especially because they resonate with one of my current WIPs).

Also, Rex. I love this tentative and tender man so much. He’s as wicked as he is good, which is exactly what I enjoy. I sent my thoughts as I read in real time to Colleen which was a delight as well, and there’s a moment with him and his black leather gloves that had me messaging her in all caps, iykyk.

Honestly, this book is so romantic, my chest squeezed with joy, so much so that tears were in my eyes at various points.

Her heart stopped, she was sure of it. Everything stopped. Birds in the air, breeze through the leaves, tree sap congealing beneath bark, apple buds hardening into fruit—all suspended motionless while she watched him watch her with fixed intention. A gaze like an arrow; a mouth like a bow.

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The Lovelocks of London collection by Felicity Niven.

I’ve long been waiting for the perfect moment to dive into Felicity’s works, even though I’ve bought all her books so far, and they’ve been sitting on my Kindle, patiently. Do you ever have a book, or author, that you don’t want to start at the wrong moment, like when you’re too busy, and have that affect your opinion of the story? That’s what it was like for me with Felicity’s writing, I know how much her books are beloved, and so I wanted to have the chance to really savor and focus on them. When this collection launched, I was thrilled to start my foray into Felicity’s works with her first series in order. It is wonderful.

Just Think of the Scandal by Anne Knight. I’m very much looking forward to reading another one of Anne’s fantastic novellas having loved both The Fiercest Pirate in Surrey and Spinning Our Dreams.

ARC Opportunity

Jenna is also recruiting ARC readers for her next Ancient Rome book until April 7, look at this stunning cover by the always amazing Erin Dameron-Hill (who also designed the cover for The Deed with the Duke). I love the background and the red clothing. Sign up now at this link.

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What I’m watching 📺

Drafting Thanya and Ramsgate’s book has really taken the reins. I’m deep into it and loving spending time in that story with them. So, not much TV in March, other than watching all three 365 Days movies with friends.

When one of my work besties asked if I was watching anything good recently, I quite literally said, “No, the exact opposite in fact,” and then proceeded to detail how wild this franchise is.

It was an entertaining month of movie watching for sure, but that was definitely more for the company. Sometimes, I’m simply updating you on what I did…not necessarily making a recommendation, lol. Though if you’re into horny mafia vibes you may enjoy it?

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🧶🧵 The Hobby Corner 🖌️🎨

Not much happening in the hobby corner this month, since, again, I’m locked into drafting Thanya and Ramsgate’s book. Perhaps, there’ll finally be an update on those watercolor markers in April…or May…but more likely this summer?

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Check out the March Savitastack special issue if you’re wanting to read more from me this month.

Until next time, as always, happy reading and writing,

Sri