This month has FLOWN by. Seriously, where did it go? For me, October dragged, but November managed to gallop past when I wasn’t looking. This has been sort of a decompression month for me after the release of The Reanimator’s Remains, which was very needed. Before we get going, let’s see what my goals were for November.
- Start working on a new writing project
- Finish Botany Manor and Love, Ghostie
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Send out my monthly newsletter
- Finish the majority of my Christmas shopping
- Finish the majority of my grading (yay)
Books
My goal for this month was to read 8 books, and I read X books (the links below are affiliate links).
- A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 3 by John Romer- 4 stars, a comprehensive overview of the last dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Part of me wished this went further into history when Egypt was colonized, but I understand why it is cut off where it is.
- Sinner (#3.5) by Maggie Stiefvater- 3 stars, this one is a mixed bag. The reality show part I loved, but I thought Cole’s dad was sort of out of character compared to how he previously spoke about him. It felt like slightly out of character fanfic rather than something made by the author.
- Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton- 4 stars, an overview of the history of Halloween up into the modern day. Very interesting, especially in how it dispels myths that were perpetuated by past historians. This is research for TRM #3.5
- Glitterland (#1) by Alexis Hall- 4 stars, a novelist grappling with his mental health falls for an earnest and sweet model. The MCs are mismatched, which is what makes it perfect. It was very heartfelt and lovely.
- Floriography by Jessica Roux- 4 stars, a primer on the language of flowers. I read the ebook, but the physical edition would probably make a lovely coffee table book. Useful for my Victorian research purposes.
- Waiting for the Flood (#2) by Alexis Hall- 4 stars, a conservator falls for a civil engineer who is helping with the flooding around his home. The MC is still recovering from a break up with his long-time partner several years earlier, and we get to see that partner find someone as well since the edition I had contained that story as well. Having them together and seeing their lives separate but intertwined was oddly lovely.
- Ennead (#4) by Mojito- 3 stars, I’m still not sure how I feel about this series. There’s a major content warning for rape with this series, and I know mythology is very much like that, but I have a hard time with this one. The Ancient Egyptian gods are compelling and messy, yet I find myself put-off by this series. I’ll probably buy one more volume, and if I don’t love it, I won’t continue.
- Black on Both Sides by C. Riley Snorton- 4 stars, a very interesting nonfiction text about the intersection of face and gender identity. It is about trans people, but it also discusses Blackness and gender on a whole, especially in relation to the Mammy figure and other historical stereotypes and such.
- The City in Glass by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, one of my top reads for this year. This book is as much about an angel and a demon falling in love over time as it is about a demon’s unwavering love for humanity and hope for the future. It was so, so damn good.
- Three Reasons to Run (#2) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, on her wedding day the bride realizes she cannot marry her future husband and manages to run straight into an unexpected getaway car, his cousin who has had a crush on her for years. He (and his parents) help her get her life in order, but things are turned on their head when she asks him for a one night stand that rapidly turns into more.
- Lion’s Tail (#2) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a witch and his shapeshifting boyfriend get entangled in a murder when a man from a rival speakeasy dies in the establishment they work in. While one deals with a potential turf war, the other blossoms at a job that may not be the golden ticket it seems.
- Monstress (#9) by Majorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda- 4 stars, Monstress is one of those series that keeps unfolding and getting better with each volume. Marika is up to her eyeballs in trouble as her father leads a war and has new, untold powers, but there are far worse things lurking in Marika’s mind and body than she thought.
Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff
- figured out a title for the TRM #3.5 story (“An Unexpected Evening”, which will be out in January probably)
- made the cover for “An Unexpected Evening”
- outlined “An Unexpected Evening”
- graded all the papers I had laying around and didn’t dillydally too much
- beta read a friend’s book and gave them feedback
- renewed by healthcare for next year (if you get your insurance through the ACA/Obamacare, now is the time to renew/reapply)
- freaked out over the election, screamed, cried, threw up, got angry
- started doing some weight lifting, which has helped my mental health and body
- finished my lesson plans for my novel class for the rest of the semester
- started setting up my bullet journal for 2025
- Contacted my narrator and set up the dates/contract for TRR (it’ll be out in late spring/early summer 2025)
- bought most of the gifts I need to get for my family, which I’m pretty happy with
Blogs
- October 2024 Wrap-Up Post
- I Won’t Go Quietly
- 10 Books to Add to Your TBR 2024 Edition Part 2
- What I Learned from Writing TRR
- My November newsletter
Writing
For most of November, I took a break from writing. Finishing The Reanimator’s Remains drained my creative battery, and I was worried I would burn myself out if I immediately jumped into a new book or story. I did do a lot of brainstorming for the TRM #3.5 story and started working on it a little along with brainstorming more ideas for the Joe and Ansley story. For TRM #3.5, I’m thinking that I will send it out to my newsletter in January, and it will be released to the general public a month or two after. Next month will be a writing-focused month since I have most of my Christmas shopping and job stuff out of the way, and I’m very excited to get going.
Hopes for December
- Finish grading finals ASAP
- Finish Christmas shopping
- Wrap everything without hurting my back
- Write all of “An Unexpected Evening”
- Start brainstorming my next writing project
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Send out my newsletter
- Play more video games to unwind/refill the well
- Get my yearly goals for 2025 and my Q1 goals in order
Kara Jorgensen 
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