Tag: bbnya 2023

new blog post: December 2023 wrap-up post December 2023 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

December 2023 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

This month is going to be sort of a weird one for updates and wrap-ups because I tried to take it easy. Between the holidays and the end of the semester, I worried I would become very fried, so my December was spent mostly void-staring and trying not to fall into a pit of despair over Palestine (self-explanatory) and covid (if you’re immunosuppressed, you feel very left behind and left for dead at this point). Basically, I could feel the specter of depression looming at the end of November and tried to chill this month to avoid a total mental meltdown. Let’s review what my goals were for December before we get into it:

  • Finish the semester/my grading
  • Finish writing “An Unexpected Question”
  • Start editing “An Unexpected Question”
  • Finish all remaining Christmas stuff/prep
  • Prep for Q1 and get my new goals together
  • RELAX with my partner
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my December Newsletter

Books

My goal this month was to read 8 books, and I read 10 in December.

  1. Ennead Vol 1 by Mojito- 4 stars, an interesting twist on Ancient Egyptian mythology that is apparently queer (not in volume one, so we’ll see).
  2. Greywaren (#3) by Maggie Stiefvater- 4 stars, the epic conclusion to the Dreamer Trilogy. For a while, I was very confused and concerned as to how this series would wrap up, but it was quite satisfying and we even get a little cameo of some old favorites from the first series.
  3. My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better (#6) by Nagata Kabi- 4 stars, Nagata Kabi is back and talking about her health issues during the pandemic, her sobriety, relapses, and more.
  4. My Wandering Warrior Eating Disorder (#5.5) by Nagata Kabi- 4 stars, while Kabi usually talks about her alcoholism, this mini volume talking about her eating disorders was very humanizing and illuminating.
  5. Best Supporting Actor (#3) by Joanna Chambers and Sally Malcolm- 4 stars, a hate-to-love romance between an established actor and a rising star who get cast as the leads in a new play. There’s some great discussion of crappy relationships, anxiety, nepotism, and much more.
  6. Saga Vol 11 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples- 4 stars, I love Saga so much. This was a significantly less traumatizing volume compared to the previous one.
  7. The Ancient Magus’s Bride Vol 19 by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, we finally finished the school arc, and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
  8. On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo- 4 stars, if Nghi Vo writes it, I will read it. This time, we have glamorous Asian bank robbers, a trans MC, and magic.
  9. The Garden (#1) by Tomi Adeyemi- 2 stars, this was my least favorite novella in the Into the Shadow series. It was too loosey-goosey in terms of prose and plot for my taste.
  10. Heartstopper Vol 5 by Alice Oseman- 4 stars, sacchrine but enjoyable. I thought this was the final volume, but there’s one more.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • The Reanimator’s Heart won third place in BBNYA 2023! Third place out of 252 entries is just mind blowing to me.
  • The Reanimator’s Heart and The Reanimator’s Soul were nominated for several categories in the Indie Ink Awards.
  • The Reanimator’s Heart was an Amazon sale item (picked by them) for a day.
  • Finished all of my grading for my fall classes in a timely manner.
  • Dissociated and did very little from Christmas Eve to New Years Eve- I needed this desperately. I was feeling very fried and a bit depressed by the time NYE rolled around, and this fills my goal of relaxing during December.
  • Made the syllabi and Blackboard accounts for my classes in the spring (this is an annoying bit of prep that I used for procrastination when I should have been writing, lol).
  • Setup all of my author/writer spreadsheets for 2024 (social media, sales, sales by book, etc.)
  • Made my Q1 2024 goals.
  • Set up my 2024 bullet journal spreads (various yearly ones and my Q1 weekly spreads).

Blogs

Writing

In December, I wrote about 10k words, which made me quite happy. It wasn’t as much as I intended or wanted to write, but I had to keep reminding myself that December was supposed to be a month where I could rest and recover from the end of the fall semester along with the holidays. I’m really enjoying writing “An Unexpected Question,” even if it has been a research-intensive story, despite being only ~20k words long. I’ve been neck-deep in learning about Coney Island in the 1890s, Steeplechase Park, hot dogs, and street vendors. For some reason, historical food research always ends up being a highlight for me. I’m really looking forward to diving into the third book in the Reanimator Mysteries series, but that will have to wait for January and February, though I have been jotting down some ideas for where Oliver, Felipe, and Gwen are going.

