Book Sale Time!

April 5, 2025April 5, 2025 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

a dark blue background with purple-ish drawings of ghosts, skulls, a rocket, planets, gems, and a dragon reading a book. It says Indie book sale indiebook.sale fantasy, scifi, and horror April 5th to April 7th

This week’s blog is a day and a half early, but it’s because it is time once again for the Narratess Sale! This is a massive sale of indie authors writing scifi, fantasy, or horror, many of whom are queer and/or marginalized authors. You can find tons of good books for under $2 each (some are even free). Lots of my friends have their books for cheap, so make sure to take a look between April 5th and April 7th!

Visit the narratess Sale

I have included The Reanimator’s Heart (TRM #1) in the sale for $0.99, but The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2) is also on sale for $1.99. You can grab them at all major retailers, including Kobo, B&N, Apple Books, Amazon, and you can get them slightly cheaper at Itch.io

Find my books on itch.io

Grab TRH for $0.99

Grab TRS for $1.99

If you like queer, paranormal historical romances featuring an autistic necromancer and his undead lover solving crimes in 1890s NYC, this series is for you. It’s also perfect for fans of Pushing Daisies and Sleepy Hollow.

Get 2 Books for $2

August 25, 2024August 18, 2024 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Get the Reanimator Mysteries books for 99c each at all major retailers
mm historical, paranormal romance
books 1 and 2 on sale
an autistic necromancer x undead adhd-er
pushing daisies x sleepy hollow
book 3 coming October 29th

From now until August 28th, both The Reanimator’s Heart (TRM #1) and The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2) are on sale for $0.99, so you can grab both books for $2. It’s the perfect time to read and catch up before The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) comes out October 29th.

an array of covers behind a banner that says Indie Sale fantasy, science fiction, and horror, August 24 to 26, 2024

There is one day left in the Narratess Indie Sale (ends the 26th), so if you are looking to beef up your to-be-read pile for Indie August, swing over to the Narratess Sale to check out over 200 indie books that are free to $1.99. The Reanimator’s Heart is part of the sale as well as books from many of my friends’ books.

The Reanimator's Heart · Writing

The Narratess Indie Sale!

April 14, 2024April 14, 2024 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

a grid of book covers. in the center is a dragon and a planet, and around them it says, Indie Sale fantasy, scifi, and horror. April 13-15th

We will be back to our regularly scheduled blogging next week, but I wanted to let you all know that there is one day left in the Narratess Indie Sale, so if you are looking to beef up your to-be-read pile for Indie April, swing over to the Narratess Sale to check out over 200 indie books that are free to $1.99.

The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgensen is on sale for $0.99 for a limited time at all major retailers. mm romance, food tour of 1890s NYC, unbury your gays, forced proximity, a lavender marriage, an autistic necromancer, everybody's queer, murder, magic and mysteries

The Reanimator’s Heart is also part of the sale and is $0.99 at all major retailers and in most regions, so if you’ve been looking to get your hands on it, now is the perfect time to start the series, especially ahead of book 3‘s release in October.

The Reanimator's Heart · the reanimator's soul · Writing

“An Unexpected Question” is Coming!

January 21, 2024January 21, 2024 Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

If you follow me on social media or have read past blogs, you may have seen me talking about “An Unexpected Question.” Well, this short story/novella is coming to my newsletter subscribers this month!

It is set about three months after the events of The Reanimator’s Soul, so you should read that book (and book one) before reading “An Unexpected Question” to avoid spoilers. It is the story of Oliver and Felipe’s first vacation together, and of course, things don’t quite go as planned.

Felipe has spent weeks planning a vacation to whisk Oliver away from the Paranormal Society for a few days. The problem is he still needs to convince Oliver to go.
Notoriously vacation- and change-averse, Oliver is dubious about spending a few days in Coney Island, but when Felipe’s plans start to fall apart, Oliver refuses to let Felipe’s hard work go to waste, even if it means a less than romantic trip.
There is one surprise Oliver doesn’t know about, the true reason Felipe wants to have him all to himself. Can Felipe pull it off or will all his scheming be for nought?

“An Unexpected Question” is a 20k novella that comes three months after the events of The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2). Please read book 2 before reading this story to avoid spoilers and confusion.

CWs: Brief allusion to past sexual trauma, on page sexual intimacy, depictions of anxiety, mentions of the ocean

Once again, this will be a freebie for my newsletter subscribers and will go out with January’s newsletter next week (probably on Friday). I’m really excited for you all to read it as I think it’s a lot of fun.

