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Josh Lanyon
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Josh Lanyon
Don't have good news for you on that front. He's pushed it back in favor of working on other things. Here's his blog post about what he's working on:http://joshlanyon.blogspot.com/2013/0...
Jax,Thanks so much for Lanyon's blog. I don't know why I never remembered to look back into his books to get it. I have been trying to get some comment on Boy With the... forever. Now...
Son of a BITCH!!
Why don't you just not write another novel EVER, Josh? It seems as though your loyal sycophants will happily pay almost-novel prices for (very short) novellas. Talk about a bunch of kiss-assers. I HAD to get off the site, or I was gonna post a comment that would have gotten me banned from ever purchasing a Lanyon book again. But, Jesus-fucking-REALLY.......just write the goddam thing whenever you feel like it. It isn't like the cover art hasn't been out for 7 months or so......oh, wait, it has. *Grrrrr!*
There! All better now. Thanks again. I'll go back to loving Harper Fox the most of all. At least SHE writes the occasional full-length novel. God bless Brothers of the Wild North Sea for being a REAL novel.
I know! I know! I couldn't possibly do it, but I know I can't........but I'm really good at bitching at the people who don't do what I want them to do. *Hee! Hee!*
Has anyone ever counted how many of Josh Lanyon's books are based on the MC being a writer or closeted law enforcement officer? I have been thinking of doing that when I have a spare half hour (probably never, lol). I don't know it just seems that he writes about characters that are either writers or law enforcers a lot.
Mod
You know, I hadn't thought of that before! But---since Lanyon's a writer, and his real-life partner is a policeman I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong, here), I guess he's just writing what he knows....
He's mentioned before that a lot of his family is in law enforcement so...
Yeah but other writers challenge themselves to write outside their comfort zone. Some do it successfully and other do not that's true. His attitude just seems very complacent to me that's all.
So Josh is a closeted writer and his lover is a closeted cop. Write what you know. Too bad he's so damn good.
There's now confirmation that Josh Lanyon is female. This blog post I saw today makes it sound like there was a prior announcement that people are reacting to, but I couldn't find anything.
http://joshlanyon.blogspot.com/2015/0...
I have very conflicted feelings about this. I understand why it was a good idea to have a male name when Lanyon started out and I believe women can write about gay men. I love Lanyon's writing so there's no question that I'll continue to buy the books. But I had developed a personna in my head based on the male name and there was an element of thinking you were getting the real scoop from an actual gay man.
I appreciate that Lanyon only went so far as to use a male pen name and never attempted to pass herself off as male by anything she said or with fake photos etc, but I'm still disappointed. And it's going to be a distraction as I read the next couple of books she releases. It's going to be on my mind and I might even find myself looking for "tells" without really wanting to.
I don't know if there are any plans to change the name she publishes under, but I'm kinda hoping she'll stay Josh Lanyon. I'd even miss the name.
Are you sure she never pretended beyond the name? Why do I recall reading somewhere that "he" was partnered to a closeted cop and hence the need for secrecy.This was one of the reasons I stopped reading her books.
Yes, you're right. I do remember that story. I just don't know if it originated with Lanyon or if it grew out of people speculating. If it did come from Lanyon, then yes, that would be deceitful.Just curious, did you stop reading because of being closeted or because you believed the writer was female & lying?
Mod
I've suspected for quite some time that Lanyon was a woman, though I really don't follow these things closely and so never heard any specific reports on the subject. (Though apparently one former publisher has been "outing" Lanyon as a woman publicly for quite some time? But nope, I never heard about it directly.)
I think the author is a little defensive in her post. I can understand why she took the name at first, when e-books were just beginning and the m/m romance genres were in their infancy. A lot of other female writers took male pseudonyms as well. But most of them have long since "come clean" about their gender and it was no big deal; Lanyon let this slide for too long and in doing so it became a big deal.
I can also understand that she wants to keep her private life PRIVATE and not engage with the on-line community with details of her personal life. The people who hang out on message boards, etc., can sometimes be more than a little crazy and frightening. (Present company excepted, of course! Heh...) But---on the other hand, some of my favourite m/m authors have a very free and easy way of sharing elements of their lives through blog posts and the like, without oversharing, and that really adds to their appeal.
I'm sure she'll keep the name---she worked all these years for her brand recognition. And I doubt the revelation will really hurt her sales much. But it WILL change the way I view her stories; it will be in the back of my mind that they were written by a woman and not a gay man. Oh, it's not a bad thing, but it is something of which I take note.
