Category: Monthly Review

new blog post: october 2024 wrap-up post October 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

October 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Wow, okay, so October was hectic for me because I was preparing for the release of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3), and let me tell you, it went wonderfully. I want to thank you all so much for preordering it and buying the paperback. You all are awesome. Anywho, let’s get into what my goals were for October:

  • Finish editing TRR
  • Send out ARCs/Review copies
  • Format the paperback
  • Have a great publication day
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Not implode along the way
  • Stay on top of my class stuff

Books

My goal for October was to read 8 books, and I read 9 books total.

  1. Forever (#3) by Maggie Stiefvater- 4 stars, we get the conclusion of the main romance/series in this volume. Without giving too much away, I enjoyed this. It is very much a teen angst book, and while I feel like the two main characters lost a little of their zip in this book, it’s still good.
  2. The Clockwork Boys (#1) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, set in the same world as the Saint of Steel books, we get an exorcised paladin/ex-demon hunter who teams up with a pair of ex-criminals and a gnole to stop the “clockwork boys,” which are basically killer automata. I loved the characters and the romance, but I think I prefer the Paladin books a little more.
  3. Lore Olympus (#7) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, another great installment. I enjoyed seeing Persephone and Hades get closer while things start to crack with the antagonists. I’m very interested in the next installment since we’re heading into the trial.
  4. The Wonder Engine (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, see The Clockwork Boys above.
  5. The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a play on Bluebeard’s brides (I think) where a seemingly ordinary girl teams up with a man’s magical wives to save herself and all of them from him. I loved the Alice in Wonderland-ish nature of this book.
  6. Avenger of Sins (#6) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, we get the conclusion of SPECTR season 3 with Caleb and John stopping another absolutely horrendous ex-government agent, uncovering more of John’s past, and hopefully getting justice in the future.
  7. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a woman inherits her uncle’s estate only to be harangued by her dead husband’s family into giving them control of her money by marrying his cousin. She grabs an old sword off the wall to kill herself with only to find the sword is enchanted/haunted by a dead warrior who does the bidding of the owner. Together, they must work to get her, her life back and along the way, they find romance and far more than they bargained for.
  8. The Book of Hallowe’en by Ruth Edna Kelley- 3 stars, a research book for my TRM #3.5 story. It was useful, but overall, it was kind of vague and apparently had some errors in it (it was written in 1919 after all), and it was a bit poetry heavy for my purposes as a nonfiction book.
  9. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke- 4 stars, very short but the story is concise and in the spirit of Clarke’s other books, if not a tad more fable-like. The illustrations and feel of the book as a whole are really what makes it. My kingdom for an illustrated short story collection from her.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Edited THE WHOLE BOOK
  • Edited the whole book again
  • Proofread TRR
  • Had an ARC reader send me a punch of typos I missed, so I fixed those and reuploaded it everywhere (PS- thank you from the bottom of my heart for catching all those typos)
  • Formatted the paperback for TRR
  • Got the paperback cover wrap from Crowglass Design
  • Sent out ARCs (super late, oops)
  • Managed to somehow keep up with grading
  • Fell behind in my class notes but caught up
  • Bought advent calendars and a 2025 calendar (yes, I start prepping this early)
  • Managed to not lose my marbles this month because I actually took care of myself and my mental health
  • Finished Minami Lane and started playing Botany Manor (I highly recommend both games)
  • Sent out my October newsletter
  • Blogged weekly
  • I added the freebies page to my website, which has “An Unexpected Valentine” and “An Unexpected Question” on it for free.

Blogs

Writing

I think I’ll eventually end up writing a whole post about what I learned from writing The Reanimator’s Remains, but I want to wait until the book has been out for a bit in case I let out some spoilers. Overall, this month was ridiculous in terms of writing. I pushed myself so hard, and I think TRR is one of my best books so far. I stretched my writer muscles more than I think I ever have. On one hand, there are things I think I could have done differently, but I truly like this book a lot. I have the general end-game setup for this series in book 4, but I haven’t started it yet. It feels very weird to realize this is the penultimate book for Oliver and Felipe, though they will pop up in other books in the future. My editing process is a two steps forward, one step back kind of process, so my draft was fairly clean when I finished it (apart from the very end of the book). I managed to speed-run through the end of my editing, and one of my ARC readers (once again, a thousand thanks) found typos I missed. This book somehow managed to grow larger than I anticipated, which caused me to finish it VERY close to the deadline. It needed to be longer in order for the story to make sense, but *nervous laughter* I was sweating it at the very end because I felt the upload date for Amazon and D2D looming ever closer. In the end, I pushed myself and put up the best book I possibly could. This book is more plot-heavy than the previous two, but since it’s the foundation for the final book, I think it is necessary to make a satisfying ending.

I haven’t decided what I’m working on next, but I have a few ideas for the TRM #3.5 story that I think you all will like. More about that in the future.

