Tag: writing updates

new blog post: november 2025 wrap-up post November 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

November 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

November has been one of those weirdly pleasant months where I start to question whether I haven’t been paying attention or if it was actually good. In the US, it feels like the tide is starting to turn, which has bolstered my spirits, and the holidays are approaching rapidly (for better or worse). Here were my goals for November:

  • Write 25,000 words
  • Reread and edit act 2
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Cover reveal (hopefully)
  • Keep up with grading
  • Finish Christmas shopping

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8.

  1. Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a quirky tale of goblins in the midst of an endless war against humans and elves who get transported into the middle of enemy territory only to run into a veterinarian elf and a mass murdering human.
  2. Network Effect (#5) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, since this is the middle of the Murder Bot Diaries series, I won’t give too much away, but I absolutely love Murderbot. They are the autistic robot I love the most, and in this volume, he is forced to fight for the people he loves, grapple with his own feelings, but have no fear because ART is back!
  3. Snake Eater by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, a tale of desert folklore where a woman runs away from her old life only to quickly become a member of a small town inhabited by oddballs, demi gods, and desert spirits who are willing to kill for what they want.
  4. The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish- 4 stars, The Holiday but gay. A Jewish woman from a small town swaps houses with a man from New Orleans who found out his boyfriend had a secret family. They find out their lives could be so much richer if they can get out of their bubble and yearn for more. Absolutely loved it.
  5. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, a princess turned convent-dweller turned woman on a mission gathers a group of unlikely heroes, including a demonic chicken and a bone dog, to save her sister and her kingdom. I really love T. Kingfisher’s books, and this one was my favorite I read this month of hers.
  6. Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende- 3 stars, someone recommended this to me, and while it had an air of magical realism x Piranesi, I found it a little heavy handed for my taste.
  7. The Long Game (#4) by Ann Leckie- 4 stars, a very weird short story about an alien slug (?) who is trying to extend his life and better the lives of his people while dealing with the large and complex world of humans.
  8. Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach (#5) by Nnedi Okorafor- 4 stars, a short story about seven people who leave earth for 10 years in order to get millions of dollars and bond with a genetically engineered spaceship. Intriguing and weird but with surprising depth for such a small package.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Wrote a lot
  • Edited all of Act 1 again
  • Edited all of Act 2 part 1 again
  • Stayed on top of grading
  • Ran a sale/book bundle
  • My partner came out to my mom and extended family
  • Finished my Christmas shopping
  • Started working on my 2026 goals
  • Voted in my state’s gubernatorial election (dems won, yay!)
  • Had to pay for my meds out of pocket (boo)

Blog

Writing

This month went oddly smoothly with my writing. I feel like I hit my stride with my energy levels until the very end of the month when I mildly crashed a bit around Thanksgiving. I am trying to listen to my body and back off when necessary. I decided to do some editing instead, and I am pleased to report that the beginning of the book is in surprisingly good shape (yay). I’m really hoping that this trend of smooth writing continues into December, so I can wrap this book up without too much chaos. Wish me luck in that regard, but at least the semester is ending soon.

Hopes for December

  • Finish writing the book
  • Edit Act 2 part 2
  • Read 8 books
  • Send out newsletter
  • Wrap presents
  • Blog weekly
  • Post grades/finish grading
  • Set up Q1 and 2026 goals
new blog post: july 2025 wrap up post July 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

July 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

July was one of those months where I feel like I didn’t get a lot done, but it’s because I was mostly focused on one thing, well two things: not losing my marbles with *gestures to the US* and writing The Reanimator’s Fate. As a refresher, here were my goals for July:

  • Write at least 20,000 words of TRF
  • Set up the preorder for TRF
  • Work a little on the rewrite of F&F
  • Manage my stress better as a USian living in this hellscape
  • Keep up with my bullet journal better
  • Catch up with my cross-stitch
  • Enjoy my birthday
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • send out my monthly newsletter

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 during July.

