Today’s essay is for all enjoyers of achillean fiction. (And for the writers of it.) It’s an honest look at the state of publishing today from a perspective of an older, gay writer. So a perspective we don’t get a lot of, but definitely need!
Related: ownvoices achillean books of January-June & of July-December 2022
So call this a fervent plea to MM readers (and writers): Don’t forget about today!
It seems to me that this has become a world of alternative worlds: Fantasy, paranormal and science fiction have enormous followings. J.R.R. Tolkien’s ouvre has 600 million copies in print, according to fansite TheOneRing. That puts it a mere 100 million copies above the Harry Potter series, which has seven volumes to the Shire’s four. Sci fi may straggle behind the others, with the Dune series totaling a mere 20 million copies (at least until the next movie comes out). And let’s not forget the visual offerings, which have earned nearly $3 billion for LOTR versus $7.7 billion for that Potter kid’s tales. And as new TV series based on these classics pop up, it’s hard to forget that the OG Game of Thrones was drawing 23 million Americans every episode.
It is not a surprise, therefore, that the MM genre has its bumper crop of imaginative fiction characters. Aliens, witches, werewolves, shape-shifters and combinations of same populate the MM genre (along with Mafia dons, detectives and sports stars) and many land high enough on Amazon book lists.
What draws my concern are the personal preferences expressed in places like Facebook and the GoodReads site. As a very-new-to-the genre author, I look at these posts for the potential audience every writer needs to keep getting published—and to keep up the desire to keep writing. And what I see (beyond the fan/author sites) are readers who love the subgenres I don’t write in. (OK, I have one unpublished book based on the magic of ancient Egypt and Nubia. Should that start my next series?)
As the current dirty old man of MM (already entered into his seventh decade), I have to say that change is hard. Creating an entire world (or a hidden underground of this world) is a lot of work, and I give props to all those who read it and who write it well. But fitting a romantic tale into today’s world of politics, race, social division, and the myriad parts of our lives that honk us off is no sunny day, either.
I’m a retired journalist, and I’m used to making sure my words match reality. I loved sci-fi and fantasy growing up (Roger Zelazny’s Amber series is still a favorite), but now I’m looking for love in all the real places.
Today’s world is a great place to start. From Stonewall to Obergefell, the march of progress for queer lives is inspirational, and having characters who either lived through these changes or now benefit from them is exhilarating as well. I know these scary times may make a person want to run, but isn’t it great to read about those who have faced and defeated today’s version of dragons and wicked wizards? And the believable locations and occupations for LGBTQ+ protagonists are now nearly as numerous as all the make-believe worlds creators can create.
Also, I am one who smiles when I know the fiction I am enjoying is based on real events. So I write about Covid and racism, interracial love and football scandals. The truth may not set us free, but it sets me up for suspension of disbelief.
Comedian Ricky Gervais put it this way: “I don’t need angels and unicorns. I got the duckbill platypus.” That may sound harsh (That’s Ricky.), but what it means to me is that real world events can be as magical and thrilling as time travel, magic spells and extraplanetary lovers with extra sets of lips.
Book sales and copies in print say contemporary (especially sports-based) MM fiction is represented in the market, and its performance is decent for the MM genre as a whole. And it’s impossible to tell through Amazon ratings whether any subgenre of gay male fiction does better than anyone else.
So what I’m shouting is an old “olly olly oxen free” for the contemporary-novel reader and writer, and there are many of us: Don’t forget to mention “today” books among your favorites. Try your hand at a love story as fresh as the headlines. And toss a bone to us locked IRL. We’d love to hear what you think of our work.
About R Frank Davis
R (I have now lost the period) Frank Davis is a former news reporter and editor, and the author of two MM novellas: Across the Line and Love in Lockdown at Dreamspinner Press and Amazon Kindle.