Hopes 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)
new blog post: September 2024 Wrap-up Post September 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

September 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

September did not exactly go to plan, but that’s all right because I can and will get everything together. I underestimated how rough the beginning of the semester would be on my brain and body, especially when I didn’t get my medications for several weeks (laugh sob). Things are back on track (mostly), so let’s take a look at September’s goals before we go on:

  • Finish The Reanimator’s Remains completely
  • Edit the rest of The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Proofread The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Prep ARCs to go out
  • Format the paperback
  • Keep up with my class prep/grading
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 this month.

  1. Paladin’s Grace (#1) by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, a Paladin with a dead god hesitantly falls in love with a perfumer who is dragged into international espionage and nearly ends up losing her life.
  2. The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger- 4 stars, a nonfiction book taking a look at the hero and heroine’s journey. I highly recommend this if you are a writer or academic with a background in literature.
  3. Linger (#2) by Maggie Stiefvater- 4 stars, Sam is now a human but Grace is slowly losing her hold on her humanity as the werewolves beckon. Her parents nearly made me throw this book through a window because of how they treat Sam.
  4. Paladin’s Strength (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a bear shifter and a paladin collide as she looks to get back her missing sisters from the monastery after they are kidnapped.
  5. The Invisible Man & His Soon-to-be-Wife (#4) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, a really cute volume involving a spa and ghosts. I love when stories like this take a field trip.
  6. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston- 4 stars, a second chance romance between two rather pretentious characters as they eat and screw their way across Europe. It reminds me of how Regency and Victorian gentlemen took hedonistic European tours.
  7. Paladin’s Hope (#3) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, an MM romance between a paladin trying to help his Gnole friend find a killer as he falls in love with the city medical examiner who happens to have necromancer-adjacent powers.
  8. The Carnelian King and Other Stories by Arden Powell- 5 stars, a really fantastic anthology of fantasy stories spanning genres, time periods, etc.
  9. Paladin’s Faith (#4) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a spy falls for her paladin bodyguard as they infiltrate a party, end up trapped in a cave during a snowstorm, and figure out who they might be in the future.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • The Reanimator’s Soul won in the mental health representation category in the Indie Ink Awards
  • Wrote my butt off but didn’t finish TRR (it was done in October, oops)
  • Started editing the latter half of TRR… repeatedly
  • Wrote class notes for my new class and got ahead finally
  • Tried to maintain my mental health, so I don’t burn out
  • Played a lot of Love, Ghostie (highly recommend, it’s a very cute game)
  • Went to my doctor and got my meds problem dealt with (laugh sob)
  • Bugged my state reps about not supporting a mask ban (please call your state reps to tell them preemptively not to support a mask ban)
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my newsletter

Blogs

Writing

My first mistake was underestimating the size of this book. It’s been kicking my butt because it is LONG. It isn’t horrendously long, but it’s long for me. It’s close to 110k right now, and while editing, it may end up even longer. Most of my books are around 90k, hence how I ended up woefully behind. I also made the mistake of thinking teaching wouldn’t kick my butt at the beginning of the semester. After like eight years of teaching, those first few weeks still make me feel like I’ve been dragged behind a bus no matter how much I like my students. With the added pressure of creating weeks of notes for a new class, things did not go well in the productivity department. BUT I do think this book is one of my best. I feel like I’ve grown as far as juggling things in the narrative and fleshing out my characters’ trauma in new and interesting ways. I hate feeling behind, but I build in a cushion for a reason.

Hopes for October

  • Finish editing TRR
  • Send out ARCs/Review copies
  • Format the paperback
  • Have a great publication day
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Not implode along the way
  • Stay on top of my class stuff
new blog post august 2024 wrap-up post August 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

August 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Where the hell did August go?? This managed to be the shortest month ever for me, though I think that has to do with prepping for the new semester while trying to get my shit together with book 3 of the The Reanimator Mysteries. Let’s take a look at our goals for August:

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Start edits
  • Prepare for my classes
  • Make the online parts of my classes (bleck)
  • Continue to try to maintain my tenuous grip on my mental health
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Read 8 books

Books

The goal was to read 8 books, and that is exactly how many I read.

