Would it surprise you to know that 9% of romance novel readers are men? According to Romance Writers of America, that amounts to about $117 million worth of books.
Looking around for some of the slowly growing number of men who read romance, I interviewed a few and found they are not necessarily the stereotypical sensitive types. Take Tom for instance. He races cars. In his spare time he unabashedly enjoys reading romance novels. “I guess my favorite would have to be Eve Berlin, who writes romantic adventures,” says Tom–on the darker side.
Some men admit they were drawn in by accident. Tom stumbled into reading romances by writing one first, then reading a whole lot of them after he joined a local romance writers group. “So it was a long way around kind of thing,” he says. Look for his book, Spanked Princess: The Pianist, written under his pen name Erika Moran. WARNING: Contains erotic material and not for the faint of heart!
On the other hand, RC Bonitz says when he read his first romance, it was no accident. Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins was my first. Yes, I knew it was a romantic comedy and I loved it,” says Bonitz.
David has been a long time and much appreciated fan of mine and particularly enjoyed my contemporary sports romanc, Playing the Game. David said, “I really liked that the conclusion didn’t happen in 3 pages. It was a great finish to a very well written romantic suspense story, especially the suspense.”
If you’re the cynical sort, maybe you think the biggest reason men are drawn in to romance is all about the sex, but you would be surprised—and wrong. In an informal survey of men who read romance, they were asked: What it is that draws you to romance novels?
Here are the men’s Top 3 Reasons:
1. Happy Endings As Tom A. says, “I don’t’ feel like investing a few days in something that will end badly. If I want any more depression I know where to find it.”
2. Emotionally moving “I like stories that grab my emotions,” says RC Bonitz.
3. Relaxing Read “I enjoy the relaxing read and fun situations–the story line is very important
and the
romance is the ultimate reward for
a well written story,” says David Smith.
Do you know any men who read romance? Or better yet, do you know any men who you want to introduce to romance–especially this Christmas season?