August has simultaneously been the longest month and still flown by very quickly. This is probably because the semester started again for me this past week, which always makes the month feel a bit chaotic. Before we get into it, let’s get into what my goals were for August:
- Write 20,000 words of TRF
- Get my book cover stuff in order for TRF
- Attempt to work on the F&F rewrite
- Make my syllabi for my classes
- Set up my Blackboards for my classes
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Send out newsletter
Books
My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 this month.
- The Memory of the Ogisi (#3) by Moses Ose Utomi- 4 stars, this was the conclusion of the Forever Desert series. It was incredibly interesting to see the cycle fully completed and how it relates to the earlier books. Highly recommend if you want a series of novellas that talks about how history is written by the victor and how that affects the future.
- The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs by Riley Black- 4 stars, an incredibly thorough yet short(ish) book on the history of the dinosaurs. I love a good overview, and Riley Black does a fantastic job of covering a lot in a way that feels like storytelling rather than info dumping. It makes nonfiction far more palatable.
- All Systems Red (#1) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, I’m going to lump the whole series into this one review because I don’t want to give away spoilers, and I think most of the reviews will be similar. I often find robot autistics to be off-putting, but Murderbot being autistic and asexual just hits for me. The poor thing just wants to be left alone to watch their dramas and chill, yet humans continually need savings and feelings keep coming whether they want them or not.
- Artificial Condition (#2) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, see book one.
- Rapport (#2.5) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, see book one.
- Rogue Protocol (#3) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, see book one.
- Exit Strategy (#4) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, see book one.
- Home (#4.5) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, see book one.
- Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a twist on the princess in a tower story involving a Muslim knight who keeps apologizing and a human-turned-faerie who just wants to protect humanity from the princess in the tower. T. Kingfisher is fabulous at turning fairytales on their head and humanizing characters you may have never thought about before.
Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff
- Decided to push my release date of TRF to January 2026
- Managed to keep my mental health out of the trash
- Played a lot of Tiny Bookshop
- Survived my first week back at work
- Made/juggled a bunch of appointments for my partner
- Set up my Blackboard accounts for my classes
- Fixed my syllabi for my classes
Blogs
- July 2025 Wrap-Up Post
- On False Crabs and Real People
- 10 Books I’m Excited About in 2025/26
- Dear Young Authors
- August newsletter
Writing
This month writing went really, really well. I always struggle during the first act of books, but now that I am squarely in the second act, things are getting going. I really like this draft so far, and I think you all will too. One thing that I was grappling with is not being able to finish The Reanimator’s Fate by the end of the year. December is a particularly hard month for sales, and due to that and because I want to give myself some cushion, I am going to release book 4 in January. Part of me was quite upset that I wouldn’t have a book release this year, but that is a goal I set myself, not anything required of me. And because this book is coming out so early, there’s a good chance that I will release another (probably Flowers and Flourishing’s rewrite) during 2026. I appreciate all of you and your patience as I’m working on this book.
Hopes for September
- Write 20,000 words of TRF
- Work more on F&F rewrite
- Set up my goals for Q4
- Cover reveal
- Set up preorder for TRF
- Stay on top of grading
- Read 8 books
- Blog weekly
- Send out newsletter
Kara Jorgensen 