Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 2

Readercon 2025

I’ll be at Readercon 34 this weekend. If you’ll be there, please feel free to stop and say hello! My schedule is below.

The Works of P. Djèlí­ Clark
Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 1:00 PM EDT
Andrea Hairston [moderator]; Leon Perniciaro; Rob Cameron; Tom Doyle; Victoria Janssen
Our Guest of Honor P. Djèlí Clark rounded out his first decade as a published author with a Nebula and a Locus for his fantasy police procedural novel, The Master of Djinn, and both those awards plus a British Fantasy A...

#TBR Challenge – Road Trip: John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 18: The Gift by Mike Carey and Denise Mina, Leonardo Manco, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Lorenzo Ruggiero, and Frazer Irving

John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 18: The Gift by Mike Carey (Author), Denise Mina (Author), Leonardo Manco (Illustrator, Artist), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Artist), Lorenzo Ruggiero (Artist), Frazer Irving (Artist) is a road trip to hell (rather than from hell, heh). The story ended Carey’s run as writer on the series.

John Constantine’s mistake (in previous issues) leads to his sister’s death, which he hopes will be temporary if he can retrieve her soul from hell. For the dangerous journey, he needs...

My May Reading Log

Fiction:
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope is historical fantasy set in the 1920s Black neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.. Clara Johnson is able to speak with spirits called Enigmas, which can help humans with problems via a “Charm” but also demand a “Trick” in return. When local people begin to turn up with vacant stares and lost motivation, it’s clear something unnatural is happening. Clara has been isolating herself after the traumatic event that resulted in her Charm and Trick, but she...

#TBRChallenge – Older Couple: The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson

I’d actually already started reading The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson shortly after it came out, then was distracted and moved on to something else (I no longer remember what or why).

I think Penelope and Odysseus qualify for the theme! This time, I picked it up when I had a little more mental space and was able to really dig in and enjoy the introductory section about the poem itself; I especially appreciated Wilson’s historical review of the various theories about when and how the poem...

My April Reading Log

Fiction:
In Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri, Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor whose mother, from the desert Amrithi tribe, abandoned her and her sister when they were young. While living in relatively pampered seclusion with the other women under her father’s protection, Mehr alternates sparring with her stepmother over assimilation into the majority culture and dancing traditional Amrithi dances that are intended to connect with immortal desert gods. The Emperor and his my...

Steamy Couple Treats!

My new Steamy Couple Treats collection features ten character-driven romantic stories: “The Aid Station, 1916” (m/f historical); “In the Cold With You” (m/f contemporary); “The Magnificent Threesome” trilogy (m/f/m/ historical/poly); “Vanilla” (m/f contemporary/science fiction); “Twisted Beauty” (m/f contemporary); “No Sooner Met” (m/f historical, new for this collection); “Crimean Fairy Tale” (m/f historical/time travel); and “8:00 PM: Appointment Tee Vee” (m/f contemporary).

These stories were...

My March Reading Log

Fiction:
Passions in Death by J.D. Robb is fifty-ninth in this series and yes I am still reading it because every once in a while I crave a mystery because the point of mystery novels is for justice to prevail. Also, reading J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts is a masterclass in providing just enough information for readers new to the series when you’re more than fifty books into it. The series is also topical; Roberts’ feelings about current events and social change surface in the murder plot with both vic...

#TBR Challenge – Location, Location, Location: White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages

White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages follows The Green Glass Sea, a middle grade book about a lonely young girl, Dewey, whose father is working on the Manhattan Project. In 1946, World War II has ended; Dewey and her foster family, the Gordons, have just moved to scorchingly hot Alamogordo, New Mexico from Berkeley, California. Dewey and Suze, now just barely into their teens, have become best friends who each have their own deep interests: Dewey loves engineering and science, while Suze is a...

Spicy Sapphic Treats is here!

Spicy Sapphic Treats is now available! Also available on itch.io. This collection features ten character-driven bedtime stories, from science fiction to contemporary. 20,000 words. Includes “Place, Park, Scene, Dark”; “Free Falling”; “Camera,” “Wire,” and “Toy”; “Mo-o and the Woman”; “Water Music”; “The Airplane Story”; “Unlimited Minutes”; and “Green Pajamas.”

Cover of Spicy Sapphic Treats.

“Place, Park, Scene, Dark” After I broke up with Angie, sometimes women would hit on me. I’d tell the tru...

My February Reading Log

Fanfiction:
Mirage by Jean Graham is a 1980s sequel to Blake’s 7, which I had read when it was new, and re-read for a group discussion on Discord. The novel is comprised of short stories previously published elsewhere. I remembered barely anything about it; it’s plotty and reminiscent of an episode in ways both good and sometimes a bit dated. I definitely relies on the reader knowing the show from beginning to end.

Heartlands by Hafren is a short trilogy following the end of Blake’s 7, and focus...