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.

Minx Malone Guest Post – Inspiration

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Thanks, Victoria, for allowing me to hang out with you today. I wanted to talk about something that is equally relevant for writers and readers alike: inspiration. I used to be inspired mainly by dreams. I would wake up one … Continue reading →

Posted in guest, writing process | 2 Comments

Selling Stories to Editors

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

An interesting question came up on a newsgroup I was reading. Of course all writers write for themselves, to some extent. But what if you discover you have the gift of writing stories a particular editor likes and will buy? … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing, short fiction, writing | 2 Comments

Siegfried Sassoon, "The Effect"

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

The Effect ‘The effect of our bombardment was terrific. One man told me he had never seen so many dead before.’ –War Correspondent. ‘He’d never seen so many dead before.’ They sprawled in yellow daylight while he swore And gasped … Continue reading →

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The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover Outtake Excerpt

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

This is an outtake from The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover. It’s the beginning of a substantial menage scene which was cut mostly for pacing reasons; it involved the Duchess Camille, Henri, and Lord Maxime. I later … Continue reading →

Posted in free read, promo, the duchess, writing process | 2 Comments

Andrea Barra Guest Post: Romance, Academia, and Me

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest Andrea Barra, PhD candidate in Sociology. # Romance, Academia, and Me by Andrea Barra I would be lying if I said I went into graduate school with any sort of idea of what I wanted to … Continue reading →

Posted in guest, research, romance novels | 2 Comments

Harper Lee Has a Backlist of One

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Whenever I begin to worry too much about goals, and success, and output, and all that, I remind myself: Harper Lee. Harper Lee wrote a novel. It was her first novel. She was past thirty years old when To Kill … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing, writing | 3 Comments

Reading and Writing Erotica as a Feminist Act

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Recently, I followed a link to a fascinating-sounding blog post on erotica only to find that I had already read the post almost a year ago, and had in fact commented on it. I still stand by my comment, and … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, reading, romance novels, writing | 4 Comments

The Desire to Publish

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

What makes people want to have their fiction published? I’ve thought about this often: how some people burn for publication and others don’t; how for some, feedback from readers is a requirement, while for others simpy to write is enough; … Continue reading →

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Jeannie Lin Guest Post: Feminism in the Tang Dynasty

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest Jeannie Lin, Golden Heart finalist for her historical romance novel Butterfly Swords, which has, as of 7/15/09, sold to Harlequin Mills and Boon! My muses — four extraordinary women of the Tang dynasty. The characters at … Continue reading →

Posted in guest, historical fiction, research, romance novels | 17 Comments

Doing What Interests You

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.” –Katherine Hepburn Tune in tomorrow for Jeannie Lin’s guest post “Feminism in the Tang Dynasty: The Footbinding Dilemma.”

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