Category Archives: sf/f

#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 →

Posted in sf/f | Tagged | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in blogs, promo, romance novels, sf/f, writing craft, writing process | Comments Off on Romancing the Beast – Embracing Monstrousness in Romantic SFF

My August Reading Log

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: Prisoner of Midnight by Barbara Hambly is eighth and most current of the James and Lydia Asher series about vampire hunters and their uneasy vampire ally, Don Simon Ysidro. I was excited to find it’s set in 1917, with … Continue reading →

Posted in fanfiction, mystery, nonfiction, reading, sf/f | Tagged | Comments Off on My August Reading Log

#TBRChallenge – Blue Collar: Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Perfect Circle by Sean Stewart is one of those books I pre-ordered and then kept on my TBR for years afterward. Stewart is one of my all-time favorite fantasy writers, but he has gotten away from writing novels in recent … Continue reading →

Posted in sf/f | Tagged | 3 Comments

My July Reading Log

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb is the fifty-fourth in that series, wow, and there are currently two more scheduled to follow. These are comfortingly repetitive despite being about sometimes truly gruesome serial murders, because the killer is … Continue reading →

Posted in alternate universe, DNF, fanfiction, mystery, reading, sf/f, wwi | Tagged | Comments Off on My July Reading Log

#TBRChallenge – Vintage: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

On one of the few occasions when I met the late Ursula K. LeGuin, I asked if she would recommend me a book to read. She suggested Lolly Willowes: Or the Loving Huntsman by Sylvia Townsend Warner, published in 1926. … Continue reading →

Posted in sf/f, women | Tagged | 1 Comment

#TBRChallenge – Tales of Old: Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson is set in New York City before the United States has entered World War Two; it seems to be an alternate history in subtle ways. In this world, people of color with mystical/magical … Continue reading →

Posted in sf/f | Tagged | 1 Comment

My April Reading Log

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: Can’t Find My Way Home by Gwynne Garfinkle is a ghost story that’s also a period piece. Vividly set in mid-1970s New York City, it features Joanna Bergman, a young actress in a soap opera who’s developing an intense … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary, fanfiction, glbtqia+, historical fiction, romance novels, sf/f | Tagged | 2 Comments

#TBRChallenge – Location, Location, Location: A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney was on my TBR for two reasons: first, I know the author, and second, I knew it involved at least one fictional quilter, and I love reading about quilting. It’s mostly a ghost … Continue reading →

Posted in lgbtqia+, sf/f | Tagged | 2 Comments

My March Reading Log

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Victoria Janssen

Fiction: Rescue Operations: Changes of Life by L.A. Hall, sixteenth in the Clorinda Cathcart’s Circle series, includes the return of Josh Ferraby to England amidst a complex plot, involving a vast number of people, to free a woman from an … Continue reading →

Posted in fanfiction, historical fiction, lgbtqia+, mystery, romance novels, sf/f | Tagged | Comments Off on My March Reading Log