Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 81

Janet Mullany - Guest Post

Please welcome my guest, Janet Mullany!#IMMORTAL JANEHe released her hands and stood. "Consider, Jane. You'll marry some bore of a country gentleman who'll kill you in childbed and who won't want a bookish wife anyway. Perhaps you'll stay a spinster and lose your bloom and die young of some disease they'll find an easy cure for in a hundred years or so. Or you'll see your sister die first.""Now

Fascinating Faces

I adore looking at old photographs, particularly photographs of people.I found this one on the web. It's of actress Marjorie Day. There's not a lot of information about her out there that I was able to find on a cursory search. But for my purposes, that doesn't really matter.I feel like I know her from the photo, in a different way than knowing facts, in a kind of abstract way. It's a casual

My Smashwords Experiment

Recently, I decided to experiment with Smashwords and Kindle publishing. So far, I much prefer the interface and FAQs on Smashwords, though I've been told most people sell more copies through Kindle.For my experimental book, I compiled all of my lesbian erotica that was also speculative fiction (some science fiction, some fantasy). All of these stories were originally in print.Here's the result

The Mammoth Book of Threesomes and Moresomes

The Mammoth Book of Threesomes and Moresomes, edited by Linda Alvarez, releases today in the U.S.!(My contributor's copy has a different cover than the one shown on Amazon. Not sure why.)It includes one of my favorites of my own stories, "The Magnificent Threesome." One day, I want to write more about those characters. There are a few classic Western plot elements I wasn't able to include in

Staying On Top of Blog Reading

I could easily spend hours every day reading other people's blog posts. Plus, I'm always finding new blogs, often through interesting links I'm given on Twitter or LiveJournal. After a long weekend, where I may or may not have gone online, it gets worse.I add links to my blog reader probably a lot more often than is good for me. Luckily, not every blog has a new post every day, or even every

Dealing with Rejection

I am sure there must be at least a few writers who've never been rejected, but I'm equally sure they're the exceptions that prove the rule. It's part of being a writer. If you don't submit your work, it can't be rejected; but if you don't submit your work, it can't be accepted, either. It's important to remember that even when you're feeling especially crushed.Every submission is a risk, even

Edward Thomas, "As the Team's Head-Brass"

As the Team's Head-BrassAs the team's head-brass flashed out on the turn The lovers disappeared into the wood. I sat among the boughs of the fallen elm That strewed the angle of the fallow, and Watched the plough narrowing a yellow square Of charlock. Every time the horses turned Instead of treading me down, the ploughman leaned Upon the handles to say or ask a word, About the weather, next about

Gilbert Frankau, "Eyes in the Air"

Eyes in the AirOur guns are a league behind us, our target a mile below,And there's never a cloud to blind us from the haunts of our lurking foe--Sunk pit whence his shrapnel tore us, support-trench crest concealed,As clear as the charts before us, his ramparts lie revealed.His panicked watchers spy us, a droning threat in the void;Their whistling shells outfly us--puff upon puff, deployedAcross

Telepathy and Romance

Telepathy and romance are two great tastes that ought to taste great together. So why is it that, so often, a telepathic heroine or hero--finds true love with the one person whose mind can't be read?It's part of a romance novel's plot, of course, for a couple to get to know each other better. There need to be obstacles in the way. If one person can read the other's mind, a lot of the tension

Heroine Doe

What do you look for in a romance heroine? Or the heroine of a space opera, or of a quest fantasy? What kind of heroine always makes you want to read further?Does she need to be an orphan, or have a big happy family, or a mean and awful family?Should her eyes be amethyst or only ever brown? Can she ever be conventionally beautiful?Is she spunky? Angry? Sweet? Cynical? Kickass?Can she physically