  1. The Ancient Magus’s Bride (#20) by Kore Yamazaki- 4 stars, in this volume we are heading into a new arc at the college where the families are coming together and the kids are going to be stuck in another power play. I’m interested to see where this new arc goes.
  2. Six Crimson Cranes (#1) by Elizabeth Lim- 4 stars, a princess realizes her stepmother is actually an evil snake, witch person who turns her six brothers into cranes and makes it so the princess cannot speak about her past without killing her brothers. While in exile, they struggle to break the curse and defeat their stepmother with the help of the princess’s betrothed (who doesn’t recognize her) and a dragon.
  3. Ark by Veronica Roth- 5 stars, the world is ending and the only people left behind are those working on a seed bank that they will take from earth to their new outer space home. It’s a story about loss, futures, and what is truly important. It is very short, but I LOVED it immensely.
  4. Void by Veronica Roth- 4 stars, a murder mystery on a space cruise that has some interesting wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff going on. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers, but it was also quite good.
  5. Therapy Game Restart (#5) by Meguru Hinohara- 5 stars, in this volume, the one MC is doing a photoshoot for the drag queens at his job at a beautiful location, which turns steamy with his boyfriend after they haven’t been able to have any time together. It is a very sweet and steamy volume, and I absolutely love seeing these two navigate a new world together. There are also more hints about a trans side character that is quite interesting.
  6. Copper Script by KJ Charles- 5 stars, an amputee graphologist falls in with a honest, straight-laced police detective who must solve a mystery together while navigating anti-queer historical sentiment, mobsters, and a crooked cop in high places. I really enjoyed this story and how much of London at this time period we get, especially the diversity of it.
  7. Masked City (#2) by Genevieve Cogman- 3 stars, a world-hopping librarian and her dragon librarian trainee sidekick get more than they bargained for when stealing a book turns into a kidnapping. Kai, the dragon, gets taken to a chaos world of fae where our librarian must find him before the magic breaks all of them and sets them on a crash course with fae who would happily sacrifice them like pawns.
  8. Compulsy (#0.5) by Martha Wells- 4 stars, a little prequel to Murder Bot. I bought the box set for the first half of the series and dipped my toe in by reading this short. I’m eager to read the others and get more of our sardonic but good hearted murder bot.
  9. Fence: Challengers (#7) by C. S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad- 4 stars, the boys are now at a fencing competition where they need to face rivals, be strategic, and perhaps figure out where they stand with each other. This is sort of a bridge/filler volume, so it is a little slower than others but not bad.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Was on the Trope-ology Podcast and talked about hurt-comfort
  • Had a lovely and relaxing birthday
  • Ventured to the DMV in person (bleck) and renewed my license
  • Actively tried to pace myself to avoid burnout
  • Managed to catch up with my bullet journaling
  • Finally hit my stride with TRF (this was my main focus this month)
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my monthly newsletter

Blog

Writing

I figured now was a good time to give a bit of a writing update about book 4 since it’s been a while. Usually by now I would have a cover reveal and a preorder for the next Reanimator Mysteries book up by now, and frankly, that has been weighing on me. Earlier this year, I had a few setbacks writing it. Initially, I was absolutely fried. With the US election going the way it did and then just being tired from writing, it took longer than usual to get a plot together. As soon as I thought I had an idea, I jumped into writing it only to belatedly realize it wasn’t working. I ended up having to completely restart the draft of TRF from scratch. It was the best option, but it also set me back by like 2-3 months, so more than likely, book 4 won’t be out until the end of November or beginning of December. I don’t want to set a preorder for it until I’m a bit farther along and better gauge when it will be finished since pushing preorder dates out can be dicey.

What I can tell you is that I am really happy with how this draft is turning out (especially compared to the previous one), and that hopefully by the end of August, I will have a preorder and possibly a cover. We’ll see about that one as I don’t ever want to rush my designer who has been very understanding about me having to push things back. In July, I was able to write a significant amount, all of which works well and has been edited, so the draft is rather clean this far. This book starts with a bit of a groutesque bang that I hope all my book lovers will appreciate 😉 More than anything, I want this to be the ending Oliver, Felipe, Gwen, and my readers deserve, so I hope you will hang in there while I make it as good as possible for you all.

Hopes 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

new blog post: june 2025 wrap-up post June 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

June 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

Part of me would love to say that this month went really well because I got quite a bit of writing done, but the other part of me looks at the dumpster fire and chaos around me and feels otherwise. Either way, I am happy that I feel like I have finally found my stride with The Reanimator’s Fate. Let’s look at our goals for June before we get started.

  • Write at least 20,000 words of The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4)
  • Try to write every single day at least a little to be consistent
  • Get the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) out everywhere
  • Maintain my mental health and balancing my writing and hobbies to avoid burnout
  • Catch up on my stitch-a-long
  • Exercise consistently
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Enjoy my 20th anniversary with my partner

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8.

