The Reanimator’s Remains is out in Audiobook!

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I was debating holding off on announcing this, but just in time for Pride, The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) is out in audiobook! Jack R. R. Evans is back as our narrator, and they are absolutely awesome. I think they did a fantastic job capturing Oliver and Felipe as well as all of the characters inhabiting the mysterious town of Aldorhaven.

the audiobook cover for The Reanimator's Remains written by Kara Jorgensen and narrated by Jack R R Evans

The audiobook version of The Reanimator’s Remains is available on Kobo, Chirp, B&N, Audiobooks.com, Apple Books, Spotify, GooglePlay, library systems, and more! You may need to request your library buy a copy, but it is available! The only place where it isn’t out yet is Audible/Amazon. They are dragging their heels, so it may take a few more weeks for it to be available there. If you really want to get your hands on it, I highly suggest grabbing it elsewhere.

You can also get books 1 and 2 (and Kinship and Kindness) at all major audiobook retailers.

The Reanimator’s Soul Audiobook is Available Now!

May 12, 2024May 10, 2024 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

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

I am so excited to announce that The Reanimator’s Soul is now out in audiobook! It’s still trickling out to a few other retailers, but it’s now out at most major retailers and library systems.

Jack R. R. Evans, who narrated The Reanimator’s Heart and Kinship and Kindness, has returned to narrate The Reanimator’s Soul, and they have done an amazing job. I always rave about Jack’s work, but the way they did Ansley and Joe had me grinning from ear to ear.

You can grab the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Soul at

Amazon

Audible

Barnes & Noble/Nook

Kobo (on Kobo Plus as well)

And many more including Libby, which many libraries in the US use. It will also be available in other library systems and Libro.fm, but it takes a few weeks to appear.

Personal Life · Writing

My 2024 Goals

January 14, 2024December 31, 2023 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Some of you may know that I do quarterly goals and use the HB90 system, but this year, I also wanted to make a goal list for my year overall. I’m not a fan of making wild or grandiose goals that assume you are magically a new person when the new year starts, so I try to keep my goals realistic or at least doable. I’ve broken these goals down into writing goals, publishing goals, personal goals, and other.

Writing Goals

Write more consistently- I have been struggling to get into a writing routine this past year, so in 2024, I want to be better about writing more days than not and doing more sprints than I am currently doing
Finish, edit, and send out “An Unexpected Question” (The Reanimator Mysteries #2.5) to my newsletter subscribers in January
Write and edit The Reanimator Mysteries #3
Write The Reanimator Mysteries #3.5 short story
Start brainstorming The Reanimator Mysteries #4

Publishing Goals

Publish The Reanimator Mysteries #3 in October
Have a good launch/preorder period for book #3
Make REDACTED in sales overall (about 15% more than I did in 2023)
Proof and publish the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Soul
Look into selling books directly on my website/Etsy
Publish 1-2 books

Personal Goals

Assemble and use the elliptical I bought months ago (oops)
Stay out of other people’s chaos
Be more mindful of my mental health and do more to support myself before it gets bad
Work more on my office renovation (that has been basically shelved since last summer)
Be better about refilling my creative well with things like crafts, movies I enjoy, reading, art, etc.
Take a trip to HMart with my partner

Other Goals

Read 100 books (which is my usual goal and includes graphic novels, manga, short stories, etc.)
Play extensively/finish 2 video games
Have 5 2,000+ word writing days
Have 2 5,000+ word writing days (I’d really like to work my way up to having large writing days. Out of all my goals, these two are probably the least attainable, but I can try)
Keep crafting and/or learn a new craft skill
Continue to blog weekly and send out monthly newsletters
Commission more art of my characters, as a treat

I’m sure for some people this looks like a lot while for other authors, this is nothing compared to how many book they publish. At this point, I think I can only publish 1-2 books a year, and while I’d like to be able to write more or get ahead of my publication schedule, I am trying to be conservative and/or realistic with my goals. Nothing makes me feel worse than dreaming wildly and completely missing the mark. Overall though, I think this is very doable.

My hope for all of us is that 2024 will bring a very boring, peaceful time. I hope for Palestine to be free, for people to take public health seriously, for all of us to have more public safety nets and prosperity that isn’t at the expense of others.

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.

Kinship and Kindness

The Kinship and Kindness Audiobook is Live!

September 22, 2022 Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

the audiobook cover for Kinship and Kindness by Kara Jorgensen

I’d like to interrupt your regularly scheduled scrolling because the audiobook of Kinship and Kindness is live! This book is one of my absolute favorites with a stress-baking werewolf leading a delegation in his father’s place and a fox shifter trying to get support for his shifter union back in NYC. The book came out in 2020, but I was really hoping to find a trans narrator since my main character, Bennett, is a trans man and I did! Jack R R Evans did an amazing job bringing Bennett, Theo, and everyone else to life. While proofing the audiobook, I was completely enraptured, and I am not the best at focusing while listening to audiobooks, but I was hooked.

Currently, Kinship and Kindness is available on Audible and Amazon, but it will be coming to iTunes as well. In the beginning of 2023, I’m also hoping to take it wide, so we will see.