  1. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo- 4 stars, a nonfiction book that looks at why white people react so poorly to being told they are (or might be) racist. A good primer but not super in-depth.
  2. Shiver (#1) by Maggie Stiefvater- 4 stars, a girl is attacked by wolves as a child only to fall in love with the werewolf who saved her. This is very much a YA romance, but I loved every second of it. Sometimes we need angst teen romances.
  3. Cheese by Andrew Dalby- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about the history of cheese. Interesting, but part of me wishes it was more in-depth.
  4. Mushroom by Cynthia D. Bertlesen- 4 stars, from the same series as the book on cheese, this book looks at the history and science of mushrooms. The look at mushroom philic v. phobic countries was quite interesting.
  5. Arch-Conspirator by Veronica Roth- 4 stars, a dystopian, futuristic reimagining of Antigone. Very interesting set-up, and I like how the focus on reproductive writes and memory were handled in this version.
  6. When Among Crows by Veronica Roth- 5 stars, a fantastic fantasy book set in a monster-filled modern Chicago with an Eastern European flare. I absolutely loved the characters and the world. You know a novella is good when you wish it was longer or that there was a sequel.
  7. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P.Djèlí Clark- 5 stars, another fantastic short book. We have an undead assassin working for a goddess, a case that goes very wrong, wibbly wobbly time, and a really rich world.
  8. Broodmother by Vesper Doom- 4 stars, a folk horror short story featuring some incredibly scary and gross cicadas. No offense to the cicadas, but they were quite horrifying.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Prepped all my class stuff (except the content for my new class, oops)
  • Prepared for the Naratess Indie Sale
  • Advertised my butt off for the Naratess Indie Sale
  • Edited over half of The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Continued to write The Reanimator’s Remains (nearly done, had to fix some stuff)
  • Barely maintained my grip on my sanity, but I did it
  • Listened to my body and did more creative/fun things to keep from McLosingIt
  • Joined the Plants and Petrichor Stitch-a-long, hosted by FineFrogStitching, and have been keeping up with it
  • Had a good first week of teaching my classes
  • Had to put a new battery in my car on the first day of classes because it died in the driveway .-. (it’s been a week, peeps)
  • Brainstormed how I might add to the Paranormal Society Romance series in the future
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my newsletter

Blogs

Writing

I forgot to chart my writing progress this month because I’ve been writing as much as I can. Truthfully, there were weeks where I felt my brain starting to spark, so I had to slow down for a few days. I’m trying to be better about listening to my body and not running myself into the ground. This is a constant struggle for me as I will self-flagellate about not doing enough. Luckily, editing the first 60% of the book helped to get me back on track and figure out where I needed to go with the last chunk. That’s something I usually have to do during the writing process, even though I resist it every friggin time. I’m actually really proud of this book. It’s definitely different than books 1 and 2. It’s quieter and a bit more internal, even though there’s a lot going on in terms of the mystery and learning more about Oliver’s background. That’s also why I’ve been feeling a bit self-conscious about it. I worry readers won’t necessarily enjoy it as much because it isn’t as swashbuckly at the other two. Maybe it is and I’m just hung up on something that’s a non-issue. Either way, I guess I’ll find out when it comes out in October or when my ARC readers get their hands on it.

Hopes for September

  • Finish The Reanimator’s Remains completely
  • Edit the rest of The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Proofread The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Prep ARCs to go out
  • Format the paperback
  • Keep up with my class prep/grading
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books
new blog post: july 2024 wrap-up post July 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

July 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

July was my birthday month, and luckily, it was a good one for getting writing done. Despite the heat and humidity, I enjoyed July and tried to take time to keep myself from flaming out. A reminder of our goals:

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Outline next chunk of book
  • Do a cover reveal and make graphics for them
  • Maintain my mental health better (oops)
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books
  • Send out my July newsletter

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 10 books.

  1. The Christmas Chevalier (#1) by Meg Mardell- 4 stars, a historical romance with a trans masc MC who is a bit of a bohemian who falls for his ex-governess best friend and offers her the chance at a new life on her own terms. Oh, and there’s a masquerade ball.
  2. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#3) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, a sapphic YA featuring a hard-of-hearing MC and the hearing girl who is in love with her. I love the dynamic between these two as friends and the potential for more.
  3. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#4) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, see above
  4. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#5) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, see above
  5. I Hear the Sunspot Four Seasons (#2) by Yuki Fumino- 4 stars, we’re starting a new arch where we find out more about the one mc’s backstory and meet some new people who may cause trouble.
  6. A Highland Hogmanay (#2) by Meg Mardell- 4 stars, an heiress runs away from London to a Scottish castle to avoid pushy, fortune hunting family and not only falls in love with the land but the woman who cares for it.
  7. Fiction Blurbs The Best Page Forward Way by Phoebe Ravencraft- 4 stars, useful for doing blurbs, but I think the original blurb book by Bryan Cohen is better, mostly because I wish it came with finished examples at the end.
  8. A Chaperoned Christmas (#3) by Meg Mardell- 4 stars, a thrupple story featuring a London lady, her ex flame, and the woman who had a crush on her years ago.
  9. A Restless Truth (#2) by Freya Marske- 4 stars, a sapphic historical fantasy on a ship where an old woman with a very valuable magical artifact is murdered, and her young traveling companion and an ex-actress must find it and survive the trip.
  10. Ennead (#3) by Mojito- 3 stars, not sure I’m going to keep reading this one if the next volume doesn’t hook me. There was some dubious consent in this one, and the writing is a bit… sparse/loose to me.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Finished outlining the rest of TRR
  • Paid Crowglass Design for the cover of TRR
  • Did a cover reveal for TRR
  • Made so many graphics and videos for TRR’s cover reveal
  • Celebrated my birthday with my partner and had a great day
  • Edited previous chunks of TRR
  • Maintained my sanity as best I could
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my newsletter
  • Signed up for the Naratess Sale in August