She comes off VERY defensive in her post although she tries to stay above it all. She doesn't.To be honest I stopped reading for two reasons the first one, that I found most of her stories were about writers, closeted cops and Nancy Drews. Since in essence most of her writings are mysteries a lot of this is par for the course I guess. But I felt like I was reading about the same characters over and over. Although from all her library I think I read maybe 7-8 stories so I only scratched the surface enough to make up my mind.
The second was that I had read she was a woman not a guy. And although she may consider me misogynistic but it's the principle of the thing for me. I respect people's desire for privacy and using a pseudonym. But pretending to be something they are not there is no need and furthering the "white lie" with non-denials leaves a bad taste.
Also, I read a ton of books by female writers and in my reviews i judge by story and writing ability not gender of writer.
I agree with what OC said; look at someone like Amy Lane, or Heidi Cullinan they are very public with their personas and their huge readership appreciates that.
I agree, it is a bit defensive. She says she's writing for those confused or hurt but it seems aimed more at those hostile about the news. Most of these 'coming clean' posts have been apologetic in tone. While I don't necessarily think that's required, I would've like more acknowledgment of what a shock to the system this will be.
Mod
On the other hand, I can't really fault her for keeping her anonymity intact; keeping her private life private. While many authors cultivate a very close relationship with their reading public through social media, these days any unbalanced individual with a computer can track someone down; that's kind of a scary thought. For instance, a few years back fantasy author Mercedes Lackey had serious problems with some obsessed fans, and as a result she withdrew from the public eye quite a bit; she still has a very limited presence online as a result of that.
Mod
I'm not sure if this is the author's true name, or whether it's another pen name, but here is her twitter and blog. Obviously she seems more comfortable sharing personal information, as well as photos, etc., in this guise than she ever did as "Josh"...
http://dianakillian.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/DKillianBooks
I don't read a lot of Lanyon, to tell you the truth. But it's still going to take me a little time to wrap my mind around this---though I suspected he was in fact a she, now that I have concrete proof I can't quite reconcile the two different identities.
I was just reading through a bunch of Diana Killian blog posts & getting all the hints dropped here and there. Why am I doing this to myself?!
Mod
I confess I'm a bit curious now, and wouldn't mind trying any of these as long as they are NOT romances. I'm sorry, but I have zero interest in reading explicit straight sex scenes; I just won't do it. Is anyone here familiar with the content of these books?
Diana Killian backlist:
The Poetic Death Mysteries:
High Rhymes and Misdemeanors
Verse for a Vampyre
Sonnet of the Sphinx
Docketful of Posey
The Mantra for Murder Series:
Corpse Pose
Dial Om for Murder
Murder on the Eightfold Path
Death in a Difficult Position
Hot Yoga, Cold Case (coming)
The Mary Kelly Stories:
Just One of Those Things
The Mummy Case
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...
James Buchanan keeps her pen name although it's well know MR. Buchanan is a Mrs., Ms., or Miss. I have to admit that I always thought Ulysses' insistence that Lanyon was a she, instead of a dude, to be wrong. (My apologies, Uly.) As has been pointed out, Amy Lane and Heidi Cullinan have shown that women can access the gay male mind as well as any man. Although I don't quite understand why "Josh" remains so defensive, I love the majority of her novels, so will continue to read and enjoy each new one, never remembering JL is a femme. That's just life, I guess.
Wow, this is a surprise, although I had my doubts since I first discovered Josh Lanyon. But because so many people got angry whenever any doubts were expressed about his gender, I did end up believing he was a man. I think the charade went on way too long; it's such a pity this didn't come out earlier. That is what makes me look at the author in a negative light, not that the books are written by a female, but because "Josh Lanyon the male writer" is such a huge name in the m/m fandom, and it's all been a sham. :(
Chuck - I never suspected Lanyon was a woman until I was told by someone within the world of writers, personal friend of Lanyon. I've known for quite some time, and it's been a struggle. For me it has nothing to do with writing. Lanyon has always, to me, been one of the best writers in this genre. But there are plenty of women (who never pretended to be men) who are equal to Lanyon, and in fact Harper Fox is my #1 writer in the genre. I know her (and her real name - and that she's a lesbian who's married to her partner). She is a close friend of Lanyon.
Look, for all of us gay men in this group, it's about identity, not about writing. As gay men we've struggled to be honest and open and live authentic lives. The coyness of pen-names and the very nature of the m/m writing world is a little alien to our personal worldviews. The m/m genre is unusual in its roots as a genre written by straight women for straight women. Those barriers have long been breached, and there are gay men who write (pseudonymously and under their own names) for anyone who will read their work.
