When a Man Writes as a Woman
First of all I think I should name Tom Elmer Huff, who published under the name of Jennifer Wilde, for his romance novels, but also as Edwina Marlowe, Beatrice Parker and Katherine St. Clair for other novels. He probably never denied to be a man, but when he started to write, romance was written by women for women and so he probably was asked to not unveal his true identity. But in an essay by Kathryn Falk, Love's Leading Ladies, obviously Tom Huff was not one of the authors listed, but he wrote the preface. The book is dated 1982, so it's more or less in that period that his true identity was unvealed. His historical romances were noted for being written in first-person, from the heroine's perspective.
Another famous name was Roger Erskine Longrigg, who wrote under his own name, but also as Laura Black for his romance novels, and Rosalind Erskine for The Passion Flower Hotel. He enjoyed the mystery and mischief of his various pseudonymous selves, and never failed to reply in character to their fan-mail. Rosalind Erskine, in particular, received some interesting entreaties from lesbian readers, fascinated by his novel about a group of public schoolgirls who turned their school gym into a brothel. The intrigue surrounding the authorship of The Passion-Flower Hotel was spoiled when Longrigg was exposed by the gossip columnist Richard Berens, putting an end to one of the more amusing episodes of Longrigg's secret life.
In the late '70s, Harlequin used to publish love stories in which the main characters found love, left each other, fell in love again, and at last married… but they did not make sex; apart for few kisses in the last pages, but even not too much passionate; all of this took place in anonymous american cities or in green english countryside. In order to get renewed, Harlequin chose to launch a new series, the SuperRomance, whose stories were a little more complex and original, usually settled in exotic countries, and whose characters made sex in the middle of the book… often even if not being married! Never heard!
One of the first authors of this new series was Willa Lambert with her “Love's Emerald Flame”, in which the main character Diana passionately loved Sloane in the Peruvian forest, in the shadow of Machu Picchu ruins. Willa Lambert wrote other two books for SuperRomance series, “From this Beloved Hour” and “Love's Golden Spell”. The particularity of these novels was a strong sensuality and the unusual and adventurous setting, Miss Lambert seemed really very original and bold… maybe because she was not a Miss? Yes, because behind the pen name of Willa Lambert, there was William Maltese, and before he wrote for Harlequin, had already a past as erotic fiction, etero and homosexuals, author. Among many others man penname, he also used female penname as Anna Lambert and Adriana Debolt.
William Maltese told me: “I never chose a new name because of any change in writing style; I never did change my writing style because of any pseudo. As I’m a firm believer that every guy has his feminine side, and every gal has her masculine side, I never did really try consciously to change my writing style when writing “for” men, “for” women, “for” gays, “for straights”. And (all boasting aside), I seem to have done a good job of “universal” writing, because I never have been called out for writing too “butch”, or for writing “too much like a girl.” I have been accused (by heterosexual women) of being gay; how else could I so “successfully plumb the female psyche” (although what “being gay” and “female psyche” have to do with one another is beyond me).”
Recently I discover an author I like very much: Victor J. Banis. I read an M/M historical romance, Lola Dances, by him, and I thought he wrote a very good historical romance, which happens to be an M/M romance. I was, and still am, an old lover of historical romance, also bodice rippers, and so I was not at all surprise when I discovered, reading Banis’ biography “Spine Intact, Some Creases: Remembrances of a Paperback Writer”, that in the ’70 he wrote historical female/male romance with female pennames, as Jan Alexander, Lynn Benedict, Jessica Stuart and Elizabeth Monterey.
Another writer of the '70 Peter O'Donnell, author of Modesty Blaise fame wrote as Madeleine Brent (info through mab_browne)
It’s strange like in this last years the question of the author’s genre is so important. Till the next century, female authors were so rare that sometimes they chose to use a man penname to be published: George Sand or George Eliot, for example. But since the ’70, a period when also romance genre blossomed and became a leading genre in fiction, female authors were the “grand dames” of romance genre, and men mistook themselves among the ladies, using female penname… and if the truth came out, roaring fans sometime claimed to be betrayed by them. It’s like if men couldn’t write about love and feelings…
And today? I know of female romance readers who search male romance authors cause they think a man has a different and dry style to write romance. Some readers probably think that if they read romance written by men, they have more changes to be freed by the romance labels, a label that put them in second line than the readers of mainstream fiction.
Victor J. Banis, Josh Lanyon, Bobby Michaels, Mark Probst markprobst write M/M romance. William Maltese writes both M/M romance than F/M romance. I name these ones cause they choose to use “man” name, and not “initial” name, and I saw pictures of them as men…; not that probably there aren’t others men authors behind some initial penname, but if they choose to use a “without genre” name, they probably have their own reasons. And sincerely I would feel more betrayed if I discovered that Bobby Michaels is a woman rather than discovered the same thing of D.J. Manly: I use these two examples cause I am sure that Bobby is a man and I am pretty sure that also DJ is a man (and probably I also know his real name as a man…).
Among the today traditional romance genre I know of only a male author, Leigh Greenwood. Cassidy Ryan cass1969 directed me to Emma Blair, a scottish writer with the looks of a trucker... (http://emma-blair.com/content/view/12/26/). In the recent past there were two married couples: Tom and Sharon Curtis, who wrote also under the penname of Laura London, but since the late ’90 they didn’t write anything. And Evan and Ann Maxwell, who wrote with the penname of A.E. Maxwell, but lately Ann Maxwell writes alone with the penname of Elizabeth Lowell. Probably another erotic author of today, Leda Swann, is in truth a married couple (info passed by dracschick).