Tag: admin

new blog post: october 2025 wrap-up post October 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

October 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

October has been productive yet anti-climactic. It’s been one of those months where things weren’t bad, but they weren’t particularly good either. I’ve been trying to enjoy the small things more, like the leaves changing and spending time with my partner and pets. And, of course, writing. Let’s look at my goals for October again:

  • Write 20,000 words
  • Keep up with grades
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Make a dent in Christmas shopping
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Cover reveal??

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 11 in October.

  1. Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake- 4 stars, a sapphic second chance romance between childhood sweethearts set against a Hallmark style holiday matchmaking event. Of all of Blake’s books, I think this is my favorite so far, mostly due to the complexity of the characters.
  2. Magically Generated by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a cynical woman and a sunshine man are neighbors in the same building, and she soon learns that not only is he jolly but that he is making ice sculptures all over the city in an unbelievable way.
  3. Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward- 5 stars, a nonfiction book where the origins of folktales are examined for their queer roots. I loved how this book covered a wide spectrum of creatures and groups, including but not limited to vampires, werewolves, mermaids, pirates, and more much.
  4. A Mouthful of Dust (#6) by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, Cleric Chih reaches a town known for its pork noodles only to find a story about a past famine is far more disturbing than they bargained for. This pairs very well with Eaters of the Dead by Kevin Wetmore.
  5. Cinder House by Freya Marske- 5 stars, a Cinderella retelling where the titular character is a ghost compelled to clean who decides to have one last hurrah as a human and accidentally finds herself in a poly relationship.
  6. What Stalks the Deep (#3) by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, this book reminded me so much of Jordan L. Hawk’s Widdershins books. Our sworn soldier is summoned to America to help an old friend only to face down monsters in a creepy mine.
  7. Smell by Nagabe- 4 stars, Nagabe’s work is almost always erotic, just as a heads-up. This one is two dogs with a smell kink. Yes, it’s weird. Yes, I still enjoyed it.
  8. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#7) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, this is a sapphic YA series featuring a hard of hearing character. The girls finally get to put on their chorus performance and work at a maid cafe at school. It’s a very cute episode where we get to see them shine and support each other.
  9. Lore Olympus (#9) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, Persephone’s trial is over, and she and Hades are trying to start their life together, only Demeter is once again making things difficult.
  10. The Ancient Magus’s Bride (#21) by Kore Yamazaki, 4 stars, we are beginning a new arc here involving dragons. I really liked this volume as it brought back some older characters. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
  11. My Twisted Eating Disorder by Nagata Kabi- 4 stars, Kabi’s work is autobiographical and deals with her many mental health struggles as someone with an addictive personality. I would not recommend this volume if anyone has an eating disorder as it may be triggering, but it was interesting to see inside someone’s mind as they struggle with it.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Mostly worked on The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Caught up on my bookkeeping
  • Worked with my cover designer on the TRF cover
  • Worked on managing my stress better
  • Spent a lot of time with my partner (see bullet point above, lol)
  • My oldest dog had a seizure (he’s okay, but it was scary)
  • Voted in the NJ gubernatorial election
  • Pulled off a successful event at work with my students
  • Graded a shit ton of papers
  • Dealt with repairmen

Blogs

Writing

I don’t want to jinx it, but writing went well in October. I managed to untangle an issue I was having and make a chunk of The Reanimator’s Fate much more focused and less clunky than I had originally planned. I don’t want to give too much away, but I really like the arc in this book, especially the emotional one. Poor Felipe is going through it, as is Oliver. It’s going to be a rough one for the boys, but they will come out of it far stronger by the end. And Gwen also plays an important role in this story as well (since I know so many of you love Gwen like I do).

Hopes for November

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Reread and edit act 2
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Cover reveal (hopefully)
  • Keep up with grading
  • Finish Christmas shopping
new blog post: may 2025 wrap-up post May 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

May 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I feel like every other month I say, “Damn, that month went fast,” but truly, May went very fast. The first half was taken up by finishing my grading while the second half was taken up by letting my brain quiet before refocusing on my writing project. Since it feels like forever, let’s get reacquainted with our goals for May.

  • Write 20,000 words of TRF
  • Write the working blurb for TRF
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Keep working out consistently
  • Continue proofing the audiobook of TRR
  • Finish grading portfolios
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

Books

My goal this month was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8. All links below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you buy from them.

