Charlotte Kersten

Hello! I’ve been posting my Trauma in SFF project book reviews here quite regularly but I haven’t posted any blog updates in quite a while…..because there really hasn’t been much authorly stuff to post about and I have been overwhelmed with life stuff, tbh. However, there are now enough things to justify a little update, at least.

Life updates

I graduated with my MSW last year! I moved states again last year! I got licensed and got my first job as a full-time therapist last year!

Writing/book updates

I delisted The Economy of Blessings trilogy for my own peace of mind after deciding that I wasn’t happy enough with its quality. I might change my mind about that in the future and/or revise at some point, but I am not working on it right now. Thanks and love to everyone who read it!

When We Walked in Memory is free to download here for the forseeable future. I removed all of my stuff from Amazon a couple years ago and just decided to make it more accessible when I did so. The downside is that I won’t be able to donate my proceeds as I did when the books were making money, but I am continuing to make personal donations and left a little message encouraging readers to donate if they want to in exchange for the book.

I haven’t started on any new creative writing projects yet, but I’m hoping that the more distance I put between myself and the wild grind that was finishing school, the more I’ll feel inclined to start working on something again. At least I hope so, because I miss working on a project very much!

AI statement

When I published When We Walked in Memory in 2023, I did not think to specify my stance on AI in the body of the text. Since then, it’s become a major consideration in the writing world and I have seen other authors make statements, so I decided I wanted to clarify my stance for transparency. I did not use any generative AI in the process of writing my book, be it for brainstorming, writing the actual text, or editing/proofreading/revising. My editor is a friend who works as a professional editor. All of the art pieces featured on my books and website were commissioned by artists who I have credited.

Essay updates

Due to the recent backlash to the release of Innamorata by Ava Reid, my essay about their books has received a lot more attention. I added a note to the start clarifying that I do not support any personal attacks directed towards Ava as a person and also disagree with the stance generating the backlash, which is that she is problematic for not including trigger warnings. I am keeping my own trigger warnings up for now, but this is a position I may re-evaluate later because of how my own perspective on them has changed over time. I may also write more about this (various opinions about TWs) in the future!

I also revised a few parts of the Rhysand essay that felt a bit too sweeping in my conclusions about trauma survivors’ reactions. I clarified/expanded on a few things and cited some great points made by commenters on the YouTube video. YES I know ACOTAR is coming back and that Call Her Daddy podcast episode 100% confirms everything I speculated about SJM’s stance on Rhys!!!!!!! I will see how strong I am feeling come October, and if any future additions are necessary based on what happens in the new books, I will revisit if I feel like it!

I think that’s everything for now. I have so much love and gratitude to all of you who have read my work and continue to be interested in what I have to say. Please take care, and I hope to check in again soon!