Tag: an unexpected evening

new blog post: "An Unexpected Evening" (TRM #3.5) is Out! “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5) is Out!
The Reanimator's Remains · Writing

“An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5) is Out!

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

If you’re part of my newsletter, you have already received your copy of “An Unexpected Evening,” but I also wanted to release it officially to my non-newsletter readers.

You can grab your copy through the freebies section on my website or through this link. “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5) is a 16,000 word novella that takes place a few weeks after the events of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3), so I would highly recommend reading that book (and the ones before it) first.

The cover of "An Unexpected Evening" is in the center (black with green text and a masquerade mask). An Unexpected Question TRM #3.5. Oliver and Felipe, Things go wrong, food, seances, ghosts? a halloween party, an ominous prophecy, 16k words

The Paranormal Society’s All Hallows’ Eve party is the highlight of the magical social season, and after years of going alone and ducking out after an hour, Oliver is hellbent on having a good time with Felipe this year, even if it kills him.

While Felipe is more than willing to wear a costume and dance the night away to make Oliver happy, an ominous prophecy from a sybil only hours before the festivities puts him on his guard. Unfortunately, the sybil’s warning isn’t Felipe’s only concern if the feelings coming across the tether are any indication.

Will Oliver and Felipe make it through the masquerade in one piece or will the prophetess’s warning be their undoing?

CW: discussions of past sexual trauma, sexual content, and panic attack

If you would like to grab your copy of “An Unexpected Evening,” you can do so by clicking the button below. You can also pop over to my freebies page on my website to grab the other 2 in-between stories for the Reanimator Mysteries series.

Grab “An Unexpected Evening” here
new blog post: february 2025 wrap-up post February 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

February 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

Even though the US is a hot mess, I felt like February was far better than January. Maybe it’s seeing the push back, protests, and having judges rule in our favor that has heartened me. That or the spite inside of me has been kindled. That helps as well. Before we get going, let’s take a look at my goals for February:

  • Finish writing “AUE”
  • Edit “AUE”
  • Send it out to my newsletter peeps first (everyone else gets it a month later)
  • Reread The Reanimator Mysteries books 1-3
  • Start proofing the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Maintain my fragile sanity
  • Perpetually bug my congress people

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8. The links below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you purchase the book through them.

  1. Two Friends in Marriage (#3) by Jackie Lau- 5 stars, a lovely queer MF romance featuring a demisexual FMC and a bisexual MMC. Watching these two go from friends to married to lovers was just so sweet and cute. There’s also a giant penguin plush in the story who helps to sort of bridge the gap through cute and loving gestures.
  2. A Study in Black Brew by Marie Howalt- 4 stars, a retelling of A Study in Scarlet (aka a Sherlock Holmes story) set in a world with multiple alien races, advanced tech, and of course, coffee/black brew. It comes out May 22nd.
  3. Husband Material (#2) by Alexis Hall- 4 stars, a mm story built upon the structure of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Lucien and Oliver are simultaneously at their worst and best in this book, and while I enjoyed this one, the ending kind of annoyed me.
  4. Textiles by Beverly Gordon- 4 stars, a coffee table-ish book about the history and cultural significance of textiles. This is less specific than Victoria Finlay’s Fabric, but it gives you a lot of rabbit holes to go down while doing future research. I believe it is out of print.
  5. The Single Life (#1) by Akiko Morishima- 4 stars, two women who were penpals as children and realized they were lesbians through their letters meet up as older women. This is not a romance, but it’s sort of a slice of life as two queer women figure out what they want from the future.
  6. The Single Life (#2) by Akiko Morishima- 4 stars, see volume 1’s review.
  7. The Single Life (#3) by Akiko Morishima- 4 stars, see volume 1’s review.
  8. Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, I loved this book. It’s like 50 First Dates meets Ground Hog Day as a workaholic eats some dumplings and gets caught in a time loop where she befriends another time looper and desperately hopes the man she has fallen in love with her will eventually remember her or that they might have a future together. This book comes out May 6th, and I HIGHLY recommend grabbing it.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Approved the first 15 minutes of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Wrote the rest of “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5)
  • Edited/Proofread/Formatted “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5)
  • Sent out “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM 3.5) to my newsletter subscribers
    • I also posted the link for it in the freebie section of my website
  • Started working on the Court of Crows Stitch-a-long from FineFrogStitching
  • Agreed to take part in the Weeknight Writers Writing Roundtable on writing trans characters taking place on March 15th
    • You can grab a ticket here or wait for the replay
  • Stayed on task/schedule with grading for my classes
  • Celebrated my partner’s birthday
  • Bugged my senators and congress person repeatedly about… everything. If you can, please reach out to them and try to push them to do the right thing (and praise them when they do- carrot and stick, my friends)

