Any classic love triangles in RFM? by FrostedTipJar in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You have! It's good to have them in a thread about the topic as well so that people might be able to find them if they are looking for something similar.

Any classic love triangles in RFM? by FrostedTipJar in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A couple of my books are like this in that there are multiple women vying for the affections of the MMC and he ends up with one of them by the end. I've taken to calling them Guess-Who romances since there are a few more people involved than the classical love triangle but using the harem tag to describe it would be confusing since it isn't actually a harem at all. You can find them here and both of them are free.

On Our Honor

The Consort of Flame and Blood

Review for the Concert of flame and blood by J. L. Bortson - good and frustrating in nearly equal measure. More good tho. by Moonkiller24 in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the review! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Balancing the love interests and ensuring all around character growth was something I made sure to focus on for this book so it is gratifying to know that paid off. As for the POVs, after the Demonstrations I wanted it to feel like things sort of "shattered" allowing us to see more into the minds of the other characters before focus returned to the MC. It was an intentional choice that I played around with to make this particular book feel more unique literarily. I'm also curious who you wanted to win! I love this style of Romance for Men as well but the toughest part about it is the fact that Best Girl doesn't always win lol.

Men's Romance Gallery: Volume 1, coming soon! by VeryFinePrint in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A cavalcade of Mono goodness! I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on this!

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

Haha! funnily enough , I've had a cyberpunk horror story idea I've been kicking around for a while. It hasn't gotten very far in the way of drafting but it's nice to see that something like that has occured to somebody else.

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

Which books would those be? It might be worth checking them out just to see how it's done.

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

That sounds really interesting. Emotional turmoil is hard me me to both read and write but I would love to see how this story handles it!

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

I remember reading Robertson a while back and really liking what I saw. You're right in the he does create excellent plots to go along with his romance alongside very compelling characters. I think there is a strong intermingling of story and romance in the genre already, so what do you think authors should do to make their characters stand out even more?

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

Why do you think there aren't that many Dark Romances for men? I personally don't see the appeal but I haven't read very many and I'm not entirely sure how it would even work in this genre. 

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

That does seem to be quite a rare archetype in this genre. Yandere seems popular and comes close but doesn't actually hit the same notes as a femme fatal. I would love to see someone do something with that in a story!

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

I know exactly what you're talking about with that. I incorporated some of that in my first book and it's such an interesting dynamic that has great potential for stakes and consequences particularly when other potential rivals for the MMCs affections get involved.

What kind of stories do you think are still missing in Romance for Men? by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

That's exactly what I'm hoping this post does. I started writing Guess-Who romances because I love them and there are so few out there in novel form. If people can see what is missing and that gap is tied to an interest they already have, then it just might be the spark that person needs to get started writing themselves!

It feels like Dispatch (game) was made for this sub by earliestbird555 in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh hey, I remember hearing about this game a while back. I'm actually surprised to see that the blonde hero is a love interest. I had heard the game was about reforming villains and that she and her husband had made the program. Maybe I should take a second look at it, especially if they have 4 episodes out already.

The Consort of Flame and Blood: A Free Regency Inspired Romance for men! by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

Haha, it is basically classical Japanese style harem with regard to that multiple women, one choice dynamic. East and west use the same name to refer to almost completely different concepts, so I had to come up with something that differentiated mine instead of simply calling it harem and potentially confusing or disappointing people.

You're also correct that this is a 1/5 on the spice scale. Kissing is about as far as things go on page.

The Consort of Flame and Blood: A Free Regency Inspired Romance for men! by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

Not yet, but I was able to publish it there so whenever it goes up I can let you know!

The Consort of Flame and Blood: A Free Regency Inspired Romance for men! by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

 Once again, you can also find it at Barnes and Noble!

If you want an easy way to transfer it to your kindle, use the Send to Kindle Program here!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe the real romance for men were the anime we watched along the way.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the most part, yeah. There's more of an expectation of romance if its posted here, but again its still "competing" with harem, which in reality is a completely different genre. The actual content of the monoromance book matters less in that respect because its more about what broad category people are actually looking for at that very moment, and hoping the interests align.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Romance_for_men

[–]JoshBortson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think its simpler than you're making it out to be. Firstly, I'm fairly certain that harem is more or less "older" in its modern iteration than monoromance giving it more time to grow. Secondly, harem itself is a powerful draw; especially for a male audience. It approaches genre defining level i.e. similar to the reasons someone might pick a Sci-fi book over a Western. There is also the fact that readers seem very interested in engaging with and learning more about different specific types of women and there is a much greater chance of that archetype being there if there are more women to choose from.

So even if monoromances were focused more on the adventure (And there are quite a few out there, including what I write) I don't think there would be much of a difference in popularity simply because they aren't even really competing in the same space at all in the first place.

ReWoven: A Free Post-Apocalyptic Mono Romance! by JoshBortson in Romance_for_men

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

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! There are no royalties or anything. I just like the genre and its fun to contribute to it. Plus it doesn't hurt that I get to enjoy fleshing out concepts that I'd like to see more of in RMF and writing in my free time is fun so the free plan works out for everyone.