Blogs

Writing

So I didn’t quite hit my writing goal for July, which is fine because I wrote a lot. In June, I mentioned that I was flirting with burnout (and I still am), but days when I felt like I was overloaded or tired, I took a day off. I ended up getting a few migraines that took me out whether I wanted to write or not, which sucked immensely. The good thing is that I think the rest of the book will be fairly smooth sailing since I know where I’m going and what I’m doing to get there. I’m a plantser/gardener, so I generally have an idea of where I’m going, but it isn’t set in stone. Now, I have the vast majority of the plot solidified, so there’s less time spent waffling and staring moodily into the void.

Hopes for August

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Start edits
  • Prepare for my classes
  • Make the online parts of my classes (bleck)
  • Continue to try to maintain my tenuous grip on my mental health
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Read 8 books
new blog post: june 2024 wrap-up post June 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

June 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

This month has somehow flown but also been the longest month ever. At least it was a rather productive month for me, so I’m content with that. I will say that I am lowkey flirting with burnout, but I think I’ll be okay if I am able to convince myself to play more games and chill a bit more. Here are my goals from last month:

  • Write at least 20k words
  • Outline next chunk of book 3
  • Start the cover stuff for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Maintain some semblance of brain balance to avoid burnout
  • Keep up with the stitch-a-long
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out June newsletter

Books

  1. The Magus of the Library (#7) by Mitsu Izumi- 4 stars, in this volume we have discussions about censorship, political upheaval, and how we navigate it without setting the wrong precedent.
  2. The Truth of the Aleke (#2) by Moses Ose Utomi- 4 stars, in book one, we got the story of a martyred boy and now we get the history of what comes after and how history gets twisted by time and politics.
  3. You Should Be So Lucky (#2) by Cat Sebastian- 5 stars, a baseball player falls for a reporter fall in love during early 1960s NYC. I loved this book so much, especially since it also deals with grief and finding your place/value.
  4. Asian American Histories of the United States by Catherine Ceniza Choy- 4 stars, I struggled a bit with the backwards chronology, but it was interesting to see how history has led to the present.
  5. The House of the Red Balconies by A. J. Demas- 5 stars, an mm romance set in a fictional Ancient Greece where an engineer who comes to the island to build an aqueduct falls for a chronically ill courtesan.
  6. The Captain’s Holiday Homecoming by Meg Mardell- 4 stars, a widower stumbles across an old friend presumed to be dead in his stable and finds they may have a future together (definitely a HFN rather than a HEA)
  7. A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall- 4 stars, an epistolary novel between the siblings of two missing people in an underwater city, loved the agoraphobia/OCD rep.
  8. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#1) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, a sapphic YA featuring a teenage girl starts falling for her hard-of-hearing classmate. Once again, great HoH rep that is obvious well researched.
  9. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#2) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, see above.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • I appeared on the Incoherent Fangirl Podcast’s Pride event, which you can watch here
  • Finished the Femurs and Fungi Stitch-a-long (and I plan to join Fine Frog Stitching’s next SAL in August)
  • Sent in all my info to my cover designer/Crowglass Design
  • Celebrated my 19th anniversary with my partner
  • Outlined the next chunk of my book draft
  • Edited the whole first act (again)
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my newsletter in a semi-timely fashion for once
  • Attempted to relax more and refill the well by not taking on a shit ton of responsibilities
  • Wrote quite a bit (see writing section)

Blogs

Writing

This month has mainly been devoted to writing. I could feel myself flirting with burnout at the end of May due to the semester ending, so I took June to decompress and mostly write. On one hand, yay for doing quite a bit of writing. On the other hand, I’m still struggling to maintain any semblance of balance because I’m still mostly writing or staying at a Word Doc pretending I’m writing. The difficult part has been tearing myself away to do other things like reading and playing games, which ultimately keep me from frying my brain. My tendency is to give 100% repeatedly, even when I can’t actually give that much, until I’m beating myself up about how that current 100% is far less than it was a month earlier. I hope that makes sense. It’s really that I go too hard and take from a well that is rapidly running dry.

The Reanimator’s Remains is shaping up nicely though. I really love this book. I think it’s a little quieter than books 1 or 2, but it still has murder, mysteries, and some very tender moments between Oliver and Felipe. I eventually need to tweak the blurb for this book because it isn’t obvious, but Gwen is involved in this case and goes to the murder town with Oliver and Felipe. I know Gwen is a fan fav as Oliver’s bestie, so I hope you enjoy her getting some extra screen time.

