Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 122

Writing Elsewhere

Someone asked me recently about my office, and I told them I don't have one.I live in an apartment, and there's no separate room where I can go to write. In fact, my bedroom and living room are really the same room, set apart mainly by furniture. If I write at home, I can write sitting on the couch, or I can write sitting on the bed. I've done both.But more often, I go Elsewhere.There's a

Siegfried Sassoon, "Remorse"

RemorseLost in the swamp and welter of the pit, He flounders off the duck-boards; only he knows Each flash and spouting crash, --each instant lit When gloom reveals the streaming rain. He goes Heavily, blindly on. And, while he blunders,'Could anything be worse than this?' --he wonders, Remembering how he saw those Germans run, Screaming for mercy among the stumps of trees:

Moonlight Mistress excerpt - Emotional Fight Scene

Moonlight Mistress is out December 2009 from Harlequin Spice. In this scene, Pascal and Lucilla have recently been reunited.#Pascal tucked the blanket back over her shoulder, from where it had fallen. "You didn't want me to see you again," he said. His voice gave nothing away, and his chin blocked her view of his facial expression, dimly lit by electric light shining in the window."You're in

PCA/ACA Call for Papers

PCA/ACA 2010 National Conference(Popular Culture and American Culture Associations)St. Louis, Missouri, March 31 – April 3, 2010Call For Papers: Romance AreaConference info.Deadline for submission: November 30, 2009.We are interested in any and all topics about or related to popular romance: all genres, all media, all countries, all kinds, and all eras. All representations of romance in popular

Lauren Dane Guest Post - Worldbuilding and Characterization

Please welcome my guest, Lauren Dane!#Worldbuilding and CharacterizationThe first book I wrote was a paranormal. I loved the freedom of building worlds. They were my rules, my world, the characters did what I told them to. Of course when something didn't work or make sense, that was all me too. Building a world for your characters to inhabit is only part of the process though. In the end, any

Vera Brittain, "The German Ward"

The German WardWhen the years of strife are over and my recollection fades Of the wards wherein I worked the weeks away,I shall still see, as a visions rising 'mid the War- time shades, The ward in France where German wounded lay.I shall see the pallid faces and the half-sus- picious eyes, I shall hear the bitter groans and laboured breath,And recall the loud complaining and

Excerpt from The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover - Humor

Excerpt from The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover- Humor#Two days later, the last of the horses was slung aboard Captain Leung's ship. Watching from the dock, Henri bounced on his toes. He'd never been to sea before, though the coast was less than a day's journey from the ducal seat, if one wasn't picky about where one took ship. Sylvie jabbed him with her elbow. "Be still. You

Kirsten Saell Guest Post - "Writing F/F(/M) for the Female Gaze"

Please welcome my guest, Kirsten Saell.#Writing F/F(/M) for the Female Gaze I adore men. I love their hard bodies and their strong chins and the frankness of their bodies. I love the sound of a deep voice growling something naughty in my ear, accompanied by the rasp of poky, prickly whiskers against my skin. I love the feel of muscled arms holding me so tight I almost can't break free. And as

Pirates and Swords

Sometimes, a picture says it all.Nummy, aren't they?Photo is of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone in Captain Blood, 1935. You can see the sword fight here. It's visible that Basil Rathbone was a real fencer; Errol Flynn said, "I really can't fence worth a damn. I just know how to make it look good."Regardless, it's very unlikely sailors of that period would fence as those two did in the movie--the

Some of My Favorite Pictures from Montreal

This is going to be my last post full of Montreal photos. Really.I loved the bright colors in this mural near McGill University.This snake graffiti? mural? was near our hotel.Stadium built for the 1976 Summer Olympics.A great glass artwork at the Berri-UQAM Metro Station.Flowers at a park by the river in Old Montreal.The riverside park in Old Montreal.Inside the Basilica Notre Dame--I liked the