So… if you’ve been around for a while, you know I wanted to do a feature on Men Who Read Romance. I thought it’d be an interesting counter part to the guest readers we have each month. I then started asking around, but then Thea Harrison had the same idea about ~2 weeks later, and her response was overwhelming, so I tabled mine. (Then also people were all “well I want to hear what women have to say.” And I had to very nicely say I already do that. In fact, on Saturday we’ve got SonomaLass visiting with us.
But the point is – as part of my original search, The Romance Man burst onto the scene in romance land and he’s kinda a big deal. He’s got quite the following, and I can’t imagine the harem he’d have if he ever went to one of the conferences. (I think his wife should tease him mercilessly about that, but I don’t know RM or Lexie that well.) Anyway, I got him to agree to guest every other month. I told him he could talk about anything he wanted to. And he can. I just suggested for the first post, he write an introduction of sorts. He has a pretty good “About” page on his site – I thought he’d just do a few sentences, then go into what he offered to write initially. (Which I guess/imagine will show up in September.)
This is what he sent.
I would like to apologize up front. I wanted to write a blog about the proper way to stimulate the clitoris because it is the only thing in the world I am good at but Limecello insisted I write an introduction and she is very bossy – (I don’t know why people say that…>.>) so I will have to save that blog for another time. That was a really long fucking sentence I think there should have been a comma somewhere.
My name is Wrath and I have a blog called The Romance Man. You can google it and it is on page 15,473. Ok I lied my real name isn’t Wrath but that’s what my wife calls me ever since she read Dark Lover. I am forty-two years old and I live in Florida. I am a small business owner and the father of three beautiful girls that are allegedly mine.
About eight months ago I read my first romance novel and I have been hooked ever since. The book was Because of You by Jessica Scott. I really liked it and I began reading more and more books. I was surprised at how good these books were because I thought, like a lot of people, that romance novels were stupid books written for stupid women. I had fallen into that whole elitist, romance novels aren’t real literature bullshit. I have come to find out that romance readers and writers are some of the smartest women I have ever met. My blog has become pretty popular and I talk to these women all the time and they are smart, educated women and they get a bad rap from the dickhead critics in the world who think they know good writing but could never write a book themselves. My readers are called the BBL’s and they are incredibly bright women who have read every romance novel ever written. They often recommend books to me and have even taken over reviewing books for my blog.
I am still a novice and have not read many books but I know what I like. Paranormal is not really my thing. I have a hard time relating to characters that aren’t real. I have read one historical and I liked it but mostly contemporary romance is what I like. I have been very surprised at the talented writers in the romance community and their ability to continually create new ideas.
I think that men are missing a big opportunity by not reading these books – they are like a blueprint for what women like. When I started reading them I would read them in bed at night with my wife and had a very positive effect on our marriage and sex life. Most importantly it gave us something to talk about.
It pisses me off now when I hear people refer to romance as “mommy porn”. The fact is I don’t read these books for the sex – if I wanted that I would just watch porn. I read them because they are well written books with good story lines and they are entertaining. I will continue to read them and recommend them to other people – especially men. That is the goal of my blog – to get men to read these books because I think it is something that can bring them closer to their wives. Essentially I am like Oprah except I am white and have a penis.
Me again. Incidentally – I think y’all should know. After numerous emails (and tweets) back and forth with RM… this is/was his state. And confession – I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s like in general. Yes, complete with the lights and techno. Shhh don’t tell him. 😉 Actually, haha, he brought it up first. 😛