Tag: march

new blog post: march 2024 wrap-up post March 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

March 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

Despite battling tree pollen, I have made it through March! The weather is warming up, the flowers are blooming, and a new writing project is underway. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been up to this month and the goals I set out last month.

  • Writing at least 20k words of book 3
  • Proof any audiobook chapters that come in
  • Grade papers but enjoy spring break
  • Set up the preorder for book 3
  • Do a title reveal for book 3
  • Do taxes ;–;
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send monthly newsletter

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 books in March.

  1. The Reluctant Heartthrob (#2) by Jackie Lau- 5 stars, an actor and an autistic programmer get involved, but she doesn’t realize he’s an actor and panics. Super cute, great rep.
  2. Meet Me in Millfield (#1.5) by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, a side story featuring two fans of a TV show who meet online. A sweet, You’ve Got Mail style story with an older female love interest.
  3. Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about asexuality that I would highly recommend to aces and allosexual people alike.
  4. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, 4 stars, for fans of Piranesi. This story is one of those where the further you go, the more you realize the cleverness of it.
  5. Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau- 4 stars, fake dating to appease their parents turns into actual romance between a starchy man who is more than meets the eye and a writer who fears she’s disappointing her family. Bonus points for realistic writer rep.
  6. We Could Be So Good (#1) by Cat Sebastian- 5 stars, set in the late 1950s, a reporter falls in love with his best friend who happens to be the bosses son. It’s a story about belatedly realizing you’re queer, love, wanting/having more than you expected, and it is just so friggin cozy and lovely.
  7. Therapy Game Restart (#2) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, I love seeing these two characters get closer and navigate the real world issues that come with being in a long-term queer relationship.
  8. Therapy Game Restart (#3) by Meguru Hinohara- 4 stars, see above.
  9. Ennead (#2) by Mojito- 3 stars, I’m going to keep reading the series for now, but I sometimes feel like I’m missing context while reading these books. I wish there was more dot-connecting or a character chart of gods/characters at the beginning.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Wrote the blurb for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Did the blurb/title reveal for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Set up the preorder for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Did my taxes (woo)
  • Applied for a creative writing grant
  • Signed up for a book promo/sale next month
  • Finished the formatting and such for the uni literary magazine (for one of my classes, but it’s a lot of work)
  • Enjoyed spring break with my partner
  • Stayed on top of grading
  • Tried some new recipes
  • Set up the elliptical, though I haven’t used it much yet
  • Finished a cross-stitch project and got most of the way through another

Blogs

Writing

My next blog will talk more about this, but I hate writing the beginnings of new books. This is the part of the process that is the slowest and most painful part for me, so my word counts have been quite small and sporadic. Starting a new book means extra processing and thinking time, which on one hand is necessary and on the other is maddening as someone who wants to just get into the damn book already. The good thing is that I have the overall plot fairly nailed down as well as the emotional arcs. The Reanimator’s Remains is a story about family, in its various forms, and dealing with trauma. In Felipe’s case, those two concepts are linked in a way that is painful. This story is coming on the heels of my short story, “An Unexpected Question” (TRM #2.5), so if you read The Reanimator’s Soul, I highly recommend reading that short story as some of the details will be important in book 3. Plus, I just think it’s cute. The good thing is that I have all of my admin stuff for this book set up already, like the blurb, title reveal, preorder page, etc., so it should be smooth sailing for a while.

Hopes for April

  • Write 20k words of The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Proof audiobook chapters of The Reanimator’s Soul (TRM #2)
  • Keep up with the Fungi and Frogs stitch-a-long I’ve joined
  • Maintain my mental health better (aka refill the well and use your elliptical)
  • Send out monthly newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
Monthly Review · Writing

March 2016 in Review

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

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

March was a strangely productive month for me in probably every aspect but blogging (sorry, readers). April has started with a lovely sinus infection, BUT I know it’ll shape up to be a great month.

What I accomplished in March:

  1. Read 5 books, 2 of which were for class.
    1. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
    2. Hunter of Demons and Master of Ghouls by Jordan L. Hawk
    3. Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
    4. A Chorus of Stones by Susan Griffin
  2. Wrote 10,ooo words of Dead Magic (IMD #4)
  3. Found translators for the Italian and Spanish versions of The Earl of Brass (IMD #1)
  4. Finished all of my projects for the English department

What I hope to achieve in April:

  1. Read 3 books
  2. Write 12,000 words of Dead Magic (IMD #4)
  3. Write 4 more blog posts this month
  4. Edit the cover for The Earl of Brass in translation (Italian and Spanish)
  5. Finish up the last of my grad school work and prepare for graduation

So March was a much better month in terms of productivity. I think as the days get warmer, it gets easier for the words to come. I also got into a better writing routine at night, which I’m hoping to keep up as soon as I get over this sinus infection. It’s always lovely to start the month sick and completely disrupt my writing mojo. Oh well, life goes on, and I keep telling myself that I’ll feel better in a few days.

Anyway, I’ve been working on Dead Magic and have finally begun making decent headway into it. I’m really starting to get into this book, and I think you’ll like it as well. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more info and insights about it now that I know where it’s going.

March’s Journal Spread
April’s Journal Spread

I’ve also taken up using a bullet-journal, which is a way to keep up with monthly and daily goals. Pictured above are March and April’s bullet-journal spreads. This little journal holds me accountable and reminds me that I need to get things done. It’s also highly portable and not as easy to lose as scraps of paper. I don’t always get everything done, but I try to get as much done as I can. You may notice the little sad face on April 1st. Sinus infection = nothing getting done.

What I’m most excited about are the forthcoming translations of The Earl of Brass! I recently joined Babelcube, which helps put translators and authors together, and now I have Italian and Spanish translators. I’m beyond excited. I know a bit of Italian, but not nearly enough to get anywhere near translating an entire novel. As the translations progress, I will update everyone. Hopefully it’ll be a smooth process. What I will need is a second set of eyes that can read Spanish or Italian, so if you can and are willing to read my The Earl of Brass for any glaring typos, please drop me a line!

That’s all I have for March. Let’s hope the productivity continues in April!

What are you planning for this month?

Writing

March 2015 in Review

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.

While February was a transitional month as I switched from working on The Winter Garden to book three of the Ingenious Mechanical Devices, March was nearly wholly devoted to my latest project.  Beginning to work on book three has been a refreshing change even if it did take nearly half a month.  I feel much better about March than I did about February, and I hope that April will be even better. Continue reading “March 2015 in Review” →