October 2026 Wrap-Up Post

November 1, 2026November 1, 2026 Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

October was one of those months where I started really strong, and then, literally everything went wrong in weird ways to the point that it felt like I was running in place. It just tanked my ability to juggle work and everything else, but I did get quite a bit of writing done considering what happened. Here were my goals for October:

Write 20,000 words of Flowers & Flourishing
A cover reveal for *redacted*
Finish dealing with the appointments my partner needs to do for her name change
Finish reading and giving feedback on a past student’s book
Continue to not McLoseIt by maintaining my mental health
Start my Christmas shopping
Send out my monthly newsletter
Read 8 books
Blog weekly

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8.

America’s Most Gothic by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes- 4 stars, an incredibly interesting nonfiction book about Gothic tropes and how they relate to real life occurrences and ghost stories. Absolutely fascinating, and highly recommend all books by Hieber and Janes.
Scandal of the Summer (#1) by Alexandra Vasti- 5 stars, a blue-stockingish woman decides to run off with her friends to the countryside to an abandoned house only to find it less than abandoned as smugglers have taken it over. A game of pretend between both parties turns to romance and chaos as an Italian royal is abducted along with one of their friends.
Lore Olympus (#11) by Rachel Smythe- 5 stars, the grand finale of Lore Olympus. It was absolutely fantastic. Smythe did a great job wrapping it up in a satisfying way, and I am all at once happy to have it finished and missing it already.
What Did You Eat Yesterday (#8) by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, as always a delightful slice of life about a gay couple in Japan going about their daily lives and cooking. There is family friction, weird friends, and workplace ridiculousness.
What Did You Eat Yesterday (#9) by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, see above.
The Name-Bearer (#1) Natalia Hernandez- 4 stars, a young woman ends up as a political pawn who is shipped off to train with female fighters to protect her from vengeful royals. This one feels like a first book, but the audiobook was enjoyable.
The Wicker Husband by Ursula- 4 stars, a very short story that is the basis for the new movie Wicker. It was very fairytale-like, and while I enjoyed it, it was like 25 pages.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell- 5 stars, an absolutely fantastic story about a shapeshifting monster who falls for a woman who is part of the family hunting her down. It’s a monster romance, but it’s mostly about breaking generational curses, growing, and becoming your better self. It feels lowkey Shrek-like, and as a Shrek lover, I enjoyed it immensely.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

Revealed the new cover for Kinship & Kindness in my newsletter (coming soon to everyone else as soon as I get the full cover wrap, so I can update ebooks, audiobook, and paperbacks at once when I announce it)
Finished doing a developmental edit on one of my favorite past students’ story/book trilogy (it was really good and it was also a lot of work since it was editing and splitting one book into three)
Took my partner to the bank to change her name on stuff, found out she needs to go to the DMV first to get a new license (cue internal screaming, though they were very nice)
CW: tooth body horror. A crown fell out of my mouth and took the tooth with it because I have been grinding my teeth, so I had to go to the dentist
Took Edgar to the vet, found out he had a stomach bug and also kidney disease, had repeated vet trips to pick up meds and drop off various samples (yay .-.)
Voted in the midterm elections
Blogged weekly
Sent out monthly newsletter
Started my Christmas shopping (1 person is done, 3 more are started)
Got A LOT of grading done as October is grading hell month for me
Kept my bouts of crying and emotional messiness to a minimum despite everything mentioned above. October 16th on was a shit show.

Blogs

Writing

Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to read the [brief] pity party. This month started so well and went haywire at literally the halfway point. On the 16th, the crown I had on a back molar popped off and took the tooth beneath it with it, which led to a dentist trip. Then, Edgar got a stomach bug, and fortunately/unfortunately, blood work done at the time showed he has kidney disease. Of all the bad stuff for old dogs to have, it’s one of the less bad outcomes as it’s progressive but can be slowed with a new diet and supplements. The chaos of the second half of the month totally nerfed my ability to write, which sucked. I feel like the month started off so well, and it was depressing to watch that progress evaporate due to things I can’t control but are upsetting.

On the flip side, I really like how Flowers & Flourishing is turning out. The rewrite has been semi slow as I’ve been trying to be methodical about how I expand and change it from its original incarnation, but with each new thing I add to Agatha and Louisa’s story, the richer the book gets. The texture is so much better as is the characterization since I know them both better after 4+ books with them as side characters. I promise that I’ll share more snippets on social media and my blog as we get closer to when I put up the preorder link. I’m waiting to get to certain place in the book before I do that. In the meantime, if you want some vibes, you can check out the F&F Pinterest board here.