If you want to read “An Unexpected Question” for free, you can join my newsletter by clicking the link in the top menu that says “newsletter” or by clicking here.

Add “An Unexpected Question” on Goodreads

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The Reanimator's Heart · the reanimator's soul · Writing

Why Oliver is Important Rep to Me

October 8, 2023October 6, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

As is a common theme with people from marginalized groups, growing up, I didn’t see any autistic characters in fiction (or at least none that read as overtly autistic). Of course, we have plenty of hyperfocused, brilliant characters like the inventor from Flubber or Milo from Atlantis, but those characters didn’t really portray the struggles of being autistic. While I wouldn’t want to be neurotypical, being autistic in a society built for neurotypicals means always feeling like you don’t fully grasp a situation or that everyone seems to know things innately that you do not. These characters didn’t show that. Everyone likes to dunk on Sheldon from Big Bang Theory for being fairly sucky rep as he’s a self-centered asshole, but I did appreciate that Sheldon struggles with things the others find “normal” because he’s autistic. Overtly autistic characters who aren’t just slightly quirky geniuses were practically non-existent.

Then, there’s also a multifaceted element of spite.

For background, I’ve known I was autistic since I was about fourteen. I figured it out on my own and took steps up until official diagnosis because, frankly, being officially diagnosed can make your life harder and it’s costly, so I haven’t gone for a full evaluation. But I have known for a over half my life that I am autistic. The college I went to for my bachelors has a degree in ABA, and when I realized what ABA was, I was like HELL NO (if you don’t know, please look into why ABA is traumatic and basically conversion therapy for autistics). On top of that, a woman in my graduating class who is NT wrote a picture book about an autistic girl’s experiences, and I was just… less than thrilled that no one was critiquing the fact that she was writing from an autistic perspective when she isn’t autistic. She’s just someone who wants to be a special education teacher. Autistics get talked over a lot in regards to our experiences and lives, and after trying to write more neurotypical characters, I decided to lean into neurodivergence in my writing.

If you look back at my first book, The Earl of Brass, it’s pretty obvious that Eilian is AuDHD (ADHD + autism). At the time, I had wanted to portray him as someone with ADHD, but when I look back, I realize he’s probably autistic too with his special interests, food issues, and some sensory issues. Hadley, the love interest in that story, also comes off as autistic. Oops.

When I decided to write The Reanimator’s Heart, I made the purposeful choice for the first time to make a character overtly autistic. I wanted Oliver to be someone who embodies my experiences as an autistic person. I wanted a character who is an adult, and a queer adult at that, who moves through life trying to take care of himself while managing a job, friends/relationships, and his own needs. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t need accommodations. The Paranormal Society’s building provides him an isolated bedroom off his laboratory, and a quiet room in the library appears where he can calm down when overstimulated. Even with his closest relationships, Oliver still needs help sometimes, but neither Gwen nor Felipe belittle or infantalize him. Despite having help and setting his life up in such a way that he isn’t constantly burnout, he still gets overstimulated or has a shutdown.

Ultimately though, Oliver is an adult man with a job he is good at and a partner who loves and supports him. So much of what we see about autism is aimed at the neurotypical parents of autistic children, which leads to autistic adults being infantalized by professionals and other adults. It is something I despise and many other autistics, regardless of support needs, despise. I wanted to have Oliver be clearly an adult who still struggles with sensory issues or losing his ability to speak when upset due to being autistic, but he still is able to live fairly autonomously and be successful in his job and love life. I’ve also made it very clear throughout both books in this series (book 2 comes out October 24th, btw) that his partner, Felipe, loves and supports him. He doesn’t find Oliver to be a burden, and expresses that to him when Oliver fears he is one. Often in stories, neurodivergent characters are seen as annoying or burdensome to their partners, and I wanted to make it clear to other autistic readers that they aren’t burdens and that there are people out there who will love them because of their quirks, not in spite of them.

Oliver is the rep I needed as a twenty year old and still need now, and my hope is that other autistic people will see themselves in him too.

The Reanimator's Heart

The Reanimator’s Heart is Only 99¢!

August 27, 2023August 20, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

You read that correctly, The Reanimator’s Heart ebook is currently on sale for 99¢ for a limited time. The price should be the same across all platforms and [most] countries (sadly, I cannot guarantee every country as the retail sites can be finicky). It is on sale from now until September 6th.

The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgensen is on sale for 99cents for a limited time at all major retailers
mm romance, forced proximity, a lavender marriage, murder/magic/mysteries, everybody's queer, an autistic necromancer, unbury your gays, food tour of 1890s NYC

Grab your copy now if you want an autistic necromancer who accidentally reanimates his murdered crush and teams up with him to solve his murder. It is available at all major retailers, including Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Apple Books, and library systems. You can also find it in paperback or audiobook as well, though they are not on sale right now.

