Author: Kara Jorgensen

Kara Jorgensen (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary oddball with a penchant for all things antiquated, morbid, or just plain strange. While in college, they realized they no longer wanted to be Victor Frankenstein but instead wanted to write like Mary Shelley and thus abandoned their future career in science for writing. They meld their passions through their books and received an MFA in Creative and Professional Writing in 2016. When not writing, they can be found hanging out with their dogs watching period dramas or trying to convince their students to cite their sources. To find out more about her books go to https://karajorgensen.com Sign-up for her newsletter and get a free short story: eepurl.com/bfJTW9
Writing

Elemental Characters

Kara Jorgensen5 Comments
elemental_mandala_by_bioraka-d48t3cl
by bioraka on Deviant Art

Do you ever think of characters in terms of where they seem to naturally fall within the four elements?  It may seem odd to equate a character with earth, water, fire, or air, but it can help to maintain a theme throughout several works or to create cohesion of your character’s personality.

I’m one of those writers who tends to write, then sees the patterns forming within my writing and continues them.  In The Earl of Brass and The Winter Garden, I have several characters who represent elemental powers and this influences how they interact with their world.  It may make more sense to demonstrate how this happens with concrete examples. Continue reading “Elemental Characters” →

I Need Your Help!
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I Need Your Help!

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A fellow future-author friend of mine and her husband are relocating for his education. As a young couple, this is putting a significant strain on their finances. If you are able, please consider donating, and if you aren’t able, please spread the word and help them out that way.

Personal Life

Mr. Wilde and the Awkward Authoress

Kara Jorgensen7 Comments

As I have said in the past, I feel a kinship with Oscar Wilde.  This connection probably stems from my love of Victorian literature and what I have learned about him over time. The more I learn, the more I feel drawn to him, as a person and as a writer.  In a previous post I mentioned how much I love the movie Julie and Julia, and in the same way Julie feels a connection to Julia Child, I feel connected to Oscar Wilde despite living over a century apart. When I think of him, I picture a large man with a quiet yet large presence that isn’t tied to his foppish ensemble.  Along with,  that, I picture champagne, fine dinners, a restaurant gilded and gleaming with a haze of cigar and cigarette smoke somewhere posh.  He was a presence, a man known as much for his wit and intellect as for his talent.  That level of sociability is something I aspire to, but in my introverted, anxiety-ridden bubble, I feel that it is unattainable.  Then, I saw this:power to attract friends Continue reading “Mr. Wilde and the Awkward Authoress” →

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REVIEW: The Winter Garden by Kara Jorgensen 

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Awesome review of The a Winter Garden from the lovely Jaz Higgs

jazhiggs's avatarTHE PAGES ROOM

(5/5 stars *****)

If you want a tale of suspense, thrills, and the supernatural, you’ve come to the right review. Kara Jorgensen’s second self-published novel is just as good as her first (see REVIEW: The Earl of Brass), adding the dark world of the spiritualist movement to her series.

What I came away with after reading this novel was a sense of the author’s emotional sensitivity. Though the book covers the supernatural and steampunk, it is not purely an adventure story of a German student or a Bildungsroman of a young, naïve spiritualist. The novel covers some dark material: serial murder, horrendous torture and the death of loved ones. Though the tone is often bleak (especially the chapters covering Immanuel’s torture- the young German student) and Jorgensen’s descriptions of wounds very detailed (I like that thing myself but for the faint hearted, I’d skip a few lines every now and…

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Writing

March 2015 in Review

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Starting in January, I decided it would be a good idea to look back at each month and see what I have accomplished in my writing and marketing as well as reflect upon what needs to be improved in the future.

While February was a transitional month as I switched from working on The Winter Garden to book three of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices, March was nearly wholly devoted to my latest project.  Beginning to work on book three has been a refreshing change even if it did take nearly half a month.  I feel much better about March than I did about February, and I hope that April will be even better. Continue reading “March 2015 in Review” →

Writing

My Literary Lineage

Kara Jorgensen3 Comments

literary lineageI noticed something interesting the other day while I was compiling my bibliography for my masters thesis.  It has to do with a writing lineage.

