So this weekend the registration for the Gay Romance Lit convention opened up and a bunch of us rushed to be first (there’s a prize I hear)… ok I made that up. But several of us did sign up. Since I missed yaoi-con last year (gaming convention over porn, terrible terrible decision I shall never make again) I’m especially excited to have a specific m/m gathering. Tons of authors – some of whom I’ll hide from – but even more I can’t wait to meet. I know it’s terribly far out, who can plan now for October, but perhaps this will also get some people thinking and considering going. I hear there will be strippers and porn.

I may have made that up to but it seems likely though.

So who else is going!

I’m the latest victim to sit down for the “For the Love of Books” series on Jessewave’s site. She asked me a bunch of questions about the genre, reviewing, and my gaming. Not too exciting (sorry, boring is as boring does) however reading that will save lives. Somehow… someway… or maybe waste a few minutes where you could have spent looking at porn. So go here to read all the fascinating insider information…

Then head over to tumblr for that porn.

Does M/M mean erotic romance?

A rape fantasy fiction book has made the rounds and started up the controversy of labeling, warnings, and what is romance exactly. There’s bound to be many, many, many posts on this as it’s a hot topic and one I think that bears discussing.

I’m going to take a twist and go for a broader topic than just what is romance and ask if the term “M/M” has become synonymous with erotic romance. I wonder if readers have the expectations when they read “m/m” that they’re reading erotic romance. This may not be correct but I think a lot of readers do actually have these expectations.

I say I review M/M books. To this end I read/review gay literature, poetry, fiction, romance, horror, fantasy, sci-fi, urban fantasy, historical, mystery, western and honestly a wide range of sub genres. I personally think of M/M as synonymous with gay literature. But this isn’t really necessarily true.

The majority of m/m books DO seem to be erotic romance. So much so that it’s hard to separate these terms. There is nearly no romance without graphic sex. Closing the door is a lost art and one many readers are happy for. There is the occasional book without graphic sex but this is definitely, definitely the minority not the majority. Which isn’t to say that’s bad, it’s just the current trend.

So romance is really more equated with erotic romance within m/m and it seems as though m/m is most often linked to erotic romance. If you look at the epublishers that produce the most m/m – samhain, loose id, torquere, dreamspinner, lethe press, blind eye books, amber allure – how many of those produce almost exclusively m/m erotic romance? I rarely even hear Lethe Press or Blind Eye Books considered m/m and in fact most readers put them more in the gay literature column. That’s fine for me I’ll read both but it removes the m/m when erotic romance isn’t present. This is especially true for Dreamspinner, which is having labeling troubles of its own with readers – see Teddy Pig’s post for more.

What do you think? Do you think that m/m is by definition erotic romance? And is that a good or bad thing?

This is such an incredibly broad topic that I’ll likely be doing more posts on it in the future but it’s one aspect of the current wanks going around that I’d love to hear more about.

Continuing the theme of focusing on the positive in the m/m genre today’s post about what I like is going to focus on *gasp* the breakup! I know this is slightly controversial because in romance, no one wants a breakup. We want happy endings with imaginary roses falling constantly and this love that will never, ever end and sex that never quits (hopefully graphic with rippled abs).

However when I’m reading a very angsty, very intense romance …I love the breakup. I confess. I love it when the tension is so thick and the couple just can’t go on for whatever reason. We’ll just assume it’s not a stupid reason and it’s actually well done. That moment is one of my absolute favorites in a book. Sometimes I shed a tear.

You see I *know* they’re going to make up. I know without a shadow of a doubt they’ll be ok, make up and live happily ever after with the most intense, passionate love that ever existed (and only exists in fiction). Since I know that and can rely on that, then I can feel free to delve into the fictionalize drama and intensity.

That is one of the main reasons I love romance. I can feel free to invest in the book, the characters, the situation and get upset at the tension. I can get involved with the characters because I know it’ll all be alright at the end. Otherwise I walk away depressed from such an investment and while I read those books often, I like the consistency and yes, predictability, of a happy ending in romance.

While I can’t have a steady diet of these angst ridden, intense romances, there is no question I do love them. The breakup, that tipping point of the tension is a huge reason why.

So what about anyone else? Do you love a breakup in romances or hate them?