Reading Romances - Male Authors

As I continue my research into Christian Romance Novels with the thought of trying my hand at one, I checked my local library to see if it carried any of the books by a Christians Romance Novelist who happens to be a member of my parish, Ruth Logan Herne. The name, by the way is her pen name.

I had actually read ac couple of her books before. She had given away free copies at our parish, and my wife had taken some.

The library had only two books by her - even though she has written some 45 books.

I took the two out. They were for a series about a ranch. There are only two books in the series - and I don't know if she planned to write more. As far as I can tell, she stopped publishing back in 2022. I need to ask her if she has stopped writing romances.

Anyway, I read the first book, Back in the Saddle.

I don't mean this as an insult, but it is a typical romance novel. It is set on a ranch. A young man returns home from his corporate job in the big city and gradually rediscovers family and faith. On the ranch there is a young woman who made a mistake in her past, but has found faith, and fled her big city job for the small-town life. There are all sorts of complications; the ranch and the small town are threatened. She is tempted to return to her city life, he is tempted to return to his big city life - both have offers to do so - but, of course, they choose to remain with each other. 

Given that the book is a romance, I won't review it as if it is great literature. 

But I had problems in that it is clearly written from a female point-of-view. I can see that it would appeal to women, but as a guy, I found it difficult. Oh, I finished it and could appreciate it as a decent example of light literature, with romantic and Christian underpinnings, but I didn't feel compelled to read the second book.

At that point I wondered if there are any men who write Christians Romance Novels. I was curious to find out if I would find them easier to read as they write from a male perspective. Hopefully they would not be like the Jack Nicholson character in As Good As It Gets. 

(Receptionist: How do you write women so well?
Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.)

I discovered there were several. They tended to write historical novels with romantic elements. I checked our local library; it carries the books of only one of them, Gilbert Morris.

I went to the library and found a whole shelf of his books, many of them part of a series about "The House of Winslow", tracing the Winslow family through the centuries. I took out three of the books set in the Civil War, - Books 8-10. The Civil War is a period that interests me. Two of my plays are set during the war, and one of them, The Beau Ideal, I had performed as a one-man-show, and was later performed by our local professional theater. And I was thinking of setting a book during the war - perhaps as a mystery, or maybe as a romance.

I am not done with the first book, The Last Confederate, but I am enjoying it. The male perspective is easier for me to relate to, and the historical elements appeal to me as a Civil War buff and former history teacher.

I'll finish the book and likely go on to the second. For pleasure - and for research for my own writing.

Pax et bonum