For now, you can grab a copy at Audible or Amazon.

Monthly Review · Writing

June 2016 in Review

July 1, 2016June 30, 2016 Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

In Review June

Last year, I decided that I would post my accomplishments for the month and what goals I hope to achieve in the following month.

Now that I’m completely free from school and waist-deep in Dead Magic, I have been writing my little fingers off and being shockingly productive. Part of me is pleased and part of me is wondering when it will all come crashing to a halt.

What I accomplished in June:

Wrote 21,000 words of Dead Magic
Wrote 6 blog posts and a guest blog on Mariella Hunt’s website
Published a Spanish translation of The Earl of Brass entitled El Conde de Latón, which is available here.
Published the audiobook for The Winter Garden, which is available here.
Planned out the beats for a forthcoming Ingenious Mechanical Devices novella
Read 4 books
1. Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg (2 stars)
2. Ninety-Nine Righteous Men by K.M. Claude (4.5 stars)
3. Fiction Unboxed by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant (4 stars)
4. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (5 stars)

What I hope to achieve in July:

Write 20,ooo words of Dead Magic
Write 10,000 words of the unnamed novella
Write 6 blog posts
Work more on my syllabus for freshman writing
Work on the cover for Dead Magic with my designer
Read 3 books
Enjoy life in between everything mentioned above

I love watching my word count steadily increase from month to month. June was wonderful in terms of productivity. I feel like I got so much done and that the rest of Dead Magic should go smoothly now that I’ve hit the 2/3s mark.

There are quite a few balls in the air with my series. I have my Spanish translator working on The Winter Garden, my Italian and Portuguese translators working on The Earl of Brass, and my narrator is working on the audiobook for The Earl and the Artificer. Then I have Dead Magic to start wrapping up soon and the novella I’ve been plotting. I’m confident it will all get done, and that I can manage.

I’m seriously excited about my writing projects. Ideas are bubbling out of me, and now if only my productivity could keep up with my ideas. The one thing that was completely neglected in June was editing. I told myself I would edit chapters 1-8, but in the end, I decided to dump that idea. I’ve been spot editing as I go, fixing issues that arise or adding foreshadowing of future chapters, but at this point, editing without being finished or having a clear goal in mind seems pointless.

Right now, my tentative release date for Dead Magic is November 15th, BUT if the book is done before then, I will happily move the date forward. I’m really hoping the book will be out sooner than that.

Finally, I will be taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo and am sharing a cabin with some fantastic authors. What will you be doing this July?

Monthly Review

August in Review

August 31, 2015August 30, 2015 Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

Starting in January, I decided it would be a good idea to look back at each month and see what I have accomplished in my writing and marketing as well as reflect upon what needs to be improved in the future.

Much like July, August has been a rather productive month. It seems so long ago that it just started, and I am absolutely amazed that it’s already over. This month I have tried to get as much done as possible before graduate school started again for me in September. Usually when school starts, my productivity tanks for a while as I adjust, but I’m hopeful that September won’t be too bad.

What I did accomplish:

Published my series companion short story “An Oxford Holiday” on Amazon
Wrote 25,000 words of The Earl and the Artificer (60,000 words total)
Met my “far” word count goal for the month
Read For Love or Money by Susan Kaye Quinn and 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
Released the audiobook for The Earl of Brass
Proofed the first 15 minute clip for the audiobook of The Winter Garden
Put The Earl of Brass ebook on sale for 99 cents for a limited time.

Goals for September:

Write at least 10,000 words of The Earl and the Artificer (but optimally more like 15k to 20k)
Read 2-3 books
Manage my grad school stress
Continue to write every day
Balance life, writing, and fun
Refill my creative reservoirs
Possibly work on another bonus short story (if an idea takes shape)

So I think I have finally found something that works when it comes to keeping my productivity up and at a good pace. Seriously, the word count tracking spreadsheet has done wonders. I’m now about 60,000 words into The Earl and the Artificer, which blows my mind because I’m over 2/3 through it! A few months ago, that was unimaginable. Now, the end is in sight in a few months (probably October). During this time, I also finished and released the audiobook of The Earl of Brass and the ebook of “An Oxford Holiday” on Amazon. Now that I know I can work on a short story and a novel without sacrificing either, I hope to release more companion short stories in the future. The best case scenario is that I might be able to release a Halloween themed one in October, but I can make no promises there, especially with the semester starting. I also got a glimpse of the audiobook for The Winter Garden, and it is perfect! I am so looking forward to hearing more, and while I would like to say that I hope my narrator will send me some this month, I won’t push it. He has a life outside of narrating.

This has been an odd month. I’m feeling very productive in terms of what I have produced, but as of the last few days, I’m feeling incredibly drained. Last week, I had a workshop to go to, which is mandatory for my degree. I enjoyed it and it was incredibly interesting (about teaching writing), but it kind of drained me. It’s hard for me to be social and outgoing while surrounded by new people. It’s done now, just in time for the semester to start. Yay… Prepare to see me crawl back into my shell for about a month while I continually scream internally until I’ve adjusted to dealing with people again. Current status: exhausted and in denial that school is starting again in a few days. Today, I will be reading and chilling with my dogs in hopes of recovering some of that creative mojo since it’s edging toward burn-out level.

