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.

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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Not a Marriage of Convenience

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Why, yes, I’m still thinking about marriage of convenience plots. I like them. I’m finding this pondering of sub-genre to be extremely intellectually pleasing. Also, it’s helping me whittle down my to-be-read pile. I recently read Come Fly With Me … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary, genre, romance novels | 7 Comments

NaNoWriMo – O – Rama

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

It’s a big question this month, all over the Internet: are you nano-ing? Yes, once again it’s National Novel Writing Month. I am not participating in NaNoWriMo, and never have, but I think it can be a useful tool for … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing, writing, writing process | 3 Comments

How to Make Money in Publishing (and other writing jokes)

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

How to Make Money in Publishing and other writing jokes Question: How do you make a small fortune in publishing? Answer: Start with a large fortune. Question: How many screenwriters does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Ten.1st … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing, quotes | 1 Comment

A jolly Halloween….

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

And it’s especially jolly for me since I received my author copies of The Moonlight Mistress!!!

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Spooky Book Recommendations

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

In honor of Halloween, I offer recommendations of creepy, scary, horrifying fiction. The Bloody Chamber, a collection of short stories by Angela Carter, all explicitly based on fairy tales. Warning: these stories are not for the squeamish! Really, they’re not. … Continue reading →

Posted in links, reading | 2 Comments

Time Well Bent – ed. Connie Wilkins

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I don’t have a story in this anthology, but a friend of mine edited it and others wrote stories for it, and I’m really looking forward to reading it! Time Well Bent: Queer Alternative Historiesed. by Connie Wilkins We have … Continue reading →

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Wacky Story Elements and Laura Kinsale

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

So, there’s this novel, and it’s about a virgin who thinks she’s doomed to nymphomania and a ninja who used to be a child prostitute. Or in this one, the hero is afraid of heights, and the heroine has a … Continue reading →

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Writers, Live and In Person

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Yay, the French edition is now for sale at Harlequin France! You can also buy it at Decitre. And now for some actual content: Normally, my writers’ workshop meets once every couple of months, but it’s been a little less … Continue reading →

Posted in promo, writing, writing craft, writing process | 2 Comments

Linkgasm #2

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

A Writing Revolution at Seedmagazine.com. “Nearly everyone reads. Soon, nearly everyone will publish.” That’s not a new idea. “Consumers” who write have been around for a long, long time. I was reminded immediately of The Organization for Transformative Works. And … Continue reading →

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