Article about m/m in the Globe and Mail

[erastes]

This article was going to go out in December, but then they decided to run it near Valentine's Day, which is quite sweet.  There are a few inaccuracies in it, I have to say: I'm NOT 47, although I wish I was, I'm a few years older—and I haven't been married to a man for 15 years. God knows where they got that from. For the record, not that it's really anyone's business, I was married for a year in 1988, and that was only because I had to wait a year before I could start divorce proceedings—he'd been unfaithful around six months so I chucked him out!

Anyway—it's not a bad article, despite the usual slanted nonsense and inaccuracies. The comments are rather amusing though. They range from WHAT WOULD JESUS THINK? to YUK to HURRAH!.

Alex Beecroft and Heidi Cullinan and I are quoted.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/valentines-day/what-women-want-gay-male-romance-novels/article1902774/

Comments

[clarelondon.livejournal.com]

I thought that was quite reasonably balanced, at least in contrast to some previous press coverage :). Has it been broadcast on the Carina loop yet, do you know? I'm quite far behind in my loop-reading.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't broadcast it on any of the groups yet - I'll do that later - I'm so backwards in doing PROMO PROMO PROMO...

[clarelondon.livejournal.com]

*heh*
If you catch my LJ post today, you'll see that I've personally ground to a spectacular halt on *everything* today :).

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I had noticed there was a distinct lack of gold stars on my flist this last week...

[jenniferkoliver.livejournal.com]

Great article, although I wonder why they make things up about your circumstances. Surely they would've asked you those questions while interviewing?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I don't remember them asking me those things--I may have told them that I had HAD a husband, but I certainly wouldn't have said 15 years... six months was too much! LOL

[jenniferkoliver.livejournal.com]

Bwaha!

Still, it's amazing how they fill in the blanks like that. I'd say that was a pretty big liberty.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I have to chuckle at the "Well, I'M a woman and I don't like it, so you're wrong-wrong-wrong!" letters. For a fairly conservative paper, you got reasonably polite coverage. I have to wonder how many of the 'indignant' readers are going to be googling for m/m in the next few days.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Of course it was polite - it's Canadian, hey!

[aunty_marion]

You are married to your work... *g* Either that, or Lucius and/or Severus is a werecat! (Bet you're regretting having them taken to the vet now, aren't you? *g*)

And of course you are 47. It's there in black and white, so it must be true! Anyway, I'm 36. With 21 years' added experience...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't think that 47 was worth lying about, really. I think 39 is better, but no one who'd seen me would beleive that. :D 21 plus tax. only now it's more like capital gains tax.

[jl_merrow]

I found the article very encouraging - anything that brings m/m to a wider audience has to be good. I remember my early days of wanting to read m/m romance, but having no idea I could find it outside of fandom.

I must say it's been educational, though, watching all the inaccuracies that creep in to articles like this - or occasionally are pushed! ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree with you--when I look how far we've come in less than ten years it's really lovely--i think that's what many publishers don't see, how much the genre has ballooned from "not being able to buy it" to "omg - too many to read!!"

:)

[gingerhead76.livejournal.com]

I agree with what Heidi Cullinan says “One of the reasons why more women are ravenous for these books is that they want to read something about gay men that doesn’t involve them suffering from [HIV/AIDS], committing suicide or getting bullied. I know I was,”.
That's why I avoid all gay-themed books and movies with tragic plots or unhappy endings. ;-)
As for the reasons why this kind of fiction is so popular among women, a while ago I read a very interesting book. It's "Warrior Lovers", by Catherine Salmon and Donald Symons. I'm sure you know it.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I agree - I like the tragedies too, though.

Never heard of that book, though! I don't equate gay fiction these days to slash--i prefer to be disassociated from slash fiction,even though I did come up from the ranks of fandom.

[gingerhead76.livejournal.com]

Well yes, gay fiction is quite different from slash, but I think that the conclusions drawn in that book can apply also to the female readers of gay fiction. The book (a short essay, actually) is more of a study of psychology, of the differences between male/female psychology and of eroticas. The subject of slash comes up only in the last two chapters. Besides, the book came out in 2003, when gay fiction was not as popular as nowadays.
I don't know if there are other (and more recent) books about the reasons why female readers like gay fiction: this is the only one I found...