Category Archives: historical fiction

Active Settings

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

I had a note to myself that I should blog about “active settings.” I didn’t remember exactly why I’d written that phrase down, but ideas began to spill into my mind, as if the phrase was a cue. Thinking of … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, sf/f, steampunk, writing craft | Comments Off on Active Settings

Top 3 Reasons I Love Historical Romance

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

1. The outfits. Dukes have bigger…coronets of rank. Also, the hats. Men in hats. Women in hats. People these days…not enough hats. Or gloves. There’s something about concealment beneath all those almost fetishistic garments…it makes you wonder what else they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, reading, romance novels | 2 Comments

Five Thoughts on Historical Worldbuilding

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Victoria Janssen

1. I definitely prefer when I can spend a lot of time with the historical background of a story, maybe not overtly by making notes but organically, letting my thoughts come together slowly as I read about different aspects of … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, research | 5 Comments

Janet Mullany – Guest Post

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Janet Mullany! # IMMORTAL JANEHe released her hands and stood. “Consider, Jane. You’ll marry some bore of a country gentleman who’ll kill you in childbed and who won’t want a bookish wife anyway. Perhaps you’ll stay … Continue reading →

Posted in guest, historical fiction, paranormal, vampires | 4 Comments

Be vewy quiet; I’m adding geeky detail!

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

There are various schools of thought about adding historical detail to fiction. Sometimes you want more detail, sometimes less; partly, that depends on the book’s genre. For example, in a Tom Clancy novel such as The Hunt for Red October, … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, historical fiction, research, wwi | 4 Comments

Selling the Unusual Setting

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was originally written for The Naughty Girls Next Door. Since then, I learned from author Michelle Styles in a comment to that post that Harlequin Mills & Boon has been seeking out unusual historicals, publishing one a month … Continue reading →

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Research – When to Stop

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I actually stole this topic from a discussion I read…somewhere, a while back. The question was, “when do you stop researching?” I have two answers.My first answer is never. You never stop researching because everything you read or look at … Continue reading →

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Contemporary Historical Resources Linkgasm

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Here are a few links I’ve found useful in my historical research. These are all collections/archives of contemporary materials. Contemporary to historical periods, I mean.Old Magazine Articles, edited by Matt Jacobsen. “OldMagazineArticles.com is a Los Angeles-based website; privately owned and … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, images, links, research | 2 Comments

History as Fantasy

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

In many ways, writing historical fiction is like writing fantasy. And reading historical fiction is like reading fantasy. In one genre, you have to look up a lot of tiny details to make the reader accept that the world they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, historical fiction, reading, sf/f | 4 Comments

Researching the 1970s – Gwynne Garfinkle Guest Post

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Gwynne Garfinkle! # Researching the Jo Book I recently completed the second draft of a novel about a soap opera actress in mid-1970s New York City who’s haunted by the ghost of her best friend who … Continue reading →

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