Friday, June 22, 2012

Manga and Romance Blog Hop!

I have to admit I am a relative newcomer to reading manga and yaoi and m/m romance compared to many authors. And I blame it all on my daughters. They encouraged me to read what I considered to be strange-looking graphic novels/mangas that were written funny and read even funnier. From back to front? Right to left? I'll admit that at first I couldn't do it and gave up. But they never gave up on me, and encouraged me and I finally got the hang of it.

I think my first yaoi was Antique Bakery. It's a very cute and very sweet story. I began to read more and more, and one day my Sarah sent me an email about going to Yaoi Con. I'm like - it's in San Francisco! (We're in St. Louis). Way too expensive. Then she sends me another email about a local convention, BishieCon. Well, that was better, so I checked it out and discovered that volunteers got money off their badges, but staff got in for free! I conferred with Sarah and we decided to become staff, so I emailed the con chair, and the rest is history. We became BishieCon staff members and worked both of the conventions - 2009 and 2010. In 2011 there was not a full convention, but rather a one day affair, which was not the same, and there is no Bishie Con now. But I met some nice people, including authors Katrina Strauss and Jessica Freely, as well as talented artist Amelie Belcher, and Dreamspinner Press (who published my first book, To The Max).

Ah, m/m romance, the other side of the yaoi coin. Where yaoi is graphic and like reading a comic, m/m romance are books mostly by women for women about men who love men. I never set out to write a m/m romance, per se, but there was this character talking in my  head who wanted to be heard - Max Montague - and his story just happened to become a m/m romance, To The Max, followed by the sequel, For Love of Max (number three is in the works even now - A Time For Max).

Not only do I write m/m romance, but I read it too, and I've met many friends in the writing community. I want to briefly discuss two authors who have written some of the best romance novels ever - collectively they are known as the Romentics, Scott & Scott, and they are a real life couple. They have several books that they published themselves, and I think Loose Id has re-released them with new covers. I bought mine from Amazon, so I have the original covers, and I love them to death. One of the best - my favorite m/m story of all time, I think - is Razor Burn. I can read this over and over and never tire of it, and it never fails to make me cry. It's moving, it's thrilling, it's romantic, sweet, and so much more. One of these days, I'll review it. But seriously, this story moves me in so many ways - I should have such a gift!

Now, to the contest! At the end of the Blog Hop, I shall be giving away three copies of anything on my backlist. The rules are simple - follow this blog, leave an email address, and tell me what yaoi or m/m romance you like to read and why. Whether it's your favorite or not, share with us! You have until midnight Sunday to enter! Now don't forget to check out all the other authors in the Blog Hop! And most importantly, have fun!

34 comments:

  1. I really love ANTIQUE BAKERY too, though I prefer the lightheartedness of the first volume (with all those beautiful pastries to boot, wow). Anyway, yaoi was kind of my gateway into m/m, though I haven't found any new series for a while. That's why I was so happy to find this hop! My favorite m/m includes Clare London's short "Say A Little Prayer" (sweet, sexy paranormal involving a college guy selling ice cream on an English beach and the gorgeous naked male angel who loves him...would appeal to most yaoi fans, I think. It always makes *me* cry when I read it, but happily), and Eden Winters' novel DIVERSION (thriller that might appeal to those who love the yaoi FAKE, though I much prefer DIVERSION). Anyway, yaoi and m/m are just great ways to explore and enjoy the dynamics of men in love, lust, whatever!

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. How could I forget SHOUT OUT LOUD, one of my favorite yaoi series? It's really quirky (a good thing, but hard to explain) and not as explicit as some. But you can't fault its sexy and sympathetic guys and the honesty of the writing...

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    2. I totally loved Shout Out Loud! And I forgot to mention Love Mode, which I totally adored! So much yaoi, so little time!

