Comments on: QUESTION #5 M/M Authors Roundtable Discussion – Is your work ‘outside the box’?

By: Brooks

Brooks — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:43:50 +0000

I agree with most all of the posters and authors. Just the nature of the M/M story is out of the box. And I love that there are so many different kinds of stories that ebook publishing houses take chances on that NY wouldn’t even touch. I would much rather buy from authors and publishers that are willing to take a chance than those that sell what is mass-marketable. The smaller ebook authors and publishers have a loyal following of readers and fellow authors. I love that closeness.

Thank you, Chris for saying that you’re not aiming for NY. I wouldn’t want you to lose or change what you’ve got going. That really goes for all the authors.

By: Aymless

Aymless — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:02:58 +0000

Outside the box, in the box, next to box… ahh.. whatever! If it a good story and the romance is there, it good enough for me!

By: Stacy ~

Stacy ~ — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:19:23 +0000

Personally, I think m/m romance has definitely found a niche out there, and one that’s not going away any time soon. I love seeing how much more popular it’s become even in the last few years. Over the last 2-3 years I’ve had discussions with other readers who only wanted m/f stories to now seeing a lot of women proudly glomming m/f/m and m/m romances. In the beginning, I think it was more the trend thing, the forbidden aspect of it, but now it’s just that readers are able to find such a wide variety of stories that are well-written, emotional, and believable love stories. For those of us who love our HEA, it’s definitely opened up a brand-new world for us, and I am very excited about that.

By: Jody F.

Jody F. — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:13:45 +0000

Most of it is still outside the box (ie. small publisher, ebook format), but it is showing up in mainstream works like Brockmann’s Jules Cassidy/Robin Chadwicke. It’s still hard for me to find it in my public library which can be very frustrating.

By: Ally Blue

Ally Blue — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:04:12 +0000

Errrr…. and I wonder why the rest of my length and brilliant comment did not make it in????
Oh well. Here goes again!

PJ, welcome to the wonderful world of gay romance! As Elisa said, many of us have free stories up on our websites (I do my own self *g*). You can sample our wares and see what strikes your fancy. I think I’ve read most everyone in this group and you can’t go wrong with any of them. Yes, I am including myself!
[/shameless self-promotion]

To address Kati’s question from waaaaaay up in comment #2, I think that if NY were to pick up on gay romance, it might indeed change the shape of the genre. Whether it would change it for the better or suck the life out of it, who knows? I’m not sure it’s something we have to worry about, TBH O_O

By: Ally Blue

Ally Blue — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:58:30 +0000

OMG, y’all have been chatty while I’ve been slaving away at the EDJ! LOL.

@ Chris, I am glad to make your day sweetie!

By: K.A. Mitchell

K.A. Mitchell — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:11:21 +0000

Wave,
I love my romances paired with other genres too as my bookshelves can bear witness, both gay and straight. I don’t think there’s a genre I haven’t read at least something in. I just meant that until recently, it seemed that publishers were interested only in buying gay romance if it was paired with a one of those genres. Maybe I was looking in for love in all the wrong places. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as slash fanfiction until three years ago, though I’d been quite devoted to whatever m/m fiction I could find. Is that a rock over my head?

By: LB Gregg

LB Gregg — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:57:59 +0000

Kris~My book has 5 kiss-y lips next to it..and I’m like, uh, yeah they do kiss A LOT.

Don’t those waggling weenies and chili peppers stem from the old men’s magazine ratings for porn? Like…circa the 70’s? I. Don’t. Know. Just wondering.

Seems to me that some folks like their dirty hot books ::whistles innocently:: at certain times, and other kinds of books at other times. When the two become one: IT’S A MIRACLE. er. It can be a pleasant surprise.

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:47:52 +0000

I’d like to echo the comments about the diversity of m/m being one of the reasons they like it so much. I feel exactly the same way. I LOVE the fact that I can read m/m in so many genres.

I’ve read enough reviews where readers seemed to ultimately judge on heat level that it’s a little…disappointing.

Josh, I really don’t get this approach at all. It puzzled me for ages what the heck the chillis or the kissy mouths were and when I figured it out… I kind of scratched my head… a lot. I guess I can understand it if the work is pure (hmm, okay prob’ly not the best word to use LOL) erotica. Maybe there IS a whole heap of readers out there who buy books on this basis. *shrugs* I don’t know.

I so need to sort out being able to read eBooks. There are so many books out there I can’t read because they aren’t in print yet…and then there is the postage all the way down here!

Down here?? Are you from the sunburnt country too, Orannia?? I must admit when I discovered ebooks I felt like I was in heaven. Where I’m from I have difficulty sourcing the YA, spec and romance I read as it is, let alone m/m. If I hadn’t come across epublishers there is absolutely no way I would have ever found out the m/m genre. I’ve not looked back since.

By: Elisa Jankowski

Elisa Jankowski — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:38:42 +0000

I have to agree that I’ve been reading more of my m/m romances than het lately as well. I don’t know that it has anything more to do with anything about the fact that it’s m/m so much as it’s *good* m/m – shoot, it’s *good* fiction, period.