Why I Love Writing M/M

Sharita Lira

Greetings readers! My post is a bit of an update from the first few posts I made about the same subject. Since I’ve been around the past two years I’ve learned a lot and I wanted to restate the reasons why I love it.

In the beginning, it was about it being taboo, it made me hot, etc but now, it’s more about my enjoyment for writing romance. I discover with every story I write, I’m putting a little bit of myself in every character, whether it’s my snarky side, my long winded, my love for the overdramatic. Notice I said, overdramatic, doesn’t make me a drama queen! *snicker* I do love the tension but occasionally, I love a story without all the heartache. I like the fluff as my favorite fellow writer put it.

Ever since I was a teen, I loved reading stories about romance and two people falling for one another. It started with the cutesy Harlequins or my grandma’s Barbara Cortland novels and then I wanted to know more about the steamy with Fern Michaels and Jackie Collins. In many people’s eyes, those writers put together smut but hey, it had a romantic element, or tried to. *grins* The bottom line is, it opened the door for what we know now as erotic romance.

Then I started getting into Anne Rice and much later, Zane, who writes erotica as well. The common thread? In those stories there was something about two people connecting, finding a common ground, and maybe love somewhere along the way. Perhaps it wasn’t clearly stated, but reading between the lines, you saw something in those characters that made you enjoy that book.

And so, that spurred me into wanting to write my own but it wasn’t until I gained the confidence through encouragement from friends and the fanfic community did I get the courage to publish. It took me a while but here I am. Now, just like the writers before me, I enjoy writing about two people connecting. Most of the time, I just like them to be two men. Other than the genitalia, what’s the big difference? Men have feelings, desires; they have their ultimate partner just like women do. They have hang-ups, fears, some express their feelings openly, some do not. Why should writing m/m be singled out?

Sure, a lot of men might fit what society calls a “real man” but in Shar’s world, the characters may not always fit that mold. They’re unique, most of the time imperfect, not always what America considers as everyday males. They debunk stereotypes, cross over boundaries, they’re human to me and they connect. I love that the most and as much as I am a feminist, I love writing about the opposite sex.

So my ideas are better defined. Yeah it still makes me hot, I love the taboo, but most important, I just love writing romance and the fact that it’s between two men, shouldn’t be a big deal. It is after all about human interaction. I enjoy it, and God willing, I’ll continue to do to for years to come.

Thanks for listening.

Here are my latest m/m books under my pseudo BLMorticia.