Hopes for July

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Outline next chunk of book
  • Do a cover reveal and make graphics for them
  • Maintain my mental health better (oops)
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books
  • Send out my July newsletter
new blog post: may 2024 wrap-up post May 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

May 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

May has been one of those months that felt twice as long as it should. I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride with The Reanimator’s Remains, and I don’t want to jinx anything, but things are finally going smoothly. Before getting into things, let’s take a look at the goals I made for May.

  • Writing goals are as follows:
    • minimum 15k words
    • standard 20k words
    • stretch 25k words
  • Finish outlining the next chunk
  • Finish grading finals
  • Do more creative stuff to avoid burnout
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Keep up with my stitch-a-long

Books

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

  1. Night for Day by Roselle Lim- 4 stars, a second chance romance where a couple reunites only to be sent to an escape room-like challenge in order to end a war between the gods. The catch is that they must work together but in separate pocket dimensions, and the gods can be friend or foe.
  2. The Brides of High Hill (#5) by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, a Gothic East Asian fantasy with nods to Bluebeard stories and Asian folklore with plenty of twists and surprises. Loved it!
  3. Lore Olympus (#6) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, I’m deeply enjoying this series, especially seeing Hades finally standing up to Zeus and the loom of consequences for certain people.
  4. Spear by Nicola Griffith- 5 stars, a Medieval fantasy featuring a crossdressing/living character, a queer romance, and plenty of Arthurian goodness in a small package.
  5. The Binding of Bloom Mountain by Siggy Chambers- 4 stars, a lightly horror fantasy that takes place in a slightly unsettling down and its deeply unsettling mountain, which is full of creatures, nature gods, and potential ways to die.
  6. Therapy Game Restart (#4) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, in this volume we get to see some of the issues queer couples in Japan face as well as some sweet and steamy moments between my fav couple.
  7. The Lies of the Ajungo (#1) by Moses Ose Utomi- 4 stars, a story of a young boy who goes looking for water to save his mother and discovers things are not how they appear. I am very curious as to how Utomi will handle the sequel.
  8. She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat (#4) by Sakaomi Yuzaki- 4 stars, a super cute sapphic story about neighbors who are slowly becoming more. I love how we get to see more of the main couple’s relationship along with their new friends.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Edited the entirety of what I’ve written so far for TRR
  • Wrote fairly consistently in the second half of the month
  • Finished grading finals/last minute papers in a timely manner
  • Turned in grades and collapsed into a heap
  • I commissioned art from OblivionsDream of Oliver and Felipe (it’s GORGEOUS- please follow and support her, she’s awesome and a fan of the series)
  • Had a small emotional/mental breakdown after everything that happened in April, but I feel better, so it’s all good.
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my monthly newsletter
  • Listened to my body and actually rested
  • Kept up with the Femurs and Fungi stitch-a-long

Blogs

Writing

This month has been a bit of a weird one for writing. I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride with The Reanimator’s Remains. I ended up having to revamp part of it because Gwen is going on this investigation with them (yay!). While this makes the book so much better, it also means rewriting and reconfiguring things a bit (boo). On one hand, I’m very happy that things seem to be flowing better, but on the other, I feel behind because I had to fix stuff and I’m going to end up sending less of my book to my cover artist than I intended. I don’t think he’ll mind, and I can always send him more as I go, but yeah, I am struggling to keep the “you’re not doing enough!” thoughts out of my head. Listening to those too closely is a one-way trip to burnout ville, and I don’t need that right now at all. I’m really liking this story, especially knowing what the big emotional beats for Felipe will be. I apologize in advance to Felipe fans because you will be put through the wringer with this one. Something that has been low-key shaking my confidence a little bit is that this is a quieter, more internal focused book than books 1 and 2. It’s still very dark and has a spooky forest and the undead, but it’s less overtly action packed. I think you all will enjoy it, but knowing this book won’t be an action movie worries me a bit. This will not be the last book in the series, so I have to remind myself that we don’t need to go out on a bang with this one. We just need to put the boys through it.

Hopes for June

  • Write at least 20k words
  • Outline next chunk of book 3
  • Start the cover stuff for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Maintain some semblance of brain balance to avoid burnout
  • Keep up with the stitch-a-long
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out June newsletter
new blog post: April 2024 Wrap-up post April 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

April 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

This month has been wild. I knew I would be busy grading a bunch of papers since April is the busiest month of the spring semester, but this month threw me some curve balls I wasn’t expecting. Let’s look back at what I had intended to get done before we get into it.