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  2. In manga, the one I always go back to to see if there are updates of new translations is The Tyrant Who Falls In Love. I started with the two part OVA anime and then started stalking the manga online... lol! Sex Pistols is another I look forward to translations of, but those are slow coming and the manga goes off on tangents that lose me occasionally.

    lina7391(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. I haven't read those yet, but need to. I've read a couple volumes of Only the Ring Finger Knows and love that too.

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  3. I do not read a lot of manga. But I do enjoy MM romance. I read many different authors but seem to enjoy the ones with suspense best. debby236 at gmail dot com

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  4. I have never read manga but I am a fan of M/M. I read lots of authors, RJ Scott, Gabrielle Evans, Sue Brown, just to name a few.
    Yvette
    yratpatrol@aol.com

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  5. I personally love Little Butterfly because it is one of the sweetest ones I have come across. the characters are written/drawn perfectly that you fall in love immediately....the plot is surprisingly good too!

    Gomezmruiz5@gmail.com

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  6. I have not read any yaoi but I am a huge fan of M/M and all of it's sub genres ;) Pretty much anything that Riptide publishes gets eaten right up by this mind!!

    sionedkla@gmail.com

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  7. LOL, the type of M/M I like is the graphic kind. Big shock, right??? *Grin* Oh, I want a plot, and some romance... and smokin' hot sex that'll curl your toes. hehe.

    I'm a member/nomoretears00@hotmail.com

    ~M

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  8. I am a huge fan of yaoi manga and anime! If you are looking for a great blog for yaoi manga and anime I highly recommend the blog:
    http://yaoifangirlsunite.tumblr.com/

    She is a great blogger who makes me smile and has great recommendations and links for yaoi.

    Thank you for the giveaway!
    Tabatha Hansen
    mmparanormalromance@gmail.com
    mmparanormalromance.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion, going to check it out! I used to run a yaoi site a few years ago, yaoi.com, but the owners shut it down and I couldn't afford to take it on myself.

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  9. Hi Julie! Oh, wow, missing out on Yoai...that's the pits. Glad you found it. I love yoai and m/m books!

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    1. That's why I have kids, to tell me what I'm missing! lol

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. While I'm completely flexible in reading--because I just plain like good writing anywhere I can find it--what grabs my attention first and foremost are stories of high fantasy and hot steamy passion, and lots of sex. In that order. :) And beautiful covers. I collect beautiful covers.

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  11. One day I will get to BishieCon...one day. (I'm far closer to CA so I go to yaoi-con when I can)

    I am loving the hop so far. All these stories of discovering yaoi! Love it. Thank you for participating!

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    1. YOu're lucky to be close to Yaoi Con, I'd love to go there some day. Or Dragon Con (Ian Somerhalder's going to be there! *faints*)

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  12. Oh my word, I loved Antique Bakery! That was probably a really good one to start out with. My favorite will forever be Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi. Ritsu and Takano dancing around each other makes me crazy, but their story is all about the build up, which is always my favorite part. Then come the fireworks that make you shiver. *Sigh* So good. Thanks for the great post! It was nice getting to know you a little. :)

    ~Night

    NightTempestBlog@gmail.com

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  13. Hey Julie! Great posting. I've never read Yaio before but I read a lot of M/M. Any and all types. Right now I'm loving Erica Pikes work and Daisy Harris. Those are two of the authors of books I'm reading currently.

    angietate2002@yahoo.com

    AJ

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  14. I like all sorts of m/m romance, especially ones with a strong plot. Angst helps. :-)

    dephalqu@yahoo.com

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  15. Great blog post and thanks for your insight. I will admit when I came across the words "Bishicon", I immediately stopped reading and just had to do a search about Bishiecon. I was excited at the chance to attend such a convention (since yaoi-con is just too far from Denver), and then I was heartbroken to hear about Bishiecon shutting down and thought to myself "Drat! Foiled again!"

    I've always been a yaoi fan. My start came from an RP that some friends and I started. I eventually came up with some ideas and finally put pen to paper and just wrote for fun. With almost 175 pages of action, horror, adventure and smut written, I thought that I too could be an aspiring writer (since my drawing skills leaves much to the imagination), so creating a manga might be out of the question.

