World Fantasy 2014 Schedule

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

This week, I’ll be attending World Fantasy in Arlington, Virginia.

You can find me on the following program item:

The Great Game in History and Fiction
3pm-4pm, Nov. 8, Tidewater 2
Ian Drury (M), David Drake, Jim Fiscus, Jennifer Povey, Victoria Janssen

Before World War I, there was the Great Game, as from 1813 to 1907, the British and Russian empires vied for supremacy. The geopolitical machinations of this period influenced the politics of many fantastic novels, coloring the colonialism of The Blue Sword to post-colonial River of Gods, or Ghosts of the White Nights for their alternate depictions of the later Cold War. The panel will explore the literary impact of the Great Game on fantasy writers of the period as well as today.

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CapClave and Links

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

I recently enjoyed this post about category romances by Jessica Tripler over at Book Riot and this post about the history of erotic romance by Meoskop at Love in the Margins.

I wrote a preview of the new Eileen Wilks novel, Unbinding over at Heroes and Heartbreakers.

And I previewed an anthology of alternate universe Sherlock Holmes stories at The Criminal Element.

I’ll be attending CapClave this weekend, and will participate in the following panels.

Saturday. October 11, 10:00 AM, Salon A
“Doctor Who at 50 and Beyond”
Doc Coleman, Victoria Janssen (Moderator), L. Jagi Lamplighter, Sherin Nicole, Jon Skovron
Name of the Doctor, Night of the Doctor, Day of the Doctor, Time of the Doctor, An Adventure in Space and Time – Did the 50th Anniversary live up to the hoopla? And going forward what are our expectations for Peter Capaldi? Will there be an episode simply entitled “Of The Doctor?” Is it time for Steven Moffat to step down as show runner?

Sunday, October 12, 11:00 AM, Bethesda
“Romance and SF/F”
Catherine Asaro, Victoria Janssen (Moderator), Pamela K. Kinney, Natalie Luhrs, Sunny Moraine
A significant number of science fiction and fantasy books are reviewed in romance-focused publications such as RT Reviews and nominated for awards in the romance genre. Were the genre line distinctions always artificial? What are romance readers’ expectations with respect to the plot and its resolution, such as Happily Ever After vs. the tragic romance? Is romance handled better or worse in YA SF/F? Are certain types of romance plots (such as first love) more likely to show up in YA?

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Charity Anthology

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

My latest story, “Found,” appears in an anthology to benefit The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

Her Private Passion: More Tales of Pleasure and Domination is currently available for Kindle.

Blurb:
Five smoldering tales of women’s passion for women. Five best-selling authors bring you their hottest lesbian historical stories of desires that cannot be denied.

From elegant aristocrats, cross-dressing soldiers, and sultry sirens, to naughty nuns, seductive spies, and innocent young ladies, some women must dominate… and some women must submit.

“Bound in Silk and Steel,” by Rebecca Tregaron. The lovely courtesan-spy Perrine travels to Serenissima to seduce and ensnare the noblewoman Fiorenza. But in the sensual abandon of Carnival, power can shift in the blink of an eye, the turn of a mask, the flick of a rope…

“Convent Discipline,” by Honey Dover. Alessandra isn’t looking forward to becoming a nun, but in strict medieval Italy, her family has given her no other option. When her training as a novice is taken over by the lovely Julia, Alessandra learns that submission can mean much more than prayer.

“Found,” by Victoria Janssen. In the midst of the American Civil War, Clodia flees slavery and certain death. Found by her escaped friend Diana, who is serving as a man in the Union army, Clodia fears she can’t be forgiven for the past.

“Spanked On The Prairie,” by Isla Sinclair. When Emily Welland misbehaves on the Canadian prairie, she is due for a spanking from firm but beautiful Miss Grant. But little does she know the sensual lesbian delights in store for her.

“The Ocean’s Maid,” by Mona Midnight. All Sarah wanted was to find her sister, lost to the mermaids more than a year ago. But in the world of the sirens, she finds welcoming arms… and the promise of the forbidden pleasures she has denied herself for so many years. Will she return to the surface? Or will she succumb to the temptations of life under the sea?