In that new, changed context, Lanyon's revelation can be shocking. I confess I felt totally betrayed - but irrationally. Taking the name Josh Lanyon was a marketing decision (as she said in her own book on writing, "Man Oh Man,"which I read).
Anyway, I've just bought a new book by Lanyon, feeling weirdly anxious about it. It will surely change the way I feel as I read her work. But it won't change her skills as a writer or a storyteller.
I don't think I can remember when I read the initial rumour that Josh is actually a 'she' ... maybe it was back on the AfterElton book forums. Over the past few years, I think at the back of my mind when reading her books, I had a vague impression of a female author so this confirmation just makes the vague image clearer (and even more so with the links OctoberCountry just put up).I have the same outlook wrt Rhys Ford, Declan Sands and Syd McGinley. I've always known these were female writers and do enjoy their work. With names like these - I don't think there was any doubt they were aiming for an ambiguous gender for their chosen pen-name. Its not like they chose names such as Beverley, Jaime, Lindsey, Shirley, Marion, Eden, Sam or Pip where there might be enough ambiguity to include both genders. And I'm not even going to go into the whys and hows for those authors who use initials instead of names such as Msses Langley, Church, McAuley, Merrow, Charles, Tullos Hennig and Pacat.
The whole world of m/m writing is all about coy identities and noms-de-plume. None of this is really relevant to writing quality, but it does touch upon issues of identity and authenticity. Anne Rice wrote her BDSM erotica under a pseudonym, and only revealed that identity when she was so rich and famous that she no longer had to be ashamed of her erotic fiction.
This is what bothers me about the entire m/m culture of false names (including gay men who use false names) and it comes down to something Josh Lanyon said in "her" book on writing m/m fiction. To paraprhase: you use a nom de plume in order to separate your naughty self from your legitimate self. Regardless of what she actually wrote, what I heard was "when you actually write something good and important, you won't want your good name sullied by being associated with gay porn."
Well, that's the rub for me. My books on ceramics and jewelry are standard reference works for collectors and curators around the world. The same name as on those is on my two gay vampire romance novels. I'm just as proud of those as I am of "Great Pots" or "The Glitter and the Gold." They're all on Amazon with my name.
And that's why Josh Lanyon and all her friends, male and female, cause me some sadness. Genius of any genre shouldn't be in the closet. (Although I understand why it often is.)
I agree Uly. Be proud of it or don't do it.
Jax wrote: "I agree Uly. Be proud of it or don't do it."Now, my devil's advocate: quite a few of these female authors live in conservative heartland America, and could, quite honestly, lose their jobs and their community standing if it were revealed that they were writing sex-positive gay romance fiction.
I know, that's so hard to grasp. It really is a throwback to the way gay men lived in the 1950s. And of course it's another aspect that makes me cringe.
We still live in a world where YOUNG gay men (in their 30s) will marry unknowing women because they can fake it and live lives that are false and demeaning - all to get ahead in the corporate world. At least that seems to have disappeared in the museum world, where out gay curators and even directors are nearly the norm.
Still, I feel there is a difference between using a pen name and using one of a different gender. There is also a difference between using it at the beginning when the niche was getting established, and past the necessary time. Like Ulysses said the decision was marketing. She knew that would give her more street cred. If this really was a non issue why didn't she make an effort to clear the air? say something like four years ago when the issue started mattering less? Instead she continued leading people on by never addressing the rumors with the truth. And even as some noticed she is not as private under her female pen name. So the intention to mislead was real.
Uly - Yes, that's a good point too. It's a complicated issue for sure which keeps me from being angry whenever someone does drop the pretense. But it is a bit jarring, I have to reset the image in my head. And it's especially hard with Lanyon because it's been so long-running. "He" was really my first foray into m/m romance. I had only read gay lit by openly gay writers prior to stumbling on to Adrien English.
Jax wrote: "Uly - Yes, that's a good point too. It's a complicated issue for sure which keeps me from being angry whenever someone does drop the pretense. Right- it was an emotional thing for me. Josh Lanyon had become my hero. Of course it's totally sexist to feel that way, but it's a gay guy thing. First it was the "not my real name" thing, and then the "not a man" thing.
Now, Harper Fox is also my hero, and while I have been told her real name, I've forgotten it, because there's no real dissonance, and I've reconciled myself to that long since within the m/m world.
Mod
https://apostrophen.wordpress.com/201...