You can also preorder book 2, The Reanimator’s Soul, at all major retailers (except Google Play, which is coming soon). Paperbacks will be available closer to release day, and the audiobook will come out in 2024.

As always, if you enjoyed The Reanimator’s Heart, I hope you will tell your friends about this sale and leave a review if you are willing/able. They help small creators like me more than you could know.

The Reanimator's Heart · the reanimator's soul

Art of Oliver and Felipe!

August 20, 2023August 7, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I commissioned artwork of Oliver and Felipe! If you follow me on social media, you have probably already seen this picture, but I wanted to show it off here as well. OblivionsDream is an absolutely fantastic artist who previously made fan art of Oliver and Felipe (you can see it here). Once I saw how perfectly Oblivionsdream captured my boys, I knew I had to commission art from her when she opened up slots.

I asked for a picture of Oliver and Felipe that was soft. They spend so much of The Reanimator’s Heart and The Reanimator’s Soul in peril that I wanted to capture some sweet downtime.

I also wanted to point out some details I love about this piece. Truthfully, I love all of it, but one of my favorite things is how OblivionsDream always adds Felipe’s greying hair. You can see it around his temples, and he also has crows feet around his eyes and scruff. The attention to detail (especially regarding things mentioned in the books) brings me so much joy. There’s also the contrast between who Felipe and Oliver are dressed too is very them. Oliver’s contented expression is just so sweet, and one of my favorites is the stuff on the windowsill. Oliver and Felipe have keys to each other’s living spaces, so the two keys brought me joy.

Paying artists to make artwork of my characters is one of my favorite things, and when the art comes from someone who has read my books and likes my characters, there is no better feeling.

The Reanimator's Heart · Writing

The Reanimator’s Heart is out in Audiobook!

July 9, 2023July 2, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

We interrupt your regularly scheduled post with an important announcement:

Stay tuned next week (July 17th) for the cover reveal of my next book, The Reanimator’s Soul!

The title feels pretty self-explanatory, but yes, The Reanimator’s Heart is now out in audiobook! The audiobook is narrated by Jack R. R. Evans, who also narrated the audiobook for Kinship and Kindness. I think Jack did a fantastic job and really captured Oliver, Felipe, and everyone else.

the audiobook cover for The Reanimator's Heart written by Kara Jorgensen and read by Jack R. R. Evans

The audiobook for The Reanimator’s Heart is releasing wide, which means it’s not only on Amazon/Audible, but Kobo, B&N, Google Play, library systems, Spotify, Chirp, and more. I’m not going to link to every retailer, but if you get your audiobooks from a different retailer, check it out as it is probably there. I hope you all will check it out. If audiobooks aren’t your jam, you can also find it in ebook and paperback. The audiobook for book 2 is also scheduled for next year!

Libby

The Reanimator's Heart · the reanimator's soul · Writing

What’s in the Works Right Now

June 18, 2023June 12, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I thought I would use this blog post as a way to update all of you on what I’m currently working on and when it should be coming out, especially since I forget to update the WIP page… sorry. Some of it also isn’t super quantifiable, so it’s hard to toss it up there with percentages of done-ness. Mostly, I just forget it exists. I blather a lot about this stuff on Twitter, but the algorithm there bites and a lot of people have left. If you have already seen all this info, then you are free to go, as I say to my students.

The Reanimator’s Heart Audiobook

I am currently proofing the audiobook files, and by the time this post goes live, hopefully I will be done and on my way to approving the file and kicking it through the system. Because that approval process can take several weeks, I can’t give a clear date on when it’ll appear at your favorite audiobook retailer, but the hope is that by the end of the summer, the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Heart will be up at Audible, Kobo, Chirp, and all other major audiobook retailers. The narrator who worked on Kinship and Kindness, Jack R. R. Evans, is narrating TRH, and I think he’s done a really great job on it.

Estimated ETA: Summer 2023

The Cover Reveal for The Reanimator’s Soul

I’m currently working with Crowglass Design on the cover for book 2, The Reanimator’s Soul. My hope is to have the cover reveal in July as it should be done by then. At the time of writing this post, I haven’t seen the cover draft yet, but from what my designer has mentioned, I am super excited to see it finished. I think you all are going to like it.

EDIT 6/12: I saw the full draft of the cover, and it is GLORIOUS. Seriously, I am so excited to show it to all of you because it is *chef kiss* as it fits the story perfectly while still matching book 1 and looking amazing. The cover reveal will still probably happen in early July.

