I must admit that I did enjoy both 'Frost Fair' and Erastes' earlier m/m novel 'Standish'. I do have to say though that there was a tendency in both books to put the main protagonists into something reminiscent of a 'Mills and Boon' type m/f relationship.
I get the impression from things m/m authors have said on a Yahoo group that I belong to that publishers have quite a big say in the way their stories are written. Linden Bay, who published 'Frost Fair', seem to be particularly guilty in this respect (and also seem to set pretty strict word limits on their books, which I know the authors have found extremely frustrating). Linden Bay have now been taken over by another publishing house, Samhain, so there is a chance that things might improve on both scores.
As far as covers go, I can tell you that most of the m/m authors loathe the covers their books have been saddled with, particularly those who write historical fic. Most of them agree that a glimpse of period costume (as long as it's the correct period!) is far preferable to the headless torsos that most book covers seem to sport. Again, the newer publishers that are taking up m/m fiction seem to be getting the message here and the latest m/m releases seem to have far better covers that are more in keeping with the setting and tone of the actual novel.
I've been threatening to post a list of m/m recs on my LJ for ages, and I did actually put together a list with links to reviews, so I'll do my best to get it posted asap.
I quite enjoyed Frost Fair, I guess I was just... maybe hoping for something a bit different than traditional m/f romance, somehow?
Interesting to hear about the publishing houses - I suppose it's a relatively "new" genre (in the "mainstream" world) so perhaps they're still finding their footing... sounds as though it might be moving in a better direction, anyway!
Yes, please post your m/m recs! I'd forgotten that you taunt us with the idea of that now and then... *g*
I get the impression from things m/m authors have said on a Yahoo group that I belong to that publishers have quite a big say in the way their stories are written. Linden Bay, who published 'Frost Fair', seem to be particularly guilty in this respect (and also seem to set pretty strict word limits on their books, which I know the authors have found extremely frustrating). Linden Bay have now been taken over by another publishing house, Samhain, so there is a chance that things might improve on both scores.
As far as covers go, I can tell you that most of the m/m authors loathe the covers their books have been saddled with, particularly those who write historical fic. Most of them agree that a glimpse of period costume (as long as it's the correct period!) is far preferable to the headless torsos that most book covers seem to sport. Again, the newer publishers that are taking up m/m fiction seem to be getting the message here and the latest m/m releases seem to have far better covers that are more in keeping with the setting and tone of the actual novel.
I've been threatening to post a list of m/m recs on my LJ for ages, and I did actually put together a list with links to reviews, so I'll do my best to get it posted asap.
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Interesting to hear about the publishing houses - I suppose it's a relatively "new" genre (in the "mainstream" world) so perhaps they're still finding their footing... sounds as though it might be moving in a better direction, anyway!
Yes, please post your m/m recs! I'd forgotten that you taunt us with the idea of that now and then... *g*
Reply
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