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My Schedule for Readercon 25 (2014)

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

I’ll be at Readercon this weekend, July 10-13. All of my programming is on Friday, but I’ll also be around all day Saturday.

Friday July 11, 11:00 AM
“Everything in Moderation: How to Moderate”
Leah Bobet, Jim Freund, Elaine Isaak, Victoria Janssen (leader), James Patrick Kelly.
An exceptional moderator is usually someone who has moderated panels in the past, understands the subject matter, knows a bit about the panelists, and realizes that they are there to guide the conversation—not to impress the audience with their brilliant insight. Good moderators know that you are here for the panelists, and they work hard to coax the quiet panelists into the discussion and nicely shut down the the hijackers. Moderation is a skill and an art. We invite you to learn from our best.

Friday July 11, 2:00 PM
“When the Magic Returns”
John Chu, Max Gladstone, Daryl Gregory, Lev Grossman, Victoria Janssen (leader).
The “return” of magic into a mundane world is one of very few ways in which we see fantasy set in the future. Why is this? What makes fantasy and futurity so incompatible? Why is the return of magic so often associated with apocalypse, while its banishment is usually the consequence of scientific or industrial progress? From Aarne-Thompson tale types like the Fairies’ Farewell to Kim Harrison’s Hollows series, panelists will talk about the ways in which magic-as-technology can be explored.

Friday July 12, 3:00 PM
“Speculative Fiction and World War I.”
John Clute, Felix Gilman, Victoria Janssen (leader), Jess Nevins, Graham Sleight, Sonya Taaffe.
On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and World War I began. Hugo Gernsback had not yet named science fiction at the time, but proto-SF stories inspired by the war exist, many early SF writers would draw inspiration from their experiences of the wartime era, and alternate history stories of WWI are numerous. WWI had a tremendous effect on fantasy and horror stories as well, with surrealist, expressionist, and apocalyptic modes flourishing alongside tales of lost arcadias. Looking back 100 years later, how did WWI shape the readers and writers of speculative fiction and the genre as a whole?

Friday July 12, 5:00 PM
Kaffeeklatsch: Victoria Janssen, Tom Purdom.

Friday July 12, 7:00 PM G
“Romance Recs for Spec Fic Fans”
Saira Ali, Beth Bernobich, Rose Fox, Victoria Janssen (leader), Natalie Luhrs, Cecilia Tan.
At Readercon 24, “Making Love Less Strange” discussed ways for spec fic authors to incorporate romance into their work. Building on that, this panel will provide and invite recommendations of romance novels that spec fic fans will enjoy and authors can learn from. Some examples include Meljean Brook’s The Iron Duke, a steampunk police procedural; Isabel Cooper’s No Proper Lady, starring a time-traveling demon-battling assassin; and Sara Creasy’s Song of Scarabeus, an action-packed cyberpunk space opera. Prepare to take notes.

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Some previews and updates

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

1. I had a couple of previews go live recently at Heroes and Heartbreakers: Summer Rain, an anthology, and Beyond the Velvet Rope by Tiffany Ashley, an erotic romance set at an exclusive nightclub.

2. I’m going to Readercon July 10-13, 2014, and will post my schedule as soon as it’s finalized.

3. I’ve spent the summer so far focusing on putting some stories up for Kindle – Nook will be next, once I get the hang of it. I’m experimenting with different covers and blurbs. The Wrangler’s Secret: The Magnificent Threesome, Part 1 is the story formerly known as “The Magnificent Threesome,” and is followed by The Gambler’s Naughty Playing Cards. I’ve written a third story in the series as well. Their length is in the 5000-6000 word range, and I’d classify them as lighthearted erotica.

A helpful friend wrote this blurb for me:

In the Wild West, a woman with a dangerous secret is about to meet her match… and her other match.

Austin disguised herself as a man to earn a living as a horse wrangler. But when she meets an interracial pair of roving gunslingers, she finds more than she bargained for. DeVille, who is white, is a silver-tongued gambler, and Harcourt, who is black, is an upright, uptight warrior. And she’s not the only one with a secret: the two fighting men are lovers!