  1. Death in the Spires by KJ Charles- 5 stars, a mystery that flips back and forth 10 years from when Jem was a student at Oxford when his friend was murdered to the present as he tries to solve the crime and gain control of his life again. It is very queer, rich in texture, and just a fantastic read.
  2. Tasting History by Max Miller- 4 stars, an interesting cookbook based on the Youtube channel about historical recipes. The recipes themselves are great, but I really love the tidbits about the history behind the recipes. I highly recommend his Youtube channel as well.
  3. From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper- 4 stars, opposites collide when two witches have to figure out who hexed someone at a festival. It’s an MF romance in a series with queer couples as well. Rowan and Issa have a complicated past, but seeing them come together is worth a read.
  4. Lore Olympus (#8) by Rachel Smythe- 5 stars, we’re nearing the end of the series, and this volume was chef kiss. I love seeing Persephone and Hades grow toward each other.
  5. Saga (#12) by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples- 4 stars, Hazel is maturing and growing into a teenager, so this volume speaks a lot about PTSD, mental health, and finding where you belong. I love every volume of this series and also hate that the end isn’t that many volumes away.
  6. The Magus of the Library (#8) by Mitsu Izumi- 4 stars, the young magi have their first encounter with spirits and the villains who want to bring the library to its knees. As always, Theo is just such a cinnamon roll, and this was an action-packed volume.
  7. The Other World’s Books Depend on a Bean Counter (#1) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 5 stars, I picked this manga up on a whim and LOVED it. If you like Oliver from my books, you will love the MC. He is an accountant who gets sucked into another world by accident and takes on the accounting in this new world only to become an enemy to someone in high places and catch the eye of a magical knight who saves him from himself.
  8. The Other World’s Books Depend on a Bean Counter (#2) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 5 stars, see review above

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Proofed the entirety of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Sent corrections and paid my narrator Jack R. R. Evans (they’re awesome)
  • Published the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (it is currently trickling out to distributors, libraries and Amazon/Audible will take a few more weeks)
  • Wrote the blurb for The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4), so keep an eye out for that soon
  • Accidentally sent my monthly newsletter out super late in the day
  • Finished grading all of the papers and portfolios for my classes
  • Sent out a few job applications to non-academic jobs
  • Worked out fairly consistently
  • Fell very behind on my stitch-a-long project because my mental health dipped a bit
  • Rested mid month to avoid burnout/a mental health spiral
  • Voted in the NJ democratic primaries by mail (send in your ballots if you have them, early voting starts 6/3)

Blogs

Writing

I think I have finally found my footing with this draft. Halle-friggin-luah. Last month I mentioned that I had to scrap the draft I had because I just didn’t like the direction it was going or the tone. It wasn’t working, and sometimes, it is better to start over than torture yourself by trying to force something that just isn’t going to end well. Scrapping it was the right choice, but it put me behind. That, of course, gave me anxiety, which made it harder to write and led me to falling more behind. You can see how this can cause a downward spiral. I took a small break, got my brain shit together, and restarted my book. Now, it’s flowing much better. I have a clearer direction of where I need to go, what the characters are doing, etc. It’s especially hard when you know it’s the last book in a series and you want to make it extra spectacular for your readers. The most important thing is that I am back on track and cruising along at a slow but steady clip (as the beginning always is). When I get further along, I will post the preorder and all the relevant information for this book, so stay tuned.

Hopes for June

  • Write at least 20,000 words of The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4)
  • Try to write every single day at least a little to be consistent
  • Get the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) out everywhere
  • Maintain my mental health and balancing my writing and hobbies to avoid burnout
  • Catch up on my stitch-a-long
  • Exercise consistently
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Enjoy my 20th anniversary with my partner

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: october 2023 wrap-up post October 2023 Wrap-Up
Monthly Review

October 2023 Wrap-Up

Kara Jorgensen4 Comments

October was release month for The Reanimator’s Soul, which was equal parts wonderful and chaotic. It’s been a month, let me tell you, but to refresh your memory (and mine), here are the goals I set for October:

