Male Authors of Romance/Romantic Fiction (2)
I saw an item about Jason Pinter whose novel The Mark will be published by Mira in July 2007. The article points out that
According to Juliet Flesch
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Mira, of course, has been publishing thrillers for years and has a number of male authors on its lists. Still, Harlequin remains overwhelmingly a company by and for women. Its challenge is to reach male readers—but with books that also appeal to its core audience. That’s where Pinter comes in. "The female character (in The Mark) is great," says Marbury. "Most men fall short on female characters."In my previous post on this topic I didn't list any male romance authors and although I gave some links I thought perhaps I should rectify my omission.
According to Juliet Flesch
The number of men writing romance varies a little from time to time and appears to be generally higher in America than in the United Kingdom or Australia [...]. Publishers interviewed by Rosemary Guiley, the author of Love Lines: a Romance Reader’s Guide to Printed Pleasures, reported that from 5 to 40 per cent of their romance writers were men.So that's three:
In The Romance Fiction of Mills & Boon, 1909-1990s, jay Dixon identified only two men who achieved success with Mills & Boon in the last years of the twentieth century: Victoria Gordon and Madeleine Ker. In fact, there is at least one more: Roger Sanderson, who writes as Gill Sanderson. (2004: 74)
- Gordon Aalborg, who writes as Victoria Gordon
- Roger Sanderson, who writes as Gill Sanderson
- Marius Gabriel, who writes as Madeleine Ker
- Vince Brach, writing as Fran Vincent
- R. Barri Flowers, who writes as Devon Vaughn Archer
- Tom E. Huff, who wrote as Edwina Marlow, Jennifer Wilde, Katherine St. Claire and Beatrice Parker
- Wayne Jordan
- Harold Lowry, who writes as Leigh Greenwood (and who served as President of the Romance Writers of America for 2 years). In a 2001 interview he said that 'The official number is approximately 1 percent of the RWA membership is male. There may be more published, but I doubt it. Yes, I do expect the number to increase over time. Contrary to popular opinion, men are romantic. We just have more cultural obstacles to overcome'.
- Peter O'Donnell, whose historical romances were written under the name Madeleine Brent
- David Wind, writing as Monica Barrie and Jenifer Dalton
- Iain Blair, who writes as Emma Blair
- Hugh C. Rae, who writes as Jessica Stirling
- Bill Spence, who writes as Jessica Blair
- Frank and Wendy Brennan, who wrote as Emma Darcy until Frank's death, after which Wendy continued writing alone (you can read an interview with them here)
- Tom and Sharon Curtis, who wrote as Laura London (you can read an interviews with them here)
- Bob Mayer and Jenny Crusie, whose joint website is here.
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- Flesch, Juliet, 2004. From Australia with Love: A History of Modern Australian Popular Romance Novels (Fremantle: Curtin University Books).
Labels: Emma Darcy, Gill Sanderson, Harlequin Mills + Boon, Juliet Flesch, Laura London, Laura Vivanco, Leigh Greenwood, Madeleine Ker, men, Victoria Gordon, Wayne Jordan

7 Comments:
At 18 February, 2007 21:53,
Dr. Bill Emener said…
Hello Laura,
Great Post! And for me it is personally special.
While I have authored numerous books, in the past three years I have written three contemporary romance novels (the third to be released very soon). On October 29, 2006 the title of the Post on my blog was, As a Man Who Writes Romance Novels… Here are two excerpts from it (and you’ll notice the title of a previous Post to which I referred):
After reading my recent Post, Men Reading Romance, some of my friends and colleagues have asked me, “Bill, how can you, a man, write romance novels?”
and
From my own perspective, as a man who writes romance novels, I have numerous considerations regarding the question. For example, I’m not convinced that women have the corner market on romance. (As I said in that Post, “…maybe the world is becoming more androgynous.”) I think a lot of men think and feel lovingly and romantically, but don’t express it because in our society men who are romantic are many times considered a wuss or called a girly-man. As I write my romance novels, I just think lovingly – like “what might a loving person say or do in a situation like this?” Then I write it out, and nine times out of ten it sounds and is romantic.
Please come by and visit my blog (http://drbillsharleywisdom.blogspot.com/) and my Website – which is still being built; please try to be understanding (http://www.emenerbooks.com/Order.html).
Looking forward to seeing you,
Bill
At 19 February, 2007 06:32,
Laura Vivanco said…
Thanks, Bill. I'll put in the direct link to your blog posts, which should make them a bit easier for others to find if they want to take a look. They're As a Man Who Writes Romance Novels and Men Reading Romance.
in our society men who are romantic are many times considered a wuss or called a girly-man
I wonder if, historically speaking, this is a pretty recent (and culturally specific) development. If one thinks about love poetry (e.g. courtly love poetry, the poetry of the Romantics) and many of the classic love stories/novels/plays, they've mostly been written by men. I think people maybe forget that 'masculinity' isn't innate (i.e. it's not exactly the same thing as physical maleness) and that what constitutes 'masculinity' has varied according to culture/era.
At 19 February, 2007 13:27,
Dr. Bill Emener said…
Hi Laura,
Thanks for adding the links… it would be nice to have some new visitors.
Excellent points regarding culture and era! For example, during the early 1940s, our country being involved in a World War, it made sense for our young men to have the John Wayne types as their heroes. (And wasn’t Archie Bunker a wonderful follow-up parody on that… the way he treated his wife and Meat Head, etc.)
On a personal side, I played high school football and college basketball, and never felt a threat to my testosterone level by also being an English major. But I don’t know how many men, then and now, see life that way? I don’t see that much machismo at the university or around my personal friends, but when I hit biker bars when on a motorcycle ride it’s a different story. Interesting to say the least!
My only conclusion regarding gender issues in loving relationships is that by the time I get it all figured out I’ll be eating soft food through a straw and on a good day rocking, gently.
Ciao,
Bill
At 21 February, 2007 03:07,
Laura Vivanco said…
Here's another male author: K. N. Casper who's written many Harlequin Superromances.
At 24 February, 2007 21:07,
Miki said…
I'm not aware of any other solo male romance authors, but Tori Carrington is the pseudonym for Lori and Tony Karayianni.
At 11 March, 2007 15:04,
R. Barri Flowers said…
Hello:
Nice to put a little spotlight on male authors of romance fiction and to see my romance author alter ego mentioned--Devon Vaughn Archer.
Indeed, there are relatively few of us, but the numbers are growing.
I have two contemporary romances published to date, with a third, CHRISTMAS HEAT (Harlequin, 2007), to be released in December, with HER ALASKAN LOVER to follow in the summer of 2008.
Though I am primarily a mystery suspense author, I enjoy writing romances and lending my voice to this popular genre.
Looking forward to writing more contemporary romances in the future.
Best,
R. Barri Flowers w/a Devon Vaughn Archer
At 08 April, 2007 07:19,
Laura Vivanco said…
The Romance Wiki has a few names not mentioned here on its list of male authors of romance.
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