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.

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

SuperWendy’s Keepers – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, the incredible SuperWendy! # When Victoria asked me if I’d be interested in doing a guest blog post for her, I immediately said yes, for no other reason than we both adore category romance. Yep, we’re … Continue reading →

Posted in category, guest, reading, romance novels | 8 Comments

Lori Devoti – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, author Lori Devoti. # About Nocturne As soon as I heard about Harlequin’s new dark paranormal line, I knew I wanted to write for it. At the time I was writing (though not published in) paranormal, … Continue reading →

Posted in category, guest, romance novels | 4 Comments

Mira Lyn Kelly – Getting the Call – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Mira Lyn Kelly! # All about “The Call” If you’re an aspiring author, you’ll know what I mean when I say we all have fantasies about “The Call.” Some may be vague and general, others elaborate … Continue reading →

Posted in category, guest, romance novels | 3 Comments

Exploring Category Romance – Elle Kennedy

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Elle Kennedy. # Romantic Suspense: Finding a Balance When I first started submitting to Silhouette, I have to admit, I had no idea what I was doing. I read Intimate Moments (now Silhouette Romantic Suspense), and … Continue reading →

Posted in category, guest, romance novels | 3 Comments

Laura Barth on Category Slush Piles – Exploring Category Romance

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Laura Barth! Laura works with the Harlequin Blaze and Harlequin American Romance lines. # Many hopeful writers probably wonder about the process that results in either a rejection letter, a revision request, or–for the lucky few–a … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing, category, guest, romance novels | 4 Comments

Exploring Category Romance – A Category Romance Is Like a Sonnet

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Category romances, also called series romances, are to me the epitome of romance as a genre. They’re short – mostly about 200 pages or 50,000 – 60,000 words long. The term category comes from the various lines such as Harlequin … Continue reading →

Posted in category, romance novels | Comments Off