Vaneeta Kaur's Blog

The character Hilary from my novel, recognises her unhappiness, but remains trapped in fear. .
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Unconsciously, we remain in patterns that don’t serve us because it’s all we know. We hesitate to form new ways of living because we don’t know what the end will be. Truthfully, no one knows what the end of the week will look like and no one knows what the end of the year will look like, and that’s okay. Acceptance is key. .
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However, why do we allow fear to stop us from living? .
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Why don’t we begin that new hobby? Why don’t we say no to things we have said yes to? Why don’t we try to form that new relationship? Why don’t we let go of relationships that hinder our growth? Why don’t we break unhealthy habits? .
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What are we scared of? Answer: the unknown. .
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This loop of fear stagnates us. .
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Exactly as Hilary does in the book, she is surviving not living. When living beings act from fear, we are in survival mode and this hinders us from living. .
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How do we break these patterns? .
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One way could be to ask yourself: what parts of the unknown am I afraid of? .
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I’ve learnt that fear is deeply layered and those layers are usually covering up painful experiences. When we are too scared to form a new relationship, it’s because we are anxious of being hurt again. We become dependent on unhealthy familiar relationships because seeing our patterns and changing them may be scary. .
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Small steps can take us to the other side of the unknown and that is a lot more wondrous than staying stuck in a place we’re not happy in. .
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Let’s make the choice to actually live.

One of my favourite characters from Broken Branches Lauren is a woman that dreams, aspires and cares. She is also driven, decisive, quirky, compassionate, resilient and empathetic. .
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I had so much fun writing Lauren, that I had completed her entire side story for the sequel as well, before finishing the first novel. I knew where I wanted her to go and I knew what obstacles I wanted her to go through for her to grow. .
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Kris finds Lauren’s weirdness a positive trait. He admires how she is never afraid to be herself and doesn’t give any attention to opinions about her. There is a strength in Lauren to show herself as she is, whether it is through her emotions or her dreams. .
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Lauren leads her life from the heart with a clear destination, even though she understands she has no control over what may come. Throughout the obstacles that Lauren so traumatically encounters, she doesn’t stop going after her dreams. She acknowledges that she is deeply hurt but recognises that she deserves happiness, so she lets go and continues on in acceptance of what has happened to her.
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Lauren’s story is that of simplicity, growth and empowerment and through her I wanted to show people how they can empower themselves. She loses her whole support system and for her own survival she walks out on everything that she has built. She discovers a supportive friend in Kris, reconstructs her life and still shows compassion towards those around her whilst continuing towards her goals. Lauren’s obstacles doesn’t deter her, it steers her back to herself to shed into her true self. .
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Be yourself, stay true to yourself, walk away from that which doesn’t aid you and always aspire towards becoming the best version of yourself. .
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Just in case you don’t know – stay tuned because I have some exciting news coming real soon! In the meantime, you can read more details about the novel over at vaneetakaur.com/silverliningseries or links in my bio for some goodread reviews! .
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#kindnessalways , Vaneeta 🍀

I've mentioned countless times about Broken Branches’s main character Kris, but not enough about Kelci. .
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Within my novel I created a gentle feminine woman within Kelci, through her nature to support and bring compassion back into Kris's life. This is essentially what always brings Kris back to Kelci. He is driven to achieve his goals and he values Kelci to keep him inspired as well as grounded. Furthermore, Kelci even brings out creativity, compassion and warmth in him. .
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Through Kelci, I’m so happy to say that I’ve shown how kindness, compassion and empathy are progressive. There is a scene at the beginning of my novel that lays the foundation for Kelci’s nature. A balanced feminine always protects with compassion and stands up for what they feel is right. She does this for Kris when people try to pull him down and she consistently supports him to bring out his greatest potential. .
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When writing this at such a young age, I didn’t realise how keen I was to show how essential a balanced feminine woman is. I’m glad I did, because this world needs what Kelci represents: empathy, humility, compassion, truth and kindness. .
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Stay tuned because I’m also going to be revealing something exciting soon! In the meantime you can read more details about the novel over at vaneetakaur.com/silverliningseries or links in my bio for the rest of @musingsofthewellread ‘s goodreads review. .
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Just as Kelci does, have #kindnessalways , Vaneeta 🍀