  1. The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting (#1) by KJ Charles- 5 stars, two fortune hunting but charming young people come to London hoping to find stability and find more than they bargained for when the young man sets his sights on the well-off niece of a cranky brewer only to fall for the brewer instead.
  2. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date (#3) by Ashley Herring Blake- 4 stars, Iris has sworn off love after too many failed relationships while Stevie is trying to get back into the dating world after leaving a long-term relationship. When anxiety wrecks a one night stand with Iris, Stevie thinks she’ll never see her again until they end up in the same queer community theater production.
  3. The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (#3) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 4 stars, an accountant ends up accidentally ending up in a new world along with the woman fated to save it only to find out he’s allergic to magic and the only one who can keep him safe is a very serious, slightly overprotective knight. The world’s books are a mess, and they may be the key to saving the kingdom.
  4. The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (#4) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 4 stars, see above.
  5. The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (#5) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 5 stars, see above.
  6. I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons (#3) by Yuki Fumino- 4 stars, a hard-of-hearing man joins a new company only to realize he’s stepped in it in regards to one of his coworkers. Meanwhile, his boyfriend is struggling with his own issues at work and how to deal with being a queer person.
  7. The Duke at Hazard (#2) by KJ Charles- 4 stars, a duke ends up duped out of his signet ring and goes on a mission, while incognito, to find it only to run into a ruined noble who might be the key to helping him find it.
  8. Mr. Collins in Love by Lee Welch- 4 stars, a very sympathetic retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Collins’s point of view where he is neurodivergent and struggling to maintain the life he desperately wants to keep. His life changes for the better when he runs into his childhood best friend only to realize it runs up against his patroness’s desire for him to find a wife.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Wrote the initial blurb for The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Published The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) on Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, Spotify, Chirp, Nook, Kobo, LibroFM, library systems, and every other major audiobook platform
  • Enjoyed my 20th anniversary with my partner
  • Got my partner’s blood work done (this gets a spot here because it was an ordeal)
  • Made my goals for Q3
  • Edited someone else’s book
  • Took a weight-lifting hiatus due to the heat
  • Played Coral Island extensively to maintain my sanity
  • Incessantly bothered my senators and congress person
  • Fell even further behind on my stitch-a-long project (oops)

Blogs

Writing

While I didn’t hit my goal for the month, I did write quite a bit and feel like I’ve finally hit my stride. The beginnings of books are where I struggle most. It feels like there are so many paths open that it is overwhelming to me. By the time I hit the end of act 1, I find my footing, and my daily word counts get progressively larger. Part of the problem is that the #3.5 short story took longer to write than I expected, and then, I had to restart the beginning of TRF because I didn’t like it. This version is significantly better, and I will not yeet this draft into the void. Oliver and Felipe are dealing with a case of death by book while also grappling with librarians being weird, buildings with a mind of their own, and of course, their own neuroses getting the better of them. Next month, I will have more to show you and talk about, so stay tuned.

Hopes for July

  • Write at least 20,000 words of TRF
  • Set up the preorder for TRF
  • Work a little on the rewrite of F&F
  • Manage my stress better as a USian living in this hellscape
  • Keep up with my bullet journal better
  • Catch up with my cross-stitch
  • Enjoy my birthday
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • send out my monthly newsletter
new blog post: may 2025 wrap-up post May 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

May 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

I feel like every other month I say, “Damn, that month went fast,” but truly, May went very fast. The first half was taken up by finishing my grading while the second half was taken up by letting my brain quiet before refocusing on my writing project. Since it feels like forever, let’s get reacquainted with our goals for May.

  • Write 20,000 words of TRF
  • Write the working blurb for TRF
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Keep working out consistently
  • Continue proofing the audiobook of TRR
  • Finish grading portfolios
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

Books

My goal this month was to read 8 books, and I read exactly 8. All links below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you buy from them.

  1. Death in the Spires by KJ Charles- 5 stars, a mystery that flips back and forth 10 years from when Jem was a student at Oxford when his friend was murdered to the present as he tries to solve the crime and gain control of his life again. It is very queer, rich in texture, and just a fantastic read.
  2. Tasting History by Max Miller- 4 stars, an interesting cookbook based on the Youtube channel about historical recipes. The recipes themselves are great, but I really love the tidbits about the history behind the recipes. I highly recommend his Youtube channel as well.
  3. From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper- 4 stars, opposites collide when two witches have to figure out who hexed someone at a festival. It’s an MF romance in a series with queer couples as well. Rowan and Issa have a complicated past, but seeing them come together is worth a read.
  4. Lore Olympus (#8) by Rachel Smythe- 5 stars, we’re nearing the end of the series, and this volume was chef kiss. I love seeing Persephone and Hades grow toward each other.
  5. Saga (#12) by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples- 4 stars, Hazel is maturing and growing into a teenager, so this volume speaks a lot about PTSD, mental health, and finding where you belong. I love every volume of this series and also hate that the end isn’t that many volumes away.
  6. The Magus of the Library (#8) by Mitsu Izumi- 4 stars, the young magi have their first encounter with spirits and the villains who want to bring the library to its knees. As always, Theo is just such a cinnamon roll, and this was an action-packed volume.
  7. The Other World’s Books Depend on a Bean Counter (#1) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 5 stars, I picked this manga up on a whim and LOVED it. If you like Oliver from my books, you will love the MC. He is an accountant who gets sucked into another world by accident and takes on the accounting in this new world only to become an enemy to someone in high places and catch the eye of a magical knight who saves him from himself.
  8. The Other World’s Books Depend on a Bean Counter (#2) by Yatsuki Wakatsu- 5 stars, see review above