  • Post/market consistently before The Reanimator’s Soul releases October 24th
  • Do all the paperback setup for The Reanimator’s Soul once I have the final cover
  • Have a great launch for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Write side/follow-up story for my newsletter subscribers (TRM #2.5)
  • Get ball rolling on the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Read 8 books
  • Send out my October newsletter
  • Finish putting together my Halloween plastic canvas village sets (I have one building left and need to hot glue others together)
  • Decide if I want to do anything NaNoWriMo related in November, despite it being a month from hell for me usually (aka is Kara feeling masochistic)

Books

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

  1. The Good Kings by Kara Cooney- 4 stars, a nonfiction book that parallels the famous kings of Ancient Egypt with modern politicians and how what often looks like strength actually signifies a weak ruler.
  2. Unknown (#3) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, Ves and Sebastian are back to look for the third missing magical book when men who frequent Sebastian’s favorite bathhouse start being murdered.
  3. Lore Olympus (#5) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, we get to see Hades and Persephone get closer and secrets finally come to light.
  4. Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue by Cat Sebastian- 5 stars, two baseball players come together after one is injured and realize they are more than teammates with a little help from fate and the one guy’s mom.
  5. Twisted Tome (#2) by Vanora Lawless- 5 stars, an mm paranormal historical romance set during WWI with a dream-walker and an illusion-creator who team up to find a dangerous book and get far more than they bargained for.
  6. In the Pit of Your Stomach by Arden Powell- 4 stars, a choose-your-own adventure story that involves a giant hole, creatures, and maybe even a touch of romance (with a human, sorry monster lovers).
  7. She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat (#3) by Sakaomi Yuzaki- 5 stars, a wonderful installment in this series where we get a new friend and a new neighbor who join the foodie family.
  8. The Case Study of Vanitas (#10) by Jun Mochizuki- 4 stars, a bridge volume that wraps up some of Vanitas’s backstory and sets us down a new path in the story. I’m still mildly annoyed by the forced heterosexuality of this story when the two leads have the best homoromantic chemistry.
  9. The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 4 stars, a fairytale-esque story involving a huntsmen, a poor woman, her wealthy sister, a wolf, and a mysterious stranger. It’s very short, but I am a sucker for Moreno-Garcia’s work, so I will always read it, no matter how long or short.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Finished my Halloween Village craft projects (finally, after months of working on them- take a look here)
  • Posted consistently about The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2) leading up to release day
  • Uploaded the final files for The Reanimator’s Soul onto all major distributors
  • Setup the paperback copy of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Ordered a proof copy, checked it, and approved it
  • Ordered a good copy of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Had a lovely release day for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Reminded ARC readers to post reviews
  • Created the cover for the Reanimator Mysteries #2.5 short story
  • Came up with the title for the Reanimator Mysteries #2.5 short story
  • Wrote newsletter
  • Blogged weekly
  • Fought with the insurance company over my meds (again)
  • Graded a shit ton of papers
  • Had my car breakdown (repeatedly *laugh sob*)
  • Decided there was no way in hell I was doing NaNoWriMo

Blogs Posted

Writing

Not much writing happened this month, but frankly, I’m okay with that. This month was mostly spent preparing for the release of The Reanimator’s Soul, so I knew going into it that my word count was not going to be astronomical. In the end, I only wrote 1,000 words of the Reanimator Mysteries #2.5 short story. Do I wish I could have written more? Yes. Am I okay with only having written a 1,000 words? Also, yes. October has been ridiculously stressful, especially once my car broke down. That happened through the majority of the month where the check engine light came on repeatedly (over two weeks), but my local mechanic (twice) couldn’t figure out why. Eventually, it refused to start in their parking lot, and I had to tow it to the car dealer to get fixed by mechanics who know my brand of car specifically. You know once you bring in the specialty mechanics that it’s going to be big bucks to fix, and it was. As of writing this post on November 1st, I’m still waiting to get my car back from the mechanic due to how long it took for a part to come in. The on-going car repair saga completely stressed me out, making it nearly impossible for me to read or write. I’m hoping that November won’t be a No-Words-November and that I’ll be able to get the majority, if not all, of the short story/novella done.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much seeing the genocide of the Palestinian people live online is affecting me. I have made my stance on Palestinian liberation very clear on social media for years, and to see nearly every politician in the US abandon Palestinian civilians to be wiped out by Israeli forces is more than criminal. If you have the energy, please call your reps and demand a ceasefire now. More needs to be done, but a ceasefire is long overdue. If you would like to learn more about the history of Palestine and how British/American imperialism has lead us to this moment, Verso books has several free books available right now.

