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Trent kissed him gently and firmly and directly on the lips for a very long time.
He held his gesture of thanks for endless moments. They barely moved, barely breathed.
He wanted this security to go on and on. In this still embrace, he could feel
Dan's heartbeat. He felt it race against him, his own heart. He wondered which one
would win.
Picture a world where the heroes are always hot, the sex is always good, the drama is high, the faghags are loyal and fierce, the queeny gay sidekick is exquisitely bitchy, and Mr. Right never ever cheats. That's the world of Romentics, the name given to a new breed of gay romantic novels created by a real life gay couple from Boston. | |
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Scott Pomfret a 35 year old lawyer and Scott Whittier a 29 year old advertising
copywriter believe there's a gap in the market. "Everything in gay bookstores is self-help," says Whittier, "How to come out to your most parents, how to deal with AIDS, or it's hardcore erotica." They think it's not just women who enjoy romantic novels, but gay men would to. |
Scott Whittier (left) and Scott Pomfretsay romantic fiction isn't just for girls. Photo by Bob D. Ward. |
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Their books, which they've coined Romentics, have all the traditional but hugely
enjoyable, elements of the romantic novel. Plots often revolve around hidden secrets,
coincidence and that stalwart, amnesia, though in this case they're not so much bodice-rippers
as jock-strap rippers. A hunky mechanic falls for the ex boy next door who's pretending to
be a prostitute. A celebrity chef finds himself in a gay love-triangle with a jealous
ex-lover and a hot fashion designer. A young businessman falls in love with an unemployed guy
who can't remember his past. He gives him job in the family business and nothing will
keep them apart, not even his wife.
Scott Pomfret told OutUK that a lot of gay men don't just want hardcore sex when they read gay fiction: "We think there are a lot of gay guys who are "out" as gay men, but haven't yet let their romantic side come out. They worry that it's not cool for a gay man to be head-over-heels in love. We're out to change that, and those are the guys we especially want to sell books to." But that doesn't mean that the lights go out when the sex starts in their books. "We write pretty good sex scenes, but it's only fun if Scott and I haven't had sex for a day or two and some sexual tension has built up ... if you've had an orgasm within the hour, writing sex scenes is MUCH, MUCH harder." But it's the romance that's the key. "The romance is the best part, because it's the part we agree on for our characters, whether it's food or wine or mood lights or sex toys or starry nights. We like making those romantic cliches fresh --- and a little more fabulous to fit a gay sensibility." | |
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They've written three books Spare Parts, Razor Burn and Nick Of Time available
from on-demand publisher Booksurge, and a fourth Hot Sauce which was picked up
by paperback major Warner Books.
The two writers have picked up a loyal readership not just of gay men but women too. "We have a loyal bunch of straight female readers out there, who pick up our books for their gay friends or siblings, and end up reading them themselves. We love it!" |
 Now on Amazon |
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"Our Romentics heroes become what these women want for the gay
men in their lives ... and our sex scenes turn out to be what these women
want in a man as well -- tenderness, handsomeness, firmness, and, of course,
a hard ... well, you know what we mean!"
And how far do the books reflect their own relationship? "Our novel Hot Sauce does end in a fabulous gay wedding between a celebrity chef and a fashion designer ... but with a big twist at the wedding scene." So does that mean you'll be getting married? "We believe the long courtship has a lot of romantic elements ... plus we want to keep the readers guessing! But you can bet if we get married, we'll have to invite all our Romentics readers and have the biggest party ever!" Like all the most successful romantic novels their books are easy to read and move at a cracking pace, and there's plenty of this too... | |
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In that final deep move, Trent held his partner close, as the music faded,
as the crash of the last cymbal echoed between them and inside them. They fell together, in sweaty exhaustion and quivering release, peeling back blankets and avoiding the spot where their dance of strength and submission had led Dan to reach his own crescendo. |
 All the Romentics books are available from Amazon including Spare Parts. |