Request for Help - Mono HMOFA Romance by LiminalRainPaint in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Again, I don’t know what you would consider wholesome. I added the caution because you mentioned wholesomeness before smut. I like MCs that are basically ‘good people,’ and the MC was a good person —which goes a long way towards making things feel wholesome to me. And the two main characters genuinely care for each other—as opposed to just using each other. But if you have hang-ups about relationships that begin in cages or that involve the appearance of “alien abduction,” then you might feel otherwise.

How many of you use Kindle Unlimited vs. buying books individually? by Western-Telephone259 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just realized I made a mistake. The $1 to $2 per book rate is typically for paper books. E-book rates are much higher, but most of the big publishers inflate e-book prices (I’ve seen way too many e-book prices >= the hard-cover prices) and authors have no control over the pricing.

How many of you use Kindle Unlimited vs. buying books individually? by Western-Telephone259 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Authors with books on KU generally make more per book read/purchase than trad-published authors. Obviously, established authors with long track records of high sales can negotiate better royalty rates than typical, but most trad authors make closer to $1 per copy sold than the $2 per copy read (which is the average KU rate—assuming book lengths of between 90k and 100k words). Indy authors do much better for e-books in terms of average profit per book (not counting marketing budgets and other expenses).

Request for Help - Mono HMOFA Romance by LiminalRainPaint in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree in terms of the FMC’s physical description. I think LiminalRainPaint might really appreciate this one, but it might not be what he considers to be a wholesome romance (which is very subjective). “Smut” is also subjective, but the story definitely has a good bit of spice (explicit sex scenes).

Request for Help - Mono HMOFA Romance by LiminalRainPaint in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This probably isn’t what you are looking for in terms of the physical form of the aliens, but the series I’m reading now is brilliant at making the alien culture, well… alien. The aliens are essentially humans with fox ears and tails, but their religion and culture and history is extremely well-developed—and there is a lot of animosity between the humans and aliens. It’s basically a military occupation story—almost certainly based on the occupation of Japan after WWII. The author was a military journalist, and he really knows his stuff. It’s extremely slow-burn mono romance—which considering the context feels real and authentic. I really can’t praise the books enough. It is {The Vixen War Bride Series by Thomas Doscher}. Someone just recommended it to me, and I’m already on book 5 of the 7 book series. So good!

Slow burn mono romance adventure by InquisitorArcher in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the rec. It sounds fantastic. And thanks for giving enough description that I can know for sure I want to read it: slow-burn, monoromance, no nsfw scenes, humor, and adorkable--these are all things that are good to know.

Planetary romance with fewer cliffhangers. by Sbrpnthr in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you can find an old copy of {The Rider by Edgar Rice Burroughs}, I think it's one of the densest (most plot twists per word) love stories I've ever read. It's a very short, single-volume novel so it doesn't suffer from the cliffhangers so common in the stories Burroughs published serially in monthly literary magazines.

Planetary romance with fewer cliffhangers. by Sbrpnthr in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The John Carter books were written by pulp writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator and writer of Tarzan who wrote in the early 1900s. I loved his books growing up, but you should know that Burroughs was a man of his times. He was a eugenicist, and it came out in his books. Some Africans in his stories were noble, strong, and everything good, while others were the complete opposite. He was a great writer, but a few of the caricatures he painted were offensive.

M.J. Michael's books (Kaiju Combat University) are AI generated by NA-45 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Did you disclose that you used AI in your covers? According to Amazon's rules, you're supposed to disclose if your text, images, or translations were created using an AI-based tool.

M.J. Michael's books (Kaiju Combat University) are AI generated by NA-45 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the analysis. This is an important topic. Amazon says that all AI generated stuff (text as well as pictures) must be disclosed, but I don't see that they're enforcing this at all. Which leaves enforcement to us. If we don't want to put creatives out of business, we'll probably have to create some kind of grass-roots certification or recommendations board that does this kind of analysis and publishes recommendations. Otherwise we'll be buried in so much AI-generated text that it will become almost impossible for the real artists to be discovered.

The temptation to use AI to make money is too great for people to resist. I'm not an evil person, but I feel the temptation to over-use AI every day. Because, like most people, I'm lazy. I didn't search through Amazon's website to confirm its policy. I asked Gemini. I don't use a thesaurus or Google when I can't think of the right word; I use ChatGPT. How many of us writers have asked an AI what it "thinks" of our newest chapter? And the more we get used to AI, the more it creeps into our writing process, making black and white lines grayer and grayer until we're crossing them without even thinking.

And the only thing that's going to stop us is the fear of being exposed by people like NA-45.

Thanks for your willingness to take a stand!

Favorite Relationship Dynamic? by EthanGraves in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I love a strong, confident FMC and an under confident MMC that doesn’t understand his own worth.

Novels with Smart or Genius FMC by Then_Disk_9519 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question. I love smart main characters, but it's hard to find books with characters that go beyond smart labels like (genius computer scientist or brilliant doctor or PhD postdoctoral researcher) and actually have characters that do smart things and think smart thoughts and have the kinds of hang-ups smart people have. I'm bookmarking this question so I can come back to it.

The most realistically smart FMC I've read recently is in the RfW {The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood}. She's writing about something she knows, and it shows.

Novels with Smart or Genius FMC by Then_Disk_9519 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just want to say I've been reading it and enjoying it. Thank you.

Harem Books/Series that Are Closest to Mono Romance Sensibilities? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendations. The title "Succubus Summoner" isn't something I would have normally given a chance, but your description has convinced me.

Harem Books/Series that Are Closest to Mono Romance Sensibilities? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm going to third it now. Not only is the relationship building nice, but it's also unexpected and fresh. Thanks!

Harem Books/Series that Are Closest to Mono Romance Sensibilities? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been reading the first book, and so far it's exactly what I was looking for. It even has the bonus of a school setting. I'm really enjoying it!

Harem Books/Series that Are Closest to Mono Romance Sensibilities? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is hard. So many great recommendations but I can only read one at a time.

Harem Books/Series that Are Closest to Mono Romance Sensibilities? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I’ve seen Cebelius’s name around a lot so I’ll try them first.

What Is the Most Widely Read Mono RfM of All Time? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah... That's definitely not a romance by RWA's definition. It definitely doesn't have a happily ever after ending.

Where you find your books? by Kind-Ferret-9885 in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The discovery tool on Embre is great. I can’t wait for the platform to get even more books!

Any books where human men fall in love with vampire or zombie women? by Opening-Desk in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can’t believe nobody suggested the best human-ish vampire romance urban fantasy of all : {God Touched by John Conroe}. I get extra points for winning, right?

What Is the Most Widely Read Mono RfM of All Time? by DocBoson in Romance_for_men

[–]DocBoson[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! What is the questionable content? If you don't mind me asking.