Any time I do a Q&A of any sort, the first question I get is “Why M/M romance?”.

I should start by saying first that I have NOTHING against MF romance. This was my personal experience as a reader and writer. Everyone has different tastes and that’s what makes the book community so wonderfully diverse. What makes me happy can be vastly different than what makes you happy, and that’s FANTASTIC! Just wanted to put that disclaimer out there to start ;).

I started my writing career as an MF author and reader. I’d been a reader of romance for many years, first devouring hundreds of YA romances, then Paranormal Romance, until finally finding a home in contemporary and new adult romance. At the time, I thought I’d found my place. I loved stories of fighting against the odds to find love. I couldn’t get enough of sweet, funny, sexy stories about falling for The One. I’m a prolific reader, and easily read a few books a week devouring everything from Friends to Lovers tropes to Nerd Girl Catches the Jock’s Attention. But something happened a few years ago…Fifty Shades. Maybe you’ve heard of it? I wasn’t a fan of the book personally, but I understand that millions of people were. And great job to James for creating a series that resonated with so many readers, it’s what we all hope to do! But, I’m not a fan of BDSM as a reader, and really not a fan of the “Alpha Male” prototype. Reading about a man telling a woman what to wear, “claiming her”, anything along those lines was an instant mood breaker for me when reading. But suddenly, that seemed to be what 99% of MF romance was about. I can’t blame authors because that was what readers were clamoring for after Fifty Shades. I continued to write my sweet stories about Nerds and Best Friends falling for each other, and they got lost in a sea of Billionaire Alpha’s and their Virgins. I loved my stories and I had a small handful of really dedicated fans who loved them as well. But I was bored as a reader and feeling lost as a writer. And then I did something that changed my life.

On a whim one day, I picked up an MM romance. I’d never read one before. Honestly, I’d never even thought about one before. But it was sitting there so unassuming in my Amazon suggestions and I found myself curious. Would an MM romance really be so different than an MF romance? Would I be able to relate to the characters? Would it make me feel the same warm fuzzies I loved so much when reading the stories I was used to? The answer turned out to be YES to all of the above. I was HOOKED. The more I searched through the MM genre I found something so beautiful…diversity. There were stories about all kinds of people, with all sorts of different journeys to their Happily Ever Afters. And…Hold on to your hats- they didn’t always break up at 75% over a silly misunderstanding and then get back together just in time for the end! I could hardly believe it myself, but there it was.

As I was falling further down the MM rabbit hole, I had an MF story I was in the middle of writing that just kept feeling flat. I was writing it just how I wrote all my previous books, but I just couldn’t get excited about it the way I always had before. So, I put that story aside and let a side character take over with his story of wanting to stay tucked away in the closet but falling for a man who refuses to hide who he is. There it was, my spark of excitement and my deep love for the characters. I wrote their story in record time and couldn’t wait to share it. And when it was done, I had a million more ideas for stories about beautiful men who find their forevers with other men.

As I said, I THOUGHT I’d found my “place” before, but when I ventured into MM romance I discovered a whole new tribe of amazing authors who welcomed me with open arms and became some of my best friends. I found readers who were open to all kinds of stories and loved to be thrown for a loop. And most of all, I found my creative freedom and happiness I’d never had before.

So, to the MM readers who took a chance on an MF author like me: Thank you

And if you’re an MF reader who’s feeling a little bored and looking for something different, check out MM. You never know what you might find 😉