  • Write 20k words of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Proof audiobook chapters of The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2)
  • Keep up with the Fungi and Frogs stitch-a-long I’ve joined
  • Maintain my mental health better (aka refill the well and use your elliptical)
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

Books

  1. Wake Me Most Wickedly (#2) by Felicia Grossman- 4 stars, a Snow White retelling set in 1800s British-Jewish society featuring a disgraced pawnshop owner and a young man trying desperately to make his brother proud. I loved the gender swap in this story as well as how the villain was represented.
  2. Sunflowers by Keezy Young- 4 stars, a short autobiographical comic about bipolar I disorder. Beautiful art and an interesting look into a stigmatized mental illness.
  3. Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown- 5 stars, an absolutely fantastic nonfiction work on how asexuality is tied up into white supremacy, the patriarchy, anti-Blackness, and more.
  4. Bells are Ringing (#1.5) by Cat Sebastian- 5 stars, an epilogue that follows Nick and Andy several months after the events of We Could Be So Good. I absolutely loved seeing them grow as a couple.
  5. The Vermilion Emporium by Jamie Pacton- 4 stars, a magical girl and a boy who hears starlight are brought together by a magical store and find they are far more special than they ever thought.
  6. Threads of Life by Clare Hunter- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about the social, historical, political, and cultural significance of embroidery and sewing. This book was fascinating and gave me plot bunnies galore.
  7. The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz- 5 stars, a reformed fake medium and an awkward academic/Egyptologist team up to solve the very real haunting of the university’s Egyptology exhibit/artifacts. I loved these two together as well as all the side characters.
  8. The Potion Gardener (#8) by Arden Powell- 4 stars, a potion maker wakes up to find a young person sleeping off a rough party in their shed only to find that they are more than they appear. This story has transitioning magic, which I thought was really awesome and not often seen in historical-fantasy.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Proofed all the files for the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2)
  • Paid for and approved the files for the audiobook on ACX (coming to Audible and Amazon soon)
  • Uploaded them to Findaway Voices and kicked them through for distribution
  • Ran a sale on The Reanimator’s Heart
  • Paid Q1 2024 taxes
  • Picked up the literary magazine copies for my class (they came out great!)
  • Kept up with the Femurs and Fungi Stitch-a-long thus far (pics are on IG if you’re interested)
  • Sent a bajillion emails to my students, random admins/faculty members
  • Finished the majority of my grading
  • Finally was able to speak out about being harassed online for the past however many months (see Freydis blog post and that assorted chaos), so I have processed/dealt with more emotions than I would care to admit since April 20th. It sort of sucked the life out of me, but I’ll talk about that more in the writing section.

Blogs

Writing

Looking back, when I made the word count for April, I was being unrealistic. I somehow forgot that April is the busiest month in the spring semester when it comes to grading. I did not come close to meeting that goal. This was initially due to grading and being a bit fried, but ultimately, what did me in was everything about Freydis Moon/Taylor Barton coming to light. You can read more in my blog post about my experience being harassed by Freydis/Taylor, and if you want more on how this came to light, just google Freydis Moon drama as there are plenty of videos that sum it up. Being able to finally tell people what was going on and being believed was an immense relief, but it was also a punch to the psyche and body. I ended up having a post-strong-emotions autoimmune flare a week after, and that made doing anything difficult. I greatly appreciate Em/Elle Porter bringing everything to light and for my friends/readers who have been very supportive.

On a brighter note, I was stuck on The Reanimator’s Remains, but I finally figured out what needs to be changed to make everything fall into place. I also got a rather unhinged idea for something toward the end. I’m not 100% sure I’ll use it, but it has inspired me. As the semester wraps up, I feel my creativity returning finally. May will be for fanning the flames of that creativity back to a roar.

Hopes for May

  • Writing goals are as follows:
    • minimum 15k words
    • standard 20k words
    • stretch 25k words
  • Finish outlining the next chunk
  • Finish grading finals
  • Do more creative stuff to avoid burnout
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Keep up with my stitch-a-long
new blog post: march 2024 wrap-up post March 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

March 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

Despite battling tree pollen, I have made it through March! The weather is warming up, the flowers are blooming, and a new writing project is underway. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been up to this month and the goals I set out last month.

  • Writing at least 20k words of book 3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Grade papers but enjoy spring break
  • Set up the preorder for book 3
  • Do a title reveal for book 3
  • Do taxes ;–;
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send monthly newsletter

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 books in March.

  1. The Reluctant Heartthrob (#2) by Jackie Lau- 5 stars, an actor and an autistic programmer get involved, but she doesn’t realize he’s an actor and panics. Super cute, great rep.
  2. Meet Me in Millfield (#1.5) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a side story featuring two fans of a TV show who meet online. A sweet, You’ve Got Mail style story with an older female love interest.
  3. Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about asexuality that I would highly recommend to aces and allosexual people alike.
  4. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, 4 stars, for fans of Piranesi. This story is one of those where the further you go, the more you realize the cleverness of it.
  5. Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, fake dating to appease their parents turns into actual romance between a starchy man who is more than meets the eye and a writer who fears she’s disappointing her family. Bonus points for realistic writer rep.
  6. We Could Be So Good (#1) by Cat Sebastian- 5 stars, set in the late 1950s, a reporter falls in love with his best friend who happens to be the bosses son. It’s a story about belatedly realizing you’re queer, love, wanting/having more than you expected, and it is just so friggin cozy and lovely.
  7. Therapy Game Restart (#2) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, I love seeing these two characters get closer and navigate the real world issues that come with being in a long-term queer relationship.
  8. Therapy Game Restart (#3) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, see above.
  9. Ennead (#2) by Mojito- 3 stars, I’m going to keep reading the series for now, but I sometimes feel like I’m missing context while reading these books. I wish there was more dot-connecting or a character chart of gods/characters at the beginning.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Wrote the blurb for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Did the blurb/title reveal for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Set up the preorder for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Did my taxes (woo)
  • Applied for a creative writing grant
  • Signed up for a book promo/sale next month
  • Finished the formatting and such for the uni literary magazine (for one of my classes, but it’s a lot of work)
  • Enjoyed spring break with my partner
  • Stayed on top of grading
  • Tried some new recipes
  • Set up the elliptical, though I haven’t used it much yet
  • Finished a cross-stitch project and got most of the way through another