I've corresponded with Josh (Diana?). She gave me two or three e-books for various reasons. (One was a contest...) I had heard the rumors. I enjoy her books, and my opinion (as a woman reader) is that she writes gay characters well. The first couple of Adrien English Mysteries were originally published by Gay Men's Press, from what I understand. That was quite some years ago now. She never hid that she was using a pen name. I have mixed feelings, but I said years ago to Josh, "Your private life is your business, not mine." I'll keep reading her books, and I'm still a fan.Sort of a silver lining for me is that my mom and dad wouldn't read m/m romances, but they do read mysteries with straight protagonists. I'm glad that I will be able to share books by a writer I like with my parents. It's not pure gladness, though. I have mixed feelings about that, too. OctoberCountry, I will let you know if there are detailed het sex scenes in Diana Killian's mysteries.
I'm a little bummed out, but it really wasn't my business. *Hugs* to my fellow fans.
Mod
Thanks! From glancing at the descriptions on Goodreads, they appear to be "cozy" mysteries, though I'm not sure. So perhaps the author saves explicit content for her m/m novels?
I looked in The Gay Male Sleuth in Print and Film: A History and Annotated Bibliography by Drewey Wayne Gunn (recommended, by the way). It's from 2005, and I hope there's a new edition sometime. It has an entry for Colin Dunne and one for Josh Lanyon.The Colin Dunne one has in the author bio: Dunne, Colin (Diane L. Browne)
The author is a Los Angeles native who has written novels under a variety of pseudonyms and has co-edited an anthology of fantasy stories, Sigil(2001). She seems to have some connection with Josh Lanyon (see below)
The mystery listed is Murder in Pastel.
The information listed for Josh Lanyon is: The author lives in California. He seems to have some connection with Colin Dunne (see above).
The two mysteries listed for Josh are the first two in the Adrien English Mysteries.
Mod
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
https://bradvanceerotica.wordpress.co...
Thanks. I'd read Marshall's blog - but Brad Vance's was also helpful.
I'm a bit late to this discussion, as I only learned about about this earlier today when Marshall's blog post popped up in my FB feed via Uly. (I'm glad you posted it October, as I was just about to do the same.)I had long suspected that Lanyon was a woman because of the absence of pronouns from her author bio. There was never a "he" or "she", but lots of "Josh" this and "Josh" that - it stood out as odd, and, I felt, a deliberate attempt to hid the author's gender without technically lying.
A friend and I discussed it and my friend was certain Josh was a gay man, and then I started seeing references to Josh as male and decided it had just been my imagination fueled by a poorly written bio. I knew that plenty of women write m/m romances under ambiguous names, but they also didn't hide their gender, and I started to see reviews that included male pronouns when referring to Lanyon. So, that was that, Josh Lanyon was a gay man.
I learned the truth about a year ago. While I felt vindicated for being right all along, I wasn't happy about it. Marshall Thornton's blog expressed a lot of what I felt. I can see that it was probably a good idea at the start of her career, but she shouldn't have remained quiet when high profile articles referred to her a male.
When I learned the truth, I was a bit pissed, but did I want to shun her work? I'd also already pre-ordered her next release, so that wasn't possible anyway. After a year, I've mostly gotten over the hard feelings about it, and like any author, if I like the description and the reviews, I'll buy the book, and if not, I won't.
Here's a Q&A with Josh Lanyon by a interviewer that didn't know the writer's true gender until this recent reveal & she asks some of the things we've probably all been wondering about. http://liveyourlifebuythebook.com/201...
Mod
Oh, all this won't stop my from reading a Lanyon title that particularly grabs my interest---for instance, if she ever gets around to publishing the remaining three books in The Haunted Heart series, I'm ready to buy right off! But on the other hand---eh, I'm not particularly inclined to search out any Lanyon titles now, either. As I said, I have that vague feeling of annoyance about the author...
Yeah, I'm getting the same vibe. I think I've got to stop reading about it so I don't spoil Lanyon for myself. First there's the opposite gender pen name, then whether or not more than a name was employed in order to deceive, and then how the fallout is handled. Lots of opportunity to offend.
Mod
Yep, that sounds like a good idea. I think I'd better stop reading about the topic entirely, or else I'm likely to become increasingly irritated!
Jax wrote: "Here's a Q&A with Josh Lanyon by a interviewer that didn't know the writer's true gender until this recent reveal & she asks some of the things we've probably all been wondering about. http://liv..."
