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.

Stories in the Head

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I used to make up stories before I went to sleep every night. Usually I didn’t get very far. Sometimes I would barely arrange the scene before drifting off, and would start in approximately the same place on the following … Continue reading →

Posted in writing process | 6 Comments

An Experiment in Second-Person Present

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

This is an old essay I unearthed from the depths of my laptop. # Point of view and tense have a dramatic effect on a story’s tone. The following excerpt comes from the first typed draft of my short story … Continue reading →

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Moonlight Mistress excerpt – Dialogue

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Moonlight Mistress is out December 2009 from Harlequin Spice. This scene takes place as Crispin’s regiment is heading to France, in the early days of World War One. # Crispin mentally shook himself and joined a group of the men … Continue reading →

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Nifty Stuff That Ought To Be In Romance Novels

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Nifty Stuff That Ought To Be In Romance Novels Bored with billionaire heroes and heroines who own their own antique shops? Be bored no more! Include these elements in your romance, and watch it catch fire! (Keep extinguisher handy, and … Continue reading →

Posted in research, romance novels, writing process | 15 Comments

Raymond Chandler, on time to write

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Today I’m a guest at fellow Spice author Amanda McIntyre’s House of Muse Blog, for “Coffee Talk.” Please stop by and chat if you have a chance! For a LiveJournal charity auction, I am offering your name as a character … Continue reading →

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Everyone should read the Temeraire books.

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

“Patrick O’Brian meets Jane Austen meets Dragons.” Just in case you haven’t read Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series yet, I’m going to tell you why you should. And the chief reason to do so is not “because you don’t have enough … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, reading, recommendations, sf/f | 2 Comments

Finish It. That’s All.

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Sometimes I think there’s only one piece of writing advice. “Finish it.” Finish the novel, finish the short story, finish something and then edit it or move on to the next thing and learn something new. I don’t care if … Continue reading →

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

Maili McVane’s Keeper Categories – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, sometimes known as Maili and sometimes known as McVane. # I have a love-and-hate relationship with category romances. I love it because it has great diversity and I hate it because it lacks diversity. Either way, … Continue reading →

Posted in category, guest, reading, recommendations, romance novels | 7 Comments

"She’s So Unusual" – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Category romances, contrary to many peoples’ beliefs, are not at all the same. Sometimes, they push boundaries. I have not yet read Mallory Rush’s Kiss of the Beast, a Harlequin Temptation that features an alien hero (the only alien hero … Continue reading →

Posted in category, reading, romance novels, sf/f | 4 Comments

Victoria Janssen’s Keeper Categories – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I had a difficult time narrowing down this list–I tend to keep a lot of books–but finally decided to choose books I am most likely to re-read more than once. (Also, I did not include any of Carla Kelly’s Regency … Continue reading →

Posted in category, reading, recommendations, romance novels | 3 Comments