Hopes for November

  • Less chaos overall (not quite within my control, but one can hope)
  • Write most, if not all, of The Reanimator Mysteries #2.5 short story
  • Start brainstorming more of The Reanimator Mysteries #3
  • Maintain my mental health during November to avoid No-Words-November
  • Grade all the papers I receive in a timely manner (I have been bad about this lately)
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my November newsletter
new blog post: august 2023 wrap-up post August 2023 Wrap-up Post
Monthly Review

August 2023 Wrap-up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

This month has been chaotic to say the least, and because of that, I have been fending off burnout since midway through the month (and not very well, mind you). It has been a struggle to get through most things I need to do this month, and I did not maintain the balance I need to keep my mental health from derailing. Anywho, let’s take a look at the goals I made for August:

  • FINISH THIS BOOK
  • Get through my summer class
  • Prep for my fall classes
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly + monthly newsletter
  • Not lose my marbles along the way
  • Get ahead on blog posts again

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 7 this month.

  1. The Tiger Came to the Mountain by Silvia Moreno Garcia- 4 stars, a magical and mildly autobiographical story about desperation and strength during war and the history of girls lost to time.
  2. Four Weddings to Fall in Love (#1) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a romance that begins with a one-night stand that goes awry where the couple needs to reconnect and regroup as they attend multiple weddings together.
  3. The Invisible Man and his Soon to be Wife (#2) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, a cute, sweet addition to the series, which brings in a queer side character, which was a lovely surprise.
  4. Saffron Alley (#2) by A. J. Demas- 4 stars, we get to see a bit of domesticity between our MCs as they try to navigate the future together.
  5. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell- 3 stars, a slightly fantastical version of Lucrezia de Medici’s marriage and short life. While I loved Hamnet, I found this one to be a bit brutal for my taste.
  6. Strong Wine (#3) by A. J. Demas- 4 stars, the wonderful conclusion to the Sword Dance trilogy where we meet Dami’s horrid family, see him fighting a murder charge, and get a HEA.
  7. Secret XXX (#0) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, a spicy yet sweet manga between a pet shop owner and a man who thinks he’s allergic to bunnies. It also sets the scene for a spin-off series.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Got a Bookbub for The Reanimator’s Heart (dropping 9/3)
  • Made my syllabi for my classes
  • Made the Blackboard boards for my classes
  • Taught my summer class and graded all their papers
  • Got my car’s oil changed and brakes checked before the fall semester starts (was stressing over this)
  • Took part in the Narratess Indie Author Sale
  • Kept my mental health hanging on by a string and rode myself into the ground
  • Did not manage my anxiety well… at all.
  • But the sales I ran have bumped up my preorders for The Reanimator’s Soul nicely

Blogs Posted

Writing

Writing has been a mixed bag this month with it mostly being decent, despite my mental chaos. I ended up writing more than I have in a long time, and I basically finished the book. I need to go back and do a bit of tweaking, editing, and expanding, but the story itself is complete. I am super excited for you all to read The Reanimator’s Soul when it comes out October 24th because I think I did a better job on the mystery than I did in book one, and there’s a lot of emotional complexity going on between Oliver, Felipe, and their various family, friends, and foes. I’m trying to control myself for now, but there will definitely be a side story that goes out to newsletter subscribers as well as potentially a novel or novella featuring Ansley and another character from this book.

Hopes for September

We are once again keeping the goals light because my brain needs a break.

  • blog weekly
  • monthly newsletter
  • read 8 books
  • maintain mental health by gaming, reading, or crafting when necessary
  • stay on top of grading
  • Edit The Reanimator’s Soul
new blog post: july 2023 wrap-up post July 2023 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

July 2023 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

July has gone oddly well until the end when I started to get a little fried. I had a really good writing and reading month, and I didn’t get picked for jury duty, which is the most important thing of all. Let’s take a look at what my goals were for July:

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog Weekly
  • Monthly Newsletter
  • Jury duty (UGH) and my birthday (meh)
  • Post the cover reveal for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Prepare for the summer class I’m [probably] teaching

Books

My goal for July was to read 8 books, and I read 12.