Hopes for November

Write 20,000 words of F&F
Do the official cover reveal for K&K’s new cover
Start a coding course on Python and work on that consistently
Finish the craft kit I started in February (only 2 houses left)
Finish rest of partner’s name change bureaucracy trips (3 of them)
Work on not McLosingIt by maintaining my mental health
Keep up with grading the rest of my students’ papers
Finish most of my Christmas shopping
Send out my monthly newsletter
Read 8 books
Blog weekly

Writer Rambles

Writer Rambles #5

October 25, 2026October 25, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

CW: pet illness (spoiler: he’s okay)

This week has been a hot mess. The mess began last weekend when Katie had diarrhea, and shortly after she stopped, Edgar started. Our yard often has feral cats and other wildlife roaming through it, so it’s never surprising when someone picks up a stomach bug. The problem is that Edgar’s wouldn’t clear on its own. Cue me calling the vet, then panicking because I thought he might have pancreatitis due to him appearing to have stomach cramps and vomiting. Luckily, he did not have pancreatitis, just a really nasty stomach bug, but while we were there, I had the vet do senior blood work on him. Low and behold, Edgar has stage 2 kidney disease. Now, this not a death sentence or anything. This is a lifestyle change that involves cutting back on snacks he shouldn’t have, adding supplements to flush the bad stuff from his blood stream, being careful with future meds he’s given, and getting prescription food that doesn’t contain the things his kidneys can’t process as easily.

Was I upset? Absolutely. I had a good five minute cry because it is upsetting to hear that your old man has old man issues. Everyone wants their dog to be immortal, but of all the old man issues to have, this is probably one of the easier ones to deal with. I immediately bought all the new food and supplies, brought my vet a urine sample, and did some extra research on how to best support him.

As you can guess, writing fell by the wayside for the better part of a week. The type A part of me wants to berate me for letting all the balls drop, but I have managed to resist the compulsion to do so. No one in my family asks where they rank against the dogs because they probably won’t like the answer, and if my dog was a human child or adult, no one would question why I had stepped back for a few days to get my shit together and take care of my loved one. I’m not apologizing for caring for my beloved pet and prioritizing them over my work.

The funny thing is by not being hard on myself about stepping back for a few days, I’m less stressed and actually want to write. What’s held me back more than anything is fatigue rather than being a bundle of nerves or self-reproach. My body is signaling that I need to slow down, and I’m really trying to listen because being an author is a marathon, not a sprint. Destroying my mental and physical health for a deadline I set is just foolish.

2026 has been rough, like the worst year I have experienced in a very long time. I would actually say ever. If it has taught me anything, it’s to prioritize the people and creatures I care about, including myself. You can’t help others or do the things you want to do if you aren’t well enough to do so, and while we can’t always have others pick up the slack or take off for weeks at a time, do what you can when you can to rest. In the long run, it’s worth it.

Writing

Open for Editing

October 18, 2026October 18, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

It has been so long since I opened to new editing clients, but if you’ve been looking for a developmental editor or a writing coach/teacher, I am available!

What is Developmental Editing?

Developmental editing is big picture editing. It’s when an editor looks at the book’s/character’s journey at a macro and micro level and helps the writer to untangle things and clarify what’s working. I tend to think of this as book doctoring. Something is wrong, so I dissect your book’s various bits and tell you how to fix what’s wrong or off within the structure. This isn’t about fixing typos or line level issues. This is looking at the work holistically and making it better based on the author’s vision, first time reader impressions, and genre conventions.

What are my Qualifications?

I earned an MFA in Creative and Professional Writing in 2016 and ever since, I have been teaching creative writing to college students, editing their work, and working with editing clients on the side. I’ve also written over ten novels that have won various indie book awards over the years. I edit my own books, so I assume I’m doing something right in that regard. I’m not great at spotting typos, so I do not offer copy editing or proof-reading.

I am well versed in many genres, including fantasy, historical romance, gaslamp fantasy/steampunk, contemporary romance, queer romance, paranormal romance/fantasy, science fiction, Gothic fiction, etc. I prefer to read adult, but I have also read a lot of Young and New Adult and can edit them as well.

***I will not edit works written by AI or with any assistance from AI. If I realize your work was written with AI, you forfeit your deposit, and I will not complete the service. I will also never run your work through AI because I would rather chop my arm off than use it.***

Developmental Editing Service

$0.02 per word (ex. $2000 for 100,000 words)
50% deposit, 50% after completion of editing via Paypal or Zelle
You get in-line feedback, end of chapter feedback, and an editorial letter where I look at things like:
- character development
- setting and descriptions
- world-building
- internal consistency
- structure
- tone, mood, themes
- obvious typos/repeated grammar issues
- anything else the author wants me to specifically pay attention to
Timeline:
- 1-2 weeks after agreed upon starting date for books under 100,000 words
- 3+ weeks after agreed upon starting date for books over 100,000 words or multiple books
Feedback from me will always be coaching feedback, meaning I will never be overly negative, rude, or discouraging. At the same time, effusive praise is not my style. Expect feedback that is direct, concise, and neutral in terms of tone.
Feedback will be tailored to the author’s vision of the project melded with the experience of a first-time reader

