Taboo Tens: Day Twenty Five Reader Post Sheila Gallagher!

Good Morning!


Welcome to day Twenty Five of the Taboo Tens!


Today, I have another fan blog from a lady I love. She or Sheila has been one of my biggest supporters. She’s commented on my blogs wherever I went and supported my guests when they’ve done guest posts here and at Rawiya’s.


She is quite the sweetheart, and here she is doing a guest blog.


We’re also giving away a copy of LA Witt’s AJ’s Angel!


Take it away Sheila!


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I read most genres and do not limit or censor what I read. As long as the story hooks me I’ll read it. So why do I read male/male romance? I’m a relative newcomer to male/male literature. It started at RT 2008 in Pittsburgh. This was the first time I saw what was available outside traditional male/female stories. I got a few free books and met a few authors at RT and, being the book whore I am, I decided to try them. What I found is a wonderful genre with lots of undiscovered authors and books. The sex was hotter but the stories had the same things as traditional romance. It had the meeting of the couple, the conflict, the resolution of the conflict, and either the HEA or HFN. I was hooked. There are differences: no unplanned pregnancies or pressure to get married.




Authors of m/m or ménage romance come across as being more comfortable writing sex. Unless the traditional romance is erotic the traditional authors are not always comfortable writing sex scenes and I can pick that up while reading. The euphemisms drive me crazy. I’m not in high school anymore. I can handle the real words or slang. Being realistic enhances the story.




Coming from a family where certain things are not discussed alternate lifestyle literature has helped me to understand the lifestyle better. With a sister who is lesbian and a brother who is transgendered discovering male/male, female/female, transgendered, and ménage novels have shown me what people go through. Not being gay I often am oblivious to what they go through with others, the prejudice they face, the anger and hatred of others. The big news stories are what I see and I shake my head and wonder how people can be so hateful but I was unaware of the little things. Reading your novels opened my eyes to the small things those living an alternate lifestyle contend with daily.




Your novels have also opened my mind and caused me to consciously think of what my values are, of my tolerance and acceptance levels towards others who live differently than I. While you may have thought you wrote only to entertain me, each time I open one of your books and invite you into my world, as you invite my into your world, a piece of me changes because of your words. I may change my mind about what I thought I knew. I may lose a prejudice. I may learn of something new that causes me to do some research. I may understand the fights you fight and side with you. I have done these things and probably more.




So the flippant answer to why I read m/m romance is it’s taboo and forbidden in the mainstream society where I reside so that makes it hotter. But the thoughtful answer is that I am taught things I would never wonder about. Another world is opened to me and I have to challenge my beliefs about what I thought I knew about life. That’s not a bad idea if it brings acceptance and tolerance to the world.

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Wow. What a blog. OMG. 

That is such a fantastic post. 

She gave so many reasons as to why us writers write and read gay romances and did it so eloquently. Wow, Sheila, you sure you aren't a writer? LOL

Awesome post. I hope all of you enjoyed that...

Here now is a blurb from the book we're giving away from the talented LA Witt!

Taken from Goodreads.

Buylink - http://store.samhainpublishing.com/ajs-angel-p-6325.html

Luke Emerson is the last person Sebastian Wakefield expects to see strolling into his tattoo shop. But Luke’s not back after four years to take up where they left off. Not even to apologize for the cheating that broke them up.

Luke wants a custom tattoo, a memorial for someone known only as “A.J.”. Much as Seb would love to tell Luke to take this ink and shove it, he’s a professional. Plus, he’s reluctant to admit, he wouldn’t mind getting his hands on Luke again. Even if it’s just business.

Once Luke’s in the tattoo chair, though, Seb finds himself struggling with all the anger and resentment he thought he’d left behind—and those aren’t the only feelings reignited. Their relationship may have been turbulent, but it was also passionate. Four years clearly hasn’t been long enough for the embers of that fire to go cold.

A few subtle hints from Luke is all it takes to make Seb consider indulging in some of that physical passion. It shouldn’t be that tough to keep his emotions from getting tangled up in sweaty sheets.

After all, it’s not like he’s in love with Luke anymore. Right?

Warning: Contains two exes who shouldn’t want each other like this, steamy ex-sex they shouldn’t be having, and a whole lot of ink.

Taboo Tens: Day One Reader Post Leaundra Ross

 

Greetings fans! Welcome to the first day of Taboo Tens MONTH!


I'm very excited because we have soo much going on with giveaways, blogposts by great authors as well as a couple of surprises along the way. 


With this kind of event you want to do something different, something that would grab peoples attention. What better way to do this than invite a fan to blog?


Leaundra Ross or Lee Lee is a big presence on Facebook, Twitter as well as Goodreads. I asked Leaundra to write a post about her feelings on gay fiction, why she reads it, etc. 


She did so well writing it, I had very little editing to do and I really appreciate her jumping right into it and taking the time to let all of us know how she feels about the m/m genre.


I hope to have a couple more fans on in a week or two, but here now is Lee Lee!


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Okay my love of reading M/M started sometime in 2008, I’m a big time reader and before I even discovered ebooks all I read were M/F  paperbacks.   I was one of those people that said I would never read ebooks(laughing  at myself now, lol)

One day I heard about this site All Romance that sold ebooks. I was curious so I checked it out and saw that they had M/M books and knowing I’ve always wanted to read one,  I looked through all of the books and I decided to buy one. I was hooked! At the time I lived in Germany and I couldn’t find any good books to buy and I hated ordering them so being able to buy them and get them right away was a big hook for me.  When I started buying the ebooks I would get M/M or M/M/F. They opened a new world for me and at the beginning I probably wasted a lot of money because if I saw the book was M/M or M/M/F I would buy it no matter what it was about. lol 

As  I started reading more I got a little more picky about what I read and who I read. I noticed when I read M/M/F  I would  love  when the guys were  together but when once  one of them was with the woman I wanted it to be over with her so the guys could get back in bed. lol.  So it wasn’t hard I just started reading M/M.  

Now that’s all I read is the M/M at least for now.  As a big reader my taste has changed so I just go with the flow.  I really can’t tell you a favorite author because they all have different writing styles so it’s like apple and oranges to me.   I have read so many great ones and it would really be too many to list.  It doesn’t matter if they’re male or female, I just like a great book.  I love the insta-love , I love when they’re mushy, I love the Alpha male, I love if they’re nerds, beautiful  etc,  I prefer an HEA(It doesn’t have to be, but I like it best) only because I read to escape real life. It doesn’t always have to be too realistic for me.  I love paranormal. I just love when two hot men are together, lol .

I will tell you I’m so glad I discovered M/M and have been reading it  since 2008. I know things aren’t perfect  but I see that  it’s out there a lot more than it was three years ago.  There’s more sites, more authors and lots more choices to choose from.   I just want to say for all of the authors out there, thanks for what you do.  I know it’s not always easy, but from this reader I so appreciate your hard work.   I want to thank everyone who reads this. I’m so not a writer so that’s why I don’t write but read but I’m happy to do this for Michael Mandrake.   Thanks for asking from a readers view.   

Leaundra

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Thank you Leaundra for getting us started. Its great to hear it from the other side. How much our work as authors is appreciated. of course, we are readers too but when an actual fan who doesn't write says thanks, it means so much more. 


I'd like to thank Lee Lee for her fab post! Join us tomorrow for Laura Tolomei!