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Proofed the entirety of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Sent corrections and paid my narrator Jack R. R. Evans (they’re awesome)
  • Published the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (it is currently trickling out to distributors, libraries and Amazon/Audible will take a few more weeks)
  • Wrote the blurb for The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4), so keep an eye out for that soon
  • Accidentally sent my monthly newsletter out super late in the day
  • Finished grading all of the papers and portfolios for my classes
  • Sent out a few job applications to non-academic jobs
  • Worked out fairly consistently
  • Fell very behind on my stitch-a-long project because my mental health dipped a bit
  • Rested mid month to avoid burnout/a mental health spiral
  • Voted in the NJ democratic primaries by mail (send in your ballots if you have them, early voting starts 6/3)

Blogs

Writing

I think I have finally found my footing with this draft. Halle-friggin-luah. Last month I mentioned that I had to scrap the draft I had because I just didn’t like the direction it was going or the tone. It wasn’t working, and sometimes, it is better to start over than torture yourself by trying to force something that just isn’t going to end well. Scrapping it was the right choice, but it put me behind. That, of course, gave me anxiety, which made it harder to write and led me to falling more behind. You can see how this can cause a downward spiral. I took a small break, got my brain shit together, and restarted my book. Now, it’s flowing much better. I have a clearer direction of where I need to go, what the characters are doing, etc. It’s especially hard when you know it’s the last book in a series and you want to make it extra spectacular for your readers. The most important thing is that I am back on track and cruising along at a slow but steady clip (as the beginning always is). When I get further along, I will post the preorder and all the relevant information for this book, so stay tuned.

Hopes for June

  • Write at least 20,000 words of The Reanimator’s Fate (TRM #4)
  • Try to write every single day at least a little to be consistent
  • Get the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) out everywhere
  • Maintain my mental health and balancing my writing and hobbies to avoid burnout
  • Catch up on my stitch-a-long
  • Exercise consistently
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Enjoy my 20th anniversary with my partner

new blog post: April 2025 wrap up post April 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

April 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

April felt like the longest month ever for me. I think it was mostly due to being kept busy by grading nonstop (April is the November of the spring semester), and I, for one, am exhausted. I’m really looking forward to break starting in May, so with that, let’s remember what my goals were for April.

  • Write 20,000 words for book 4
  • Continue to proof the audiobook for TRR as it comes in
  • Stay on grading as there is a lot this month
  • Finish Act 1 and 2 outlines for book 4
  • Continue to bug my senators and house rep
  • Participate in the Narratess Sale (4/5-4/7)
  • Maintain my sanity as best as I can
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

Books

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

  1. What Feasts at Night (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, I love a nonbinary protagonist, and we get that along with a nightmarish monster who is sucking the life out of people. As always with T. Kingfisher, it is very atmospheric and creepy.
  2. The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid- 4 stars, a fantasy story that pulls together pagan Eastern European, Jewish, and Christian folklore. We have a wolf girl who reluctantly falls for a woodsman/prince who needs to save his kingdom from fanaticism.
  3. Turning the Tables by Andrew P. Haley- 4 stars, book research, but I think it’s interesting for anyone who is into culinary history or how the rise of the middle class in the late 1800s led to the formation of restaurant culture.
  4. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman- 3 stars, a steampunk adventure featuring librarians from a timeless library, book dragons, and tons of nods to classics.
  5. A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes- 4 stars, if you’re a book lover or a collector, this book is for you. Basbanes delves into rare book collecting, bibliomania, and the people who have made some of the greatest collections in history.
  6. Book Curses by Eleanor Baker- 4 stars, this was book research for The Reanimator’s Fate. It’s a very short book that could be a webpage, but it’s fun to have.
  7. Don’t Sleep with the Dead (#2) by Nghi Vo- 5 stars, the loose sequel to The Chosen and the Beautiful set 20 years later during WWII where Nick starts hearing Gatsby long after his death. I absolutely love the demons and world this is set in and how the characters are handled.
  8. Into the Dark (#3) by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a ghost hunting story featuring lots of queer characters where they go to investigate the asylum the medium’s grandmother was sent to. This is definitely 95% ghost hunting with like 5% romance with an established couple, just as an FYI if you’ve read Jordan’s other series.
  9. The Case Study of Vanitas (#11) by Jun Mochizuki- 4 stars, it was nice to see all the characters back together again as we begin a new story arc. I look forward to seeing where the new story line goes.
  10. Ornithography (#2) by Jessica Roux- 4 stars, this is a book about the symbolism of birds. It would probably be nicer as a coffee table book than an ebook, but it was interesting.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Fixed the outline for the beginning of The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Restarted writing The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Participated in several sales/bundles
  • Did more research for The Reanimator’s Fate
  • Proofed more of the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Blogged weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Finished teaching for the semester (thank god)
  • Finished the literary magazine for my class
  • Graded a shit ton of papers
  • Paid quarterly and yearly taxes (no one cares but it’s stressful, so it counts, lol)