Additional Services Offered

Coaching or classes on specific areas of craft– $50/hr via Zoom or GoogleMeets
- I can work one-on-one with you in real time to teach you a new skill, discuss your work or what you’re stuck on without editing it, or live edit your work like we would in workshop
- Potential topics: character development/creating compelling characters, the MC’s journey, 3/4 act structure, world-building, genre-specific lessons, other ideas can be discussed
- Group classes via Zoom/GoogleMeets will be $50 + $10 for each additional person
Professional beta reading– $2/1000 words (ex. $200 for 100k words)
- Beta readers can be flaky and disappear or give meh feedback, so hiring someone like me means you are guaranteed to get good quality feedback returned to you in a timely manner
- Like developmental editing, I’ll read your manuscript and give you feedback, such as
  - In-line comments
  - Obvious typos/grammar issues pointed out
  - Big picture feedback but far less granular than developmental editing

How to Reserve Your Spot

To reserve a slot for any of the above services, reach out to authorkarajorgensen @gmail.com (remove the space as I’m trying to avoid spam bots). I will respond back to you promptly, and once we set up a due date (based on availability and your needs), you’ll send a 50% deposit for the service via Paypal or Zelle. After I finish the service, I will reach out to you, and after you send the remaining balance, I will send my feedback.

For classes or coaching, the money will be due within 24 hours before the service is to be provided, or I will cancel it and remove it from my schedule.

I also reserve the right to reject any project for any reason, and if I find your project is AI or purposely hateful, I reserve the right to keep your deposit and not provide feedback after the cancellation.

gaming

Kara’s Random Game Recs in 2026

October 11, 2026October 10, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

One of the best things I’ve done in recent years is get back into playing games. I am absolutely abysmal when it comes to card or tabletop games, but I love video games. Well, computer games. You can check out my recs from 2025 here, but I wanted to add some more recommendations since I’ve been playing more recently. These are in no order:

Dressmaker– I’m listing this first because it’s very popular right now, and I wholly agree that is fantastic. I actually learned about this game because I follow queer author Kerstin Hall, who ended up being the writer for Dressmaker and spoke about it several time in her newsletter. The game is basically a sewing/dress-making simulation where you pick the patterns, the fabrics, trimmings, etc. and design dresses for the people of the town. The sewing mechanic is incredibly realistic and no foot pedal! (my arch nemesis as a crafter). Highly recommend this if you loved the old Barbie and clothes designing computer games back in the day.
Coral Island– I believe I spoke about this last year, but I once again want to recommend it as I’m still playing it. It’s a farming sim, like Stardew Valley, but it takes place on an island that is being colonized by a polluting company. You get to do the usual farming game stuff (plant, raise animals, romance half the town), but you also get to clean up the ocean and interact with a whole merfolk village as well. The romances and story arcs are really enjoyable, and while the developers are still updating certain aspects of the game, it’s very complete and something that can be played for multiple years of the game while still finding more to do.
Undusted– In this game, we go through the story of a mother and daughter told through objects as the daughter returns to her childhood home to pack up her mother’s things. If you enjoy games where you get to take things apart and fix them, this game is for you. It’s very satisfying to clean things and play around with the mechanics. The only downside is that it isn’t a long game. Still, it’s very enjoyable and the price wasn’t too high when I bought it.
Thrifty Business– From the makers of Sticky Business, you get to run a thrift shop and sell things to customers. It’s partly a shop builder and partly a puzzle in figuring out how to arrange things best to level up certain aspects of your shop. It isn’t the most in depth game, but it came out recently and the developers are still adding more. The aesthetics are very cute, and the game feels very unique, especially compared to the shop sim clones that I’ve seen so much lately.
Neat!– If you enjoy games where you get to clean up and put things away, this is for you. You’re a young woman who has opened a tidying business, and now, you must tidy the residences and stores of some odd people. The levels get progressively more intense, going from an alley way to an entire convenience store. I enjoy tedious games, so for me, this was a great way to help my brain chill out and restore order to chaos.
Camper Van– This is another tidy up game. In this case, you have a TON of items that need to be packed away in a very aesthetic, pretty camper van. The cool thing with this one is that you get to tweak the scenery and aesthetics to your liking as you clean. It is a very peaceful game with a lot of objects to tidy away as you unlock more of the story. My only issue with this game was the camera. At times, it got stuck, and there were places I couldn’t see no matter how hard I tried. The other issue was that it made me motion sick to spin it around too much. I may have needed to lower the frame rate as camera motion sickness is a common issue for me.
Is This Seat Taken?– I loved this game. I don’t know if it just hit me at the right time or if it was that good, but I adored it and was so upset when I finished it. It’s a puzzle game where you need to help shapes find their perfect seats on public transit, and these shapes have opinions. It feels very autism coded at times, lol. I empathized with some of the shapes. It’s the kind of game you can grind through in a few hours, so if you’re enjoying yourself, you might want to slow down and savor it.
Tiny Bookshop– I’m still playing this game, but I have really enjoyed it thus far. Have you ever wanted to open a bookstore? If so, this is the game for you. You get to drive around the English countryside with a camper filled with books that you get to decorate to your liking and fill with familiar titles. Yes, they’re real books! I was so excited by this, and I loved that patrons will request books. You get to put your book knowledge to good use to help them find the perfect book. It’s immensely fun and very chill. Oh, and there’s a dog.
Moonlight Peaks– I am only a year into this game, but I adore it. It’s a fresh take on the usual farm sims. In this case, you play a vampire who has moved away from their famous magical vampire family to live in the small town of Moonlight Peaks. You get to plant strange plants, catch weird creatures, brew potions, and best of all, you get to be involved all the town drama while being able to turn into a cat and later several other forms. The game is very cute aesthetically, but there’s still plenty of spookiness to be had. I love the mechanics of this game and how different they are while still managing to be very familiar to those who enjoy farming games. Much like Coral Island, it’s one of those games where somehow all of the romancable characters are fun. Except Orlok. Never Orlok.

