Hello and Happy December!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is ready for the holidays! In lieu of an official holiday card, please enjoy this photo which perfectly sums up the joy of being an Aunt! I can't believe it's been exactly ten years since I moved from DC to Chicago to be closer to my family. Best decision I ever made.

Writing News

I had fun in November working on the second draft of my next novel! I am pleased to share I finished the ProWriting Aid Novel November challenge by adding 68,138 words to my draft. My Scrivener document is a beast but I made significant progress on two of the POV characters and thoroughly enjoyed logging my daily word count to earn a fun little badge.

This was a fantastic distraction from checking my email obsessively to see if any agents responded to my query letters for my girlboss book.

I did receive my first official rejection last month! It was very exciting and made me feel like a real writer!

Then the excitement faded away and I felt sad, so I took a bubble bath and went right back to my manuscript. I expect I will be taking a LOT of baths the next few months!

Three Happy Things

1. Fairy Lights!

It is hard to be a human in the northern hemisphere right now when darkness falls WAY too early. I have been going to bed at 7:30 to read until nine, then lights out (a delightful routine and about three hours earlier than my lawyer bedtime).

Anyway, to counteract the daytime gloom, last year I redid one of my home offices with iridescent curtains, sunset decals, prisms and an Alexa-operated, Tik Tok-inspired fairy lights set-up. It is making me very happy. I wrote a blog post about it in case you're curious.

2. Books, Books, Books!

I read a ton of great books this month! Highlights: Booker-Prize shortlisted The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny kept me company for a long time (I love big books!); North Woods, which was a fantastic trip; and the highly entertaining audiobooks of Reese Witherspoon's book and Daisy Jones and the Six. I also read Bridge of Sighs (review here), Lucky, Banyan Moon and The Husband's Secret for inspiration on my manuscript.

3. Loot (Season 3)

I continued to enjoy this wonderful Maya Randolph show on Apple TV which feeds many of my obsessions: female billionaires (my debut novel features one!), amazing caftans, and 90s hip hop. I only want to watch comedies right now given the state of the world. God bless Maya Randolph for making such a fabulous one!

Recommendations Corner

Thank you to all who replied to prior newsletters with recommendations for joyful things! I love hearing what makes you happy.

In the spirit of holiday gift guides, here are three recommended products from our reader community guaranteed to spark joy:

This 1000-piece Great American Novels puzzle is terrific for book lovers. Also recommended to gift a corresponding audiobook for double the pleasure. (PSA: did you know Spotify has audiobooks free with subscription? I just discovered this when searching for the Daisy Jones audiobook!)
This over-the-shoulder reading light for gloomy winter days or middle-of-the-night reading.
For a hands-free reading experience, the Book Seat. (I ordered it and can attest to its utility! I use it for hardcovers, paperbacks and my iPad and it counteracts my neck pain).

Please comment below to tell me the things you enjoyed this month!

That's all from me! I hope you have very happy holidays!

xo,

Sara

The Orr Report | December 2025