  1. Sailor’s Delight by Rose Lerner- 4 stars, a lovely, low heat novella about a Jewish merchant and a gentile naval officer in the 1800s.
  2. Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse- 4 stars, a short story/novella set in space that speaks to the issues surrounding trans-racial adoptions
  3. The Ancient Magus’s Bride (#18) by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, an action-packed volume with some good reveals.
  4. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang- 5 stars, a fantastic look at how white authors behave horribly. If you’ve been on book Twitter for a long time, so much of this makes sense. If you love a delusional narrator, this one is perfect.
  5. On or Off (#1) by A1- 4 stars, a graphic novel series about a high-powered CEO and the new employee/CEO of a much smaller company as they navigate the power struggles and their own issues. There is a misunderstanding at the beginning, so check the trigger warnings for volume 1
  6. On or Off (#2) by A1- 4 stars, see above
  7. On or Off (#3) by A1- 4 stars, see above
  8. On or Off (#4) by A1- 4 stars, see above
  9. Payback’s a Witch (#1) by Lana Harper- 4 stars, a witchy romcom about a woman returning to her hometown to officiate a magical celebration/games and uses it to get back at her awful ex and finds herself falling for one of his jilted girlfriends.
  10. A Thief & a Gentleman (#6) by Arden Powell- 5 stars, a saucy thief reunites with his childhood friend who is now an uptight man of leisure, but can they meet each other where they are and thrive?
  11. Sappho: A New Translation by Diane J. Rayor-4 stars, an interesting glimpse into how little we have of Sappho’s works
  12. The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamina- 4 stars, a shorter book packed with medical magic, a queer-normative world, and the complications of being conquered and conqueror

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Survived jury duty and didn’t get picked- did you know jury duty selection can trigger checking OCD? Me neither, but it can.
  • Prepared for my summer class- fixed the syllabus and set up the Blackboard module
  • The Reanimator’s Heart made it through to round 2 of the Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Awards (I will update you all on the next round when I know!)
  • Did the cover reveal for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Made a page on my website for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Made more index cards/planned the rest of this book
  • Celebrated my birthday and enjoyed myself
  • Continued to post daily Tiktoks
  • Announced the audiobook release for The Reanimator’s Heart
  • The Reanimator’s Heart is now available everywhere in audiobook, including libraries
  • Fried myself a bit, but I have managed to avoid burnout by listening to my body
  • Made a to-be-read jar (aka a mug with slips of paper with book titles)

Blogs Posted

Writing

Writing actually went pretty well this month. I wrote 20,000 words, which makes me very happy. I’ve had some mental health lows this month, so at some point, I got worried about how productive I would actually be. Luckily, I’m heading toward the end of the book, and that second half is often easier for me to write than the first half. The good thing is that the words I have put down are solid, so I don’t think I’m going to need to do any major rewrites, just tinkering with foreshadowing and hitting home the major themes and threads. I’ve been doing sprints with my partner, which seems to be helping me stay on task. They do coding stuff while I write, so we both benefit from the body doubling and accountability. Something I’d like to do as time goes on is increase my daily word count, and I think by doing sprints, I can accomplish that.

Hopes for August

I’m keeping August’s goals light since I’ll be doing a lot of stuff for my classes.

  • FINISH THIS BOOK
  • Get through my summer class
  • Prep for my fall classes
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly + monthly newsletter
  • Not lose my marbles along the way
  • Get ahead on blog posts again
new blog post: june 2023 wrap-up post June 2023 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

June 2023 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Looking back on my goals for June, I’m pretty sure I was delusional. Seriously, I don’t know why I put together this mishmash of goals, but I do think I got a lot done in June, just not those things. In May, I was feeling fried, but in June, I have actually been doing pretty decently, apart from a bump of anxiety. Here are the goals I made last month:

  • Blog weekly and send out my monthly newsletter
  • Write 25,000 words
  • Edit act 1 as a tidy up
  • Watch and take notes on more of Publish and Thrive 2.0
  • Enjoy my anniversary with my partner
  • Keep posting regularly on Tiktok
  • Maintain mental health by not overdoing it

