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.

Be Like a Bug

“All that energy we expend to keep things running right is not what’s keeping things running right. We’re bugs struggling in the river, brightly visible to the trout below. With that fact in mind, people like to make up all … Continue reading

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Alas, Poor Wallis

I’m on vacation until the new year, but I set up some blog posts anyway. There will be a slight lack of introspective musings on writing and genre in them, but hopefully some entertainment value. Behold one of the most … Continue reading

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Excerpt from a War Nurse’s Diary: The Retreat

In The Moonlight Mistress, it’s mentioned in passing that Antwerp fell to the Germans. Here’s a first-person account about that event which I didn’t get to use in my novel (yet!). ### Excerpt from A War Nurse’s Diary: Sketches From … Continue reading

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The Pronoun Problem

If you haven’t read it yet, check out this article in the LA Weekly: Man on Man: The New Gay Romance. Some of the arguments will be familiar to slash fans, but I was impressed that they interviewed Constance Penley, … Continue reading

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Robert Frost, "War Thoughts At Home"

War Thoughts at Home On the back side of the houseWhere it wears no paint to the weatherAnd so shows most its age,Suddenly blue jays rageAnd flash in blue feather. It is late in an afternoonMore grey with snow to … Continue reading

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Robert Frost, "Not To Keep"

Not to Keep They sent him back to her. The letter cameSaying… And she could have him. And beforeShe could be sure there was no hidden illUnder the formal writing, he was in her sight,Living. They gave him back to … Continue reading

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Nifty Werewolf Books

If you have a chance, check out Werewolves At Home, a webcomic tie-in to The Moonlight Mistress. This is a list of werewolf books that I’ve liked a lot or had recommended to me. Suggestions welcome! Benighted (alternate title: Bareback) … Continue reading

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Insta-Love

What are your feelings on Love At First Sight? Usually, I can’t believe in it. If it happens in a story, usually I don’t want to read any more. If the characters already know what they want, before I’ve seen … Continue reading

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Grit Under My Boots

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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It’s All in the Details

This post originally appeared at Lust in Time. My new book from Harlequin Spice, a historical with werewolves, is titled The Moonlight Mistress and it’s out this month. I’ve been amusing myself by going through my copy and re-reading my … Continue reading

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