I have a love/hate relationship with this term. On the one hand, I cannot deny that women, especially, read romance novels wanting to be swept away by the male lead character. For this reason, romance writers tend to stick to trope or stereotypical male conventions in writing.
The alpha male, the grumpy guy, the surprisingly smart jock, the sensitive seducer, ect. We, as readers, totally lap up these written men. If this is what I do and what I write, how can I have an issue with the term ‘book boyfriend’?
There’s nothing wrong with LOVING the way the male lead is portrayed. My issue is simpler. I write romance for *women*. We can pretend we write for everyone but the simple facts are that women are the primary readers of romance. I am writing for intelligent women to suspend disbelief and get lost in a fantasy.
So, instead of ‘book boyfriend’….let’s talk about a leading lady, a story siren, a book babe, a novella bella…
Let’s identify these novels by their FEMALE leads and prioritize that! ‘Book boyfriends’ are great but I’m here for a ‘Story Siren’!
#author #jessexauthor #romance #writing #bookboyfriends #storysirens
J. Essex Author 