Blog

Writing

The writing section for this month is a little odd for me. At first, things were going well until I realized I started in the wrong place and had to scrap what I wrote. Ultimately, the idea I had wasn’t going to work, and restarting it was for the best. This sucks since my word count went back to zero, and I spent two weeks figuring out how to fix it and make sure it didn’t happen again. Writing the final book in a series is hard because I want to do the characters justice, and I really want to make my audience happy. It’s really easy to get into your own head and give yourself performance anxiety or choice paralysis. I’m going to try very hard to stay true to myself, to my characters, and to the vision I have for this final book. In the near future, I will talk more about some specifics in the books and reveal the blurb, so stay tuned for that!

Hopes for May

  • Write 20,000 words of TRF
  • Write the working blurb for TRF
  • Maintain my mental health
  • Keep working out consistently
  • Continue proofing the audiobook of TRR
  • Finish grading portfolios
  • Send out my May newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly

new blog post: march 2025 wrap-up post March 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

March 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara JorgensenLeave a comment

March has been the longest month, and while that isn’t a bad thing, it feels a bit surreal that so much has happened in thirty-one days. Before we get into the post, I’d like to point out that Kinship and Kindness is part of Trans SFF bundle on itchio where you can get 38 books by trans authors for $40. I also have The Reanimator’s Heart on sale for $0.99 and The Reanimator’s Soul for $2.99 at all major retailers and regions. There is also a TRH/TRS bundle on itchio that is slightly cheaper than at other retailers.

Before continue, let’s take a look at my goals 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

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 10 books. The links below are affiliate links, so if you buy a book through them, I get a small commission.

  1. Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao- 4 stars, a trans woman fleeing an emotionally and financially abusive relationship with a cis man runs into a cis butch lesbian who offers to take her in. Together, they bond over unionizing and coming out of their shells. I have mixed feelings about the trans rep, but otherwise, I enjoyed the romance aspect.
  2. 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall- 5 stars, a manager fakes amnesia to keep his boss from firing his employees only to be taken care of by his boss. He sees a new side of him and slowly begins peeling back the layers with the help of his gremlin of a cat.
  3. EAT by Nagabe- 4 stars, it’s a bit f-ed up as most of Nagabe’s stand alone works are. It’s about a wolf who wants to be prey or be eaten.
  4. When the Earth was Green by Riley Black- 5 stars, a nonfiction work about the long history of plants on earth from before the dinosaurs to the recent past. It is written in a narrative style that is accessible while being incredibly interesting and rich with information.
  5. The Invisible Man & His Soon-to-be Wife (#5) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, a super cute series about a blind woman who falls in love with an invisible man. In this volume, she goes to meet his parents while he meets her brother.
  6. The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow- 5 stars, brutal and all at once wonderful, this novella packs a bunch in a dystopian land where cancer creates monsters and the line between human and monster is slimmer than one thinks.
  7. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar- 5 stars, a lyrical tale about two sisters who tend to trees growing near a magical river. It’s about magic wrapped in magic and how song unites people through history. I highly recommend the audiobook version.
  8. Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite- 4 stars, a detective suddenly wakes up in a new body and is forced to solve a murder on a space cruise ship where everyone aboard reincarnates into their own bodies. It is a really cool premise with a lot of potential for interesting future books.
  9. Flesh and Bone by Arden Powell- 4 stars, two cowboys are hunted by a werewolf while one is haunted by his past, and the only way to overcome the first is to face the latter.
  10. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a very creepy version of the “Fall of the House of Usher,” featuring uncanny hares, a dilapidated house, a nonbinary soldier, and fungus. There’s a lot crammed into the novella, and I am looking forward to the second book in the series.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Reread all of the Reanimator Mysteries books and side stories in preparation for writing book 4
  • Brainstormed and started toodling with book 4
  • Started proofing the audiobook for The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3)
  • Participated in a panel on trans characters for Weeknight Writers, which was a lot of fun
  • Was part of a Trans SFF bundle on Itch.io (see top of page for details)
  • Put The Reanimator’s Heart and The Reanimator’s Soul on sale (see top of page for details)
  • Set up a Bookbub ad for the end of March
  • Bugged my senators profusely about various political issues
  • Blogged weekly and send out my monthly newsletter
  • Kept up with my grading (*tired* yay)
  • Dealt with my and my partner’s medical appointments (we’re fine btw)
  • Finished putting together my day job’s literary magazine with my class
  • Changed the batteries in every alarm/detector in my house (this has nothing to do with writing but it was labor intensive and hanging over my head forever, so someone has to hear about it)
  • Had to get major repairs on my car… again
  • Released “An Unexpected Evening” (TRM #3.5) to my non-newsletter readers (here)
  • Started the Court of Crows stitch-a-long by FineFrogStitching