When I first heard accusations that Josh was a woman, I considered the source and was skeptical. Later an online friend told me. I still decided to wait until I heard officially from Josh. And now we have. I don't think silence on the subject means a "yes."
I'm apparently not that much of an *insider*. I'm not a writer and I can't afford to go on retreats. I never worked directly for Josh, though I did edit a couple of her Petit Mort stories. That's when I told her her private life was not my business.
She thought more people knew. No, really, some did not, even some who have been reading her work for more than five years.
Great attitude Jax if you want to keep reading her books. I don't buy her excuses and I do agree with OC that "A straightforward "I was wrong and I'm sorry" on how very LONG it took to be frank about this would be a huge improvement on what we're getting." Instead she is blaming people's wrong assumptions instead of tackling the issue that she fed those wrong assumptions, or at least never made the effort to correct them.
Octobercountry wrote: "Emilie wrote: "...Sort of a silver lining for me is that my mom and dad wouldn't read m/m romances, but they do read mysteries with straight protagonists. I'm glad that I will be able to share book..."High Rhymes and Misdemeanors is an homage to "old-fashioned romantic suspense." It has het romance terms and tropes that were extremely familiar to me, and I kept thinking that my mother would like it. There's no sex, though. The characters kiss a couple of times and chastely share a bed. I did a "Diana Killian's books" post on the thread for reviews of non-gay books.
A point of correction - m/m is not and never has been a genre written "by straight women for straight women", although it is very much a genre written by women for women. I note this because my many lesbian, bi, ace and other genderqueer friends and acquaintances who read and write m/m (and slash) keep getting erased by this recasting from "women" to "straight women". M/m is, however, very, very female gaze rather than male gaze, which is one of the reasons why so many QUILTBAG women love it as a genre.
YOu make a great point, Em. Harper Fox and Ginn Hale are both lesbians and they are two of the best writers in this whole field.
Ulysses wrote: "You make a great point, Em. Harper Fox and Ginn Hale are both lesbians and they are two of the best writers in this whole field."Hi, Uly. :) It was Jules who made the point that time, although I have also said before that there are many women who read and write m/m romance and slash fiction who are not straight. I don't feel like I have a sexual orientation one way or another. I called myself bisexual for twenty years. I guess now I'd be classified as "pansexual"? All these new terms...
Sean Kennedy made some excellent points about this whole thing in his tweets. Among other things, he said that anybody could write in this genre.
William Maltese and (I believe) Victor Banis wrote het romance under female pen names. There are a number of cis-gendered and transgendered men writing m/m fiction, and in my opinion, many understand the genre just fine. They may not have the background of having read many straight romance novels and/or having written slash fiction, but they bring their own experiences and understanding.
The lesbian and bisexual women writers understand about homophobia and heterosexism. Many straight women writers use empathy and imagination to portray coming out, the closet, homophobia and internalized homophobia. I feel like the phrase "coming out" gets trivialized when it's a writer with a male pen name revealing that she's a woman, when there's so much heavier a meaning to it when it's used by people who are not straight.
I have a lot of thoughts about this. Remember, my LiveJournal is where I say what I really think, although I've been candid about my feelings here.
Emilie wrote: "Ulysses wrote: "You make a great point, Em. Harper Fox and Ginn Hale are both lesbians and they are two of the best writers in this whole field."Hi, Uly. :) It was Jules who made the point that t..."
Can you share your LiveJournal address here? I have an account there, but haven't seen much talk about Lanyon there recently.
I am neyronrose on Twitter, Tumblr and LiveJournal. I think about two people read my LiveJournal. I use initials for people I know in real life, and (hopefully) blur identifying details.
Emilie wrote: "I am neyronrose on Twitter, Tumblr and LiveJournal. I think about two people read my LiveJournal. I use initials for people I know in real life, and (hopefully) blur identifying details."Thanks for that. This all happened while I was overseas, and my internet (and time to check the web) was limited, so I may have missed some of the discussion that took place elsewhere. I only wish the original Jesse Wave was still around. I'd have loved to have talked about this with her.
Also coming late to this discussion, but here are my two cents - [cited from Brad Vance]:
Silence = assent. Every customer who reviews “Josh’s” books uses the male pronoun. And to use a male name when…writing a how to book on M/M romance…is to set yourself up as the male voice of authority on writing about men. There’s a presumption, and a promise. “I am a man” is the promise that silence in the face of the male pronoun delivers.Categorically "no" from me to that.
