sapphic – Kara Jorgensen

One of the things I equally love and hate about being an author is how quickly we move on from one project to the next. Since “An Unexpected Christmas” (TRM #4.5) and the audiobook of The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4) have come out, it’s time to talk more about my next project, which is the rewrite and expansion of Flowers and Flourishing.

First row in the grid: a Latina woman with curly black hair and tan skin, a display case of butterflies at a museum, a nopal cactus
Second row: a jaguar, a painting of 2 people touching hands with the quote someone will remember us I say, even in another time (Sappho), a 19th century artist's set up
Third row: violets, inside a 19th century greenhouse with a white spiral staircase, a picture of Lux Pascal leaning on her hand while wearing a white, vaguely Victorian outfit

If the name sounds vaguely familiar, F&F is/was the newsletter freebie novella that I wrote a few years ago. It is the story behind how Agatha and Louisa from The Reanimator Mysteries series got together, and it takes place about twenty years before the events of those books. It isn’t for sale anywhere, but it’s been up in its current incarnation for a while.

At the time, I was happy with it, but the more I’ve written Agatha and Louisa as prominent side characters in the Reanimator Mysteries, the more I wanted to delve into their story and flesh it out more. The original novella is about 37,000 words, which isn’t a lot compared to my other books. When I went back and reread it, I really wanted to expand it. As cute as it is, I want to give Agatha and Louisa the depth they deserve in their sapphic romance, and that means expanding the novella into a full novel. The overall idea of the book won’t change that much, but it will be completely rewritten, smoothed, fleshed out, and scenes will change to the point that I don’t think it’ll be recognizable unless you zoom out on the narrative. I have vowed to myself I will never rewrite works I’ve already released, but this doesn’t count since it was a freebie that never ended up on retailers. Loopholes!

Currently, I have the cover in the works with Crowglass Design who did the Reanimator Mysteries covers, and I’m also redoing the cover for Kinship and Kindness to match since they’ll be part of the same series (The Paranormal Society Romance series). For those who have been looking forward to the other books in that series I mentioned long ago, I will get to those. They’re just on the backburner for now while I figure out where I want to go with them.

My hope is that even if you read the original version of Flowers and Flourishing, you will still check out the new one as I think it will be significantly better and more fleshed out. I have no preorder or timeline for the release yet, but I will keep you all updated as I get further along in the writing process! Now, a sale.

a black and white dog with a bald nose with a scar on it.

If you follow me elsewhere (or here), you might know that my dog Katie had treatment to remove and treat a soft tissue sarcoma on her nose. I’m running a bundle/sale on Itchio to help offset the cost of her next vet visit, which will include an x-ray and possibly blood work. You can grab any/all of the Reanimator Mysteries books for 50% off or get all 4 for $10. I believe the sale runs until September 4th. I chose Itchio because I can get the money the quickest compared to Amazon and other retailers that take 60-90 days to pay out. Also, with files from Itchio, you own them forever, and you can send the files to your Kindle or Kobo.

If you’re part of my newsletter (see the menu on the top bar if you want to join) or like to check out my works in progress page, you’ve probably seen me mention Flowers and Flourishing, which is going to be a newsletter freebie for all of my subscribers and will be going out in early 2023 (I’m hoping for January, but we’ll see). My plan is to launch this book as a freebie first, and eventually, I may add a few more short stories along the way (also free to subscribers). Once I have those, I will package them into a larger work that will be something like Flowers and Flourishing and Other Stories from the Paranormal Society, which will be available for purchase at online retailers. I do not have a timeline for that yet because I haven’t written or conceived of the other short stories, except for Flowers and Flourishing and one idea I have brewing about the origin of two side characters in The Reanimator’s Heart.

But I digress. So what you’re probably wondering is what is Flowers and Flourishing about. Below is a little aesthetic board I created for Louisa and Agatha and beneath that, the blurb.

The plan had been simple: arrange a marriage of convenience with her best friend, get him a position at the Paranormal Society, and get the hell out of California, but even the best laid plans go awry. What Louisa Galvan never accounted for was Felipe being transferred to Manhattan or finding a woman like Agatha Pfeiffer.

Agatha hadn’t asked to be a plantmancer. Her dream had always been to become a professional artist, but after hours sweltering in the Paranormal Society’s greenhouses, painting is impossible. In exchange for time off, Agatha is expected to convince Louisa to stay at the Manhattan Branch, but she quickly finds her reasons are wholly selfish.

As their feelings grow, Louisa realizes she has two choices: continue to hide or reach for a life she never knew was possible and convince Agatha to come with her. But Agatha and Louisa aren’t the only ones conspiring. Can Louisa convince Agatha that she deserves the life of her dreams or will their love wither on the vine?

As you have probably guessed, Flowers and Flourishing is a sapphic story set about twenty years before the events of The Reanimator’s Heart and Kinship and Kindness. It is the story of how Felipe’s lavender marriage wife, Louisa, came to meet and fall in love with her partner Agatha. Louisa is a cis lesbian who happens to be a jaguar shifter while Agatha is a bi trans woman who is a plantmancer. It’s a pretty low blood pressure novella with some steamy moments and nods to the queer artists of the past. I hope you’ll join my newsletter and stick around for this novella when it releases in January.

Tag: sapphic

What Comes Next and a Sale