Estimated ETA: July 2023

The Reanimator’s Soul Book

I am hard at work on writing/finishing up The Reanimator’s Soul and it is still on track to be out October 24th. I recently redid the blurb for it to make it more specific/snazzy, which you can check out below. If you don’t remember the old one, good. It was too vague and dull, but I needed something for early marketing materials. Once I have the cover, I’ll talk more about specific things in the book (like tropes(?) and such). The paperbacks will be available for order about a week before October 24th, but you can preorder an ebook copy now. I will try to get the audiobook out in 2024, but that will depend on my narrator’s schedule.

An autistic necromancer, his undead lover, and the case that could destroy everything.

When a necromancer turns up dead, Oliver and Felipe think it will be the perfect, straightforward case for their new partnership. That is, until it leads them to a clinic promising a cure for magic, but they aren’t the only ones investigating the Institute for the Betterment of the Soul. Oliver’s ex, Ansley, is in town, and he’s certain the clinic isn’t the paragon of righteousness it claims to be.

Forced to help Ansley infiltrate the institute, Oliver fears he is out of his depth in his work and in love as old wounds and bad habits resurface. But Oliver isn’t the only one struggling. Pulled between his cases, Oliver, and his daughter returning home for the summer, Felipe is drowning. Just when he thinks he finally has everything under control, a new reminder of his untimely demise threatens to throw his life into a tailspin once more.

Between festering wounds and secrets, Oliver and Felipe’s lives stand upon a knife’s edge. To face the evil lurking behind the clinic’s genteel smiles, they must stand together or face the destruction of the place they call home.
-the new blurb for The Reanimator’s Soul

ETA: October 24th, 2023

2024 Things

Trousers and Trouble (aka Paranormal Society book 2)

This is sort of a prequel book about Bennett, Ruth, and their friend Rory. I haven’t forgotten about this book. It’s just been put to the backburner in order to work on the Reanimator Mysteries books. Unfortunately, writing is a business and I need to work on the thing that is selling better, and I have not felt super drawn to write it yet. I was going through some shit emotionally, and this book is meant to be about trans joy. I need to get back to that to do their story justice.

A Book of Companion Stories Set in the Paranormal Society/Reanimator Mysteries World

If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you have already received a copy of “Flowers and Flourishing” and “An Unexpected Valentine” as a thank you gift for subscribing. These stories along with several others will eventually be published as a companion novel/anthology. At this point, I don’t know how many works will be included or if it will be out 2024 or 2025 because publication will depend on me getting distracted and writing random side stories. My hope is to have at least a few more side stories with Oliver and Felipe as well as other novellas involving side characters who work at the Paranormal Society.

The Reanimator Mysteries Book 3

My hope is to have one reanimator book out a year, probably in the fall since they’re sort of spooky books. With the goth vibe, October seems like a good idea, so my plan is that book 3 will come out October, 2024. I will not comment on what it’s about, but I have quite a few ideas. All-in-all, I think there will be at least 4 Reanimator Mysteries books, so this one will not be the last we hear of Felipe and Oliver.

The Reanimator's Heart · Writing

“An Unexpected Valentine” is Coming!

February 19, 2023February 19, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen it, but I was moved by the spirit of procrastination and chaos to write a Valentine’s Day short story for Oliver and Felipe. Typically, I don’t run with the plot bunnies and get distracted, but this short story sort of sprung fully formed in my head and came together in a few days.

Oliver and Felipe’s first Valentine’s Day together was supposed to be perfect. That is, until Felipe’s idea falls through at the last minute and Oliver realizes he never ordered Felipe’s gift. Now, nothing is going according to plan.
But with a little ingenuity and help from their friends, Oliver and Felipe may not have such a bad Valentine’s Day after all.

“An Unexpected Valentine” is a <5,000 word short story that comes after the events of The Reanimator’s Heart. Please read book 1 before reading this story if you don’t want any spoilers.
You can add “An Unexpected Valentine” on Goodreads.

Because this story takes place 3 weeks after the events of The Reanimator’s Heart, I think you have to have read it to read this short story. Otherwise it is spoilers galore.

Once again, this will be a freebie for my newsletter subscribers and will go out with February’s newsletter in the next few days. I will not be sending out a short story a month. There is no way I could keep that pace, so please enjoy these random short stories/novellas because there probably won’t be another one for a while. You can join my newsletter by clicking the link in the top menu that says “newsletter” or by clicking here.

Add “An Unexpected Valentine” on GoodReads

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