Monthly Review

September 2026 Wrap-Up Post

October 4, 2026October 3, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

September was the month of doing administrative work. Somehow, I think I wrote more words on paperwork than I did on my actual book. Let’s take a look at my intentions for September:

Write 20,000 words of Flowers and Flourishing for the rewrite
Collaborate with my cover artist on the covers for F&F and K&K
Deal with multiple doctor/vet appointments without McLosingIt
Run an audiobook sale on Chirp (if they approve it)
Finish feedback on a past student’s book (it’s quite good!)
Keep up with my grading and class stuff
Finish the craft kit I’m working on
Blog weekly
Send out monthly newsletter
Read 8 books

Books

My goal in September was to read 8 books, and I read 8 books.

Painter of the Night (#4) by Byeonduck- 4 stars, a slightly painful volume, so if you’re sensitive to violence, I would read this one. I do love seeing how these two slowly get closer and closer. I’m sure the lordling will never be “good,” but he’s slowly growing on me.
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz- 4 stars, in a post-modern civil war world, recently freed robots open a noodle shop together. Faced with bad reviews due to anti-robot prejudice, they must find a way to appeal to the local community and get back on track.
Love & Lake Monsters by TJ Alexander- 5 stars, I read an ARC of this and loved it. A gay man has a quarter life crisis where he decides to find a cryptid only to find a grump, immunocompromised trans man and something far scarier. Finally, a covid conscious romance that actually explores how immunocompromised people feel.
Shadows Over Ravenkirk (#2) by Vivian Moira Valentine- 4 stars, this serial is so good. A town where paranormal creatures run wild that reminds me vaguely of a Halloween-flavored Cabot Cove, and a trans woman from the outside drawn in to settle the will of a woman she never met. This focuses a bit less on Victoria and more on a specific family but still good.
Back in a Spell (#3) by Lana Harper- 4 stars, an uptight magical (she/her) lawyer goes on a date with a free spirited nonbinary person (he/they), and while it doesn’t work out, they end up drawn together when the town’s magic goes haywire and gives her date magical powers and a vision of the lady in the lake.
Daggerbound (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, I loved this book. If you like Oliver and Felipe, the dynamic between Learned Edmund and The Dervish is very similar, guileless academic x caring killing machine. Besides an enchanted dagger with an immortal man inside, you also have a giant pill bug who uses an assistive device, a cult, and so many characters from past books.
What Did You Eat Yesterday? (#6) by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, I never thought two 30+ year old gay men just living their lives and cooking meals would be so soothing to me, but these books are just so chill while still talking about some of the issues LGBT people face in Japan.
What Did You Eat Yesterday? (#7) by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, see above

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

Ran an audiobook sale on Chirp
Collaborated with Crowglass Design on the covers for K&K and F&F
Spent time being sad while my partner was on a trip
Distracted myself by fixing a bunch of things I had been ignoring for ~~months~~ weeks
Graded/edited a bunch of student papers
Paid my quarterly taxes
Got my covid and flu shots
Took both Edgar and Katie to the vet (Katie got a clean bill of health, yay! Edgar got antibiotics)
Went to my own doctor’s appointment
Prepared for the start of the Fall semester

Blogs

Writing

Most of my feelings about my writing in September can be summed up in my last blog post about getting back on track. This month was weirdly chaotic. I ended up doing so much paperwork, setting up for my classes, and then, Katie had her big cancer recheck. Luckily, everything went well, but this month was mentally rough since it was the transition back into teaching again. I didn’t write nearly as much as I wanted, but I feel like I’m in a much better headspace (or I was by the end of the month). I really like how Flowers & Flourishing is shaping up. This rewrite has been more work than I initially expected, but I think it’s significantly better than the original version was. At this point, I’m thinking of the newsletter version as sort of a zero draft that I’m working off and fleshing out. There are parts I’m keeping, but they’re basically all being heavily edited, which is fine, just more work. I think it’ll be worth it, and I think you all will love the cover when you get to see it.

