Readers in Boxes-All you Need is Love
The whole issue of a MF author being plagiarized by a MM author has brought forth some interesting topics. A Washington Post article used the deplorable situation to take a jab at the romance genre as a whole. Others have been sharing their outrage and demanding to know how theft like this can be prevented.
I shared my thoughts about this yesterday, but another topic that was mentioned has been bugging me. Everyone has their opinion, and I don't mean this as a critisism, but I have to wonder how 'clever' it really was to assume there's not much crossover between gay and straight romance.
Maybe it's because I've been writing menage romance for so long, I don't usually see the divide. Ya, I've had readers who devour stories with a strong heroine meeting the man who can stand by her side, that pick up one of my books and say 'Wow. I never thought I'd be into two guys falling in love, but now I want more!' Those comments always make me smile, because really, there are so many amazing love stories out thee. And like in reality, they aren't restricted by gender or anything else.
But everyone has their preference, and there's nothing wrong with having a taste for sweet romance that follows the traditional view of a relationship.
Hell, I used to read mostly horror, sci-fi, and historical romance. My favorite historicals could all be classified today as dub-con. 'Bodice rippers' because the young heroine certainly wasn't unlacing the thing for a rival Lord or the viking that had captured her.
I had some dark fantasies. I'm sure you're all very surprised to hear that! ;)
Regardless, as a prolific reader, I was--and AM--always looking for a new genre to fall in love with. I finally realized it wasn't a particular genre I was looking for, but a great story that would pull me in and refuse to let me look away. It would keep me up at night and give me all the feels.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe that any story that has great character development, a strong plot, and engaging writing will draw in all sorts of different readers. I have men and women from all over the world writing to me constantly about their new love of hockey, which they'd never been interested in before.
Whether it's a sport, a profession, or a lifestyle, I think good books will always find readers. And if you're looking for sexy, and have an open mind, the options are limitless.
The point isn't to convince anyone who DOESN'T read gay romance to start reading it. I'm just not a fan of assumptions, and in this case, the assumptions made by an 'author' who figured there weren't many readers that go from MF to MM, ended up being her undoing.
Also, let's stop drawing lines in the sand between the genres. Whatever you love to write or read, we're all fans of books. From the great big fat ones to the skinny ones, with real or digital pages, they're all a doorway to experiences you might have missed out on if you hadn't cracked open the cover.
Enjoy. And I'll see you on the other side. Probably all tired out from killing dragons and having multiple orgies. ;)
I shared my thoughts about this yesterday, but another topic that was mentioned has been bugging me. Everyone has their opinion, and I don't mean this as a critisism, but I have to wonder how 'clever' it really was to assume there's not much crossover between gay and straight romance.
Maybe it's because I've been writing menage romance for so long, I don't usually see the divide. Ya, I've had readers who devour stories with a strong heroine meeting the man who can stand by her side, that pick up one of my books and say 'Wow. I never thought I'd be into two guys falling in love, but now I want more!' Those comments always make me smile, because really, there are so many amazing love stories out thee. And like in reality, they aren't restricted by gender or anything else.
But everyone has their preference, and there's nothing wrong with having a taste for sweet romance that follows the traditional view of a relationship.
Hell, I used to read mostly horror, sci-fi, and historical romance. My favorite historicals could all be classified today as dub-con. 'Bodice rippers' because the young heroine certainly wasn't unlacing the thing for a rival Lord or the viking that had captured her.
I had some dark fantasies. I'm sure you're all very surprised to hear that! ;)
Regardless, as a prolific reader, I was--and AM--always looking for a new genre to fall in love with. I finally realized it wasn't a particular genre I was looking for, but a great story that would pull me in and refuse to let me look away. It would keep me up at night and give me all the feels.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe that any story that has great character development, a strong plot, and engaging writing will draw in all sorts of different readers. I have men and women from all over the world writing to me constantly about their new love of hockey, which they'd never been interested in before.
Whether it's a sport, a profession, or a lifestyle, I think good books will always find readers. And if you're looking for sexy, and have an open mind, the options are limitless.
The point isn't to convince anyone who DOESN'T read gay romance to start reading it. I'm just not a fan of assumptions, and in this case, the assumptions made by an 'author' who figured there weren't many readers that go from MF to MM, ended up being her undoing.
Also, let's stop drawing lines in the sand between the genres. Whatever you love to write or read, we're all fans of books. From the great big fat ones to the skinny ones, with real or digital pages, they're all a doorway to experiences you might have missed out on if you hadn't cracked open the cover.
Enjoy. And I'll see you on the other side. Probably all tired out from killing dragons and having multiple orgies. ;)
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ReplyDeleteI've been an avid reader of romance since I was 12 years old. I'm 41 now. My tastes have changed so much over the years. The only thing that has never changed is that I love a HEA. I do tend to stick to one type of genre for a while once I develop a taste for it, but that doesn't mean I don't or won't read anything else if it peaks my interest.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear there was a mythical divide. I read both m/m and m/f, and several other permutations of m and f, lol. I don't really think there's such a sharp line. But I do know romance readers read a lot and that's why she was discovered, even the "older" stories published as far back as 2012, lol.
ReplyDeleteYou are the one that introduced me to MM...and at least when you do I love it. Especially MMF. Is that your promo video...goddess forgive me it has been so long since I had a moment to read that I am forgetting their names...but I could so see that as the bathroom scene with the heroine videoing in. You truly are unique...you pull no punches.
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