Blogs

Writing

My next blog will talk more about this, but I hate writing the beginnings of new books. This is the part of the process that is the slowest and most painful part for me, so my word counts have been quite small and sporadic. Starting a new book means extra processing and thinking time, which on one hand is necessary and on the other is maddening as someone who wants to just get into the damn book already. The good thing is that I have the overall plot fairly nailed down as well as the emotional arcs. The Reanimator’s Remains is a story about family, in its various forms, and dealing with trauma. In Felipe’s case, those two concepts are linked in a way that is painful. This story is coming on the heels of my short story, “An Unexpected Question” (TRM #2.5), so if you read The Reanimator’s Soul, I highly recommend reading that short story as some of the details will be important in book 3. Plus, I just think it’s cute. The good thing is that I have all of my admin stuff for this book set up already, like the blurb, title reveal, preorder page, etc., so it should be smooth sailing for a while.

Hopes for April

  • Write 20k words of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Proof audiobook chapters of The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2)
  • Keep up with the Fungi and Frogs stitch-a-long I’ve joined
  • Maintain my mental health better (aka refill the well and use your elliptical)
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
new blog post: February 2024 Wrap-Up Post February 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

February 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

February managed to come and go so fast, but I finally feel like I’m hitting my stride this year. The semester is in full swing, I shoveled snow a few times, and I’m finally working in earnest on book 3 of the Reanimator Mysteries series. Let’s recap the goals I had for February and see how it went.

  • Put together the elliptical and use it
  • Do the bulk of the historical research for The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Start actually writing The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Stay on top of grading
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I managed to read 12! Some were short or graphic novels, but DAMN.

  1. Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble (#2) by Alexis Hall, 4 stars, a romance-adjacent story about a highly anxious young man, a baking competition, the adorable gay Muslim dude who finds him cute, and the mess he gets himself into (see Goodreads review for some quibbles regarding this book)
  2. Galatea by Madelline Miller- 4 stars, the story of a statue-turned-human taking back control of her life
  3. Of Socialites and Prizefights by Arden Powell- 4 stars, a social-climbing woman is cursed by a jilted suitor to turn into a wildcat every night unless she finds true love’s kiss. Turns out that might be a butch mechanic from the other side of the tracks.
  4. Taproot by Keezy Young- 4 stars, a ghost and a medium bond over plants and try to figure out how to make their otherworldly relationship work, very cute and fluffy
  5. Shtup Me at Sunrise (#0.5) by Felicia Grossman- 4 stars, the prequel to the Once Upon the East End series, featuring a headstrong woman determined to take her place in a society that has seemingly rejected her
  6. Ghostland by Colin Dickey- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about how ghost stories come to be and what they say about our society
  7. Of Honeymoons and Wildcats by Arden Powell- 4 stars, the companion story to Of Socialites and Prizefights where they go off to a cabin and find something very cute
  8. The Sitcom Star (#1) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, an overworked TV star and writer accidentally runs into one of her childhood friends who helps her relax and more
  9. Vampire Forensics by Mark Collins Jenkins, a nonfiction book about how disease and irregular decomposition team up to create vampire legends
  10. Therapy Game Restart (#1) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, Shizuma and Minato are back to figure out how to navigate their first real relationship along with new jobs and complicated feelings
  11. A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about how women who live outside the norm become legends and ghost stories
  12. The Invisible Man & His Soon-to-be Wife (#3) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, really cute fluffy volume of this manga with good blindness rep

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Researched about ghosts for book 3
  • Researched about the undead for book 3
  • Did character sheets for book 3
  • Outlined a chunk of book 3
  • Helped a former student with their poetry book
  • Celebrated my partner’s birthday (more like a bday week since I had to work on their actual bday)
  • Stayed on top of grading (mostly)
  • Refilled my creative well with tons of reading
  • Started learning to cross-stitch
  • Began putting together the elliptical (oops)

