Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 63
April 24, 2011
"Stand-to: Good Friday Morning," Siegfried Sassoon
Stand-to: Good Friday Morning
I'd been on duty from two till four.
I went and stared at the dug-out door.
Down in the frowst I heard them snore.
'Stand to!' Somebody grunted and swore.
Dawn was misty; the skies were still;
Larks were singing, discordant, shrill;
They seemed happy; but I felt ill.
Deep in water I splashed my way
Up the trench to our bogged front line.
Rain had fallen the whole damned night.
O Jesus, send me a wound to-day,
And I'll believe in Your bread and wine,
And get my...
April 22, 2011
"Romance Novels" Linkgasm
I've got a new post up at Heroes and Heartbreakers: Just a Gigolo…Romance Hero?
#
Out of curiosity, I recently did a search on the phrase "romance novels." This was prompted by a conversation I had with Magdalen of Promantica, who'd recently heard the term "Harlequin romances" used as a generic disparaging term. So I went on an internet search to see what I could see, eavesdropping, as it were.
1. And, well, I am a girl, and I can't always read deep, noble, thoughtful books, so I have...
April 21, 2011
Just a Gigolo…Hero?
Today at Heroes and Heartbreakers, Just a Gigolo…Hero?, in which I discuss some of the ways in which romance heroes have been, umm, on the game.
Kate's Father: I'm sad because, my darling, our poverty has reached such extremes that I can no longer afford to keep us and must look to my own dear tiny darling to sustain me in my frail dotage.
Kate: But father surely…
Kate's Father: Yes, Kate. I want you to become a prostitute.
Kate: Never! Father.
Kate's Father: Do you defy me?
Kate: Indeed I do ...
April 20, 2011
The Regency TBR – Help me!
I have a pile of Regency romances (of the Signet Regency variety) in my TBR. I need help in prioritizing.
Many of these were recommended by Twitter friends and bloggers whom I read. Which five would you recommend I move to the top of the pile?
Joan Aiken, The Five-Minute Marriage
Jo Beverley (have been sort of saving this, as she's a favorite author), The Fortune Hunter
Bethany Brooks, Her Perfect Earl
Nancy Butler:
The Kindness of a Rogue
Lord Monteith's Gift
The Prodigal Hero
The...
April 18, 2011
Jane Eyre (2011)
I've finally seen the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska in the title role and Michael Fassbender as Rochester. Wasikowska is probably best known for her role as Alice in the 2010 Tim Burton movie Alice in Wonderland; Fassbender played Burke in the movie version of Jonah Hex, which I didn't see, and I believe is going to be Magneto in the upcoming X-Men: First Class…I might have to see that, just to see how it turns out.
I'll get my "it's not the book!" whining over ...
April 17, 2011
"Enemies," Siegfried Sassoon
Enemies
He stood alone in some queer sunless place
Where Armageddon ends. Perhaps he longed
For days he might have lived; but his young face
Gazed forth untroubled: and suddenly there thronged
Round him the hulking Germans that I shot
When for his death my brooding rage was hot.
He stared at them, half-wondering; and then
They told him how I'd killed them for his sake–
Those patient, stupid, sullen ghosts of men;
And still there seemed no answer he could make.
At last he turned and smiled. ...
April 15, 2011
Linkgasm: A Friday Erotic Miscellany
I'm a guest at the Novelists, Inc. blog today, chatting about resting.
On to the links.
New-to-me blog The Pursuit of Harpyness posted "Eclectic Thoughts on Finding [Woman-Empowering] Erotica. It's a great blog, I recommend browsing further that that one post.
Blogger Amazon on Sex, Sexwork, and Pornography, "a jumping-off point to talk about social perceptions of sexwork and sexworkers."
Alison Tyler notes there's a new review of her anthology Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex, in which ...
April 14, 2011
Mary Balogh's TANGLED
At Heroes and Heartbreakers, I analyzed Mary Balogh's Tangled as an erotic romance.
I focused on the first two sections of the novel, and how the marriage of the two main characters develops and changes through their sexual relationship.
April 13, 2011
Building Setting: Inherent Conflict
When creating a setting for a novel, it needs to provide opportunities for conflict.
For example, in a Regency Romance, the conflict is generally between the characters and the social mores of that time and place. For one reason or another, the characters must rebel against what's expected.
Another example is setting a story in the middle of a war. The characters' conflicts can be set against the larger conflict and either mirror or oppose it. The characters might be on opposing...
April 11, 2011
Active Settings
I had a note to myself that I should blog about "active settings." I didn't remember exactly why I'd written that phrase down, but ideas began to spill into my mind, as if the phrase was a cue.
Thinking of setting as active could be a useful concept for both historical and speculative fiction. After all, setting in where and when characters move, where they act. Setting can say things about character, and character can say things about setting. Our perception of a setting can change c...
