Men Reading Romance: Meet Leon

Leon, thanks for coming to visit on my blog today!  Tell me a little about yourself in a few sentences.  What do you do for a living, and other than reading, what do you do for fun?

I am thirty-seven years old.  I am married and have two boys.  I am a facilities technician for AT&T.  It is a job that requires working outside on telecommunication cables.  I have to say, I am more of an occasional reader.  Some other activities I enjoy are, watching sports, playing poker, darts, horseshoes, video games and watching good movies.

Leon and his wife Trish

How and when did you pick up your first romance? Was it in a sub genre (as in paranormal, thriller, contemporary etc)?

I started reading my first romance a couple of years ago.  My wife, who is a huge fan of romance novels, was convinced that I would like a series that she was reading.  She was very persistent, and after a bit of pestering from her, I agreed to read the first book of the series.  The series was, The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward, a paranormal.  I enjoyed it and continued to read seven of the nine so far in the series.  I have not read any other romance novels from any other authors or series.  However, my wife is convinced that she has found others she wants me to try.

Why does reading romance “click” for you?  Conversely, do you find room for improvement in the genre in general (or any sub genre in specific)?

I don’t know if I can say romance “clicks” for me.  I did enjoy the books I have read so far.  I have nothing to compare them to.  The books that I read, had quite a bit of action and heroes that were into sports and clubbing as well as fighting and romance.  If there are more series or books like that, I would be interested in reading them.

Who are your favorite romance authors?  Non-romance authors?  Can you give a percentage (just a rough off-the-top-of-your-head guess) about how much you read of each?

I have to say J.R. Ward, only because she is the only one I have read.  My wife has suggested a few others that she thinks I would like.  They are:  You, Laura Wright and Gena Showalter.  I will have to get back to you after I have expanded my library.  As far as non-romance authors, I like Larry McMurtry.  I have read three books by him.

If you could make a wish-list of a story you would like to read but haven’t yet, what would it be?

Hmm…  My mind kind of drifts to the erotic genre.  I would be too embarrassed to suggest a story that I would come up with.

Since I’m approaching this as a conversation, would you like to ask me something in return?

Sure.  Is it important to you and other authors in your genre to attract male readers?  Or, is it more like a little bonus when some of us become fans?

ME:  I can only speak for myself, but what is important to me is hearing from a part of my readership that typically doesn’t speak up much or add their voices to reader discussions online.  I’m pleased at the opportunity to get more acquainted.

Is there anything you would like to add?

It’s funny.  Since my wife suggested that I read my first romance, she has become quite a popular cover artist in the genre.  Now I realize that when she wants me to read someone, it’s not just some author, it’s usually a friend of hers.  I guess I am going to have to dust off my reading glasses and hit the books.

Thank you Thea for including me in your blog interview. I hope to talk to you again after I read one of your books.  (My wife says for me to tell you, she swears it is me answering these, and she is laughing about the erotic part.)

Thank you for taking part, Leon! It’s been a pleasure!

14 Responses

  1. Pickyme says:

    He is such a good man. He did not mention the pestering included a trade. If he read my books, I would get involved in watching football with him! It worked out, now I am a football fan. Hopefully I can convince him to read Dragonbound. I know he will like it! Thanks Thea for this cool interview. Looking forward to reading the other men responses! BTW the website looks great!

  2. Mandy says:

    You go, Trish!! I’m so glad he was willing to do the trade off and there are probably no better books to start a male off and get him hooked with than the BDB. My hubby won’t read anything unless the cover says ‘Clive Cussler’ or ‘Stephen King’. If the BDB or Elder Races were made into movies, he would LOVE them, (as would I!), but still wouldn’t read the books. He’s so dang visual.

    I applaud you, Trish and you, Thea!! I totally look forward to reading every male POV regarding romance novels!

  3. Laura Wright says:

    That was awesome!! Sweet Leon:)) He might also like the Fever series, Trish!

  4. Viki S. says:

    What a nice interview. Trish is very fortunate to have a hubby that will read “our” kind of books :).

  5. Thea,

    I love this idea and wish a friend of mine would’ve seen it. I know he would’ve helped you out in a heart beat. He’s a firefighter here in AR and works for a bookstore. He is a huge reader of multiple genre’s but loves romance too. He’s also a huge fan of JR Ward’s BDB series (that’s how we met).

    He goes to conferences and has met multiple author’s and has good relationships with them. His only rule is he won’t take a book to the fire station if it has a sweaty man on the cover – now that he has his ereader I don’t think that’s much of a problem. He goes by Sandpanther on line but his name is Chris. 🙂

    Again, great interview and thanks to Leon for agreeing to participate.

  6. Jess says:

    That’s awesome 🙂 My husband reads romance too, and they’re ALL because I wouldn’t shut up about them. He’s read most of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Ward Against Death by Melanie Card, and I’m stealthily adding new books to his kindle every now and then to tempt him 😛

    Resistance is futile lol

    Jess

  7. Douglas Meeks says:

    Somebody needs to get this guy into Dark-Hunters or Elemental Assassin series 🙂