Blogs

Writing

There isn’t too much I can talk about with writing right now. I’m currently working on the beginning of the fourth Reanimator Mysteries book, but I don’t want to go too much into it at this point because things are very subject to change. The opening of a book is where things are the messiest and most subject to change when I’m writing. I have false starts quite often during this part of the process, so I’m keeping my lips zipped about the contents of the story until I hit the end of act 1 when things finally lock in for the most part. What I will say is that this book will involve Oliver stepping up, trips to the library, Gwen’s magnum opus, and Felipe confronting his past and future. I will have more for you all next month, including hopefully a mood board and a working blurb.

Hopes for April

  • Write 20,000 words for book 4
  • Continue to proof the audiobook for TRR as it comes in
  • Stay on grading as there is a lot this month
  • Finish Act 1 and 2 outlines for book 4
  • Continue to bug my senators and house rep
  • Participate in the Narratess Sale (4/5-4/7)
  • Maintain my sanity as best as I can
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
new blog post: january 2025 wrap-up post January 2025 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

January 2025 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

How have these past two weeks been so, so long. Also, to everyone in Canada, Mexico, and China, yes, this is the stupidest timeline and the US deserves all the hate it gets globally. ANYWAY, let’s remind ourselves what I was supposed to get done this month.

  • Finish writing “AUE”
  • Edit and format “AUE”
  • Pay Q4 2024 taxes (bleck)
  • Set up my syllabi and Blackboards for my courses
  • Send out my newsletter (with “An Unexpected Evening”)
  • Start planning out TRM #4
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books this month, and I read 10. All links below are affiliate links that give me a little kickback.

  1. The Reckless Decade by H. W. Brand- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about the 1890s. This was WAY too timely for what’s going on. If you want a hint as to how we might get out of this, I think this book might be helpful to a point.
  2. Calling the Spirits by Lisa Morton- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about seances throughout the ages. It starts with necromancy and goes all the way to modern ghost hunting shows. It was quite interesting and research for a potential book.
  3. Toad Words & Other Stories by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, I read books 3-5 in rapid succession, so I’m not sure which was which. Overall, I really enjoyed T. Kingfisher’s commentary on fairytales and her retellings.
  4. The Halcyon Fairy Book by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, see #3.
  5. Jackalope Wives and Other Stories by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, see #3.
  6. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (#10) by Seanan McGuire- 5 stars,
  7. Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a beauty and the beast retelling with a beast who has been stuck in a time loop for centuries and a gardening beauty named Bryony. This was a really interesting mechanism for BatB as it reminded me a bit more of Eros and Psyche, but I wish there was more emotional intimacy built between the MCs as that is my jam.
  8. Fever by Jordan L. Hawk- 4 stars, a horror story set during the Canadian gold rush featuring a cabin in the woods, queer characters, and plenty of spookiness. This is good horror for people who are big babies… like myself.
  9. Boyfriend Material (#1) by Alexis Hall- 4 stars, a disaster gay needs a fake boyfriend for a fundraiser and winds up fake dating a fussy lawyer. Soon, fake dating turns to real dating turns too real turns to much more. On one hand, I wanted to shake Luc, but both MCs deserve each other as they are both annoying.
  10. She Loves to Cook & She Loves to Eat (#5) by Sakaomi Yuzaki, 5 stars, the two MCs finally move into together, so we get house hunting, LGBT+ struggles in Japan, and a hint at their new life together. This series is so sweet and cute, and the food always looks impeccable. I love how mental health and the characters’ sexualities are handled.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Postponed the release of “An Unexpected Evening” because my brain broke somewhere around January 20th and didn’t recover in time to finish writing the story
  • Wrote some of “An Unexpected Evening”
  • Started zapping my partner’s face 3x a week because we must achieve gender euphoria, even in hellish times
  • Started working on a writing notebook to keep track of all my writing stuff for the next year (we’ll see how this goes)
  • The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) made it to the next round of the Indie Ink Awards in several categories (a huge thank you to all who voted!)
  • Had several mental breakdowns due to the state of the US
  • Called my reps nearly daily about various issues
    • Democracy.io can be very helpful if you want to email all your reps at once
    • You can also call the Capitol switchboard and ask for your rep by name- (202) 224-3121
  • Paid my 2024 Q4 taxes (bleck)
  • Set up my syllabi and online stuff for my classes
  • Started teaching my classes
  • Kept up with my arm/shoulder workout

