April has turned out to be the month I realize I need to slow down and let myself recover from all the chaos that has been going on. This month’s accomplishments will probably be scant, but you know what? That’s what needs to happen sometimes. Here was what I thought I’d get done in April:
- Write the rest of “An Unexpected Christmas”
- Edit “An Unexpected Christmas”
- Rewrite some of Flowers and Flourishing
- Take Katie for her CT scan
- Take Katie for her radiation treatments
- Maintain my mental health as best as I can
- Finish grading for my classes
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Send out monthly newsletter (with AUC)
Books
My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 10 in April.
- The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko- 4 stars, technically this is part of the Raybearer series, but you don’t need to read those books to understand this one. A young disabled woman with vitiligo works as a maid and realizes she’s more than she thought she was. Of course, this means becoming entangled with a crocodile deity who is rather attractive and wants to help her. It’s also a story about revolution and making society better for everyone.
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe- 5 stars, a queer graphic novel classic, but I just read it. Kobabe goes into how xe figured out xeir gender, pronouns, and xeir journey to finding where xe fit in. It was highly relatable as a nonbinary person.
- All the Murmuring Bones by A. G. Slatter- 4 stars, a dark fairytale about a woman trying to fight against a generational curse and live her own life. It’s a bit of a slow burn in terms of the story, but I really enjoyed the audiobook.
- Liberated: the Radical Art and Life of Claude Cahun by Kaz Rowe- 4 stars, Rowe’s graphic novel is about a queer artist from the first half of the 1900s who created avant garde art and managed to survive the war despite being targeted by the Nazi’s for resisting. It’s short and well worth it as an intro to Claude Cahun’s life.
- The Titan’s Bride (#6) by ITKZ- 4 stars, (CW: lots of on page sexual content) I love the two MCs and how they are trying so hard to both be good for each other and for the kingdom they represent. The human MC is so earnest and trying so hard to do right by everyone, and it’s refreshing.
- The Titan’s Bride (#7) by ITKZ- 4 stars, see above
- Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, T. Kingfisher is a fav of mine, and if you want a bug horror book that feels like something Guillermo del Toro might create, this one is for you. It’s more gross than scary, and the MC is a naturalist painter with anxiety, which felt highly relatable, lol.
- Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar– 5 stars, I adored this anthology of stories and poetry. El-Mohtar writes fantastic sapphic stories and stories that focus on women’s lives. Her stories are rich with texture and speak to the longing for places you can no longer inhabit or have never been before.
- River of Bones and Other Stories by Rebecca Roanhorse- 4 stars, if you enjoy Rebecca Roanhorse’s work or want to read more work by Afro-Indigenous authors, I highly recommend this short story collection. It collects a lot of Roanhorse’s shorter works in one place and highlights her horror and scifi stories especially.
- Painter of the Night (#3) by Byeonduck- 4 stars, (CW: this is a dark romance with dub-con) what I really enjoy about this series is the scenery and set design involved as well as the way the artist MC is losing his innocence in regards to the world as he goes deeper into his relationship with the lord he works for.
Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff
- Wrote some of “An Unexpected Christmas” (TRM #4.5)
- Brainstormed some changes for the Flowers and Flourishing rewrite
- Graded a ton of stories, projects, papers, etc. for my students
- Took Katie for her pre-radiation CT scan
- Took Katie to 3 weeks of daily radiation treatments (1 more to go)
- Printed, collected, and celebrated my students’ literary magazine and its launch
- Paid Q1 2026 taxes
- Participated in the Narratess Sale
- Sent out newsletter
- Blogged weekly
- Had to put a new battery in my car .-.
- Realized I was burning out and tried to mitigate the damage by slowing down
Blogs
- March 2026 Wrap-Up Post
- Indie April Sales and a Whole Series Sale (over now)
- On Autism and Disability
- 10 Books to Add to Your TBR 2026 Edition Pt 1
- April newsletter
Writing
There isn’t much to say here. I posted about this more on Instagram, but I ended up realizing I was burnt out due to the emotional stress from February onward. I hadn’t dealt with the grief and other feelings I was having, and that combined with work stuff and the chaos of the US government caused me to inch closer and closer to burn out the more I tried to force myself to write. Halfway through April I decided to put all my creative stuff on hold until I could decompress a little, which means when the semester ends and Katie’s treatments are over. They have been slowly stressing me out more and more. I plan to start writing again in May, but I’m giving myself the space to just exist for a bit and refill the well.
Hopes for May
- Write more of “An Unexpected Christmas”
- Brainstorm more changes for Flowers and Flourishing before I rewrite it
- Finish grading/turn in grades
- Finish Katie’s radiation treatments
- Figure out next steps for that
- Take partner to get glasses
- Plant pumpkins and peppers
- Continue to avoid burnout
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Monthly newsletter
Kara Jorgensen 