Author Archives: Victoria Janssen

About Victoria Janssen

Victoria Janssen [she, her] currently writes cozy space opera for Kalikoi. The novella series A Place of Refuge begins with Finding Refuge: Telepathic warrior Talia Avi, genius engineer Miki Boudreaux, and augmented soldier Faigin Balfour fought the fascist Federated Colonies for ten years, following the charismatic dissenter Jon Churchill. Then Jon disappeared, Talia was thought dead, and Miki and Faigin struggled to take Jon’s place and stay alive. When the FC is unexpectedly upended, Talia is reunited with her friends and they are given sanctuary on the enigmatic planet Refuge. The trio of former guerillas strive to recover from lifetimes of trauma, build new lives on a planet with endless horizons, and forge tender new connections with each other.

Food in Fiction

I like to put food in my fiction. First of all, people eat. What they eat can say a lot about their character, and about the world in which they live, and about their interactions with other characters. Does Oscar … Continue reading

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Reviews, the Sweetest Pain

“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.” –Samuel Johnson I think writers often worry too much about how their work will be … Continue reading

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The Art of War – World War One Poster Art

Today’s post is what is sometimes referred to as “picspam.” I find WWI-era posters fascinating. Here are a few interesting ones. I’ll post some recruitment posters later this month. Posters aimed at financing the war were very common. Here’s a … Continue reading

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Edmund Blunden, "Can You Remember?"

Can You Remember? Yes, I still rememberThe whole thing in a way;Edge and exactitude Depend on the day. Of all that prodigious sceneThere seems scanty loss,Though mists mainly float and screenCanal, spire and fosse; Though commonly I fail to nameThat … Continue reading

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Edward Thomas, "This Is No Case…"

This is no case of petty right or wrongThat politicians or philosophersCan judge. I hate not Germans, nor grow hotWith love of Englishmen, to please newspapers.Beside my hate for one fat patriotMy hatred of the Kaiser is love true:A kind … Continue reading

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Jackie Barbosa Guest Post – Confessions of a Sub-Genre Slut

Please welcome my guest, Jackie Barbosa! # Confessions of a Sub-Genre Slut Before I get started, I’d like to thank Victoria for giving me a chance to blab about myself on her blog. Of course, the downside of guest blogging … Continue reading

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Guestblogging at Romance Junkies

I’m guestblogging today at Romance Junkies about “Historical and Paranormal: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together.” I’ll re-post it in this blog later on.

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How To Write A Novel (in 72 easy steps!)

I long ago came to the conclusion that the trickiest part of writing a novel is figuring out how you write novels. You being yourself, a particular author with a particular method of working. All writers know, or should know, … Continue reading

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Minx Malone Guest Post – Inspiration

Thanks, Victoria, for allowing me to hang out with you today. I wanted to talk about something that is equally relevant for writers and readers alike: inspiration. I used to be inspired mainly by dreams. I would wake up one … Continue reading

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Selling Stories to Editors

An interesting question came up on a newsgroup I was reading. Of course all writers write for themselves, to some extent. But what if you discover you have the gift of writing stories a particular editor likes and will buy? … Continue reading

Posted in business of writing, short fiction, writing | 2 Comments