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.

Black Beans with Sweet Potato

I like to roast sweet potatoes in the oven, sometimes whole, sometimes cut into pieces and tossed in a mix of olive oil and salt. Roasted sweet potato turned out to be fabulous with spicy black beans. For the beans, … Continue reading

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Honey Cake

Honey Cake Preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan. 1 cup honey – I used Tupelo honey 1/2 cup melted butter 1 egg, well beaten 1/2 cup sugar – I used light brown 2 … Continue reading

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Fried Barley

My brilliant idea to make fried rice only using leftover barley is apparently A Thing with recipes on the internetz. So I looked at a couple and adapted/experimented. Result: tasty and very filling. Next time, I will season more heavily; … Continue reading

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Gingerbread with Candied Ginger

Gingerbread with Candied Ginger Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter cupcake tin. 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick) 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup “robust” dark molasses 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon mace or nutmeg 1 … Continue reading

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Spinach and Chevre Quiche

Spinach and Chevre Quiche Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 1/2 – 1 cup cup spinach, thawed and drained if frozen, rinsed and dried if fresh 3 large eggs 1 cup cream 1/2 cup (4 ounces) chevre (goat cheese) 1/2 … Continue reading

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My February Reading Log

Fiction: The Jade Temptress by Jeannie Lin is the second of her historical romance mysteries set in Tang Dynasty China. The heroine Mingyu, a highly trained courtesan, discovers one of her highest-ranking clients spectacularly dead and must work with big, … Continue reading

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My January Reading Log

Fiction: Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson is a lowkey romance that takes place just before and during World War One. The hero is a surgeon of working-class Scottish origins, the heroine is an aristocratic-class woman who becomes an ambulance … Continue reading

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My December Reading Log

Fiction: Favours Exchanged (Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle Book 5) by L.A. Hall continues to add to the original series, but in a way that is more for continuing readers than for new ones. I loved getting more about Maurice, and more … Continue reading

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My 2020 Arisia Schedule

I will be attending Arisia 2020 January 17-20, 2019, in Boston, Massachusetts. My schedule is as follows: Saturday, 5:30 pm, Marina 3 “Diversity in History” A.J. Odasso [moderator], Sol Eidan Houser, Diana Hsu, Victoria Janssen, Sioban Krzywicki The perennial refrain: … Continue reading

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My November Reading Log

Fiction: Connections in Death by J.D. Robb is 48th in the Eve Dallas series of futuristic mysteries, and yet I bought it and read it and enjoyed it. Formulaic books are great for when I only have tiny bits of … Continue reading

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