Blog Posts

Writing

When I tell you this month has been hard, I mean it. At the beginning of the month, I was struggling to get back into writing because I took a month and a half off after the release of The Reanimator’s Remains to avoid burnout. I needed the break, but the problem with a break is getting back into the routine of writing. I also ended up rewriting and restructuring “An Unexpected Evening,” which made it significantly better but threw me off my game. My confidence was mildly shaken by having to fix it, so when January 20th rolled around and all hell broke loose, my brain just noped out of writing completely. I kept hoping I could wrangle it, but if you have been following politics in the US, you can understand why this was nearly impossible (and made worse by my classes starting). I think I’ve finally regained equilibrium and am hopeful that I’m finally back on track for real this time. The good thing is that I think you will enjoy this silly story… novella? Not sure, it’s grown a bit according to my guestimated word count. I seriously appreciate all of you so much for your kind words when I announced that I had to push the short story’s release back.

Hopes 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
new blog post: december 2024 wrap-up post December 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

December 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

December is a weird liminal space month, especially as a professor. It begins with finals chaos and ends with the strange nothing week between Christmas and New Year. I purposely tried to take it easy this month, despite the goals listed below, and it was just what I needed to reinvigorate my creativity and brain. Here are the goals I made in November:

  • Finish grading finals ASAP
  • Finish Christmas shopping
  • Wrap everything without hurting my back
  • Write all of “An Unexpected Evening”
  • Start brainstorming my next writing project
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my newsletter
  • Play more video games to unwind/refill the well
  • Get my yearly goals for 2025 and my Q1 goals in order

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 12 books. The links to the books below are affiliate links, so I get a small kickback if you grab one.

  1. Crabs by Peter J. F. Davie- 4 stars, a nonfiction book about crab species. It’s very interesting and has a ton of pictures. If you like sea creatures, I highly recommend it.
  2. One Night in Boukos by A. J. Demas- 4 stars, this is a mystery, romance mash-up with a soldier and a secretary losing their wayward boss in Boukos. This story cracked me up, and I love the people the characters match up with and that we get to see them in later books.
  3. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, if you watched Shrek 2, did you love Big Mongo and Gingy? If so, grab this book. We get a girl trying to save a kingdom one giant gingerbread man at a time.
  4. Black Water Sister by Zen Cho- 4 stars, a story of generational trauma, breaking the cycle, the ghosts of the past (literal and figurative), and figuring out how to not repeat those mistakes.
  5. Something Human by A. J. Demas- 5 stars, this is probably my favorite A. J. Demas book. We get two soldiers on opposite sides of the war who save each other’s lives, fall for each other, and realize that they must work together to save their people. It was just so tender and lovely.
  6. Honey and Pepper by A. J. Demas- 4 stars, a lawyer(?) and a man who works in a snack stall team up to take down a mob boss and save their city from his power trip and evil ways.
  7. Flawless Girls by Anna-Marie McLemore- 4 stars, two girls go to a finishing school, one runs off and the other comes home not herself only to disappear. The story is rich in texture and explores the way we crush girls beneath expectations.
  8. Illuminations by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a girl and her friend accidentally unleash a creature akin to the evil creature from Super Mario Sunshine that wants to destroy magical images and steal the magic for itself.
  9. Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a young boy is sent off alone to bring rain to the town despite not being more than a child and only knowing a few spells. It’s an incredibly clever story that makes you hate all the adults.
  10. The Moon on a Rainy Night (#6) by Kuzushiro- 4 stars, another fantastic addition to the series, and I love that we get to see the other MC start to realize she may have feelings too.
  11. Venom and Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore- 4 stars, two warring kingdoms realize they have been set up to fight each other when all along they are under the same spell.
  12. The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a queer retelling the Ice Queen that has some adorable otters and some gore.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • Finished my grading and survived to tell the tale
  • Wrote several letters of recommendations for my students
  • Continued weight-lifting and upgraded to 7lb weights (woo! progress!)
  • Outlined “An Unexpected Evening”
  • Wrote part of “An Unexpected Evening” (which I later rewrote… oops)
  • Finished all of my Christmas shopping
  • Wrapped all the presents
  • Set up my bullet journal for 2025
  • Finished playing the game I had started (Botany Manor– highly recommend, it was a lot of fun)
  • The Reanimator’s Remains made it into the Indie Ink Awards (more on that soon)
  • Set up my goals for Q1 of 2025
  • Appeared on the Right Here, Write Queer podcast talking about queer, historical romance

Blogs

Writing

Truthfully, I didn’t write much this month because I needed to rest my brain a bit. It was worth it. Instead, I devoted myself to planning the story, getting my stuff together in regards to my writing plan for the year, and figuring out where I want to go with book 4 of The Reanimator Mysteries series. I planned out most of “An Unexpected Evening” this month, and now, that I’m writing it, I think you all will enjoy it. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a masquerade party that goes wrong? Unlike other parties that I’ve written, there is no murder *gasp* for once. I was struggling very hard with what to write next after “An Unexpected Evening,” and I’m displeased to announce that actually sitting down and writing out what you have to do worked to sort it out in like… five minutes. It’s very annoying how your brain will do donuts for days, but when you put it on paper, it takes minutes to sort out.

