Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 128

2009 "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing

Tonight, I'm at the 2009 "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing at RWA's National Conference."More than 500 romance authors participate in this two-hour autographing event, and each year we raise thousands of dollars, which are donated to ProLiteracy Worldwide. Since 1991, RWA has donated more than $600,000 to literacy charities.The 2009 "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing takes place on

My Top Five Conference Tips (RWA 2009)

This year will be only my second RWA National, but I've been attending science fiction and fantasy conventions for over two decades now; these are the main things I try to remember.1. Get cash beforehand. It's convenient to use a credit card, and then all your expenses are organized when it comes to tax time, but when eating out with a large group at an inexpensive restaurant, it's often easiest

Not Going To Conference Conference

Not Going To RWA Nationals in DC?Let Romance Divas bring the conference to you!Site registration is free – if you aren't already a member of the best free romance writing community on the web, sign up today!July 14-18, 2009. Workshops from some of the hottest talent in writing will make you glad you stayed home!Marley GibsonJoey W. HillSteve HockingsmithCarrie JonesShayla KerstenJosh LanyonRowan

Tate Hallaway Guest Post - "If You Built It..."

Please welcome my guest, Tate Hallaway!If You Built It...When Victoria asked me to write about world-building, I was stymied. What world-building? I didn't invent Madison, Wisconsin, after all. It's just this place, you know? I was particularly baffled because in my other life as a science fiction writer when people talk about building a world, they mean literally constructing a planet and

Edward Thomas, "Rain"

RainRain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rainOn this bleak hut, and solitude, and meRemembering again that I shall dieAnd neither hear the rain nor give it thanksFor washing me cleaner than I have beenSince I was born into this solitude.Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon:But here I pray that none whom once I lovedIs dying to-night or lying still awakeSolitary, listening to the

Readercon 2009 Schedule

My Readercon Schedule. This is what I'm doing this weekend!Friday 6:00 PM, VT: Reading (30 min.) Reading from Moonlight Mistress, forthcoming in December from Spice. Friday 7:00 PM, ME/ CT: Talk / Discussion (60 min.) Excellent Foppery: The Use of History in the Fantastic. Graham Sleight with discussion by John Clute, John Crowley, Greer Gilman, Victoria Janssen, Robert Killheffer Following on

Guestblogging at Fiction That Defies Boundaries.

Today I am guestblogging for Michelle Lauren's Fiction That Defies Boundaries Blog. I wrote about some plot-generating worldbuilding techniques I'm using for my novel-in-progress, tentatively titled The Duke and The Pirate Queen.Hope to see you there!I'm at Readercon in Burlington, Massachusetts. My program schedule is:Friday 6:00 PM, VT: Reading (30 min.) Reading from Moonlight Mistress,

The Daily Grind of the Writer - The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover

This might be the most boring blog post ever, but I hope at least a few people find it interesting. This is my writing log for The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover, in which I tracked how much I wrote each day, and sometimes what I specifically worked on. "Ducal Service" was the original title for the short story, and I referred to it as both that and "The Duchess and the Stableboy"

Historical and Paranormal: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

For my December 2009 erotic novel for Harlequin Spice, Moonlight Mistress, I combined a historical novel with paranormal elements. 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 when war is declared and must escape together. I could have proceeded from there

Joanna Russ, How to Suppress Women's Writing

I've been thinking about this book lately, and considering a re-read.Excerpt from How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ:If certain people are not supposed to have the ability to produce "great" literature, and if this supposition is one of the means used to keep such people in their place, the ideal situation (socially speaking) is one in which such people are prevented from producing