The Bitter Debate

According to a 2011/2012 survey conducted by the Romance Writers of America, 91% of romance readers are women. This is fact probably not surprising to most authors. However in 2013, Jessica Freely, author of the article listed below, conducted a survey based solely on readers of gay romance. What she found was that a staggering 85% precent of gay romance readers in her survey were also women. A large portion of her participants came from the M/M romance group over at Goodreads.com.

While this may surprise some, this data hardly made me bat an eye. It seems I can't log onto Facebook without seeing someone, authors of gay romance and erotica, discussing this, somewhat, hot button issue. The most popular question, at least that I've seen, is the ever imflamatory "are women equipped to write love stories about gay men.". This is a double sided question that will always have conflicting views. Since the majority off the readers of gay romance and erotica are women, it's obvious that women authors will always have a place in the genre. While I, personally, enjoy my gay erotica written by men, I don't wish to bad mouth women on any facet. Some of my most favorite authors are women and my early literary education was based on some of these women.

That being said, I believe most male authors write gay romance and erotica for men. While women write for women. We know what it's like to be in the emotional mindset we write about. The heated sexual encounters that happen between two men are something we've experienced first hand. Every romance novel, or short story, written by a gay male author for a gay male audience may not be squishy, stereotypical romance material but it is written from a place of true knowledge.

If a male author tried to capture a concise picture of the emotional, and physical, reaction of the female orgasm, which I know a male author has tired to do, it probably wouldn't be able to live up to the same standards of what an actual woman has experienced. The same is true for men. The majority of the public would have a problem with a white, male author going on a publicity tour and telling world that they know what it is to struggle as black man because he did a little research for a book. The same is true for straight, women authors. 

Now, I don't wish to see my comment section or inbox filled with angry comments from women authors, and those who love their work, but I realize it may happen. The entire reason I am writing this post is not to anger people but to rally my gay male constituents. If we want to write stories for gay men, we have to get gay men to read more romance and erotica. We need to stop arguing who can do it better because of course we can capture what it's like to be gay men better than anyone else. That's a no brainer. 

Source Article:

http://popularromanceproject.org/reading-gay-romance/

Fantasy or Reality?

If you watch porn, and I know most of you do, or you read erotica, please for the love of god read erotica, you've probably noticed some fairly obvious similarities. Put aside all the well toned bodies and the oversized appendages for a minute and look at the bigger picture. Most companies use the stereotypical male archetypes to sell their wears. I myself am guilty of using quite a few in my writing. 

But what is so appealing about these fantasy men? The hairless impressionable twink, The uniform clad cop, the solider wearing nothing but his dog tags and a smile, the frat boys in their backwards caps and muscle tees, they all have one thing in common. They are Men. Gay men seem to eroticize the idea have two "real" guys getting it on.

Is this fantasy any different then when straight men get all hot and bothered watching two women? I mean, it's basically the same primise. Do we believe that straight men behave this way when no one is looking? I'm sure some of us do. And so, I've decided to ask my readers to get involved. 

I'd love to hear from some of you guys on this subject. I realize not all of you are going to be turned on my the lumberjack, marine, jocks of the world but that totally cool. I want to hear about all kinds of guys and why they do it for you. If you are into the sterotypical male, or you ARE one that so happens to like guys. I want to hear from you too. Let me know you're real and not just a fanstay of porn or erotica. 

There's no time limit for this so shoot me an email at PatrickMonsoon@gmail.com

I'll edit down the best posts and pop it on the blog. All emails will be posted as anonymous in you request a pseudonym. I'm not afraid of a dirty mind but let's keep it legal. 18 and up please.

Whats Your Sex Degrees of Separation?

Thanks to the good people at Lloyds Pharmacy, a large chain of drug stores in the UK for those not in the know, we have a truly horrifying glimpse at how many sexual partners you've actually had. Follow the link below and fill in your age and the number of sexual partners you've had and watch that number climb into six and seven digits. The idea behind the calculator is simple and is posted in a short article in the link so I won't reiterate it here. I will say that this, in my humble opinion, is a perfect object lesson in safe sex so it's definitely worth a look.


While you're here, I'm going to recommend you to pick up a copy of my first book "Sex Degrees of Separation". I've attached the links below and you can visit any of them to read the first chapter of the book for free. I try to support budding authors by buying their work and leaving reviews when I'm done reading. I'd like to say thanks to those who do the same.