Blogs

Writing

This month I decided to refill the well as much as possible and plan out the beginning of book 3 of the Reanimator Mysteries series. While I had hoped that I could start actually drafting it, I’m excited to get started in March. I know where the story is, generally, going and the main threads that the characters will follow. One of the first things I need to figure out before writing a book is how the two main characters’ emotional issues will intertwine and fit with the rest of the outer story. Once I figured that out with Felipe and Oliver, things clicked, especially after I bounced ideas off my partner. The beginnings of stories are the most daunting for me. I’m mostly a discovery writer (who does minimal planning), so there are still so many paths left open at the beginning that I become overwhelmed and get choice paralysis. I know by the halfway point, I’ll be fine, but I know the first act will be done in fits and starts as I figure things out and narrow down the path forward. If you’re interested in what’s going on in book 3, check out the Pinterest board and the playlist I made on Youtube. All vibes are subject to change.

Hopes for March

  • Writing at least 20k words of book 3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Grade papers but enjoy spring break
  • Set up the preorder for book 3
  • Do a title reveal for book 3
  • Do taxes ;–;
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send monthly newsletter
new blog post: January 2024 wrap-up post January 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

January 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Ah, January, the new start to the year and the time when “new year, new me” expectations weigh heavily upon us. As much as I try to temper that feeling in January, this year it felt more like December 2.0 as I tried to wrap up the projects I had left from 2023 before diving into my main goals for 2024. Let’s get into it. Here were the goals I made for January:

  • Finish/edit “An Unexpected Question”
  • Format/upload/send out “An Unexpected Question”
  • Start brainstorming The Reanimator Mysteries #3 and doing research
  • Research selling books on my website/Etsy (and if I want to do it)
  • Start checking/proofing the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Soul as the chapters come in
  • Do Sarra Cannon’s 2-3 day class on long-term goal setting
  • Write more days than not (aka get into a better habit)
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my January newsletter with “An Unexpected Question”

Books

In January, my goal was to read 8 books, and I read 10.

  1. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail (#2) by Ashley Herring Blake- 4 stars, a stuffy interior designer who is also stuck in her life falls for a carpenter still mourning her last relationship but trying to start anew by fixing up her family’s B&B.
  2. J. C. Leyendecker: American Imagist by Judy and Lawrence Cutler- 4 stars, a great coffee table book of artwork that has a lot of good info on Leyendecker as a person/queer artist.
  3. Never Whistle at Night collected by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.- 4 stars, a fabulous collection of horror and dark tales by indigenous authors. I added so many new authors to my tbr pile.
  4. This Lord’s Father (#3.5) by KJ Charles- 4 stars, a short epilogue to the Will Darling series.
  5. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (#9) by Seanen McGuire- 5 stars, I really love this series, but this one in particular hints at other books to come and takes care of some older threads.
  6. Therapy Game (#1) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, a serious veternary students belatedly realizes he’s queer after a bad break-up with his ex girlfriend and falls for a prickly photographer who works at the local drag club.
  7. Therapy Game (#2) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, see above.
  8. Fence: Redemption (#6) by C. S. Pacat and Joanna the Mad, a fun volume where we get to see the MCs have a little date and the tension grows between two of their teammates.
  9. Ivy, Angelica, Bay (#2) by C. L. Polk- 5 stars, I adored this historical-fantasy. It’s short but has so much crammed into it about family, community, and there’s also bees.
  10. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain- 4 stars, an interesting look at the culinary world, and with Anthony Bourdain narrating the audiobook, his voice as a writer truly shines.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Attended Sarra Cannon’s “Your Path Forward” class, did all the lessons and such for that
  • Approved the first chapter of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Soul (coming in late spring as long as all goes well)
  • Researched selling books on my website and such (not doing anything with this yet)
  • Finished writing “An Unexpected Question” (TRM #2.5), #1.5 is here
  • Edited and proofed “An Unexpected Question” (TRM #2.5)
  • Formatted, uploaded, and sent out “An Unexpected Question” to my newsletter subscribers
  • Was interviewed by Chaos Gays and Teatrays
  • Started teaching my spring classes
  • Paid Q4 2023 taxes (barf)

Blogs

Writing

Writing went pretty well this month. I didn’t finish “An Unexpected Question” as quickly as I would have liked, but that’s all right. Truthfully, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety in the latter half of the month due to work starting again and some random Twitter bullshit (hence why I’m on Twitter less now), but I got my shit together and edited the story. Of course, the day after I sent it out, I found a typo and a word that magically unitalicized itself. It’s not the worst hiccups I’ve had with a release, so I’ll take it. I am super excited that some of you are already reading the #2.5 story. It means a lot to me to know that you all are enjoying it. It was a blast to write. I don’t often get to write a story that’s basically just my characters having fun, so it was a refreshing change of pace. In February, I’m going to turn my focus fully to book 3, and within the next few months, preorders should go up.

Hopes for February

  • Put together the elliptical and use it
  • Do the bulk of the historical research for The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Start actually writing The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Stay on top of grading
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books