To the men who ask if my book is a romance…

…because they don’t read romances.

kissing-book

Yes. This is a kissing book. In a proud, long line of kissing books.

It will not give you cooties.

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13 thoughts on “To the men who ask if my book is a romance…”

  1. Wait, what?? It’s got kissing? With icky gurls?

    Ewww…I might get cooties!! Why was I not warned?!

  2. Well, I do like me some romance. Write about it often too, and enjoy it in them thar moving picture shows.

    The question then is the fixings around it.

    Come to think of it, I done prefer when it’s the fixings, and not the main course.

    Seriously, I would not compare, let’s say, Pride and Prejudice with The Princess Bride.

    No giants, no master swordmen, no masked bandits, no six-fingers men . . . there’s not even that much kissing, whereas Princess Bride has the best kiss in the history of humanity.

  3. I thought your stuff was more “books with kissing” rather than “kissing book”. I mean, you got no 6 fingered man, but other stuff happens.

  4. A few years back, I was chatting with Lucienne Diver, my wife’s agent, and found that they both agreed with my assessment that 2006’s “Casino Royale”, while not a romance, is a very romantic movie.

  5. Those “critics” keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it does.

    Since virtually all fantasy novels fall into the literary tradition Romanze/Romance (depending upon whether one prefers the Hispano-Italian or the Francophone descriptor) in their descent from the Renaissance, one should not be surprised that your fantasy novels bear a tinge of Romance.

  6. Let me be clear . . . I don’t know about other men, but I’m not saying these aren’t good books. By the same token, saying they are good books is not sufficient since that’s a subjective statement.

    For instance, I really like the movie Joe Versus the Volcano. It leaves many lesser beings thoroughly unimpressed.

    There are many good books, some considered classics, I don’t rush out and read. These may be some of them (can’t say for sure unless I read them). But, I did read parts, and know enough to say they are in my reading list, but not near the top.

    1. Ah, yes, a very interesting problem… from a luggage perspective.

      Which kinda sums up how many people look at books. Tell em it’s a satchel, they’re out. Say its a fine steamer trunk, they’re in.

      Some will even be tricked by the hand-stitching to think it’s not a mere ‘bag.’ But it’s all luggage.

  7. I don’t know you, but you just brought a smile to my lips.

    May you live a thousand years, (sir or madam or miss, as the case may be).

    But, seriously, luggage being the central preoccupation of my life, I do want to ensure what I use, what I buy, exactly fit my needs. Otherwise I would be satisfied with any ole sack, string, and stick.

  8. While I’m not a man, I do dislike romancey, kissing books…but I love your books Mary since there is so much more to them than the kissing. Guns, wars, treachery, magic…what more do you need?? 😉

  9. Do you lop any heads off? I liked Outlander. Skipped over the sex scenes cause I was bored. I really liked all the combat and fighting. We tend to enjoy it the ‘oh so perfect’ male love interest gets his butt kicked. Makes us feel manly.

  10. Well some kissin’ works for me but I can’t deny I prefer my fantasy and sci-fi with very lightly seasoned sex and romance, and heavier doses of the other aspects of life – you know battling insurmountable odds, thwarting alien|orc|koloss|etc invasions. watching the weakling develop into a hero.

    I’m not sure if I should feel guilty about this, but I am comforted that the title “To the men who ask …” implies that I am not the only troglodyte in this particular cave.

    I did love “A Fire in the Heavens” though. 🙂

    All the best.

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