Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 109

For Further Reading

This is a Post of Pimping. I really enjoy these blogs, to the point that I'm excited when there's a new post, and think some of you might like them, too.Racy Romance Reviews. Great thoughtful reviews, and some wonderful discussions of romance novels from an ethics point of view.Promantica. "After nearly a half-century of reading romances, I thought I'd write about them." And she does it

Werewolves in WWI? Why Not?

This post was written for Harlequin's Paranormal Romance Blog.For The Moonlight Mistress, I combined a historical novel with paranormal elements. As you probably know already if you read this blog regularly, the book is set during the early days of World War One, and begins with a romance between Lucilla, an English chemist and nurse, and Pascal, a French scientist. They're trapped in Germany

Tell Not Show

One of the main pieces of writing advice I've received over the years is "show not tell."It's good advice. It can remind you that it's easier for a reader to form mental pictures of characters whom they've seen in action. Action scenes are usually more compelling to read than long explanations. If a reader's interpreting actions, they're usually more involved in the story than when they're

Guest at Paranormal Romantics

I'm a guest over at Paranormal Romantics today, talking about "Choosing Your Paranormal Creature."

Charles Sorley, "All the Hills and Vales Along"

All the Hills and Vales AlongAll the hills and vales along Earth is bursting into song, And the singers are the chaps Who are going to die perhaps. O sing, marching men, Till the valleys ring again. Give your gladness to earth's keeping, So be glad, when you are sleeping. Cast away regret and rue, Think what you are marching to. Little live, great pass. Jesus Christ and Barabbas Were found the

Moonlight Mistress Excerpt - Explosions

Moonlight Mistress is from Harlequin Spice. In this scene, three soldiers are causing a distraction at one site while a more secret operation happens at another. Note there's been a change to this excerpt to protect a plot detail.#It would have been better to have grenades thrown from all directions, but it hadn't been practical with only the three of them. Meyer had insisted that one of them

Why No, My Face Is NOT Red

Back in December, I was involved in a discussion about (I paraphrase) how to get used to using "naughty" words in your writing, when they weren't in your everyday vocabulary."Naughty" words should be treated just like any other words, as tools to get meaning across, to communicate meaning as accurately as possible.For instance, do those particular words suit the story you're writing? If your

Goals and Deadlines

This post was originally written for Leah Braemel's Blog.A writer's work is never done, and neither is her goal-setting. I have one goal staring me in the face right now: the deadline to turn in the manuscript of The Duke and the Pirate Queen. It's due February 1, which means I'll be spending January writing the last scenes as well as cleaning, tweaking, revising, and polishing. A deadline

Worthy Transgressions

People have been talking for a while about how there's more erotica being published in both print and electronic formats, and how more people are reading erotica and talking about it, and how erotica is getting more and more explicit and transgressive.transgression: (noun) an act of transgressing; violation of a law, command, etc.; sin. Or, in the case of published erotica, exploring the limits

The Bust Bodice

If you've read The Moonlight Mistress, you know that Lucilla, rather than a corset or brassiere, wears a bust bodice. Below, a picture of a bust bodice.Some models reached as low as the waist, and some were worn in addition to corsets. They were popular through the 1920s.