Blogs

Writing

At first, I was very upset that my brain utterly derailed from stress in January after *gestures to the White House*, but I think taking this extra month to work on “An Unexpected Evening” was worth it. The story is significantly better, clearer, and longer. Sometimes, taking extra time is dawdling or dealing with executive function issues, but other times, it really is part of the marinating process. This time it felt like those extra few weeks of marinating helped me to really nail what I was trying to say with Oliver and Felipe. It also made it clearer what I want to do with book 4 (more on that in the near future). I’m super excited for you all to read “An Unexpected Evening,” and I hope you will leave a review on Goodreads or Storygraph if you read it.

Hopes for March

  • Reread all of the Reanimator Mysteries books in preparation for book 4
  • Start outlining book 4
  • Write at least 10k words of book 4
  • Proof as much of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains as I can
  • Deal with several doctor’s appointments this month (boo)
  • Have the Weeknight Writers event go well (March 15th)
  • Continue to bug my senators and house member
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Maintain my sanity
  • Work diligently on my cross stitch project

new blog post: january 2025 wrap-up post January 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

January 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

How have these past two weeks been so, so long. Also, to everyone in Canada, Mexico, and China, yes, this is the stupidest timeline and the US deserves all the hate it gets globally. ANYWAY, let’s remind ourselves what I was supposed to get done this month.

  • Finish writing “AUE”
  • Edit and format “AUE”
  • Pay Q4 2024 taxes (bleck)
  • Set up my syllabi and Blackboards for my courses
  • Send out my newsletter (with “An Unexpected Evening”)
  • Start planning out TRM #4
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books this month, and I read 10. All links below are affiliate links that give me a little kickback.

  1. The Reckless Decade by H. W. Brand- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about the 1890s. This was WAY too timely for what’s going on. If you want a hint as to how we might get out of this, I think this book might be helpful to a point.
  2. Calling the Spirits by Lisa Morton- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about seances throughout the ages. It starts with necromancy and goes all the way to modern ghost hunting shows. It was quite interesting and research for a potential book.
  3. Toad Words & Other Stories by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, I read books 3-5 in rapid succession, so I’m not sure which was which. Overall, I really enjoyed T. Kingfisher’s commentary on fairytales and her retellings.
  4. The Halcyon Fairy Book by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, see #3.
  5. Jackalope Wives and Other Stories by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, see #3.
  6. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (#10) by Seanan McGuire- 5 stars,
  7. Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a beauty and the beast retelling with a beast who has been stuck in a time loop for centuries and a gardening beauty named Bryony. This was a really interesting mechanism for BatB as it reminded me a bit more of Eros and Psyche, but I wish there was more emotional intimacy built between the MCs as that is my jam.
  8. Fever by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a horror story set during the Canadian gold rush featuring a cabin in the woods, queer characters, and plenty of spookiness. This is good horror for people who are big babies… like myself.
  9. Boyfriend Material (#1) by Alexis Hall- 4 stars, a disaster gay needs a fake boyfriend for a fundraiser and winds up fake dating a fussy lawyer. Soon, fake dating turns to real dating turns too real turns to much more. On one hand, I wanted to shake Luc, but both MCs deserve each other as they are both annoying.
  10. She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat (#5) by Sakaomi Yuzaki, 5 stars, the two MCs finally move into together, so we get house hunting, LGBT+ struggles in Japan, and a hint at their new life together. This series is so sweet and cute, and the food always looks impeccable. I love how mental health and the characters’ sexualities are handled.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Postponed the release of “An Unexpected Evening” because my brain broke somewhere around January 20th and didn’t recover in time to finish writing the story
  • Wrote some of “An Unexpected Evening”
  • Started zapping my partner’s face 3x a week because we must achieve gender euphoria, even in hellish times
  • Started working on a writing notebook to keep track of all my writing stuff for the next year (we’ll see how this goes)
  • The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) made it to the next round of the Indie Ink Awards in several categories (a huge thank you to all who voted!)
  • Had several mental breakdowns due to the state of the US
  • Called my reps nearly daily about various issues
    • Democracy.io can be very helpful if you want to email all your reps at once
    • You can also call the Capitol switchboard and ask for your rep by name- (202) 224-3121
  • Paid my 2024 Q4 taxes (bleck)
  • Set up my syllabi and online stuff for my classes
  • Started teaching my classes
  • Kept up with my arm/shoulder workout

