Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 62
May 6, 2011
Short-haired women, no-haired women
I found this article in The Guardian by Anne Billson very, very interesting, given that the heroine of The Duke and The Pirate Queen shaves her head, mainly for the purpose of displaying the privateer tattoos on her scalp.
"…long, lustrous tresses are one of the major signifiers of femininity. One of the first things a girl does when disguising her gender is cut her hair…"
"Short hair on female characters is rarely permitted to exist in its own right. It's a statement, a sign of playing ...
May 5, 2011
Rammstein! Rammstein!
I'm out of town at the moment – I traveled to northern New Jersey with a friend to see the German metal band Rammstein in concert, and am staying overnight.
Here are a couple of videos to give you a taste:
May 4, 2011
May Pirates! Ahoy!
Read a pirate book in May! You know you want to!
A few weeks ago someone brought up the idea on Twitter of reading a pirate book during the month of May. Then everyone in the discussion apparently forgot about it, except me.
That means I get to pick the rules, right? So, to play: read a pirate book you haven't read before. Then talk/write about it. I was thinking romances, but classics that aren't romances might be cool, too – for instance, I've never read Treasure Island.
If you...
May 2, 2011
Dream Lover releases today!
Happy release day to Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance, edited by Kristina Wright!
My story in this anthology is titled "Vanilla," and I noticed it had a mention in one of the Amazon.com reviews: "After finishing the book, I think my favorite is "Vanilla." –L.M. Tanaka
Here's a small excerpt of my story:
Devlin had flour on the tip of his nose.
Louisa stopped in the communal kitchen's doorway and watched him absently brush his nose with one floured knuckle. He'd spilt...
May 1, 2011
Joanna Russ links
Here are links to some essays by by Joanna Russ (1937 – 2011).
Towards an Aesthetic of Science Fiction: "Science fiction, like medieval painting, addresses itself to the mind, not the eye. We are not presented with a representation of what we know to be true through direct experience; rather we are given what we know to be true through other means—or in the case of science fiction, what we know to be at least possible. Thus the science fiction writer can portray Jupiter as easily as the ...
April 30, 2011
"Dirge Without Music," Edna St. Vincent Millay
Joanna Russ passed away yesterday, after being in poor health for many years. Sarah Monette reminded me of this poem.
Dirge Without Music
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A ...
April 29, 2011
Criminal Element is live!
I've been doing some blogging for a new mystery/crime novel site, The Criminal Element, and it's finally launched this week!
My first post for the site is Crime's Couples: Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January and Rose Vitrac, from her series of historical mysteries set in 1830s New Orleans.
"Macmillan announces the launch of a new crime and mystery-focused community website with a focus on sharing and enriching the experience of crime story fandom…the site will highlight different areas of ...
April 27, 2011
History and Diction
I've been reading through a lot of Regencies in my TBR lately, and one thing I notice frequently is the diction. I go back and forth a lot on the issue of historical diction.
To me, diction is the base layer of historical fiction. It's the foundation, or perhaps the foundation garment (heh). If the diction is right, or sounds like it's right, the reader is more likely to trust in the "reality" of what she's reading. And isn't that one of the main goals of fiction? For me, it is.
But...
April 25, 2011
The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance – Pre-Order
[Edited to correct release date]
The American edition of The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance is available for pre-order! Official release date is now August 23, 2011.
My story in the anthology is called "Crimean Fairy Tale."
Here's a snippet:
Private Jonas Weston survived Balaclava without a scratch, then things got worse. He emerged from the brutal battle at Inkerman Heights with a shallow lance wound over a broken rib, bad dreams, and hands that would never quite stop shaking. Three...
The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance – US Release
The American edition of The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance is now available!
My story in the anthology is called "Crimean Fairy Tale."
Here's a snippet:
Private Jonas Weston survived Balaclava without a scratch, then things got worse. He emerged from the brutal battle at Inkerman Heights with a shallow lance wound over a broken rib, bad dreams, and hands that would never quite stop shaking. Three nights after the battle, when he'd once again woken screaming, Sergeant Jennings told him...
