Yes/no for m/m romantic fiction?
Something I find interesting when it comes to erotic romance novels is the vast amount of readers who love m/m romance. I have read a few, but I am more interested in a wicked-cool plot or a story full of wild twists and turns rather than sex between two men. I have read posts and blogs where readers talk about how they like to read about two hunky men getting it on, that they find it highly erotic. OK, whatever floats your boat. I have nothing against that and have even thought about writing a couple of my own m/m romances just to see how well they sell.
This brings me to my question for readers and writers to discuss here on my blog.
What it is about m/m romance that appeals to you? Is it hunky he-men doing the dirty dance, the emotion between two men in love, or maybe it is a break from reading heterosexual romance?
And if you are an m/m author, what do you recommend to write that sells well? Paranormal m/m? Contemporary? I think, from what I have observed, that cowboys and paranormal seem to sell well.
Tell me what your thoughts or views are on the topic, and while you are at it, send this link to your friends and supporters in m/m romantic fiction and let’s get a good conversation going!
Kiyara Benoiti, Author 
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
I like the romantic angle.
🙂
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
I love reading a good M/M its so much more physical I believe. When it comes to M/F it’s not as physical Heavy. Taboo woman want more romance they don’t want it hard and more physical.
I know for me I want both my M/F and M/M more Physical, but that’s me. But you are right I love M/M and see them becoming more popular.
Trinity
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
Yes, I can see what you mean by the more physical angle.
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
“a wicked-cool plot or a story full of wild twists and turns” is a great place to start, I agree. I like reading about men in love over straight romance. Why? I guess because isn’t really an answer, but preferences are funny that way. There’s no tangible reason, except that I find they hold my attention more than het romance, if they’re well written. Mostly, I require good stories over anything else.
Why do I write them? My stories come out that way.
As for advice on what to write, I suggest you just write what you feel. It’s always more compelling a story when you write what feels right over what might sell because it’s a hot item right now. Of course, you’ll get all kinds of opinions here. That’s just mine.
Good luck!
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I like all these angles on the topic that I’m reading.
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
I didn’t think I would ever want to read about two men doing the nasty, and then I read one of Stormy Glenn’s books. Her books all have good story to back up the sex, but the scenes between the men are so HOT! There’s something about reading it that just really does it for me. It’s almost like there is more of an innocence to their romance, compared to the M/F romances I read. Plus, it’s so easy for them to sate their passion almost anywhere they feel the need. That’s not true between men and women. I think my all time favorite are the menages of MMF – That way you have the best of both worlds.
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
I’ve read some menages and even wrote one recently. I tend to like the menage romances much, much better.
September 30, 2009 at 5:44
M/M is where my heart is. I was writing it before it was big. I remember asking publishers to take it and no one knew anything about it. Now it seems like everyone’s writing it… and instead of it being about peer relationships it’s about gay boys falling in love with beautiful, stary eyed lovely women who want to be equal in name only. *sigh* I think though, that I might have a better understanding of near peer relationships, or even more traditional ones.. and I’ll get a pen name and write stuff that appeals to people more than my real work does.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
“Sweet”-y I still think you underestimate your ‘real’ work. You need to have more faith in yourself. And I mena that ~.O. Write from your heart, because I’ve read those stories, and they’re beautiful.
October 2, 2009 at 5:44
I have to admit, Sweet Hope, that the popularity of m/m romance novels really stuns me. From what some of my author friends tell me, it sells extremely well.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
OK, I have a question for everyone on this topic. Is it a requirement for the men in the m/m romances to be ripped guys with 6-pack abs? For me as both a reader and an author, I like for people to be real. Not everyone is handsome or beautiful with perfect bodies.
What do you all think?
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
No. Not for me. I tend to gravitate (in my writing, anyway) to beta guys. As a reader, i care less what the characters look like than about how real they seem as people. Even ripped, 6-packers have feeling, yeah? And if they read like real people with realistic reactions, then I’m happy.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I’ve been a m/m author since I started writing and a reader years before that. I don’t think it’s necessarily about the physical. Personally, I know many m/f books that are more sexual than some m/ms. Naturally, it helps that there are two gorgeous men doing the dirty, but in the end, it’s all about the emotions. The fact that homosexuality is still taboo gives it an extra twist, which authors can work with, either for external or for internal conflict. I do agree with the fact that paranormal and cowboys seem extremely popular, but that’s a general trend, not necessarily in m/m. Also, menages are often trickier to write than a monogamous relationship, be it m/f or m/m in content wise. Creating a balance between the emotions of 3 people is harder and sometimes doesn’t work perfectly. One person ends up being the most important person of the pairing. I do like them as well, surprisingly I actually wrote one just a few months back. It’s just something different and it shouldn’t be compared to m/m.
