Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 54
August 30, 2011
Vorkosigans in Love
I was offline this weekend when my post on romance in the Vorkosigan novels went live at Heroes and Heartbreakers, but it looks like it's getting plenty of comments.
August 29, 2011
I got bookclubbed!
Last Wednesday night was the book club meeting I attended, for The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover. I made a special trip to New York City for the event; later on, I'll post photos of the nifty hotel where I stayed.
I knew ahead of time that August was the club's "trashy book" month. What I didn't know was that their definition of "trashy book" was a bit more classic than mine! Previous year's August readings had included Lady Chatterly's Lover ("full of social...
August 28, 2011
"A Whispered Tale," Siegfried Sassoon
A Whispered Tale
I'd heard fool-heroes brag of where they'd been,
With stories of the glories that they'd seen.
But you, good simple soldier, seasoned well
In woods and posts and crater-lines of hell,
Who dodge remembered 'crumps' with wry grimace,
Endured experience in your queer, kind face,
Fatigues and vigils haunting nerve-strained eyes,
And both your brothers killed to make you wise;
You had no babbling phrases; what you said
Was like a message from the maimed and dead.
But memory brought the ...
August 26, 2011
Writing in a Vacuum is Better
This is a repost of something I wrote for the Novelists, Inc. blog last week.
I'm on deadline at the moment, writing something that's due September 1. Sometimes, being on deadline leads to procrastination (shocking, I know!), even though I've learned that keeping my head down and plunging in is the best way to get things done. I should probably invest in a sensory-deprivation chamber.
Sometimes, when I am on deadline, I find myself Googling my name, looking for reviews, commentary, any k...
August 24, 2011
August 22, 2011
The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance – US Release
The American edition of The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance is available tomorrow!
My story in the anthology is called "Crimean Fairy Tale," and I had some fun with naughty Victorian slang when writing it.
For your amusement, here is an excerpt, with some of the more colorful language included:
The whores lived on the edges of the camp, most of them in shabby tents they'd made over from army discards. Few had made any attempt to cheer up their muddy surroundings with gardens; the most...
August 21, 2011
"Blighters," Siegfried Sassoon
'Blighters'
The House is crammed: tier beyond tier they grin
And cackle at the Show, while prancing ranks
Of harlots shrill the chorus, drunk with din;
'We're sure the Kaiser loves our dear old Tanks!'
I'd like to see a Tank come down the stalls,
Lurching to rag-time tunes, or 'Home, sweet Home',
And there'd be no more jokes in Music-halls
To mock the riddled corpses round Bapaume.
–Siegfried Sassoon, The Old Huntsman and Other Poems, 1918
August 19, 2011
Don't Google Yourself, Write!
I'm over at Novelists, Inc. today, talking about why procrastinating by Googling yourself is bad in more than one way.
August 18, 2011
Body Part of Sin
I did a "Fresh Meat" feature at Heroes and Heartbreakers this week on Eve Silver's Body of Sin. No, not body part of sin. Though that would have been funny.
Also, Lynn Spencer at the All About Romance blog read The Moonlight Mistress. Overall, she liked it!
My 5 Tips for Writing Erotica post is now appearing over at Erotic Meet.
August 17, 2011
One week to go!
One week from today, a New York book club is having a meeting. They read a "light" book every August. This August, it's my first book, The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom & Their Lover. I was invited to attend.
My book didn't get chosen randomly – I went to college with one of the book club members. She's promised me that if they have things they really hate about the book, they will save them for the next meeting, when I'm not there. (Heh.)
I am actually pretty excited, and glad I...
