I must say I started laughing when I read your motivation for reading and writing MM fiction. The reason is I have the exact same experience. For some reason, ordinary romance wasn’t for me and I stumbled across MM in search of something naughty to read on another website. Following another author here to GA, I’ve discovered that there is much more than sex to MM. Of course. Anything else would be silly to expect. For some reason I find that these stories speak to me in different way than other stories. Maybe it’s the slight taboo (still). Maybe it’s the fun in reading the works of emerging authors who share my love for writing as a way of expressing themselves.

The part about women and MM is a thing I’ve debated with a dear friend I met on GA. He’s been propagating this and I disagree. I tell him “What’s hotter than one hot guy? Two hot guys!” I am submissive by nature when it comes to sex, but I have no problem admitting this to myself. Or others, should they ask. In every other aspect of my life, I’m very much the strong woman and have no problem being in control and asserting myself. So I have no suppressed wish to be either strong or submissive. I simply like hot sex. Of course, I can’t speak for anyone else and the story of the weaker sub being protected and loved by a stronger Dom has to be rooted in some desires. Although, I find plenty of male MM authors who use it, so it’s not a woman thing. It’s a human thing. Some of us dream of being swept away, some of doing the sweeping.

When I write, I try to write people, not genders. That said, my work is of course the product of my being a straight, middle-aged female from Stockholm. Among other things. I started out writing just to see if I could and since then I’ve tried to challenge myself to write sex, hot sex and kinky sex. Since I don’t get turned on by women, MM suits me well in that respect. Also, I try to change perspectives and write fun stories as well as dark stories. Even here I feel closer to men than women. I have a hard time connecting to typical women and frequently miss the social codes when interacting with them. So men are easier. If I succeed? Perhaps. I have men reading my stories and they don’t complain (to me at least) about my characters being unbelievable.

I'm just going to answer number 4 (oh, and tell you that my first ever experience of MM romantic fiction was also fanfiction, though from my favourite game as a teenager Final Fantasty 8, before that I just had to imagine, and wish for a better internet connection)

I barely ever know/remember/bother to find out the gender/sexuality of any author published/self-pub/not-pub I am reading. This is not deliberate, I've just never found it useful information.

Terry Pratchett (may he be forever happy in whatever heaven Death took him to) was a straight white guy, and yet every character he wrote, from teenager shepherdess witch to sly con-man who takes over the post office, was believable to me.

I am currently reading A Closed and Common Orbit (Becky Chambers) which is about a space ship AI housed into a body (which happens to be roughly female), and she is believable too.

I like to think my demons are as believable as my cowboys, and hopefully as good as my female characters, but I'm not a demon, and I've never lived in Texas (more's the pity).

Anyone can write anything, as long as they work at it and have a good idea to start with. And I don't see why anyone should ever mind.

Also, I’ll agree with you about some traditional female MCs (having fought my way through books "recommended" by my mother), and I don't know any women like that! Who are these skinny, superficial, fashion obsessed, easily walked over individuals hell bent on being miserable?

I started writing MM fiction on a website that caters mostly to teens because no one was reading my 'straight' adventure and mystery thrillers.  I rewrote one with gay boys and it was a huge instant hit. I also added humor to it because I knew the fangirls and fujoshi girls liked that, and I enjoyed it too. I had never read yaoi before, but my own experiences were more than enough for me to hit it on the head. I do temper my yaoi with bara, the more masculine version, because I don't care for MM stories that put men into hetero dom/sub roles. Having grown up a jock, I write about them and other manly dudes.

I do shy away from the trendy MM romances written by females or that have female author names (some men use them too). I've read a lot of them and they mostly seem to be MM versions of Harlequin Romances and aren't realistic to me. At least in my experience, male couples do not act like straight couples. I understand why females might want to make them more heteronormative, but I just don't care for it. Also, they all have shmaltzy happy endings where they live happily ever after, which don't set right with me. My way of thinking is more like, enough with that romance, let's go on to another adventure with a new one. Is HEA really a part of MM life? Still working on that.

I started writing MM fiction on a website that caters mostly to teens because no one was reading my 'straight' adventure and mystery thrillers.  I rewrote one with gay boys and it was a huge instant hit. I also added humor to it because I knew the fangirls and fujoshi girls liked that, and I enjoyed it too. I had never read yaoi before, but my own experiences were more than enough for me to hit it on the head. I do temper my yaoi with bara, the more masculine version, because I don't care for MM stories that put men into hetero dom/sub roles. Having grown up a jock, I write about them and other manly dudes.

I do shy away from the trendy MM romances written by females or that have female author names (some men use them too). I've read a lot of them and they mostly seem to be MM versions of Harlequin Romances and aren't realistic to me. At least in my experience, male couples do not act like straight couples. I understand why females might want to make them more heteronormative, but I just don't care for it. Also, they all have shmaltzy happy endings where they live happily ever after, which don't set right with me. My way of thinking is more like, enough with that romance, let's go on to another adventure with a new one. Is HEA really a part of MM life? Still working on that.

read EPIC by Dayne Mora she freaking rocks writing althletic guys who fall in love and have massive amounts of hot sex

Thanks for all your thoughts and opinions peeps!

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who got sucked in by (what is obviously Satan's biggest trick to corrupting young women like myself) fanfiction!

EPIC is amazing, I will also agree with that!