This month also brought a new addition to our family: Miss Kate (named by my dad). Kate is a border weenie, meaning she is dachshund and border collie. If you think she looks oddly familiar, it’s because we have 2 other border collie mixes (Edgar and Finny) who are also black and white and look a lot like her. The boys are still ignoring her, but they seem to be getting along. Don’t let her cute face and squeaky toy voice fool you, she has plenty of attitude. She already hip-checked Edgar and took a bone from his mouth.

For September, my hope is that I can keep writing every day, even if it’s only a few hundred words. 500 a day for 30 days still equates to 15,000 words. I only have two more semesters of grad school left until I have my MFA in creative writing, so I just need to power through and get it done. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to start outlining book four of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices. I’d love to begin writing that while editing The Earl and the Artificer.

One last thing of note: The Earl of Brass is on sale for 99 cents for a limited time on Kindle. You can pick it up here.

Writing

Short Stories, Novels, and Audiobooks

August 12, 2015 Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

“An Oxford Holiday” is now finished! If you haven’t heard, it is a companion short story for the Ingenious Mechanical Devices series and follows the events of The Winter Garden (IMD #2). It is approximately 8,000 words long. In case you are interested, here is the blurb for “An Oxford Holiday”:

After a trying two months at Oxford dealing with miserable classmates and isolation, all Immanuel Winter wants is a peaceful weekend with Adam— two days where they could forget about the impossibilities of their future together.

But when the arrival of a radical female lawyer turns the university upside down, their holiday plans are put in jeopardy.

Will Adam and Immanuel be able to escape the horde of dons descending upon the city or will they be forced to postpone their plans and their future?

Unfortunately, I cannot upload the pre-order yet because the cover is not finished, but it should be up by the end of the week. When it is, I will let everyone know. I’m hoping everyone will enjoy it. It’s a bit of romantic fluff, which is different for me, but I enjoyed writing it.

While I have been working on getting “An Oxford Holiday” ready for publication, I have also been writing The Earl and the Artificer (IMD #3). Currently it’s at 43,290 words, which means I’m about 50% into writing book three. I’m still amazed by that considering how slow the first 15,000 words came. By the end of the month, I hope to have the word count between 50-55k. I wish I could anticipate what the semester will bring, but I’m worried about my productivity dropping with the added stress and assignments. Hence why I’m trying to write as much as possible now before I go back. if you’re on the downward slope of the hill, it typically gets easier to finish even when distracted.

As my final mini update, I wanted to remind everyone that the audiobook of The Earl of Brass (IMD #1) is online now.

You can find it on iTunes, Amazon, and Audible.

If you would like to know about new releases, sales, and news, please subscribe to my newsletter to find out first.

Writing

Audiobooks and Updates

August 7, 2015August 6, 2015 Kara Jorgensen5 Comments

I thought I would just check-in this week. Unfortunately, I have not thought out a coherent post for the end of this week, but I’m thinking that early next week there will be a post about being inspired by authors and how what inspires you as a reader inspires you as a writer.

So, the major highlight of my week is that The Earl of Brass is now available in audiobook! My narrator was fabulous to work with, and he will be narrating The Winter Garden and hopefully every Ingenious Mechanical Devices book after this. If you’d like to check it out, click here.

Half the reason I’m not writing much on my blog is that I am in the thick of writing book 3, The Earl and the Artificer, and hope to get as much done as possible before the semester begins. Currently, I am about 39,600 words into it, and I hope to complete it by the end of the year but hopefully sooner. According to my word count tracking spreadsheet, I’m 31% done with my word count goal of the month (15k), which is shocking to me considering it’s only August 7th (and I haven’t written yet today). The last scene I worked on hit a little too close to home and gave me a literal headache after working on. It still amazes me how much emotion is tied to creation, especially when a scene is so personal and fraught with emotional tension. I just hope I did it justice and that it will come through on the page. Luckily, the next scene involves a lot of action, so that should raise my moral a little.

I’m also nearly done with my companion short story “An Oxford Holiday”. All I need is the final scene and my cover for the ebook. Next week I should be able to post the blurb for it. It has been the magically expanding short story, going from 5k words to 6k to 7k as the target word count. It’s been a lot of fun to write, and it gives you a taste of what Adam and Immanuel will be getting into in the yet untitled book four.

As a final bit of news that isn’t very informative, I picked up these beauties on Amazon as a way to reward myself for going above and beyond my word count goal for July.I have been trying to get my hands on fantasy books that involve diversity not only in race but sexuality and gender. These two came highly recommended but were rather hard to get my hands on since the author is currently in the process of switching publishers. I cannot wait to read them.

If you would like daily updates about the progress of my third book, I will be live-tweeting my word counts and progress daily on Twitter with the hashtag #Augwritingchallenge and you can find me at @AuthorKaraJ.

So what writing or reading plans do you have for August?