Books

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

  1. Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (#1) by Ashley Herring Blake- 4 stars, a sapphic romance between a bookstore owner with a kid and a photographer who doesn’t do love. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance, but I really enjoyed this one, especially with the complicated family dynamics running in the background.
  2. My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (#4) by Nagata Kabi- 4 stars, I always love Kabi’s candor about her struggles with alcoholism, mental illness, and her sexuality.
  3. My Wandering Warrior Existence (#5) by Nagata Kabi- 3 stars, I loved this one a little less as it felt like it had less substance than her other works. Not bad, just a bit flimsy for its own book.
  4. The Case Study of Vanitas (#9) by Jun Mochizuki- 4 stars, a good addition to the story where we get to learn a bit about Vanitas’s past while still leaving a lot unanswered.
  5. Lore Olympus (#4) by Rachel Smythe- 4 stars, I would love to know why I’m hooked on this series, despite it being so hetero, but I am. I think it’s Hades and his love of dogs mixed with Persephone being a mess.
  6. Last Gender (#3) by Rei Taki- 4 stars, the final installment of Last Gender gives a surprising twist about the club’s owner and more.
  7. The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw- 5 stars, a monstrous aftermath for The Little Mermaid where a mermaid and a plague doctor team up to figure out what’s going on with immortal kids in the woods and their sinister gods. Very queer and goes into the beauty and brutality of nature and man. Adored it.
  8. The Madman’s Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching- 4 stars, an interesting overview of weird books found all over the world. A good jumping point for deeper research.
  9. Monster and the Beast (#4) by Renji- 4 stars, the final installment in the series where we get to see what is in store for our heroes as well as finding out Liam’s backstory.

Admin/Behind the Scenes Stuff

  • Celebrated our 18th anniversary with my partner (brought home a smörgåsbord of takeout, and it was glorious)
  • Kept up with my tiktok-making
  • Got the cover for The Reanimator’s Soul sorted with Crowglass Design
  • Rewrote the blurb for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Did a major editing pass of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Listened to the audiobook proof of The Reanimator’s Heart, narrated by Jack R. R. Evans
  • Paid for, approved, and distributed the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Heart to all major retailers (see next week’s blog for more details)
  • Managed to recover (mostly) from burnout while only having a few major stress/anxiety days
  • Made and setup my goals/kanban board for Q3
  • Ran a sale on K&K
  • Took my dog for his vet recheck (he’s doing well, btw)
  • Had The Reanimator’s Heart appear as one of Meet Cute Bookshop’s “guess the queer romance by the unhinged description,” which made my day

Blogs Posted

Writing

While the month started out a little slow, I picked up speed partway through the month as I truly hit my stride on the draft. I began by editing the first act and doing some tidying in the second, but once that was over, I was able to write more per day more fluidly, which feels amazing. The first half of a book is always the slowest part for me because I’m constantly double-checking plants and foreshadowing, setting things up for later, etc., so I probably end up spending double the time on the first half as I do the second. The second half is sort of the consequences of the first half, so whatever happens there should make sense with what I started with. The only thing I’m semi stuck on at the moment is the order of events for the later part of the book, but I’ll figure that out soon. Over the entire month, I netted 15,000 words, but do keep in mind that I was editing for the first week, so there is a lot of rewriting and tinkering mixed in.

Hopes for July

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog Weekly
  • Monthly Newsletter
  • Jury duty (UGH) and my birthday (meh)
  • Post the cover reveal for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Prepare for the summer class I’m [probably] teaching
february 2023 wrap-up post February 2023 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

February 2023 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Not going to lie, I tend to hate February because it’s a short month, which totally throws me off in terms of planning. Every deadline in early March causes panic mode for me because I somehow forget February ends abruptly. Either way, this was a far less eventful month than January, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. My goals for February were to

  • Learn more about writing mysteries specifically (research!)
  • Outline Act I of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Write 500 words a day (14k total) <— hahahahaha
  • Grade a shit ton of papers with my brain in tact
  • Manage stress
  • Do more art
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter

