Being a severe book addict/lover, I belong to several reader loops. They're great for recommendations and to make friends who don’t think you’re crazy for staying up all night to finish the latest JR Ward. I mean who really needs more than three hours of sleep anyway, right?
So you can imagine my surprise when a member outed her husband this week. It seems she’d been missing a copy of her favorite paranormal romance. She assumed she’d accidentally packed it in with her wad-o-books for the used bookstore. She resigned herself to the fact that it was gone forever…until she went into her husband’s dresser drawer a few weeks later.
She’d been looking for stamps and found her romance. Hmm…When confronted with the evidence, he admitted he wanted to see what the fuss was about and, well, he likes paranormal romance. She laughed. Very hard. In fact, everyone on the loop got a kick out of it. Why? Because there’s nothing wrong with a man liking romance. In fact, it’s pretty darned nice that he wants to read a great story about a couple who fall in love.
I’ve had several men at my signings, fantasy and sci fi fans mostly, who enjoy the paranormal elements in The Accidental Demon Slayer. Of course, most of them were quick to point out that they saw the book at the front of Barnes & Noble and didn’t realize it was a romance at the time.
But still, I have to question a stigma where an entire group of people are somehow forbidden to enjoy a good story. So what do you think? Do you know any men who read romance? And if not, I wonder what we can do to show them it really is okay.
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I write all my books at Starbucks, and after spending years at one particular Starbucks, I made a family of the baristas and regular customers. One particular friend, Dana and his son Steven are like family now. I'll never forget when he told me me he bought Too Hot to Handle and read it on a flight from Harrisburg to Miami. He said it should come with a warning label--he spent the entire flight with his tray table down by necessity. {grin} I was amazed he read it in public. He's now read every one of my books and bought them all for his girlfriend and his mother.
A couple of summers ago, my brother claimed that Erotic Romance was the same thing as porn. I challenged him to read the only Erotic Romance I had close to hand: Passion in Paradise by Jaci Burton.
He did read it, but unfortunately he didn't change his mind. But I am not giving up! Maybe he likes Romantic Suspense better....
Maybe hand him a JR Ward book. I call her my "entry drug" into the paranormal romance genre. Two of my guy friends have gotten hooked so far. ;)
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