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.

#TBRChallenge 2023

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Victoria Janssen

This year, I’ll again be participating in the TBR Challenge hosted by Wendy the Super Librarian. My goal is to post reviews of a themed book on the third Wednesday of every month. Feel free to join me! Tag your … Continue reading →

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#TBRChallenge – Festive: Silent Night by Stanley Weintraub

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub has been on my TBR for quite a while, along with a lot of other World War One reference books; some of them, I don’t read … Continue reading →

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My November Reading Log

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch visited Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island, in 1878. After closing a politically sensitive case in his home country of England, Finch is pressured to visit the United States while the court case unfolds. … Continue reading →

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#TBRChallenge – Lies: The Conductors by Nicole Glover

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

I chose The Conductors by Nicole Glover for the “Lies” theme because it’s a murder mystery. However, it turned out to fit the theme in other ways as well: many of the suspects rewrote themselves and their lives to some … Continue reading →

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My October Reading Log

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala is second in a cozy mystery series; I have not read the first book, but was easily able to follow the story. Protagonist Lila Macapagal has returned to the cozy small town … Continue reading →

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“Cut Flowers,” Ivor Gurney

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Cut Flowers Not in blue vases these Nor white, cut flowers are seen But in the August meadows When the reaper falls clean – And the shining and ridged rows Of cut stalks show to the eye As if some … Continue reading →

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Rutabagas and Unicorns: The Windflower by Laura London

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

This essay was written in 2012 for Heroes and Heartbreakers; it is no longer available there, as the site is defunct. I’m posting the essay again because Sharon Curtis passed away on September 4, 2022. Every lady of breeding knows. … Continue reading →

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#TBRChallenge – Exile by Lisa Bradley

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Exile by Lisa Bradley is a post-apocalyptic, character-driven science fiction novel which I bought because I had met and liked the author. The apocalypse in this novel was local, affecting people living nearby with uncontrollable, violent rage. The federal government … Continue reading →

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My September Reading Log

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

My September #TBRChallenge Book was Black Maestro: The Epic Life of an American Legend by Joe Drape; I also read and wrote about Wink: The Incredible Life and Epic Journey of Jimmy Winkfield by Ed Hotaling in the same post. … Continue reading →

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Romancing the Beast – Embracing Monstrousness in Romantic SFF

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

I have a post up at the SFWA blog: Romancing the Beast – Embracing Monstrousness in Romantic SFF. Because the Romance genre is based on plot structure, it can easily be merged with a Speculative Fiction setting. Magical secondary worlds, … Continue reading →

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