If a book is written with a heterosexual female audience in mind and adheres to the rules of the romance genre it is m/m romance. Especially, if it lacks a strong element of romance and ignores the rules of the romance genre entirely.

Since m/m sprang out of slash fiction, an Internet phenomenon, any work written before the advent of the Internet is almost certainly gay fiction. If a book is written with a gay male audience in mind, it is gay fiction. So, what are they? And how are they different? There are very few absolutes to hold onto and a lot of “I know it when I see it.” Certainly publication date is one of the few absolutes. It’s easy to see how someone younger or new to either genre, would have no clue that m/m romance and gay fiction are not the same thing. And, when you get to the Kindle side things get worse – everything there is lumped under the all inclusive title of Gay & Lesbian. There is also no category for m/m or gay romance under romance. To be fair, it’s important to note that on Amazon, the go-to spot for books, the categories for books with gay content are limited – there is no category for m/m romance or even gay romance. The genre didn’t exist when they were written, each has structural differences, and neither were claimed by the romance community until now. Forester was the first m/m novel I’ve ever read an I just love it!” and “My first m/m book was Patricia Nell Warren’s The Front Runner.” While both books are romantic, that’s true, neither is m/m romance. And, I’ve seen readers say things on boards and blogs like “ Maurice by E.M. I’ve seen a number of m/m writers call themselves gay fiction writers. Many of them are using the terms m/m and gay fiction synonymously. I imagine Ann’s opinion may confuse a lot of people writing and reading m/m today. I’m happy to have female readers, but I think my readers are looking for a window into a gay man’s world rather than an idealized gay romance. And I do write for men, or rather, I don’t make any allowances for, or cater to, a female audience. Recently Ann Somerville at Outlaw Reviews said of my book Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries “this is not m/m…it’s not even romance…it’s gay fiction, with male readers in mind” (see review here) and I have to say, I agree with her.

The tin star by jl langley