Kristina Elyse Butke

December 26, 2025

December Newsletter

Dear friends,

December was jam-packed, and it's technically not done! Wrapping up classes, grading final papers and final exams, fretting over whether or not I have a job waiting for me in January (I do!!), holiday planning, and write, write, writing. The month isn't over yet (I'm sending this out early), but I'm wondering...how was your December? I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

What I'm Reading

I've slowed down on reading this month. The only non-manga review work I got through was T. Kingfisher's horror work Snake-eater, which surprised me because I only gave it three stars, and I thought for certain it would be more than that. A large part is that I didn't care for the narrative voice. Surprise, surprise! Genuinely.

What I'm Watching

I'm watching Frankenstein on Netflix! I'm viewing it in pieces because of attention span issues. Plus, I was so busy this month. So far it's a beautiful film that also at times seems a bit on-the-nose with theme and dialogue, but I'm still enjoying it. The melodrama is almost operatic, and I can't decide if that's good or bad.

I also still catch videos from BookTube when I can, and the theme this month was about authors and readers staying out of each other's spaces, plus everyone's end-of-the year book lists, which I'm still tuning in to see.

What I'm Writing

I began the month editing The Name and the Key. Both beta readers I hired got their feedback to me on the first of the month. I did developmental-type edits the first go around, and then did some line editing/language spruce ups. I submitted my manuscript to my publisher on December 15. I'm so nervous because I zipped through the book and didn't write it 900 times like I did with Son of the Siren, so I couldn't utilize my perfectionist tendencies. This is because I had a looming deadline. Anyway, I am currently back to work on The Step and the Walk after turning in the first book in the trilogy. I want to try to get this one written quickly, too, with a goal of finishing it by March to turn it in to the publisher by end of April.

What I'm Doing

Handling money matters as best as I can, and creating budgets, and following them, and sometimes not following them. My goal once I get my first paycheck for spring semester at Zane State is to reestablish some savings, but also budget for expenses with The Name and the Key and The Step and the Walk, such as commissioning character art and getting beta readers for the second book in the trilogy.

This Month on the Blog

You can see the December archive here to read all of my posts for the month (which I'm still writing, btw), featuring reviews of established and forthcoming manga, articles about The Name and the Key, a Proust Your Protagonist interview, and more. I've been given feedback that my newsletters are way too long, and listing all my blog posts are a big reason for that. So, going forward, I'll just be linking to the monthly archives.