    Then I found this blog hop post by Hayley B. James and suddenly doors opened for me. Perhaps I could write a novel dealing with M/M relationships. I honestly had no idea such novels existed. It offered me a chance to see that the gay romance world was a lot larger than I could have ever hoped for.

    I want to think you for participating in this blog hop and all the reader's that have left comments, especially those that drop author names and titles. Gives me a place to actually start my quest to find an M/M romance smutty and exciting enough to fuel my needs!

    Peace

    tony_can2@hotmail.com

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    1. The old staff is still in touch with one another, maybe someday we can bring it back! I have to tell you, although it was a small convention, it was more fun than Kawakon. It was more intimate, and more laid back. No fighting, no foolishness, just having fun and discussing yaoi and stuff.

      Dreamspinner Press came both years. Artist Amelie Belcher.

      I did some panels. It was a lot of fun!

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. I looove Seakiichi Hatsukoi (World's Greatest First Love) and Koisuru Boukun (The Tyrant Falls in Love). The first is just funny and heartwrenching, well and the second is too - Morinaga just rips my heart out every time. I'm working on buying all the books in these series. Expensive, but so worth it.

    Erica

    eripike at gmail dot com

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  17. I finished reading "Changing Worlds" by Cari Z. Excellent Sci-Fi m/m book that I truly recommend to anyone. Love really held the two characters together in their challenges. Thank for your giveaway.

    Jbst
    strive4bst at yahoo dot com

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  18. I wish there was a yaoi convention in Boston T_T

    I haven't read nearly as much yaoi or m/m as I'd like. I intend to remedy that ASAP.

    Minty-chan

    chibiminty@gmail.com

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  19. I am a history buff and my favorite m/m romances are either historically based or are fantasy with a historical bent. I enjoy works written by several authors including Jayne Finn, Tali Spencer and MA Church. They are in the process of publishing but their stories were on Literotica at one point.

    sinkopation8@hotmail.com

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    1. I'm proud to say that MA and Tali are my friends and literary brethren! They participate in our Wednesday Briefs - every Wednesday, we have free flash fiction we post on our blogs!

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  20. "We became BishieCon staff members and worked both of the conventions - 2009 and 2010. In 2011 there was not a full convention, but rather a one day affair, which was not the same, and there is no Bishie Con now."

    That sounds like so much fun! I am sad to hear that there isn't one anymore, who knows, maybe you can be the founder for a new one? (wishful thinking, I know). Finding out/attending one in the Seattle area is on my list of 'things to do' myself, it just seems like so much fun. I can imagine there are a lot of fun and interesting stories involved with staffing such an event! I am envious. Hopefully there will be another chance in the future for Bishiecon. *crosses fingers*

    Krowhop(a)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I still have hopes the old staff will get together under new management and do just that! Running a convention is a lot of work, but we enjoyed it so much!

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  21. One of my all time fave yaois is Viewfinder. I will constantly go back and re-read it and I think the mangaka is actually continuing the series which of course, got me all excited. I've tried to get my family to read manga, but they all refuse. They all think it's trash and don't realize that it's an art form and I still believe it takes skill to read it properly going from right to left. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)
    Thanks for participating!!

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  22. I'm a big yaoi manga and anime fan. I also love m/m novels, romance, mystery, fantasty, etc.

    Two of my favorite yaoi manga are Junjo Romantica and The Finders series.

    I follow via email.

    Thanks,
    Tracey D
    booklover0226 at gmail dot com

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  23. I love yaoi and m/m and will read... Well, just about anything! One of my current favorites though is Then and Now by Sandy on fictionpress.com (so it's free too!). I'm re-reading it for my third (or fourth?) time and I still love it. The writing isn't, you know, amazing... but it's cute and humorous and the characters always make me giggle. Just look her up under sb1 if you're interested!

    Ashley E
    ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

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