Hopes for January

  • Finish writing “AUE”
  • Edit and format “AUE”
  • Pay Q4 2024 taxes (bleck)
  • Set up my syllabi and Blackboards for my courses
  • Send out my newsletter (with “An Unexpected Evening”)
  • Start planning out TRM #4
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books
new blog post: September 2024 Wrap-up Post September 2024 Wrap-Up Post
Monthly Review

September 2024 Wrap-Up Post

Kara Jorgensen1 Comment

September did not exactly go to plan, but that’s all right because I can and will get everything together. I underestimated how rough the beginning of the semester would be on my brain and body, especially when I didn’t get my medications for several weeks (laugh sob). Things are back on track (mostly), so let’s take a look at September’s goals before we go on:

  • Finish The Reanimator’s Remains completely
  • Edit the rest of The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Proofread The Reanimator’s Remains
  • Prep ARCs to go out
  • Format the paperback
  • Keep up with my class prep/grading
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Blog weekly
  • Read 8 books

Books

My goal was to read 8 books, and I read 9 this month.

  1. Paladin’s Grace (#1) by T. Kingfisher- 5 stars, a Paladin with a dead god hesitantly falls in love with a perfumer who is dragged into international espionage and nearly ends up losing her life.
  2. The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger- 4 stars, a nonfiction book taking a look at the hero and heroine’s journey. I highly recommend this if you are a writer or academic with a background in literature.
  3. Linger (#2) by Maggie Stiefvater- 4 stars, Sam is now a human but Grace is slowly losing her hold on her humanity as the werewolves beckon. Her parents nearly made me throw this book through a window because of how they treat Sam.
  4. Paladin’s Strength (#2) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a bear shifter and a paladin collide as she looks to get back her missing sisters from the monastery after they are kidnapped.
  5. The Invisible Man & His Soon-to-be-Wife (#4) by Iwatobineko- 4 stars, a really cute volume involving a spa and ghosts. I love when stories like this take a field trip.
  6. The Pairing by Casey McQuiston- 4 stars, a second chance romance between two rather pretentious characters as they eat and screw their way across Europe. It reminds me of how Regency and Victorian gentlemen took hedonistic European tours.
  7. Paladin’s Hope (#3) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, an MM romance between a paladin trying to help his Gnole friend find a killer as he falls in love with the city medical examiner who happens to have necromancer-adjacent powers.
  8. The Carnelian King and Other Stories by Arden Powell- 5 stars, a really fantastic anthology of fantasy stories spanning genres, time periods, etc.
  9. Paladin’s Faith (#4) by T. Kingfisher- 4 stars, a spy falls for her paladin bodyguard as they infiltrate a party, end up trapped in a cave during a snowstorm, and figure out who they might be in the future.

Admin/Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

  • The Reanimator’s Soul won in the mental health representation category in the Indie Ink Awards
  • Wrote my butt off but didn’t finish TRR (it was done in October, oops)
  • Started editing the latter half of TRR… repeatedly
  • Wrote class notes for my new class and got ahead finally
  • Tried to maintain my mental health, so I don’t burn out
  • Played a lot of Love, Ghostie (highly recommend, it’s a very cute game)
  • Went to my doctor and got my meds problem dealt with (laugh sob)
  • Bugged my state reps about not supporting a mask ban (please call your state reps to tell them preemptively not to support a mask ban)
  • Blogged weekly
  • Sent out my newsletter

Blogs

Writing

My first mistake was underestimating the size of this book. It’s been kicking my butt because it is LONG. It isn’t horrendously long, but it’s long for me. It’s close to 110k right now, and while editing, it may end up even longer. Most of my books are around 90k, hence how I ended up woefully behind. I also made the mistake of thinking teaching wouldn’t kick my butt at the beginning of the semester. After like eight years of teaching, those first few weeks still make me feel like I’ve been dragged behind a bus no matter how much I like my students. With the added pressure of creating weeks of notes for a new class, things did not go well in the productivity department. BUT I do think this book is one of my best. I feel like I’ve grown as far as juggling things in the narrative and fleshing out my characters’ trauma in new and interesting ways. I hate feeling behind, but I build in a cushion for a reason.

Hopes for October

  • Finish editing TRR
  • Send out ARCs/Review copies
  • Format the paperback
  • Have a great publication day
  • Read 8 books
  • Blog weekly
  • Send out my monthly newsletter
  • Not implode along the way
  • Stay on top of my class stuff
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