Category Archives: genre

Pondering the Mail-Order Bride

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I had another thought about Western romances. Does the reason the “mail-order bride” plot is so popular in Western romances have anything to do with the idea that marriage is linked to civilization? In that case, marriage could be civilization, … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, romance novels, western | 4 Comments

Basics of the Western

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

So, Westerns. What are the basic elements of a Western? There are the two plots: 1) a stranger comes to town and 2) someone leaves town, heading for a new place. A subsidiary plot involves surviving in the wilderness, whether … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, reading, romance novels, western | 7 Comments

My Favorite Girls Dressed as Boys – Fantasy Edition

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Fantasy novels are rife with girls dressed up as boys. I’m not sure if it’s because there are so many female fantasy readers versus so many male fantasy heroes, or if it’s a result of a common romance-adventure trope sliding … Continue reading →

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Why No, My Face Is NOT Red

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Back in December, I was involved in a discussion about (I paraphrase) how to get used to using “naughty” words in your writing, when they weren’t in your everyday vocabulary.“Naughty” words should be treated just like any other words, as … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, genre, reading, writing | 2 Comments

Worthy Transgressions

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

People have been talking for a while about how there’s more erotica being published in both print and electronic formats, and how more people are reading erotica and talking about it, and how erotica is getting more and more explicit … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, genre, reading, writing, writing craft | 4 Comments

Grit Under My Boots

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

If I’m reading a historical novel, or for that matter, a science fiction or fantasy novel, or a romance, or any other genre, I want to feel the grit underneath my boots. Even in a shiny futuristic city where everyone … Continue reading →

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Introduction to Steampunk

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I’m visiting the Romance Junkies Blog today, so please stop by! Tomorrow at my own blog I start six days of posts about television adaptations of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy Sayers. # Steampunk Recommendations Comics:Fullmetal Alchemist is … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, guest, sf/f, steampunk | 3 Comments

Three Takes on the Marriage of Convenience

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I recently read, in succession, three new books by Mary Balogh, a perennial favorite of mine in historical romance. The three books about three sisters each featured a Marriage of Convenience plot, and each one approached that basic plot from … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, reading, romance novels | 4 Comments

My Top 16 Romance Novels

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I’m exactly one month late posting my sixteen favorite romance novels, but, well…here they are anyway, in random order. And it was really hard and made me very sad, but I did it for you. I limited myself to books … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, historical fiction, reading, recommendations, romance novels | 8 Comments

Oral Tradition, Epithets, and J.D. Robb

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

In many romance novels, particularly those in series, the reader’s familiarity with the characters and setting can be reinforced by repeated use of the same descriptive phrases. I think this is similar to the technique of assigning epithets, often poetic, … Continue reading →

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