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.

Pithy Writing Advice

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I used to have an orange file folder in which I carried stacks of manuscripts to my writing workshop every couple of months. Inside that folder, I wrote quotes–things that people said while critiquing, some their own, some from another … Continue reading →

Posted in quotes, writing craft | 9 Comments

Novel Beginnings: on opening sentences

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Thanks to a post at Lust in Time, I began thinking about first lines and beginnings of novels, and the idea that novels are supposed to “grab” the reader from the beginning, or “start with a bang.” (I pause to … Continue reading →

Posted in quotes, writing craft | 8 Comments

it’s the 98th annual international women’s day

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Happy International Women’s Day! http://www.internationalwomensday.com/first.asp

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Jane Yolen on plot

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

From Take Joy, by Jane Yolen: “It is the writer’s privilege, really, to order events, to focus on one strand of an existence while ignoring all others. We cannot do this in reality–but we can on the pages of a … Continue reading →

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Romance Reading So Far This Year

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

In 2009, I’m keeping track of my reading. Here’s my romance and erotica reading so far for the year, divided by sub-genre: Contemporary:Janice Kay Johnson, What She Wants for Christmas [category]Victoria Dahl, Talk Me DownKathleen O’Reilly, Once Upon a Mattress … Continue reading →

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Where’s the sexual line in shapeshifter romance?

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Today’s wild speculation–where’s the sexual line in shapeshifter romance? I don’t think I’ve ever read a paranormal romance, or even a fantasy novel, in which a sex scene happens between one human partner and one partner who’s shifted into an … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, paranormal, reading, romance novels, sf/f | 18 Comments

a writer does her taxes

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Tax time is coming around here in the U.S., and for the first time I have enough writing income to report. This blog post should go on to say how I researched tax codes, collected information, sat down with a … Continue reading →

Posted in business of writing | 2 Comments

a review of The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Fellow Spice author Saskia Walker reviewed my novel The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover here: http://saskiawalker.blogspot.com/2009/03/erotic-reading.html

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Siegfried Sassoon, "Attack"

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

AttackAt dawn the ridge emerges massed and dunIn the wild purple of the glow’ring sun,Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroudThe menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.The barrage roars and lifts. … Continue reading →

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The Art of Letting Go – Finishing the Novel

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

When is it time to stop working on a manuscript? I might as well say now, this post is going to be one of my least concrete. Last week, February 26, I turned in The Moonlight Mistress. I’d turned in … Continue reading →

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