Finally, I like my characters to be beautiful/handsome, especially since I write fantasy. However, I feel that flaws are what makes a person real, whether they are physical or personality-wise. No one can be perfect and if a character simply has no flaws, the reader cannot feel him as real.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Fantasy m/m? Do you mean like warriors and magic? That sort of thing? That’s an interesting concept.
I never thought about the taboo of m/m being the twist of what helps it sell. That is a very good point.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Yes, that sort of thing. My baby, the Kaldor saga is set in a parallel world, where all sorts of magical races live. First book: demons and fae. And yes, the taboo helps it sell, but at the same time, if the author works with it right, it can give the story as a whole depth.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I would think it would be difficult to write m/m into a fantasy without it coming across as fairy-like. I don’t mean that to be funny either. Let me see if I can rephrase that. I think it would be hard to write m/m fantasy without potential readers assuming that the m/m characters are girlish and have wings. LOL, is that better?
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
:)) My characters actually have wings. Well, some of them. But as long as you describe them adequately, you can make them as Alpha male as you like. Nothing quite so hot as a vamp in love or a demon protective of his lover. That’s my own opinion :D.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I am going to surf over to your site and take a look at your stuff, Scarlet.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I’ve read several m/m romances. Some well-written, some not. As a reader, regardless of what I read I must have a good storyline. So that leaves sex as a reason for reading or not reading m/m. Personally, I don
t find it sexy or more physical. I don’t really understand what is meant by it being more physical either. I’ve written some pretty physical sex scenes. Very edgy. So I think that’s very subjective. M/F can be incredibly physical. It depends on the author and tone of the story. Same as with m/m or f/f.
For me, it’s a matter of what I readily identify with. And while I understand many heterosexual women read m/m, I don’t understand how they can immerse themselves in the sex scenes. The storyline, yes, just not the sex scenes. As a reader we are all voyeurs of a sort. And if I am to be peeking inside someone’s bedroom, I want something that is a turn on for me personally. I am turned on by a man making love to a woman. Not m/m or f/f. It’s a matter of what floats my boat.
And I find menage scenes with two men whom the author has proclaimed as gay and looking for a woman to complete them somehow as being totally unrealistic. I think it shows a lack of understanding of gay men. Would a truly gay man want a woman? Or is he truly bi? And I have a hard time seeing the romance in menage as well, although I’ve read a couple of menages that are highly romantic. Ava Rose Johnson has a menage for sale at Ellora’s Cave entitled Lucy’s Neighbors that is highly romantic and almost made me believe in the possibility of a real hea relationship with menage. Sorry, I’m a hard sale. But Ms. Johnson came closer than anyone else so far. She wrote it with the concept of everlasting love in mind and it shone through clear as day. If you aren’t familiar with Ms. Johnson, you should be, she’s going to be a star in the m/m genre. SHE DOES ROMANCE WELL and makes it seem as natural as breathing.
I guess I’m just old-fashioned. And of course am the dissenting viewpoint here. lol I just want the men I read about to want me–not another man. lol.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I get what you are saying.
The more physical angle may be that m/m couples are sometimes described as more assertive or aggressive? I have read a couple of m/m novels that were so graphic and so…what is the word I am looking for? Drawing a blank. I don’t want to say abusive because that is not it at all, but if the sexual acts were done to a woman, she might be wounded. But that probably means the m/m scenes are not realistic either. I admit I had a tough time believing men would do harsh physical things to one another like the ones I read, but the one I read was bdsm, too, and since I don’t know much about that lifestyle, so I cannot be a fair judge.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I’m not sure what you read, but the truth is you have to read a variety of books before you decide on the quality of the love scenes in a genre. Some are over the top, others are hot, others can be incredibly sweet. I think it’s really a mistake to think that sex cannot be entwined with emotion with men. Also, BDSM is hard to write appropriately, since there is a thin line between hot and eww.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Now the difference between hot and eww I understand in bdsm. I have read mild bdsm that was super hot, but I have read graphic bdsm, too, that has left me cringing and thinking “wtf?” and I couldn’t finish the book.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Thanks, Kiyara. Didn’t mean to advertise LOL. I’m only just beginning, but I hope everyone will like my Gabi and Luce from Enraptured. They want a lot of love 🙂 See, m/m is full of feeling :D.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
I love m/m romances and mysteries and fantasies. It’s the story and the relationships that I enjoy reading and if the two main characters are men…even better.
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Groovy discussion! Whee! 🙂
October 1, 2009 at 5:44
Fabbo discussion!
🙂