Blog Posts

Writing

When I tell you this month has been hard, I mean it. At the beginning of the month, I was struggling to get back into writing because I took a month and a half off after the release of The Reanimator’s Remains to avoid burnout. I needed the break, but the problem with a break is getting back into the routine of writing. I also ended up rewriting and restructuring “An Unexpected Evening,” which made it significantly better but threw me off my game. My confidence was mildly shaken by having to fix it, so when January 20th rolled around and all hell broke loose, my brain just noped out of writing completely. I kept hoping I could wrangle it, but if you have been following politics in the US, you can understand why this was nearly impossible (and made worse by my classes starting). I think I’ve finally regained equilibrium and am hopeful that I’m finally back on track for real this time. The good thing is that I think you will enjoy this silly story… novella? Not sure, it’s grown a bit according to my guestimated word count. I seriously appreciate all of you so much for your kind words when I announced that I had to push the short story’s release back.

Hopes for February

  • Finish writing “AUE”
  • Edit “AUE”
  • Send it out to my newsletter peeps first (everyone else gets it a month later)
  • Reread The Reanimator Mysteries books 1-3
  • Start proofing the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Maintain my fragile sanity
  • Perpetually bug my congress people
new blog post: my 2025 goals My 2025 Goals
Writing

My 2025 Goals

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I’m not always a fan of yearly goals. Truthfully, I prefer to do 90 day/quarterly goals, but since it’s the beginning of the new year, I thought it would be good to post my overall goals for the year. I have divided the goals into writing, publishing, personal, and other goals. In a perfect world, I will be able to write two full books this year, but these goals will probably be aspirational, and that’s okay. Something I’ve been trying to be better about is not beating myself up when I don’t accomplish everything I set out to do. As long as I do my best at the time, it’s fine, and it will eventually get done. Without further ado, let’s take a look at my goals for 2025.

Writing Goals

  • Write, edit, and publish “An Unexpected Evening” (about 10k, started it at the end of 2024)
  • Write, edit, and publish The Reanimator Mysteries #4 (100k+ words)
  • At least start writing Ansley and Joe’s story (80k? words)
  • Write, edit, and publish an epilogue short story for book 4
  • Write consistently throughout the year
  • Try writing two books at once (maybe)
  • Have 10 2k writing days
  • Have 3 5k writing days

Publishing Goals

  • Publish the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) with Jack R. R. Evans as the narrator
  • Publish/send out “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5) to newsletter subscribers
  • Publish 1-2 books
    • Definitely publish TRM #4
    • Potentially publish Joe and Ansley’s book, though that may be next year
  • Make more money than I did in 2024
  • Potentially get a new cover for Kinship and Kindness (this may get pushed back to next year if Joe and Ansley’s book ends up being worked on late in the year)

Personal Goals

  • Work on my office since I stalled out on this
    • Get rid of the old furniture
    • Paint the walls
    • Set up the new furniture
  • Get healthier
    • Make more veggie-heavy dishes
    • Continue to lift weights consistently
    • Work up to 10 lb weights when I’m ready
  • Maintain my mental health
    • Be social with my friends online and in-person
    • Play games and/or refill the well
    • Be cognizant of when I’m burning out and take steps to stop it

Other Goals

  • Read 100 books
  • Play/finish 3 video games (I will consider prolonged playing of an open-world game like Stardew as “finishing”)
  • Learn a new craft
  • Learn new cooking techniques/recipes
  • Blog weekly
  • Send my newsletter out monthly

More than anything, I hope 2025 is boring. I know we’re heading into turbulent times in the US and around the world, but I want everyone to reach out to those around them and find people to support them. Change starts with us, so I hope you all turn to the trans, disabled, and marginalized people in your lives and make decisions with their best interests in mind.