Be there for others and always show support towards others, but not at the expense of yourself. .
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This is an element that I didn’t realise I showed in the characters of Broken Branches – they place the needs of others before themselves, which essentially has consequences for them. This topic draws out further in the sequel when Kris realises that his own life is becoming one whole drama when he takes on the problems of others. He recognises that he may need to walk away for the sake of keeping the peace in his life. .
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People say they want happiness, however, the things we do need to show that. Some constantly concentrate on the problems in their life with no intention to sort them. The issues that arise in our life will come and go. Some problems may last a little longer than others but when one recognises that beauty in life is so much more than the problems that occur – they would act on solving them. .
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Out of kindness we want to help people, however we tend to soak in hurtful emotions of those that surround us very quickly and yet, we are already carrying our own emotions. Give kindness, show compassion, and offer people support but if they do not take the actions to mend their problems themselves, be kind to yourself and take a small step back. It may seem harsh, however, you need to place your own needs first. .
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Your wellbeing always comes first and the people in your life should understand this too. We are all responsible for ourselves. .
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#kindnessalways , Vaneeta 🍀

Though books have been a great help for me, I also read books after books as a form of escapism from the reality in front of me. I would rather have my head in a book then confront my emotions. The thought of sitting still and looking at the state of my emotional state was just too scary for me. .
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One of the many things society has planted in us is that taking on external activities will essentially make us feel better. Feeling the need to be busy all the time is a form of distraction; it’s a way of running from the issues we should be facing. Which is exactly what I do sometimes when I decide to busy my time with books. .
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This is also one of the traits that I presented in Kris, he never wants to face his problems. Kris's life falls apart and so he drowns himself in his work. When he loses everything that is important to him, he continues on as if nothing has happened whilst using the wrong coping mechanisms. This causes him to become mentally detached from himself. .
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In both Broken Branches and it's sequel I wanted to present that though we can't control every aspect of our lives, we can confront our inner state and give ourselves permission to let go and move forward. .
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Have a lovely day and stay present in the moment.
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#kindnessalways , Vaneeta 🍀

Everyone carries their family’s baggage, but we can let go of it and consciously make choices that determine our own way of life. .
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Our families set the foundations of how we live because they are the first humans we interact with, their patterns and habits come from those that they first interacted with – their parents, so we essentially carry that through us. .
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Bringing this back to Broken Branches, Kris becomes aware of this through the losses he experiences. Not everything we have internalised is bad though, just that time has warped many old constructions that were initially created out of love and compassion. Overtime, foundations have become built on opinions, power and wants rather that contentment, kindness, needs and truth. .
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The way in which Kris breaks away from the negative constructions of his families is because he decides to live a truthful and wholesome life. He learns everything means nothing if we’re not living truthfully to ourselves. So, he actively makes choices that shatter negative foundations and begins his personal life afresh by building from a place of kindness and contentment. Kris continues all that his father has created, but instead does it from a place of being genuinely present and happy. In the sequel, we see the positive reflection of his choices come into his life solely because of the changes he makes. .
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Everyone carries generational baggage but that does not mean we have to live with it; through our choices we can shatter negative cycles and create our own lives.
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#kindnessalways , Vaneeta

People were quite surprised that I had wrote Broken Branches from a man’s perspective. Just to bring something a little more out the shadows - men do experience mental health issues. .
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As women are considered more sensitive, mental health issues are associated more with women and the consideration for men’s mental health is not really recognised. And it should be. Society has created this package of how men should think, look and behave, thus drumming them into dismissing any form of emotion so when they feel anxiety or any form of sadness - they push it away. Sometimes this behaviour creates negative consequences on those around them which ripples into affecting women’s mental health. .
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I've only lightly touched on Kris's anxiety in Broken Branches, if anything, I was more keen to show external factors of what forms certain behaviours in men through a contemporary lens. A massive part of me didn’t want to go too deep into Kris’s thinking because truthfully, as a woman there’s only so far I can genuinely represent men’s mentality – which is why Kelci’s perception is so important. .
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Just as much as women, men carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and are labelled weak when they express this just a little bit. Has anyone ever wondered how wholesome humans can become if men’s emotional health was considered just as much a priority as women’s? .
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Broken Branches is on kindle and kobo for 30% off until release date 14th May! Link in bio 😊
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Have #kindnessalways towards all beings, Vaneeta Kaur