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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