Books

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

  1. The Empire of Gold (#2) by S. A. Chakraborty- 5 stars, a phenomenal ending to this series. I loved how it wrapped up, everyone got what they deserved, and the redemption arc was actually good.
  2. The Fellowship of the Ring (#1) by J. R. R. Tolkein, read by Andy Serkis- 4 stars for the book, 5 stars for the reading. Andy Serkis is a fantastic voice actor. He voices every character uniquely, and the acting is fantastic. This sort of audiobook reading is really the only kind I enjoy.
  3. Sword Dance (#1) by A. J. Demas- 4 stars, I greatly enjoyed this re-imagined ancient Mediterranean world. It was full of queer characters, espionage, and action.
  4. The Busy Writer’s Tips on Writing Mystery, Crime, and Suspense by M. R. McAlister- 3 stars, while there were some useful things in this book, I think if you’re more than a newbie writer, a lot of it is already known/obvious.
  5. Out of the Mirror, Darkness (#7) by Garth Nix- 3 stars, this series is linked by tone and time periods but different authors. So far, this one feels the most underdeveloped. I don’t know if Nix borrowed characters known to his usual readers, but the main characters in this short story felt very flimsy.
  6. American Cheese by Joe Berkowitz- 4 stars, an interesting nonfiction deep-dive into US cheese culture. A lot of this is hipster-y, but there was a whole cheese subculture I had no idea existed.
  7. Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies by Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery- 4 stars, a collection of Monstery’s articles on self-defense with added biographical and supplemental text. Very fascinating and will come in handy for my research.
  8. A Very Merry Bachelor’s Valet (#2.5) by Arden Powell- 4 stars, a short story featuring the characters from The Bachelor’s Valet. It was a lot of fun to visit them and see the chaos they can get into.
  9. A Novel Arrangement (#5) by Arden Powell- 5 stars, I absolutely loved the dynamic between these three characters. At first, I wasn’t sure how their relationship was going to work out, but throughout the story, Powell did a great job getting them to move to friends, then lovers.
  10. Last Gender (#2) by Rei Taki- 4 stars, this one doesn’t flinch from complicated, adult queer relationships. I have a love-hate relationship with the vignette format because there are some characters where I would love to see more. It also does quite a bit of explaining/spoon-feeding of info, but I can deal with that.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Wrote “An Unexpected Valentine”
  • Edited and proofed “AUV”
  • Made the cover and blurb for “AUV”
  • Published “AUV” and sent it out to newsletter subscribers
  • Researched writing mysteries
  • Researched plot twists
  • Researched many more book things I won’t give away
  • Outlined Act I of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Did more planning for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Played more of Bear and Breakfast
  • Got REALLY far ahead with blogging
  • Graded so many papers

Blogs Posted

Writing

I’m not going to lie, I was really ready to be very down on myself about how much I didn’t write in February on The Reanimator’s Soul. What ended up happening, as with all my new stories, is a false start. I often feel like I am 100% ready to write a story, then I start writing it and quickly realize I have no idea what I’m doing or where I’m going. Basically, it’s still underbaked, even if I have the framework of the story ready to go. That’s what happened in February. I started writing it, realized it was not fully gelling, went into the wrong point of view initially, and I froze. I didn’t want to delete what I wrote already because that would have been painful, but rewriting it was also sort of a painful process because it needed a lot of beefing up and fine tuning. The good thing is that while I stalled doing that, I picked up my pack of blank notecards and managed to figure out the major emotional beats for the story and made quite a few scene cards for act one. Are they words on the page? No. Are they very useful to eventually getting words on the page? Yes. I need to trust the process. So much of art is staring at something that looks like absolute garbage until suddenly it doesn’t. Art is messy and frustrating and often ugly, and that’s something my perfectionist(ish) brain tends to forget. We get an (ish) on perfectionist because it’s less about perfection and more about “why can’t it look like I know what I’m doing?!” before I actually know what I’m doing.

The other big writing thing I did was nothing to sneeze at either. I wrote a whole freaking short story, edited it, proofed it, and published it to my newsletter (which you can grab if you sign up for it). Even though “An Unexpected Valentine” is only 5k words, I put a lot of effort into it and deeply love it. I needed a palate cleanser when the story wasn’t flowing well, and I think working on it is ultimately what jogged loose the important things I needed to figure out. It’s like when you get ideas in the shower or while doing a semi mindless task. I needed to write that to let the bigger story gel in the background. Books are basically jello. They need time to set before you can start messing with them.

