Tag: 2023

new blog post: my end of 2023 reflection My End of 2023 Reflection
Personal Life · Writing

My End of 2023 Reflection

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I’m not going to lie, I have been putting off writing a yearly review of 2023. By and large, this year has been awesome. My book won awards, I had a record number of preorders on The Reanimator’s Soul, I wrote a whole book, things have gone well– more than well. On the other hand, there were things that happened that upset me and have continued to grate on me all year. My fear is that this reflection will come off as unnecessarily bitter, which I don’t want for you (my readers) or for myself. I don’t want someone else’s assholery to poison my soul and that is something I will be working on as we move into 2024, especially since so many great things happened this year. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Things That Went Really Well

This year has been awesome, and I want to thank my readers for that. Without you all, I wouldn’t have had nearly as good a year. You all were so enthusiastic about The Reanimator’s Soul‘s release in October, and you all put up The Reanimator’s Heart for a bunch of awards/categories. As someone who is a bit self-deprecating when it comes to awards, I was shocked to see my books repeatedly put up. Seriously, thank you all. The Reanimator’s Heart won third place in BBNYA 2023 (Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Awards 2023) out of over 250 entries. My books are also up for the Indie Ink Awards in several categories, and The Reanimator’s Heart won “best historical fiction” in the Queer Indie Awards.

The Reanimator’s Heart was also Meet Cute Bookshop’s LGBT romance read for September. Hell, MY BOOK WAS IN A PHYSICAL STORE! That alone just blew my mind. I was also interviewed by Geeks Out about my books/writing. More importantly, my books got more fan art! I love artwork so much, and every time I find out that someone was moved to create something based around my characters I am just over the moon. Few things make me happier than fan art. I also commissioned art from OblivionsDream and really want to do that again in 2024.

I don’t want to go into sales numbers and all the nitty gritty of that, but I had a good year in that regard. I’ve been trying to build on the momentum of The Reanimator’s Heart‘s release with book two, and I think I achieved that. I had the most preorders I have ever had, which I did not expect at all. My sales overall have been strong (for me), and I’m hoping I can keep that up in 2024 as well. I’m also hoping that the various awards and such will sort of keep stoking that fire.

Things That Didn’t Go As Great

I need to get better at writing consistently. It’s something I have struggled with this year. Overall, I wrote quite a bit, but I often feel like my attention is all over the place. Stretching my attention muscles is something I really do want to work on going forward as well as getting into a more consistent writing routine. This year had some chaos that I know messed specifically with this. If I’m mentally doing not great, my writing suffers first, and when my writing isn’t going well, I can’t get mentally balanced. It is a vicious cycle.

When I was called for jury duty in July, my OCD kicked up. This was compounded by some assholerly caused by another author who repeatedly made my life miserable by being a bully to me and others I know. The first instance of this didn’t cause me that much angst back in February because, while angry about how they treated someone else, I muted/blocked them, deleted my reviews of their books, and said good riddance. Unfortunately, several months later (when my OCD was already acting up) they reappeared when they got in a beef with someone else I know. The bullying person somehow got access to conversations where several of us talked about our shared experiences of them being weirdly passive aggressive or being a straight-up bully, and they made our lives miserable. I ended up having to lock my Twitter for a bit because I was getting cryptic replies and ghost rts, despite having the other person blocked everywhere. It was stress I neither needed nor wanted.

Going forward, I need to move on. I know I have been stewing on this because this person hasn’t been negatively impacted at all, despite bullying ND people several times this year that I know of, because they sick their followers on anyone who even mentions they have behaved poorly. If you follow me on social media, you may have heard me mention that my hair fell out from stress; this was why. My brain doesn’t want to leave it alone, but it isn’t healthy to dwell and frankly, calling them out on it will only backfire on me. I have to accept that and focus on maintaining my mental health in 2024 and working on my stress levels. Taking care of my brain is something I need to get better about. My plan in 2024 is to forget they exist and wait til karma catches up with them or they pick a fight with the wrong person.

Things I’m Thankful For

Let’s clear the air of negativity by ending with talking about the people and things I am very thankful for this year.

All of you. Seriously, every one of my readers who have read my books, suggested them to others, left reviews, made art, replied kindly to my posts, you all have made my life so much brighter this year. I wish nothing but the best for you in 2024, whether that’s success, prosperity, peace, healing, I hope you get it.

My partner. My partner has been going on a journey of their own with their gender, mental health, neurodivergence, etc. This year has been tough for both of us, but my partner has been nothing but supportive, kind, and loving, even when dealing with their own stuff. I love them immensely and cannot wait for another year with them.

My author friends who are my social network, my moral support system, and vast wells of knowledge. I couldn’t ask for better peeps to hang with than all of you. I plan to keep cheering you all on in the coming year.

And of course, my students, who make my daily life so much brighter, richer, and sillier.

Overall, this was a really fantastic year, and I just wanted to thank all of you [again] for making it one.

I’ll be posting a goals for 2024 post soon, so stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks. I hope you all have a safe and happy new year!

new blog post: my 10 top reads of 2023 My 10 Top Reads of 2023
Book Reviews

My 10 Top Reads of 2023

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I have a love-hate relationship with so many end of year wrap-up posts, but I do want to give a shout out to some books that I really enjoyed this year. I decided to cut it off at ten books to avoid completely overloading the post, but I hope you will find some new books or authors to add to your to-be-read pile. The books mentioned below are not in any particular order.

  1. Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse- a Western novel set in a post-apocalyptic-ish setting where angels rule over humans and two sisters much work together to survive and solve a murder.
  2. Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire- I love a Wayward Children book, but I especially loved this one. It takes place outside the school and follows a young woman who is forced to grow too fast due to the adults in her life. There’s also a magical store, ala the House of Many Ways.
  3. Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom- a nonfiction book about the history of books bound in human skin. If you like Caitlin Doughty’s books or books about death that are socially conscious without being salacious, this one is for you.
  4. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone- this was probably the hot book of the year, but I really loved it. Sapphic enemies to lovers between two time agents of opposite sides of a time war changing history and leaving each other puzzle sounds weird, but it was phenomenal.
  5. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw- a horror story with a mute, terrifying mermaid who teams up with a nonbinary plague doctor to survive and save a village of children from monsters with human faces. It’s very much a medical horror story, and I loved it.
  6. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang- if you have been on writing Twitter long enough, a lot of what goes on in this book should be familiar to you. A white woman writer steals a dead Asian author’s book, descends into madness, and commits other atrocities along the way. *chef kiss*
  7. Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue by Cat Sebastian- two professional baseball players realize they’re more than teammates or bench buddies when one gets injured an the other gets feelings. Very cozy and comforting.
  8. Over My Dead Body by Greg Melville- another nonfiction book about the dead, but this time it’s about how cemeteries influence society and how society influences cemeteries. I really loved how much Melville goes into how people of color, the poor, indigenous people, and other marginalized groups are affected even in death.
  9. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir- I never thought I’d be raving about the himbo-ification of a princess, but here we are. Muir turns the princess in a tower trope on its head with a princess who takes matters into her own hands. Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride.
  10. She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat by Sakaomi Yuzaki- this is a sapphic manga series about two neighbors who bond over their love of cooking and eating. The series is a sweet slow burn as these two navigate friendship and perhaps more. In more recent volumes, we also get more friends and neighbors to add greater depth to the story.