On 3/14/2017 at 1:51 AM, sanmariano said:

I do shy away from the trendy MM romances written by females or that have female author names (some men use them too). I've read a lot of them and they mostly seem to be MM versions of Harlequin Romances and aren't realistic to me. At least in my experience, male couples do not act like straight couples. I understand why females might want to make them more heteronormative, but I just don't care for it. Also, they all have shmaltzy happy endings where they live happily ever after, which don't set right with me. My way of thinking is more like, enough with that romance, let's go on to another adventure with a new one. Is HEA really a part of MM life? Still working on that.

in regards to that last part; do you mean that you don't believe in MM couples settling down with marriage and a job and kids and you now white picket fence and shit?  Or do you mean you just don't find books like that appealing?

4 hours ago, LillyLee said:

 

in regards to that last part; do you mean that you don't believe in MM couples settling down with marriage and a job and kids and you now white picket fence and shit?  Or do you mean you just don't find books like that appealing?

I just don't care for the endings that set a male couple in a house with a picket fence. I'd rather the adventure continue, settling down does not interest me. I know how important HEA is to many readers cuz I've gotten complaints that my books don't do that. Books can end on an upbeat note, but HEA is just too formulaic for me.

On 3/15/2017 at 7:30 AM, JayT said:

read EPIC by Dayne Mora she freaking rocks writing althletic guys who fall in love and have massive amounts of hot sex

Thanks JayT. I'll check it out. Sounds like just what I like.

I started out reading some typical teen romance novels in middle school, because I didn't realize then that boys who like boys have a place in literature. Eventually, I came to the realization that, not only were the girls unreasonable drama queens, and the straight boys acted like idiots, but most teen romance stories portray a VERY unrealistic picture of high school life. Cliques? Please. Yes, you might hang out with some groups more than others based on your interests, but that doesn't mean that any one group treats another as outcasts.

Fashion? If you came to school wearing an inch-thick layer of mud, and smelling like a dumpster, they might tell you to hit the showers and find you some stuff to wear from the lost and found, but nobody really gives a f¢%€ about what someone else is wearing. And cafeteria food? In my personal experience, I probably would've hurt somebody if I didn't get a grilled cheese sandwich every Friday. So, I started reading Alex Sanchez and some other writers, just for a change from the typical straight-guy romance books. Then I found Goodreads.com, which led me to Billy Chase, and eventually, Billy Chase led me here.

I also don't like M/M romances that have one or two shirtless hunks on the cover, because that usually implies that the story is sex-driven (or at least, physical attraction plays the main part of the relationship). There's a series of books written by Rose Christo, about a mute, half-Shoshone boy who moves in with his grandmother after his dad's disappearance, and falls in love with the son of the man who killed his mother, and left his vocal cords paralyzed. The material can get a little dark, detailing some of the historic cruelty against American Indians, but is well-balanced against the sweetness of the two boys, and the humor that results from the sharpness of the grandmother's tongue. It's one of my favorite series, to date, and well worth the read.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/85919-gives-light

11 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

I also don't like M/M romances that have one or two shirtless hunks on the cover, because that usually implies that the story is sex-driven (or at least, physical attraction plays the main part of the relationship).

I like the shirtless covers and I do read the ones that are adventures, action and spies, because they usually don't end in 'settling down'. They're often series and then they have another exciting time in the next book. I write those too and always about hunks. I love reading and writing erotica, so sex-driven is fine with me. But I do have a problem with the happily ever after routine.

Well, to each their own. While I realize that not every story can have a happy ending, on the other hand, stories that are pure tragedy leave a bad taste in my mouth. It's a question of finding the right balance.

Guilty as charged, came here from ao3, was reading Game of Thrones fanfiction about Loras and Renly, a gay knight and a gay prince. I think I have read everything about the two, including stories set in alternate realities. Somehow I drifted from a story tagged as BDSM to another. One of them happened to be Chronicles of an academic predator. I followed the author from nifty to here. So here am I.

Why MM? The others have said everything already. I like hot guys, the more the better :-D 

I came to like MM werewolf stories, kemonomimi, but I am not into yaoi.

I guess I'm a typical middle aged woman with a little kink ;-)

I also like Yaoi, but I prefer Yaoi where the sex is largely absent from the story.

Im somewhere in the middle. When I'm in the mood a shory sappy HEA is a nice little treat. But I also very much enjoy a STORY with drawn out plot and STUFF happening with a nice romance on the side. Also, smut. I do enjoy the smut. 

I agree with Page; if it's nothing but tragady it makes me depressed. Lol.

I read to escape real life, I want my happy ending damn it. LOL 

Definatly anything with warewolves, I'm obsessed lol. ABO fics usually annoy me, but I've read a couple that worked when I wanted something short and sweet even if it's super far-fetched.

I absolutly hate stories that read like a f/m but the author just changed the 'she' to a 'he'. Or fanfics where they completly change a character (who is badass in canon) into a sissy, weak, winy, b1tch because "obviously they have to be if they are gay". 

On 08/04/2017 at 2:24 PM, Page Scrawler said:

 most teen romance stories portray a VERY unrealistic picture of high school life. Cliques? Please. Yes, you might hang out with some groups more than others based on your interests, but that doesn't mean that any one group treats another as outcasts.

Fashion? If you came to school wearing an inch-thick layer of mud, and smelling like a dumpster, they might tell you to hit the showers and find you some stuff to wear from the lost and found, but nobody really gives a f¢%€ about what someone else is wearing. 

While I agree the pictures of high school are unrealistic, i did experience cliques in my school. The stoners, the jocks, the nerds, the goths , there was some overlap but mostly the lines were drawn in the sand. And people very much cared how we dressed, fashion was a big deal. Brand name v.s not . Style vs style...eg skater v.s thug... so that part could be a locational culture thing?

17 hours ago, glitteryantlers said:

I guess I'm a typical middle aged woman with a little kink ;-)

I sooo hear you...!