Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 118

Denise Rossetti, What Lies Beneath - Guest Post

Please welcome my guest, Denise Rossetti!#What Lies BeneathI remember reading somewhere that authors only write one story – their own. Over and over again, in every single book. I don't recall who said it – it may have been Jennifer Crusie. Certainly the 'core story' is not a new idea, but it stayed with me. I was half fascinated, half horrified. What's my 'core story'? What have I been

CapClave 2009 Schedule

I'll be at CapClave 2009 this weekend.Here's my schedule:Fantasy-MysteryFriday, 8pm, MontroseAndrew Fox (m), Peter Heck, Victoria Janssen, Jean-Marie Ward, Diane WeinsteinFrom Harry Dresden to Rachel Morgan to Sookie Stackhouse to Anita Blake, a lot of popular urban fantasies/paranormal romances seem to be mysteries. Why add a third element to the mix? What works/doesn't work when you combine

Linkgasm #1

Fear of Kindle: Don't Bet Against the Paper Barons and How Newspapers Will Survive, both by science fiction author and music critic Tom Purdom.I can totally get into the Harvard Bookstore's new bookmaking robot, known to friends as "Paige M. Gutenborg." I mean, it's a robot. How cool is that? Now if the robot could write books, too, that would be something, and we'd really be living in the

Short Stories Versus Novels

1. Do you think that some writers are inherently "short story writers" and others are inherently "novel writers"?2. If you believe that's true, are the writers of one form incapable of writing the other to a base level of competence, or is it just that they're really a lot better at a single form and should devote all their time to it? If not, what do you think about length as a factor in writing

Me and The Doctor

This post originally appeared at Amanda McIntyre's House of Muse Blog, 10/1/09.My name is Victoria and I am a Dr. Who fan.If you've never seen the show, it began on the BBC in 1963 and continued until 1989, with a series of different actors in the lead role. The show was revived on BBC One in 2005.No, I'm not British. I never watched the show as a child, so I don't have the excuse of having

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, "Hit"

HitOut of the sparkling sea I drew my tingling body clear, and lay On a low ledge the livelong summer day, Basking, and watching lazily White sails in Falmouth Bay.My body seemed to burn Salt in the sun that drenched it through and through, Till every particle glowed clean and new And slowly seemed to turn To lucent amber in a world of blue...I felt a sudden wrench-- A trickle of warm blood-- And

Moonlight Mistress Excerpt - Danger

For a LiveJournal charity auction, I am offering your name as a character in The Duke and the Pirate Queen. You do not need a LiveJournal account to bid. How To Bid. Information about the auction itself and its purpose. Bidding closes TODAY, October 10, 2009, Saturday, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.Moonlight Mistress is out December 2009 from Harlequin Spice. In this scene, Noel Ashby has recently

Robin Bradford Guest Post - Audiobook & E-book Pricing

Please welcome my guest, Robin Bradford!#The price of sharingFor years, there have been two markets for audiobooks. There was the retail market, which sold audiobooks at around $39.99/title. This was higher and lower, of course, depending on the length of the book, the author, the narrator, etc. The average retail price was in that area. However, the big companies (Recorded Books, Brilliance,

Anne Sexton, "The Black Art"

The Black ArtA woman who writes feels too much,those trances and portents!As if cycles and children and islandsweren't enough; as if mourners and gossipsand vegetables were never enough.She thinks she can warn the stars.A writer is essentially a spy.Dear love, I am that girl.A man who writes knows too much,such spells and fetiches!As if erections and congresses and productsweren't enough; as if

Living/Writing Balance

I sing in a choir.I would have more time to sing and practice music if I didn't spend so much time writing. Or vice versa. And if I didn't spend so much time reading, I would have more time to write. And so on.I don't want to give up any one of those things. I don't think I can. I did go without a choral group for a year--between the end of graduate school and when I auditioned for my current