Hopes for October

Write 20,000 words of Flowers & Flourishing
A cover reveal for *redacted*
Finish dealing with the appointments my partner needs to do for her name change
Finish reading and giving feedback on a past student’s book
Continue to not McLoseIt by maintaining my mental health
Start my Christmas shopping
Send out my monthly newsletter
Read 8 books
Blog weekly

organization · Writing

Getting Myself Back on Track

September 27, 2026September 28, 2026 Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

This year has been awful. I will not recap the entire series of unfortunate events that was the beginning of the year, but it left me completely messed up emotionally and mentally unmoored. For most of the year, I tried to give myself room to breathe and recover because I had become incredibly emotionally brittle. I ended up on the edge of tears several times a day and overwhelmed regularly until late summer when my brain finally seemed to decompress. While I’m always anxious, this was far worse than what I was accustomed to. It felt like the threshold for my anxiety was so much lower than normal, and when that happens, I get KO-ed by anything stressful and need extra time to recover. After Katie’s last post-radiation check-up at the beginning of the month, things finally feel stable again. That brittle feeling has, for the most part, gone away. The problem is that now I have to get myself back on track.

When I was planning out 2026, I had such high hopes that I want to laugh at now because little did I know how rough the beginning of this year would be. My original 2026 plans were as follows:

Publish The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4) in late January- DONE on time
Publish “An Unexpected Christmas” by March- DONE but in July
Publish the F&F rewrite in summer- Current WIP, no release date yet
Publish the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Fate in summer- DONE and on time
Write 3-4 more short stories and publish the Reanimator short story collection in the fall- Haven’t touched it
Start working on Joe and Ansley’s book in winter- it’s marinating but definitely will not be at the forefront until I finish other stuff

I stare at this list and feel mildly exhausted. On one hand, I think I was overly ambitious. On the other, it’s still doable, just not on this timeline. I plan to still follow the order I set out here, but I’m going to take into consideration that a) I’m getting back into working full throttle b) every book I set out to write ends up longer than I initially planned.

Part of why Flowers & Flourishing is taking so long to write is because when I said I was expanding it, I was expanding it. Scenes that took one page in the original draft are now taking five in the new one because I’m rearranging things and fleshing out the details in a way I didn’t with the original version. It won’t be five times as long as the original freebie story, but it’s definitely going to be at least twice as long, and things are shifting in terms of the storyline. Same general idea but more characterization and conflict, especially internal conflict.

For most of the year, I haven’t felt proud of my writing output at all because most of the time it’s been like pulling teeth. The story itself isn’t coming slow, but my ability to have ass-in-chair time with focus has been elusive. Most of that was stress early on. Now, it’s floppy writing muscles. With the semester starting in September and Katie finishing her last oncology appointment for a while (all clear, yay!), I finally feel like I can finally get back into writing consistently. I don’t want to push myself to the point of burning out again, but I do want to push myself just enough to get back into consistency and having monthly goals. If I can finish the rewrite of Flowers & Flourishing over the next few months, I’ll be very happy. If I can do more than that, I’ll be ecstatic.

My game plan over the next few days is solidify my goals for October, November, and December (aka Q4). Those goals need to be realistic but not permissive because if I make them too low, I’ll get sloppy and procrastinate, and if they’re too difficult, I’ll feel bad about myself and go into panic-paralysis when I fall behind. It’s a delicate balance after dealing with burnout. In the meantime, I’ve been watching videos from Sarra Cannon’s HeartBreathings channel on Youtube, where she talks about writing and staying organized. Her videos always leave me feeling jazzed to get started on my projects. I’ve found that when I listen to videos from other authors who are excited to write or teach, I feel more energized and excited to do the same. I have community, but I don’t tend to talk to people one-on-one about things. Watching someone else struggle and still get shit done helps. Logically, I know that, but when I’m flopping around and my friends are also flopping around, sometimes I need that positive influence.

My hope is that I can start getting my shit together during these last few days of September, so I can build motivation and good habits going into October. I may not be successful, but I’m going to do my damnedest to stay on track or get back on track if I lose my way. I will report back at the end of October, so wish my luck on that.

Personal Life

On Learning New Things

September 20, 2026September 20, 2026 Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

I am an eternal student. Whether it’s doing research for my books or learning new crafts, I am always learning. One thing my partner and I have been talking about a lot lately is eventually trying to make a video game together. My partner is really talented as an artist, and she knows some coding. I would obviously love to help build and write for the game. In order to not be semi dead weight, I decided to learn coding.