Hopes for January

  • Finish/edit “An Unexpected Question”
  • Format/upload/send out “An Unexpected Question”
  • Start brainstorming The Reanimator Mysteries #3 and doing research
  • Research selling books on my website/Etsy (and if I want to do it)
  • Start checking/proofing the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Soul as the chapters come in
  • Do Sarra Cannon’s 2-3 day class on long-term goal setting
  • Write more days than not (aka get into a better habit)
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my January newsletter with “An Unexpected Question”
new blog post: my end of 2023 reflection My End of 2023 Reflection
Personal Life · Writing

My End of 2023 Reflection

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

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

Things That Went Really Well

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

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

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

Things That Didn’t Go As Great

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

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

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

Things I’m Thankful For

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

new blog post: September 2023 Wrap-up post September 2023 Wrap-Up Blog
Book Reviews · Monthly Review · the reanimator's soul

September 2023 Wrap-Up Blog

Kara Jorgensen2 Comments

In September, I finally feel like I found my footing again. With all my major book launch/release prep out of the way, I am looking forward to The Reanimator’s Soul coming out October 24th, in time for spooky season. As a recap, here were my goals for September:

  • 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

Books

My goal was to read 8 book this month, and I read 8 total.

  1. The Dragon’s Betrothed (#1) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, a blocked up writer returns to his family home only to find out he is supposed to be a dragon’s bride. Hi-jinks ensue as the dragon tries to persuade him to give him a shot and it eventually becomes steamy.
  2. The Dragon’s Betrothed (#2) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, see above.
  3. Night Spinner (#1) by Addie Thorley- 3 stars, an ex-soldier finds her loyalties cannot so easily lie with her old troops after falling in with a band of Robin Hood-like deserters. I found the world-building to be… meh, and while the tone is YA, the ages feel very off for the story.
  4. Akata Woman (#3) by Nnedi Okorafor- 3 stars, a young woman finds she is far more than she appeared and must steal back a mystical book to appease a spider god that threatens to destroy her world. While I enjoyed this, I found the world-building to be all over the place compared to previous books.
  5. Fangs by Sarah Anderson- 4 stars, cute vignettes between a vampire and a werewolf, very fluffy.
  6. Mammoths at the Gate (#4) by Nghi Vo- 4 stars, Chih returns to their monastery to find their home a mess as the head monk has died and the relatives want more than the monastery can give. A wonderful look at grief and the transformative power of love and devotion.
  7. Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir- 5 stars, Princess Bride meets Adventure Time as a princess saves herself with the help of a sassy pixie. Hilarious and weird.
  8. The Candles are Burning (#6) by Veronica G. Henry- 4 stars, a horror short story set in the South, featuring a recent widow who must trick the devil to save her soul. Very atmospheric.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • The Reanimator’s Heart made it to the final round of BBNYA 2023!
  • The Reanimator’s Heart was the queer romance book club pick at Meet Cute Bookshop
  • I ran a sale on The Reanimator’s Heart and a Bookbub ad
  • Finished playing Venba and Assemble With Care (both are available on Steam)
  • Finished writing the last little bit of The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Edited The Reanimator’s Soul twice/two rounds
  • Proofread The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Prepared and sent out ARCs for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Formatted the paperback interior for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Contacted my cover designer for the paperback cover for The Reanimator’s Soul
  • Got my covid booster
  • Did a bunch of event admin stuff for work
  • Beta read someone else’s book

Blogs Posted

Writing

Writing and editing went really well, which always scares me a bit. In my defense, The Reanimator’s Soul was a book that I spent a lot of time on, so the “done” draft ended up being fairly clean. When I keep going back and fiddling, I make less of a mess for myself at the end of the process. Another thing that I think worked in my favor for the editing process was that a) I enjoy editing, especially since I edit as I go. b) I made of list of things I needed to add/tweak as I finishing the book up, which made it far easier to go back and run through.

I’m not going to lie, I really like this book. The emotional arcs for Felipe and Oliver are as important as the mystery. There’s a bit less action than the last book, but I feel like that’s to be expected and is ultimately good for balance since I don’t want the feel of the books to be too homogenous/identical. It’s about coming to terms with being chronically ill/disabled, realizing you can be loved as an autistic person without changing who you are, setting boundaries, and how medicine can uphold white supremacy. Sadly, these things don’t look sexy on a marketing picture, so I rarely get to talk about them, but those are the core things the book is about.

Hopes 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)