Torn
I love writing. I write in almost every genre and every pairing. I started off with MF, then moved to MMF and finally reached MM. There is no doubt that my MM books sell better than the others but I’m not writing to make massive sales. (Well if they were really massive….)
Thing is, I’ve written more MM in the last few years and less MF. I’ve been more involved in MM groups on FB than MF groups. Not deliberately. It just seems the MM lot are more — there. I hear all the time from MM readers that they won’t read MF anymore for various reasons – none I which I feel apply to my MFs! (so frustrating)
Sales and reviews for my latest MF – Kiss Interrupted – are poor compared to sales for my MMs. Yet I love that story – course I do since I wrote it! I’ve done all I can to get it noticed and it hasn’t been. The cover has come in for criticism but I like the cover. Is the cover the problem?
Anyway, in a few weeks, I’ll be starting to write a new book. I have no firm plans about it. Part of me wants to do another MF – but if no one wants to read it, then what’s the point?
So – for the couple of people who read my blog – what would you like to see? MF or MM – or don’t you care?
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Nadine
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Apr 22, 2016 03:33AM
Sorry Barbara, but ever since I began reading MM, I can't seem to be interested in MF... So MM it is :)
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I'm with everyone... I prefer if it's MM. ;)
I don't read MM (Just a preference thing) and I have read and loved all of you MF books. So my vote is for MF.
My problem is I don't care for erotica. I don't like it in m/m and I really really don't like it in m/f. I do like reading the couples having sex but in a intimate way rather than the sexed up, exaggerated way that tends to be in erotica. I am sexually attracted to men so when I'm reading a m/f and the whole coupling is centered around what the vagina is doing.. I'm skimming. Yes I have one and I'm glad of it but when I'm having sex my mind isn't thinking about what it looks like or what its doing in heavy detail, its more of a feeling and that is why I prefer historicals if I'm going to read a m/f. The prose is different..if its done right ( for me ) the purple prose is way different because those words weren't around yet ;) When I find a contemporary m/f that tends towards that prose.. I'm in m/f heaven lol
Shanen wrote: "My problem is I don't care for erotica. I don't like it in m/m and I really really don't like it in m/f. I do like reading the couples having sex but in a intimate way rather than the sexed up, exa..."I know what you mean, Shanon. I don't like erotica either. I think the line has been blurred between erotica, erotic romance and 'ordinary' romance. The old days of close the bedroom doors have long gone. You'd be hard pressed to find many books without sex scenes. But then came the advent of erotic romance with erotic scenes from almost the first page. Then the publishers realised that readers were getting tired of that and so asked authors to up the sexual tension so that by the time a reader reached a sex scene, it was some way into the book.
Getting the balance of sex right in a story is tricky. Some readers can't get enough, others want a lot less. I skim over sex scenes quite often when I'm reading because I'm more interested in the characters and the plot. That doesn't mean there is no sex in my books, there is, but I always try to make sure it's integral and not gratuitous. And my go to read - regency romances!
I get it from a publishers stand point..books are a business so publish the stories that are selling at the time. FSOG was bright, shiny and new so readers ate it right up. I get the allure and admit while I passed on it for the longest time, Crossfire had me plunging in full steam ahead. I went mad crazy looking for other books like it. I shit-canned a ton of them though because my romantic, dreamy, waves crashing, the earth moved, heart still longed for those breathy Kathleen Woodiwiss epic romances. The thing I notice most when this topic comes up in groups is the complaint on how the women are depicted in the story. So what is different compared to how they are depicted in our favorite Regency romances? Is it "sassy" but because of the language at the time the women seem more intelligent? Mature? Almost all of the women are virginal so is it a slut-shaming issue? I don't know but I do know I have a hard time relating to a lot of the women in the contemporary m/f romance novels being written right now. Even the men in contemporary m/f are unappealing to me though lol Again though as you say the call right now is for the erotic dirty talker and honestly ....big turn off lol
Shanen wrote: "I get it from a publishers stand point..books are a business so publish the stories that are selling at the time. FSOG was bright, shiny and new so readers ate it right up. I get the allure and adm..."I like regency romances because I know where I stand with them. LOL It's the rules that keep dragging me back. It's true what you pointed out about the way women are depicted. It's excusable because of the 'rules' I think in the historicals. But all my women in my MFs are fun and slightly quirky.
I haven't read the Crossfire books because I'm not really into that sort of dynamic between the main characters. I get tired of the dialogue that all sounds the same to me. I DID read FSOG eventually though it took me a long while to do so. I understand why it was - maybe still is - so popular but it's not what I write.
Still, if what I write is not what people want to read, I have to think about that.
Fun and slightly quirky has piqued my interest of course haha I finally read FSOG about a year ago. I skimmed all of the sex. Crossfire I read every.single.word. haha 1 and 2 were better for me but then 3 and 4 something happened to Gideon...c*nt this, juicy sloppy p*s*y that... I still love the story though so I kept reading. I'm going to read one of yours. Knowing what you know about me now and what I like to read....which one do you recommend?
Shanen wrote: "Fun and slightly quirky has piqued my interest of course haha I finally read FSOG about a year ago. I skimmed all of the sex. Crossfire I read every.single.word. haha 1 and 2 were better for me but..."Oh crikey - all my women are quirky really. If you want to read my best seller - most popular book, that would be Strangers. No smutty language of the sort you don't like and a strong love story. But I see from your bookshelf you like sort of dark ones too so Summer Girl Winter Boy would also fit.
Asking me to pick a book is flipping impossible! LOL Kiss a Falling Star is one of my favorites as is An Ordinary Girl.
If you fancy an MMF that has a girl stuck in a chicken's outfit - try Worlds Apart. Or aliens in Walmart - another MMF - Taking Stock. I've written so many....
There are no c... words or p words that I remember. I do not like the word c...t - I might use it as a swear word for a baddie but I've only just got used to the word bitch without cringing! But there are f...k in abundance I have to admit.
Shanen wrote: "I went with Summer Girl Winter Boy ;)"I hope you like it!
I'm nervous haha but I will let you know ;)
Shanen wrote: "I'm nervous haha but I will let you know ;)"Don't worry if you don't. If you'd like to try a different one, let me know and I'll send it to you as thanks for giving me a try! xx