For the first time in a long time, I ended up with learning paralysis. Code for some reason felt very intimidating. Initially, my hesitation was that I couldn’t conceptualize how the art part of the game got combined with the lines of code to create what we all play. That hang up caused me to stall out and procrastinate for about a week. A few Youtube videos later, it finally clicked that games were basically a puppet theater that the code manipulated while the player is the only “human” who moves independently. I felt slightly silly for not realizing that sooner, but brains get hung up on weird things. I have a tendency to get stuck on abstract concepts that I can’t link to things I can see. It’s the same reason why I did well in math until I hit calculus where everything felt so abstract that I couldn’t ground concepts in reality enough to do well.

With this exciting discovery fueling me, I immediately starting doing tutorials on GDscript (the code that the game engine Godot uses) and hit the wall again.

While I do Duolingo daily to encourage my mom to keep learning Spanish (and to exercise my own brain), I do not enjoy the learning style that tosses you into learning concepts without context. One of my favorite parts of learning languages in school was the charts that explained verb tenses, pronouns, grammatical rules, etc. I don’t tend to organically pick that kind of stuff up. I just get frustrated when I don’t understand the rationale behind things. I feel like if I can’t put all the pieces together based on what you taught me, you’re doing a bad job. Assuming a student is going to organically pick up anything is a foolhardy endeavor because most won’t, and if you tell people they’re wrong and they get repeatedly frustrated, they quit. I got very frustrated that I was being expected to intuit things that made no sense without added context. At one point, I actually got my partner to look at an answer and explain to me what I wasn’t understanding or missing. Even she wasn’t sure at first, but when we talked it out, we figured out that what I was thinking were coordinates on a grid were actually the slope of the movement.

If you are teaching a concept and don’t explain the various pieces to your student, you are setting them up for confusion and failure. This is a hill I will die on. More information always trumps less.

I do a lot of crafting and have a high frustration tolerance, but even I walked away from this for a day or two because I was so annoyed. After doing some Googling, I found out that GDscript is very similar to another coding language called Python, so I looked into that instead as I figured it was older and would have a lot more information on it. I hit pay dirt. Something I’ve found as an eternal student is that there is a teacher for every student. You just have to find them. Several Youtube videos later, I found someone whose style jived with my brain. His approach is straightforward, detailed, and he spends time breaking down what the various pieces do in terms of syntax and grammar.

After an hour of following along with his video, I was able to create a basic little chatbot, and while it was something small and silly, I left feeling accomplished. That is what learning should feel like. Could I build an app? No. Do I feel like I walked away with comprehensive basic knowledge that will act as a foundation for other things I learn? Yes, and that’s the important part.

What I’ve found helps me a lot when I’m trying to learn new things is planning out that learning. The same guy has a rather cheap beginner course (under $50 with a coupon) with like 30+ hours of information. I plan to watch a few more of his beginner videos on Youtube and take notes until I can take the course. I only have 90 days to complete the course, so I want to make sure I clear my to-do list of a few things first as I’m currently reading/giving feedback on a past student’s novel and have to finish reading a book I need to blurb. By the end of the course, I should have a rudimentary understanding of Python and be able to make some basic things. If I like it and think it’s useful, I can branch out to the more advanced course and go from there.

I know someone out there is reading this and going, “Why not just use AI and vibe code?” Because I don’t want to be dependent upon something else, especially something I despise. And more importantly, I want to learn how to do this myself, so I can expand my skills, make new stuff, and move closer to my goal of building a game with my partner. I can’t do that if I don’t learn the basics and grow from there.

Learning is something I enjoy. I like expanding my frustration tolerance and working through problems rather than relying on someone else or giving up the second I hit a roadblock. Something I stress to my students, especially my college freshmen, is that frustration and doubting your skills is a part of learning. I remember sitting in my first few weeks of grad school classes worrying I was the stupidest one in the class because I was psyching myself out. Once I grew accustomed to new terminology and the ebb and flow of the classes, I realized I was fine. If I wasn’t willing to sit with that discomfort, I could have missed out on something that has been really important to my growth. It’s the same with learning skills on your own. If you’re unwilling to deal with frustration and discomfort, you’ll never grow. I wish that more people would understand that and embrace that instead of turning to AI or simply giving up.

The Reanimator's Heart · the reanimator's soul · the reanimator's fate · The Reanimator's Remains

Audiobooks on Sale for September

September 13, 2026September 13, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I feel slightly guilty that a lot of my posts lately have been about sales rather than my books, writing, my life, etc., but I promise those will be back shortly. This week’s blog post is extra short because The Reanimator Mysteries audiobooks are all on sale exclusively on Chirp until the end of September.

a screenshot from Chirp showing The Reanimator Mysteries books 1-4 on sale until the end of September. You can grab all 4 books for $11.96
When necromancer Oliver brings murdered Felipe back from the dead, it kicks off this darkly comedic series full of magic, mayhem, and undead romance!

I know some of you have been waiting for book 4’s audiobook, so if you haven’t grabbed it yet, now is a great time. If you only want to grab one or two, they are $2.99 each. Pick up one or all of the series here.

