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*

The BT bit.

GLBT gets banded about a lot, but in practice when people use it, they tend to mean the gay and lesbian bit of the first two letters. Gay and lesbian literature is doing really well at the moment, such erotica is hot and flies off the shelves. That's excellent, and as it should be. But what about the BT bit? Bi and transgender material is not so visible, or so successful.

Part of the problem with bisexual and transgender is there are a lot of people who have trouble getting their heads round it. The view that if you aren't committed to being either straight or gay, its a lack of something on your part and not really a proper way of being. People who see transgender as meaning you can't cope with your gender perferences. There's all kinds of issues.

Oscar Wilde was married and children. There's a longstanding tradition of lavender marriages, to protect gay and lesbian people whose cultures will not tolerate them being out. Some people take a while figuring out their preferences as well, just to further complicate things. I like complicated stories, so more simplistic boy meets boy naratives don't always do it for me.

How important is it in an m/m story for both of the guys involved to be entirely gay? I've recently edited Dalia Craig's 'Hold me Tight' which is a threesome story with some hot gay sex in it. But it's not m/m, is it? In my own writing, I faced this dilema with 'Teacher's Pet' where one of the characters is a married polyamorous bisexual. But, to try and keep things straightforward, the only sexual content in the story is man on man. I've also explored the edges of transgender with 'Sweet Illusions', although again the sex there is very clearly m/m.

I'd like to see more bisexual and transgender writing. I think that would be fun. But then, I'm into people rather than any specific gender combination. I like all the possibilities!

You can pick up my stories from www.lvoeyoudivine.com and Dalia Craig's will be there soon too.

Ryan Field

This week's enthuse for me is about Ryan Field, an author I've only recently encountered. He's very direct, writing with skill and style on a subject he's passionate about - men bedding other men.

'Capping The Season' should be out soon from www.loveyoudivine.com It's a short story, perfect for reading in a coffee break, or a more intimate moment.... and it will cost you a mere $2 for the pleasure! It's a hot tale. Hunter, the main character, is so self posessed, so aware of what he wants, and how to get it.

As I've observed before, there's often a world of difference between guys (like Ryan) who write from experience and girls (like me) who are just doing it for kicks! There are details, terms, experiences that I'd never have imagined, because I can never be part of that scene. I do so like getting to learn! I know that reading this kind of story will enable me to be a better m/m writer myself.

The best writers make their scenarios seem so real that we, as readers believe we do know what its like to be part of the action. Ryan Fields most certainly has that skill.

Writing what I don't know

The received wisdom is of course to write what you know. Biologically speaking, I'm not a gay man. (Bryn is a male name, I confuse people, it's fun). I do not have, and imagine I never will have the right body parts! So I can't know what it is to make love as a man, to another man, nor any of the realities of having a gay lifestyle. Ok, I know some gay guys and they tell me stuff, but its not the same, is it?

However, I also don't know what its like to be a vampire, or a pirate, or an otter shapeshifter. I've never been a soldier, but I've written about war. Sometimes I write what I know, more often I write what I imagine. Sometimes I write m/m to distance the story from me, (bi and female) if there is a little too much truth in it! Emotional truth has always seemed more important to me than literal truth.

This is true of all the women who write m/m. We do it in part because it is so alien, so distant, so not who we are in our ordinary lives. Trying to imagine, researching, contemplating - its an adventure in and of itself, and that's a big part of the fun. The sheers otherness and unavailableness of m/m makes it alluring. There are a lot of women writing and reading the genre after all.

No, its not an authentic representation. Sometimes its really great to read a story written by someone who knows what its like, but its nice to have fantasy too. There are times when its easier to write what you don't know, because you don't bring your own baggage along for the ride. Just like readers, writers need to escape to different places too.

Currently I'm working on an m/m story - one of the characters is a dryad. Realism? Probably not.