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.

#TBR Challenge – Lush Life: Dreams of Distant Shores by Patricia A. McKillip

Dreams of Distant Shores (2016) by Patricia A. McKillip is a short story collection from Tachyon by one of my top favorite fantasy authors since I stumbled upon library copies of The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy in middle school. The … Continue reading →

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My August Reading Log

Nonfiction: A friend recommended Samantha Irby’s essays to me, so I obtained two of her collections from the library. Wow, No Thank You. and Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby were a good introduction to her work, I think, addressing topics … Continue reading →

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#TBR Challenge – Backlist Banger: The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian

The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian has been on my TBR for…a very long time. So long I can’t remember how long, unless I go blog-diving. Part of the issue was I was having trouble obtaining a copy when I … Continue reading →

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My July Reading Log

Fiction: The Maid by Nita Prose is a murder mystery set in a prestigious city hotel. Molly Gray, the titular maid, is alone in the world after the death of her beloved grandmother, who raised her and helped her navigate … Continue reading →

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My June Reading Log

Fanfiction: Panem et Circenses by littleblackfox is a mashup/alternate universe putting Crowley and Aziraphale into the Great British Bakeoff, in one of the early BBC seasons. In a world in which Armageddon didn’t happen, a year later Heaven and Hell … Continue reading →

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#TBRChallenge – Freedom!:The Hollywood Jim Crow by Maryann Erigha Lawer

The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry by Maryann Erigha Lawer is academic nonfiction. “In The Hollywood Jim Crow, Maryann Erigha tells the story of inequality, looking at the practices and biases that limit the production … Continue reading →

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My Readercon 2026 Schedule

I’ll be paneling at Readercon July 9 – 12, 2026 at the Boston Marriott Burlington in Burlington, MA. My schedule is below: The Works of P. Djèlí Clark Friday, July 10, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Andrea Hairston; Rob Cameron [moderator]; … Continue reading →

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My May Reading Log

Fiction: I started off the month of May with three DNF mystery novels; it might be me and not the books! Darksight Dare by Lois McMaster Bujold is latest in her Penric and Desdemona series; it’s also latest in the … Continue reading →

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#TBR Challenge – Pride: Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff has been lingering on my TBR since it came out, but you really can’t go wrong with menopausal lesbian werewolves. Becca lives in an isolated mountain town and, after her divorce, has made a life … Continue reading →

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#TBRChallenge – “New Beginnings”: Body Movers by Stephanie Bond

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond is first (I thought) in a cozy mystery series with the unusual aspect of body movers for the morgue. I’ve been meaning to check it out because I love reading about different professions. Partway in, … Continue reading →

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