Next week will probably be a writer ramble about life, trying new things, and sweet Katerpoo, so stay tuned for a more substantial post.

Monthly Review

August 2026 Wrap-Up Post

September 6, 2026September 6, 2026 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Every year I find August to be a mixed bag. It’s the last lazy throws of summer but also the lead-up to the semester and brings chaos with it. I feel like I didn’t get as much done as I hoped, but I’m still trying to be kind to myself after all that happened this year. Let’s recap what my goals for August were:

Start working on Flowers & Flourishing in earnest
Finish proofing the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4)
Release the audiobook for TRF
Set up syllabi and work stuff
Maintain my mental health
Finish craft projects
Blog weekly
Send out monthly newsletter
Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 22 by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, an interesting glimpse at the dragons and gorgons and a new part of the world we haven’t seen before. My only quibble is that I hate how the cast is so expansive that I have no idea who is who anymore. We need a recap at the beginning.
The Woman Who Fell Through Space by Amara Star- 4 stars, the first in a new series where a trans woman grieving her wife is accidentally sent into a space-age future where she needs to figure out what she wants her new life to look like.
Autistic Menopause by Julie Gamble-Turner and Rachel Moseley- 4 stars, a friend recommended it since I’m in my mid-30s and bodies are annoying. It was quite interesting, at the same time, I wish there was more info about studies or other places for further reading.
The City of Dusk by Tara Sim- 3 stars, this rating is partly a me problem. I’m finding I don’t love fantasies with very large, multi-POV casts. The heads of opposing houses team up to summon the gods and free their world only to have things go catastrophically wrong.
Radio Silence by Chace Verity- 5 stars, two radio/movie stars reunite after five years apart after WWII. I read this as an ARC and loved it immensely. There’s a lot of good tension between the two MCs and dark overtones that are off-set by the sunshine side characters. Overall, very hopeful despite the time period for gay characters.
Revenge of the Sunshine by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a whimsical woman discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend and does the obvious thing: asks his brother to help her get revenge. In this whimsical x stuffed shirt romance, we get a satisfying romance that grows deliciously. Oh, and there’s a cute cat.
What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 4 by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, a gay couple in their 30s/40s in 2000s Japan navigate life together. There is a ton of food as always, and it’s fun to watch the one MC untangle his internalized homophobia/deal with Japanese society’s expectations.
What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 5 by Fumi Yoshinaga- 4 stars, see above.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

Proofed the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4)
Sent the narrator the edits for the audiobook of TRF
Paid for, approved, and published the audiobook of TRF
Worked on mapping out the rewrite and expansion of Flowers & Flourishing
Started writing the rewrite of F&F
Put a deposit down for the cover of F&F and a re-cover of K&K
Ran a book bundle/sale for Katie’s next oncology visit
Was part of a queer, historical book bundle
Helped my partner with name change paperwork
Got the name change approved (yay)
Turned in more paperwork for the name change (so many post office trips)
Dealt with a broken sump pump/wet basement
Beta read/historical spot-checked for a friend
Started editing a past student’s book
Took Edgar to the vet (he’s fine now)
Worked on my craft project
Set up my syllabi and online stuff for my classes
Only McLostIt a little

Blogs

Writing

Truthfully, I wish I wrote more this month, but I’m glad that I spent the majority of my writing brain on figuring out how I wanted to change Flowers & Flourishing during the rewrite. I had initially assumed that the rewrite would just be me beefing up scenes with more detail and expanding Felipe’s role in the story. Once I started writing it, things rapidly changed as it became apparent that the story was going to expand quite a bit, like one scene went from 1.5 pages to 6 pages. That’s to be expected when fiddling with the opening and establishing things, but I didn’t quite expect the expansion to be that big. Rather than opening the two docs side by side and revising, I’m basically rewriting the whole book from scratch with the original draft as a scaffold. I’m mildly annoyed at myself as it will take longer than I had anticipated. At the same time, I think it will be a much better book, and Agatha and Louisa deserve a solid story for their romance.

Hopes for September

Write 20,000 words of Flowers and Flourishing for the rewrite
Collaborate with my cover artist on the covers for F&F and K&K
Deal with multiple doctor/vet appointments without McLosingIt
Run an audiobook sale on Chirp (if they approve it)
Finish feedback on a past student’s book (it’s quite good!)
Keep up with my grading and class stuff
Finish the craft kit I’m working on
Blog weekly
Send out monthly newsletter
Read 8 books

Book Reviews

10 Books to Add to Your TBR 2026 Edition Part 2

August 30, 2026August 26, 2026 Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

Every year I make a running list of books I really enjoyed throughout the year that I would recommend to my friends and readers. These aren’t necessarily books within the genres I write, just ones I enjoy. I have tried to give you some info about why I enjoyed them, so use your best judgement and make sure to check for CWs online if you have things that bother you. You can read part 1 here. The links below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you buy something.

Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher- a fresh take on Snow White involving a mirror world. The main character is a poison specialist who is called in to figure out why the king’s daughter, Snow, has taken ill since her mother and sister were killed. The main character is a hyper-competent woman who feels neurodivergent. There’s also a body guard who loves her and a rather interesting background world.
A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo- this is the sixth book in the Singing Hills Cycle, but it can be read as a standalone. This volume follows Cleric Chih in their early years as they deal with being stuck in a town working at a restaurant. Immigrants are flowing into the town due to a natural disaster and tensions are high. I loved this volume. It dealt with immigration, leaving behind parts of yourself while retaining others, how memories and culture are shared, and what’s lost along the way.
Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland- a bitter man who has been fighting all the good things in his life finally has to face the fact that he can have good things when his [one-sided] frienemy with benefits tells him that he is one of the harvest goddess’s chosen people. With both of them being under the goddess’s wing, he has to face the fact he has been getting in his own way for years. I loved watching the MC realize that no one is holding him back but him and seeing him grow as a person. This book feels very hobbit or forest elf coded, so if you’re into coziness in a warm fires, plants, and getting your ass kicked into gear kind of way, this one’s for you.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow- a modern fairytale about an orphaned young woman taking care of her little brother who dreams of a creepy house in town only to find herself drawn to the house and its stern owner, Arthur. It’s a tale of monsters, memory, legacy, and nightmares. Can people and places shed their histories in order to move on and grow? I love Opal and Arthur and how awful they can both be and how haunted they are by their families’ legacies. The texture of the town is rich and horrifying in how recognizable it is. Alix E. Harrow is steadily becoming a favorite for me.
Bone Map by Sara Eliza Johnson- Recently, I decided to get back into poetry since I haven’t read much since grad school, and I really liked this one. Not going to lie, I picked it up because the cover is very on brand for me, and the poetry is as well. Johnson speaks to my romantic-goremonger heart. She slides between the grotesque imagery and love and grief with ease. It’s complex without being too hard for someone who doesn’t venture into poetry that often.
Quackery by Lydia Kang and Nate Pederson- Is this the best nonfiction book on quack medicine? No, but it is a good primer for the ridiculous lengths that people have gone through to stay alive or make a quick buck. The tone is a bit irreverent, which isn’t always my favorite, but it’s clear and easy to see the connections to a lot of our modern quackery that people like RFK Jr and anti-vaxxers push. Definitely worth taking a look if you want to get an introduction to this sort of bullshittery.
Autistic Menopause by Julie Gamble-Turner and Rachel Moseley- As someone who is autistic and in their mid 30s, this felt very timely and a good way to prepare for the future. It was recommended by a friend, and if you are autistic or ADHD, I highly recommend checking this out because the changes involved in menopause can affect neurodivergent people differently than it affects neurotypical people. There is already so little info on perimenopause that is actually clear, and there’s like none for ND people, so while there were times I wish there was more info about certain things, this is a really good starting point for AFAB or intersex people with uteruses/ovaries. I also appreciated that this book was gender inclusive and not just women-focused.
Revenge of the Sunshine by Jackie Lau- I was so excited to get an ARC for Jackie Lau’s latest book. If you love very whimsical sunshine characters and grumpy characters who are more stoic, this one is for you. In this novel, the sunshine character is cheated on and asks her ex’s brother to be her fake boyfriend. After he asks her to move in due to his brother’s tomfoolery, they become closer as she cracks through his shell. Jackie’s books are some of the only cis-het MF romances I read because her books are never aggressively heterosexual, and this one is no exception. What I loved about this is the reason as to why the male main character is “grumpy” since it’s deeper than just personality (cw for grief) on top of what feels like maybe autism/neurodivergence. That isn’t confirmed in the text, but he feels ND. This is a lovely seasonal romance (autumn/winter), and I have to admit that I love seeing a sunshine character doing something devious.
Radio Silence by Chace Verity- I was lucky enough to read this as an ARC, and I absolutely loved it. It’s set right after WWII as an ex-radio star returns to Hollywood after disappearing suddenly five years earlier. As he picks up the pieces of his old life to rebuild, he has to grapple with if he is brave enough to face the man he loves and the people he left behind. This book is a fascinating look at old Hollywood radio and how the Hayes Code looms over their lives. There’s also a great balance of darkness in the background while so many of the characters are bubbles of sunshine. For anyone worried, it ends well. You can join Chace’s newsletter to find out first when it’s up for preorder or sale.
The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling- This book feels like a Bosch painting. It’s Medieval-flavored magic as a castle fortress under attack is about to run out of food when it’s visited by supernatural creatures that claim to be manifestations of their beloved saints and they’ve come bearing food. The castle’s mad scientist (and ex nun) is suspicious of the saints while the lady knight immediately swears fealty to her saints. The story is sumptuous horror with a ton of cannibalism, bees, and Catholic but not Catholic horror. I loved this, and I especially loved how it deals with the horrors of war, power, and obedience.