What authors inspire your work? Who are the authors you devour? Who do you read and go, “Wow, I wish I wrote that”?

Part of my “spiritual” beliefs and my writing beliefs, is that we are all interconnected, and every time we read something, the words, techniques, themes, and images are digested and seep into us.  They become part of who we are as writers and manifest in our writing.  Continue reading “My Literary Lineage” →

Writing

Projects, Projects, Projects

Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

Hi everyone,

This will be a short blog post before I run up to the university for the night.

You may have noticed the new banner at the top of my page.  I decided to go to Fiverr and get a logo made for the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series, which hopefully will be used in the future for t-shirts or mugs at events and down the line a table banner for when I do author events. Honestly, I love it. I have been gushing over it for the past two days and am dying to go to Cafepress and make up a t-shirt or something.  I’m easily excitable at times.

The second point I would like to mention is: The Winter Garden is still doing well on Amazon! The ebook and paperback launched last Sunday, and the response has been quite good. I have 4 reviews thus far, all 5s or 4s, and if you are interested in reading it, please check it out here. I’ll do a post about the reviews after I get a few more, so in a week or two.

On to the next: I have finished my thesis proposal! It is done! All I need to do is finish the bibliography, which I’m just too lazy to compile because it’s time consuming and I’m waiting for two books to come in the mail.  In a few weeks, I will turn it in and wait for the committee to hopefully approve it. The project will be book #3 of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series, but if you want a little hint as to what I am up to, you can check out the Pinterest board for it here. With school and miscellaneous projects, it has been a slow go, but in a month or two, my writing should pick up.

My final piece of mind vomit is, projects! I feel like as soon as I half-think of one project, another one pops up in my mind.  If you are a fan of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series, I can already let you know that there will be a third book (Eilian and Hadley), a fourth book (Emmeline, Immanuel, Adam), and a book in between, which will contain two novellas (Adam and Immanuel and one focusing on Emmeline) and possibly a few short stories that will fall somewhere between books two and four.  Stay tuned for more news down the line.  I hope you all are as excited as I am.

Personal Life · Writing

Why I Love Julie and Julia

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There is something that resonates with me when I watch Julie and Julia.  I cannot count how many times I have watched this movie.  Probably thirty times since it came out.

If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s about Julia Child’s journey from housewife in France to chef while Julie Powell, a blogger, goes through a personal journey to find herself as she spends a year going through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Both Julie and Julia are told that what they are doing is pointless and a waste of time because they will never be like -insert professional-. Luckily, both, especially Julia Child, have this kick-ass attitude. Tell me I can’t do it and watch me do it and succeed. Continue reading “Why I Love Julie and Julia” →

Writing

Silly Writer Goals

Kara Jorgensen8 Comments

As writers, we all have real goals, like publish X amount of books a year or finish book three by next March.  Things that are very tangible and very practical.  I can rattle off a few of my real goals: I want to publish book three of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series in a timely manner (aka within a year), start my fantasy series soon after or while working on book three, and to get my thesis proposal accepted in April.

Then, there are goals that are a little less… professional? I think we all have the secret desire that our books will be made into movies or that certain characters will be loved by all. Here are a few of my own silly goals: Continue reading “Silly Writer Goals” →

Writing

The Winter Garden has Launched!

Kara Jorgensen6 Comments

wg proof 1kindle wgThe Winter Garden, book two in the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series, has officially launched in ebook or paperback, which can be purchased here.  The ebook is still 99 cents for a limited time.

Okay, now that the shameless self-promotion is out of the way, I want to thank everyone who pre-ordered a copy or will buy one in the future. Writers are nothing without readers, and I have been made to feel loved by my readers and appreciate everyone and anyone who has ever asked when the next book was coming out or how they could help me promote my work or left a review. Continue reading “The Winter Garden has Launched!” →