After the three of them are swept into a desperate battle against a ruthless gang, their secrets come out… and their clothes come off! Austin finds more pleasure than she ever imagined in their hot and sweet interracial male/male/female threesome.

4. I’m also spending the summer trying to learn how to write blurbs. I’ve never gotten the hang of it, and I feel it’s an important skill, and worth developing.

5. I continue to write reviews for Publishers Weekly, but those are anonymous, so I can’t link them here. Sorry! But I’m learning a lot about writing reviews succinctly.

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My WisCon 2014 Schedule

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

I’m attending WisCon this weekend! Here’s my panel schedule. The full schedule for WisCon and the Science Fiction Research Association Conference is here.

The Once and Future Badass: Historical Women Who Inspire, Challenge and Unsettle Us
Kate Bachus; Victoria Janssen; Madeleine E. Robins; Patty Templeton
Fri, 2:30–3:45 pm, Senate A
From “Badass Women in History RPF” as a Yuletide fandom to tumblrs like historicalheroines and the Reconstructionists project, fans have a hunger for (re)discovering and celebrating women who go to extremes to Get Shit Done. Who are our favorite Badass Women in history, past or present? How do they conform to or subvert (or perhaps blatantly blast to smithereens) current tropes about “strong” women in fiction and the news?

Join the Mod Squad: Enhance Your Moderation Skills
Christopher Davis [moderator]; Gerri Balter; Alan Bostick; Liza Furr; Victoria Janssen
Fri, 4:00–5:15 pm, Conference 4
Ever go to a panel and spend your time thinking, “With a good moderator, this would be a much better panel?” We will review several ways to be that good moderator, offer tips and tricks, and generally work on improving WisCon’s already high standards for panel moderation. We strongly encourage you to attend this panel if you are moderating at WisCon, especially if it’s your first time. It’s also a great experience if you ever have, or think you ever will, be a panel moderator anywhere.

The Role of People of Color in Urban Fantasy
Jackie Gross [moderator]; Victoria Janssen; Daniel José Older
Sat, 8:30–9:45 am, Conference 1
Urban Fantasy is often lauded for the large number of women writers in the genre. Yet, despite being set in the inner city (real or fictional) the presence of POC is often limited to the Magical Negro, Wise Indian, Sketchy Gypsy, or other dehumanizing stereotypes. How urban can fantasy be when it centers on white/white-passing leads and POC appear largely as plot devices or servants (sexual or otherwise) to white leads? Let’s talk about race in urban fantasy and the erasure of POC from the places where they are living in these alternate realities.

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Previews Catchup

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

While my blog was down, I had several novel previews go live.

Fresh Meat: Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd. A Regency-set historical mystery I enjoyed quite a bit.

Fresh Meat: Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall, Paranormal lesbian noir with a terrific first-person voice.

First Look: Robin Constantine’s The Promise of Amazing, New Adult.

First Look: Alison DeLaine’s A Gentleman ’Til Midnight, a historical romance with a female ship’s captain.

First Look: Suzanne Brockmann’s Do or Die. First in a new series, loosely tied to the Troubleshooters.

First Look: JL Merrow’s It’s All Geek to Me, a short and sweet male/male romance.

First Look: Jennifer Chance’s Rock It, a contemporary romance in which a talent agent ends up managing her favorite rock star.

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New sale!

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

I’m happy to announce I’ve sold a short story, “The Aid Station,” to editor Kristina Wright for her military-themed anthology, For the Love of a Soldier. Look for it in November! It’s set in 1916, and features a British ambulance driver and an American soldier-turned-doctor.

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Interlude

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Victoria Janssen

Sorry for the long break – I’ve had some hosting issues, which I am now resolving. I’ll be back online soon!

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Latest Previews

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Victoria Janssen

More book previews!

Heavy Metal Hearts by Nico Rosso – a short novel featuring demons in a rock band.

Mounting Danger by Karis Walsh – lesbian romance, a mystery, and equestrain pursuits.

Wallflower by Heidi Belleau – boy geeks in love, and one of them is becoming a cross-dresser.

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