Wednesday, March 2, 2011

A Woman Writing a Male Point of View


Pure Eye Candy
The first time I read the line, "women shouldn't write male/male romance" I blinked at the computer screen in confusion. I had no idea why anyone would say such a thing. For decades, if not centuries, men have been writing female characters, and females have been writing male characters. Why, suddenly -- in the 21st century no less -- would someone think a woman writing a scene with two heroes instead of one is improper, or worse -- that she simply couldn't do the story justice? Was prejudice rearing its ugly head in an environment that demanded equal rights for all?
Perhaps it was the objection to a woman using a man's penname. You know, the way women had to take men's names in order to be published back in 19th century. George Sand comes to mind.

I'm not here to argue the point -- I am a woman who has always found guy on guy sex incredibly hot, and wanted to write a book with that theme. I read a quote recently that it's impossible to discourage the real writers, because they're going to write no matter what you say. I think today's crop of female authors writing gay romance (male/male, m/m, guy on guy, or whatever you prefer to call it) are doing a credible job. Authors who come right to mind are Kiernan Kelly, Cecilia Tan, Ariel Tachna, Katrina Strauss, Alex Beecroft, Laura Baumbach, Jet Michaels, James Buchanan... I could keep going, believe me. Try out any of these authors and you'll find quality writing, hot sex, and totally realistic male points of view. Google, anyone?

Wulf (in back) and Luc

Jerry Race is definitely a man, a good writer, and a good friend. He joined a critique group I'd created for erotica and GLBT authors, and critiqued my first m/m book (Wulf). According to him, and another man whom I knew, I got it right on the money. The book was accepted a few weeks after submission (at Liquid Silver Books). Wulf, Tales of the Chosen was a hit with male readers as well as female.


2010 EPIC Winner Surrender Love

Last year, I attended Outlantacon as a guest speaker. It's a SciFi convention with a queer slant, open to the public. There was a late night pajama party where everyone gathered to hear some of the guests read. When I held up Wulf and said I'd be reading from it, a young man in the audience exclaimed, "You wrote Wulf?" When I said I had, he stood up,  rushed to the front, and said, "I have to hug you." Yes, three of my books have been nominated for Gaylactic Spectrum Awards, and another m/m, Surrender Love, was awarded the 2010 EPIC eBook Award for Science Fiction Erotic Romance (a national award - and the only GLBT book in the category) -- but that heartfelt hug from a young man who loved the story beat them all. I've never doubted since that I could indeed "get it right."

I plan to keep writing both male/female and male/male romance -- from the heart. Thank you Jerry, for inviting me to drop in. I hope to come by often, and bring some eye candy. The hottie at the top had nothing to do with the subject, but I got your attention, didn't I? *wink*

7 comments:

JerryR said...

Wow & awwww Kayelle. Thank you for blogging here, kiddo. You did a fabulous job. And btw, I do have a print copy of Wulf and will start reading it. Btw, yummo on that photo. I wish your more success in your writing & for whatever else you do.

Kayelle Allen said...

Thank you, Jerry. I'm honored to be here. Btw, hold onto that copy - Wulf is no longer offered in print, so you have a first edition. I'm sure one day it will be reissued, perhaps with a different cover. Oh, and if you click on the picture of the cutie at the top, it opens to a much larger size. Double yummo!

Janice Seagraves said...

I remember hearing that one too. A good writing can write from any angle. After all we all have imaginations don't we?

Congrats on the new release. I wish you many sales.

Janice~

Anonymous said...

Hello Jerry and Kayelle.
Kayell, I'm impressed with your awards, but was really impressed that some man in the audience would give you hug for your writing. There's nothing like that kind of award. Congratulations!
Nice blog Jerry.
Kay Dee

Lisabet Sarai said...

Hello, Kayelle (and Jerry),

What a great story, Kayelle! Definitely an experience to treasure!

I think that more and more men are READING M/M romance these days. From what I know, though, it is mainly women who pioneered the genre and made it popular.

Hugs,
Lisabet

Dawn Embers said...

Great topic and post. I have seen online some posts about gay male readers not liking women writing m/m erotica but I haven't seen it very often.

Part of the issue where the topic comes up for me is who the writer is writing for. While anyone can be an audience for a book, there is a specific audience that books are usually geared towards. Jordan Castillo Price writes m/m and on her podcast she says that she writes for women; they are her audience. But I'm sure there are some men who read her stories.

My first audience focus is glbt men, when I write m/m, but part of that is I have a fan for a specific novella/novel (depending on length outcome) and it's not even done in first draft form. He loves the characters and their story and even has woken up thinking about them. He certainly doesn't care that I'm female.

No matter the genre, some authors have a hard time when writing in character that is very different than themselves. But it's one thing to say one struggled with the voice and realism in the story than to say no females should write it. A very big difference.

JerryR said...

Thanks every one for your wonderful comments. You'll be hearing from other m/m writers soon. So stay tuned. :)

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