Hopes for March

  • Read 8 books
  • Write The Reanimator’s Soul
    • Minimum goal 15k words
    • Real goal 20k words
    • Stretch goal 25k words
  • Enjoy spring break and actually relax (as opposed to using it to catch up)
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Do some digital art
  • Plan my goals for Q2
November 2022 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

November 2022 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

This month was a struggle, as November almost always is. Between getting a lot of papers and work to grade, the time change, anxiety, and holiday stuff, I feel like I did not get as much done as I would have liked to. I’m trying hard not to beat myself up over it because I did the best I could with what I had in my mental reserves. This might also be a bit of a wake-up call to me [again] about making sure to refill the creative well instead of trying to steamroller forward even when I’m mentally exhausted. I also got into a minor car accident (got cut off and popped a tire running off the road), which made my anxiety skyrocket at the end of the month. If this is my “worst” month this year, I still think I did pretty damn good. Anyway, let’s see what my goals for November were.

  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly and put out the monthly newsletter
  • Keep marketing The Reanimator’s Heart
  • Word count goals for “Flowers and Flourishing”
    • Minimum- 10k
    • Intermediate- 12.5k
    • Stretch- 15k
  • Shop for majority of the Christmas presents
  • Actually work on that spring class’s lesson plans
  • Do something relaxing- not sure what exactly but video games, drawing, crafts count

Books

My goal for November was to read 8 books, and I read 8 books.

  1. The Ancient Magus’s Bride Vol. 16 by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, I like that we’re finally coming to a head with the antagonist in this arc. It could be its own manga series with how long it’s been.
  2. The Stand-Up Groomsman (#2) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, loved this one. The MCs don’t hit it off initially when standoffish meets high energy comedian, but the way they truly see each other is *chef kiss*
  3. Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk- 5 stars, demons, angels, and collected souls in 1920s Chicago with a queer cast? Yes please. Very short but very good.
  4. A Gathering Storm by Joanna Chambers- 4 stars, loved the disability rep with the MCs voice issue and [potential] neurodivergence along with the interweaving of spiritualism and grief.
  5. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell- 4 stars, a fiction/nonfiction interweaving of Shakespeare’s dead son, Hamnet, and his character Hamlet where the supernatural infuses the essence of the family’s life. Really interesting, definitely edges into lit fic stylistically.
  6. The Solstice Cabin (#4) by Arden Powell- 4 stars, magical 1920s Canada where one MC follows the other nearly to the ends of the earth for love.
  7. Skeleton Song (#7.7) by Seanan McGuire- 4 stars, a short story showing how Christopher fell into Mariposa and met the skeleton girl.
  8. What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo- 4 stars, fake psychics get more than they bargained for when putting on a seance at an all girls’ magical school.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Marketed The Reanimator’s Heart a lot during the month
  • Sent out more audio review copies of Kinship and Kindness
  • Made a temporary cover for Flowers and Flourishing
  • Made a Goodreads page for Flowers and Flourishing
  • Wrote the blurb for Flowers and Flourishing
  • Did the majority of my Christmas shopping (very happy about this scrambling in December stresses me out)
  • Graded so a shit ton of papers *laugh sob*
  • Got a new tire put on my car because I got run off the road (yes, I’m fine, just freaked out)
  • Made email adverts for the class I’m teaching in the spring semester

As a side note, I did not touch my lesson plans for next semester at all. It has been pushed back once again. If I get through half of my plans in December, I’ll be happy.

Blogs Posted

Writing

How did writing go? Badly, lol. The sad part is that the words were good. The vast majority of what I wrote won’t require major edits or rewrites. It’s just the quantity that went wrong. As mentioned in my blog post on NaNoWriMo, I hate November. It’s the month when my brain nosedives due to seeing high NaNo word counts, the weather/time change, and all the grading I’m doing. I had wanted to write at least 10,000 words. Instead, I wrote 8,000 words, and the process was torturous. Luckily, I’m writing a novella, so I’m really not that behind at this point and will have it out on time as long as I don’t totally tank in December.

  • Week 1- 0 words (6 day week)
  • Week 2- 4,000 words, 571 words/day, (didn’t write for 2 days)
  • Week 3- 1,300 words, 186 words/day (didn’t write for 3 days)
  • Week 4- 1,300 words, 186 words/day (didn’t write for 3 days)
  • Week 5- 1,400 words, 467 words/day (3 day week, didn’t write 1 of those days)

Hopes for December

  • Finish writing Flowers and Flourishing
  • Edit Flowers and Flourishing
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly and send out my December newsletter
  • Finish Christmas prep
  • Have 6 weeks of lessons prepped/outlined for next semester
  • Set goals for Q1 of 2023