Firstly, what do you expect the user of a male pen name to do? Out herself by referring to herself as a she? Lanyon didn't just use "a" pen name, meaning a gender-neutral or female pen name. She used a male pen name. Anything but acknowledging that male pen name as it is, or rather not contradicting those people who address the pen name as male, would be moot. Why use a male pen name else in the first place? So no, of course her behaviour makes absolute sense.
Secondly, I have a real problem with people accusing other people of doing something prescribed to them by not responding to any kind of opinions or accusations. Apply this, please, to other situations, and you'll quickly discover how very, very problematic this is:
- a person is apprehended by the police for allegedly committing a crime. He is read his rights, explicitly his right to stay quiet. However, the police and the judge and jury now decide that "silence = assent" and he is convicted on the basis of that...
- or your partner accuses you in a fit of jealousy of cheating on him/her because you were gone for hours. You were with your sister, who begged you not to tell anyone you two met. So you don't. But your partner decides that "silence = assent" and leaves you...
- or your parents accuse you of having become an atheist, because you ceased to go to church with them. You are a minor. You have switched religions without telling them, and are afraid your new church would be accosted by them. So not to foreswear yourself you do not say anything. Your parents decide that "silence = assent" and throw you out...
I could go on quite endlessly, there are so many reasons and constellations why it is not okay, not even marginally acceptable, to impute that "no reaction" equals assent. It is a fundamental idea in many legislations, the US one included, that silence doesn't imply anything but that someone is silent.
Thirdly, I'm not in Josh Lanyon's brain, nor am I a telepath. However, from reading her female pen name blogs (on which she openly referred to JL as her alter ego), it is my impression that while she pretty clearly isn't genderfluid or *trans, she also isn't exactly 100% straight, nor were her motivations entirely financial.
My impression, and I say it again, it is just a feeling I get from her posts, is that she may have needed to slip into a male persona to be able to write the way she did and does. And I additionally think that she may have quickly discovered that doing this gives her a certain kinky/sexual gratification. Not something which would qualify as LGBT, more something which might qualify as a kinkster. And as such it definitely would be sexual. When I then add that she obviously isn't American, but very British instead, with the typical British upbringing and repressed reserve about her own sexuality, then I fully understand her comments about being angered by people trying to infringe on her privacy. Mind, this is an attempt at explaining things. I'm no way even close to being sure about this.
In the end however, and what matters most to me, is that it really is her beer.
As someone pointed out here Victor Banis wrote het romance with a female pen name and this he did very clearly exclusively for marketing/financial reasons. No one is storming his virtual abode with pitchforks. Which is hypocritical in view of what happens to Lanyon currently.
As someone that reads relatively slow, and one who would like to support the small and struggling community of gay male writers, the gender and sexuality of the author is something I would like to know.
I keep seeing this. While I agree that some may like to support gay authors above every other concern, I disagree that it means that women (of any biology and orientation) may not use a male pen name.
The solution for this wish is obviously to read only such authors one has met, or knows for sure are male and gay, instead of trying to police what women/female-bodied people/kinksters do.
By the way, I know for sure, as in 100%, that there are quite a few straight male authors out there writing m/m who never had any sexual relations with men. Nor would they ever do it! They write with the same implication that they are gay, as Lanyon implicated she is male, and they do so because m/m romance earns good money.
So, anyone who wants to support gay male authors should not just make sure the author is male. They should also make sure the author is either bi or gay, too. Else you're still not supporting gay male authors.
Steelwhisper wrote: "Also coming late to this discussion, but here are my two cents - This is about as unsolvable as Scottish independence (about which I am now reading in one of Avery Cockburn's wonderful m/m books).
Of course, the bottom line with me is that I hate pen-names and false online IDs and every bit of prevarication that we use in this modern culture to be coy and take advantage or others and protect ourselves.
I read books that are good. Having spent 55 of my 60 years on earth reading mostly about straight people being in love (or hate), I think I don't ever want to read about that again (except for my straight-guys book club, which I joined thinking it was a gay guys book club: we vote on what we read).
I don't need to forgive anyone. But I can disapprove all I want. In my own heart. I may be saddened by Josh Lanyon's prevarication, and repelled by Victor Banis's market savvy; and I certainly will be irritated at first when I learn I'm reading some man's m/m when he's a straight guy. But only at first. The idea of a straight man writing m/m sort of thrills me. Because, to be honest, I have trouble believing it.
If these folks can write about men in love with each other, then, ultimately, I'll forgive them anything if they get it right.
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It was originally supposed to drop in September/October 2012, then postings have continually moved it up to ????
Is something up with Lanyon or the book itself?