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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Men are from Mars, Women can say Boob Without Giggling

Are there any good Male Romance writers out there?

I don't know.

Can men write romance? Is it possible for men to get inside what a woman wants and really flesh it out in a book?

Judging by the lack of male Harlequin authors, I'd say no.  But then there's Nicholas Sparks. I have not, admittedly READ any of his books, but I have seen two of his movies. Lovely, Romantic stuff. Both of which had really hot sex scenes in them. (Not sure if the books did or not..."The Notebook", and "Walk to Remember".) Regardless...he may be the exception that proves the rule.

*Riffles through bookcase*

George R.R. Martin. Amazing writing. Fantastic Epic story. Crap Romance. Well...ok. No. I think the problem is that people die too fast in these books to really get invested in each other. Seriously. Death is only romantic (ala Romeo and Juliet) if it's used sparingly. Not every other chapter. Gah.

Patrick Rothfuss; Again. Amazing storyteller. Lead character spends the first book allergic to women. The second book *SPOILER* his first time is with a fairy. In a magical land. And it's perfect. And he learns all he needs to know. Of course. This interlude in the book kinda drove me a bit batty. I understand all men want to be considered the great and powerful Oz in bed, but really Patrick. An all knowing Fairy as your first? Really?

Brandon Sanderson.  Jim Butcher. I don't think they even have romance per say in their books...

Orson Scott Card....nope.

Mark Hodder. Hmmm...Let's change tact.

Of course I have a bunch of the classics. Count of Monte Cristo. Sherlock Holmes. Treasure Island. It always surprises me that the old classics don't have more sex in them, considering how depraved the Victorians really were. Though I guess...it was all about appearance!

Ken Follett! Pillars of the Earth! There's some great lovemaking in there...

They were both breathing hard now. Jack held her head in his hands. She stroked his arms, his back, and then his hips, chest. At last she broke the kiss, breathless.
She looked at him. He was flushed and panting, and his face shone with desire. After a moment he bent forward and kissed the delicate skin of her throat. She heard herself moan with pleasure. He moved his head lower, and brushed his lips over the swell of her breast. Her nipples were swollen under the coarse fabric of the linen nightshirt, and they felt unbearably tender. His lips closed over one nipple. She felt the heat of his breath on her skin. "Gently," She whispered fearfully. He kissed her nipple through the linen, and although he was as gentle as could be, she felt a sensation of pleasure as sharp as if he had bitten her, and she gasped. 
Then he went down on his knees in front of her.

~Ken Follett "Pillars of the Earth"

So it appears I am wrong! How about that! First time for everything! HA!
What other men are out there that can write great love scenes?

Boob.
*snicker*



11 comments:

mshatch said...

I forgot about that scene in Pillars. And I thought there was an historical romance novelist who was a man who wrote under a woman's name. Can't think who...

Charity Bradford said...

Yeah, I bet there are more men but they are hiding behind women's names. :)

Unknown said...

I agree with the others, probably a lot of pseudonyms going down out there. lol Also think it is more of a matter of writing what you want to write about, versus 'can't' write it.

Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, etc. can probably write anything (convincingly) that they want to write about. Like the rest of us, they likely just focus on things that entertain and fascinate them. And you're right, there isn't a lot of room for romance in the Fire & Ice series.

*stabbety stabbety stabbety* "I love you!" *BEHEADING* :-D

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

I thought Shakespeare handled romance pretty good. Most of the names you've thrown up there from OSC to Sanderson to Martin are male fantasy writers (who happen to be quite Chauvinist). Without their fantasy laurels, they are just fat men who are geeks who could be seen at a renaissance faire acting out some really nerdy characters.

Nearly every gay man that I know who writes is writing M/M romance for one of the small pubs. Some of the stuff is just so angsty that I can't read it without thinking, "this is completely and utterly ridiculous."

I think it has more to do with a frame of mind. Men who write speculative fiction are in the mind of figuring out what causes what or what leads to what. And that isn't very romantic. Women who write romance seem to be interested in answering the question "who is responsible?" which points the finger at someone for good or for ill and is a very emotional thing whether you are looking to reward or punish for a particular action.

Plus in fantasy, characters get killed off. I think that appeals more to men because they are grounded in the testosterone fueled world of competition and there can be only one. In romance, no one ever dies. It's a safe read with a required HEA. So yeah...romance kind of divides the sexes.

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

Pillars is one of my all time favorite books. I don't know about any men writing under an assumed name....

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

HA! Sounds like some relationships I've had...

Alicia Willette-Cook said...

Yah. I realized that I was being pretty Fantasy heavy...I tried to change tact...but I don't have a whole lot of reach in any other genres. I get so easily bored with other stuff. (Not sure if that speaks to the writing out there..or to my attention span...).

I also don't have a whole lot of experience with gay romance. I've read some. And yes. It does get pretty angsty. WHY!? Are gay men all just drama queens?! No...not in my experience!

Yes. I see your point about the different ways that women and men approach speculative fiction. And for the most part I think you're right. Except that War is very romantic! Wars are FOUGHT over women! And then the man/woman/alienbeast comes home...all worked up. Hot and steamy. What could be more romantic! And death ridden? And this is what most speculative fiction writers write about. War. The Conquering of..something. Again. Very romantic. Conquering. If you go for that sort of thing... :)

Connie said...

Nicholas Sparks sex is better in the theaters. Doesn't write much of it in the books I read. BUt he gets the entire emotional, rip your heart out of your chest thing right. I find it hard to believe a man writes the books but maybe he had some really strong women characters in his life. The best M/M book I read...I thought for sure the author had to be a guy and then of course it turned out it was a woman. Guess that was why the book was so good. Ha Ha.

Liz A. said...

I've been reading a lot of romance lately (*hangs head in shame*), and I came across a pair--one male, one female--writing together under a pen name (which I'll have to look up later). Not bad. I just wonder at the division of labor.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Nicholas Sparks is the only one I can think of offhand, but man, he is surprisingly GOOD.

Unknown said...

"Brandon Sanderson. Jim Butcher. I don't think they even have romance per say in their books..." No, not everyone does. These men have marketed their books as fantasy, not romance of any kind. Why are they mentioned here?