Calculator: http://calculators.lloydspharmacy.com/SexDegrees/


Sex Degrees of Separation Links:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/WNCzik

B&N:  http://goo.gl/SN0xQk

Allromance: http://goo.gl/mf919y

Sex Degrees of Separation Promo and Excerpt

Wanted to post a short excerpt from my first release "Sex Degree of Separation" as well as some links to websites where you can get a copy. Take a look and enjoy.  

Description


Seven men, One connection; Sex Degrees of Separation. 
Brian and Joe had engaged in a mild flirtation for years, but all bets are off when Joe walks in on Brian during a moment of personal bliss. Told through a series of seven steamy shorts, Sex Degrees of Separation follows the connections between two friends through their past sexual encounters. With stories ranging from a married lawyer seeking fulfillment with the stud next door to a bartender seducing a patron into some back alley action, Sex Degrees of Separation brings intensely intimate moments full circle to tell a story of unrequited lust and a romance years in the making.




Excerpt

   I stripped down to my underwear and stood in front of the full length mirror attached to the back ofthe bathroom door. As I took in my reflection, I saw my thin farm boy build that only years of manuallabor can produce, and my tan skin, looking slightly pale under the harsh florescent lighting. Slowly, Iran my hand up and down my chest, bringing my small dark nipples to intense bullet points. Runningback down my torso, my fingers grazed the waistband of my white briefs. My cock swelled slightly as Islipped one finger under the elastic, feeling the soft patch of pubic hair underneath.   Days of working late and waking up early had deprived me of any company, not the warmth ofanother body or even my own left hand. The last couple of days had left me with a raging hard-on at theoffice, work sites, and just about every commute. My bulge strained the front of my briefs, the fabricslowly pushing outward as my cock rose with excitement. I needed to stroke one out very, very soon.   I pulled my hand from my briefs before my lust got the best of me. I turned the shower tap on as hotas it would go. It hissed to life, I dropped my briefs and stepped under the spray. The hot watercascaded down my skin, washing away days of stress and sexual frustration. Twenty minutes later, I wasout and feeling alive again. Scooping my dirty clothes off the floor, I went back to my room with mycock leading the way.   Letting my clothes fall to the floor, I sat damp and naked on the edge of the bed. The flaredmushroom tip of my prick stared back up at me. I knew Joe probably wanted to go out tonight, but myphone still hadn’t rung. I figured I had a few minutes to spare.


Pick up a copy of Sex Degrees of Separation today. Available at any of the links below.

Amazon.com
http://goo.gl/WNCzik

Barnes&Noble.com
http://goo.gl/0LqZli

iTunes

http://goo.gl/hjkQqv

Allromanceebooks.com
http://goo.gl/mf919y

Amazon.co.uk
http://goo.gl/0LqZli

Sex Degrees of Separation is widely available internationally. If you have any problems locating a copy in your country please send me a message and I'll do my best to help.

Self Promotion

With the end of the fiscal quarter looming, meaning I get that little statement showing how many people aren't reading my work, I've spent the majority of the day on a small media blitz. Posting promotional content with six different groups and trying to befriend two reviewer blogs. I figured the best place to end my nocturnal achievements is with my very first blog post.

I could got into a deep and "meaningful" spill about how I got started writing but I'd really like my first post to be all about my work. My first novella, "Sex Degrees of Separation", was released in February to sterling reviews by my mother, whom I made swear to never read a word of my work, and my roommate, long time plutonic life parter and proof reader. Below you will find a short synopsis and all the pertinent links where you can pick up a copy for yourself. Both Amazon and barnesandnoble.com have sizable excerpts to preview. I am also excited to announce that my second novella "Peter and the Wolfe" will be released by MLRpress later this year.

Please take a few minutes to peruse my goods and help support budding authors by taking a chance and picking up a book by someone you've never heard of. Getting noticed is hard and every author, no matter how popular, loves to reach out and touch new readers....or in my case having my new readers reaching out to touch themselves.

Seven men, One connection; Sex Degrees of Separation. 

Brian and Joe had engaged in a mild flirtation for years, but all bets are off when Joe walks in on Brian during a moment of personal bliss. Told through a series of seven steamy shorts, Sex Degrees of Separation follows the connections between two friends through their past sexual encounters. With stories ranging from a married lawyer seeking fulfillment with the stud next door to a bartender seducing a patron into some back alley action, Sex Degrees of Separation brings intensely intimate moments full circle to tell a story of unrequited lust and a romance years in the making.

Links:

Sex Degrees of Separation is avaible is several different languages in a multitude of countries. Please check my website for information on links to international 

Amazon

Barnesandnoble.com

Allromanceebooks.com

MLRbooks.com

The Patrick Monsoon Website

Sex Degrees of Separation Facebook Page

Patrick Monsoon Facebook Page