Friday, March 16, 2012

So there's this guy who reads romance novels...

No, this is not the set up to a joke...although I'm sure if I thought about it long enough I could make one up...but that would take away from the fact that there's ACTUALLY A GUY WHO READS ROMANCE NOVELS! And I'm proud to say I now call him "friend." And sometimes "fucking nutjob." But mostly the former.

His name is Romance Man, or RM for short. But if you're like me and you're not real fond of calling people by initials (like with my friend Lea Ann who also went by LA, but it made me think of the city and it didn't roll off the tongue properly, so I decided to pronounce it Ella, which is how she got her pen name--yay me!) you can call him Remy. I'm now 2 for 2 on creating successful nicknames. Let me know if you're in need of a new identity. Apparently I rock at giving them out.

Anyhoo...

I found Remy when he did a review of my BFF, Ruthie Knox's debut novel RIDE WITH ME. He totally loved it, by the way, and loved the heroine so much that his wife now goes by the online personality of Lexie, which is the heroine's name in Ruthie's book.

At any rate, Remy is a total hero in the romance world (pun intended). He's not a literary buff in touch with his feminine side who can relate to the female psychosis. He's ex-Navy, swears like the sailor he is, and is just as naturally insensitive as the next guy.

What I mean to say is, HE'S A REGULAR DUDE!

So why would a regular dude read romance novels? Excellent freaking question. But I'd rather you get the story from him here because he tells it better than I ever could paraphrasing him. Since he began this strange journey of discovering that romance novels are indeed worth their weight in gold when it comes to understanding the opposite sex, he's blogged almost daily and accrued a group of women followers who eventually named themselves the BBL--Braless Bawdy Ladies.

Remy has accomplished with his blog something I've only seen with one other blog, ever. He averages over 100 comments per blog post! But whereas that other blog I'm referring to has thousands of followers with hundreds of regular commenters, Remy has a lot of lurkers but only about 15 regular commenters. But his topics spur conversations, like an open forum. So these women go back again and again to read the latest comments from the other BBLs and then put in another two cents themselves.

But these are not boring conversations, nor are they for the timid and meek. Besides the obvious cursing, words like pussy and cock are thrown around occasionally. Okay, maybe more than just occasionally. And a lot of these women are my mother's age who are discussing things like sex, blow jobs, and bedazzled vaginas. They're fearless in their candid openness with the rest of the online group. It's a place where they can remain anonymous or take on an identity like Lady Godiva, Vibrating Vixen, or New York Girl, and discuss things that are normally too taboo to ask even their closest friends without getting strange looks.

And the best part? Getting a guy's point of view in the mix! And what's even better than that? Getting the guy's wife's point of view on things! Lexie doesn't pop in often (we're trying to change that), but when she does, it's a real treat. One night she gave her husband the acronym nickname of NGL, which stood for Not Getting Laid because he was in the doghouse for something. We all thought it was hysterical. Him? Not so much. LOL


To give you an idea of his topics, here are some post titles:

And those are only a handful of the posts he has in his BLOG ARCHIVES. I highly recommend you go and check some of them out. And if you're really brave--and have literally hours with nothing better to do--you can read through the comments as well. Sometimes they're just as funny as the post itself.

For those who are interested in Remy's specific thoughts on the books he and his wife read (they now read together at night, which has brought them closer together both in and out of the bedroom), he has a REVIEW PAGE.

What Remy is doing is nothing short of amazing for those of us in the romance world, whether we're readers or writers. I, for one, am extremely thankful to have found him and gained his (and Lexie's) friendship. I predict it won't be long before he goes completely viral. His readership grows every week. Pretty soon me and the rest of the BBL will have to share him with the rest of the world. But for right now, we're enjoying the hell out of our little group. I guarantee if you read his stuff, you'll be wanting BBL membership in no time. So come on over and join the party. We'd love to have you. :)

Romance Man...

Able to read an entire book without turning the page (I have an e-reader). 

Can easily identify cheesy romance cliches, such as  "they hate each other so much that they end up ripping each other's clothes off."

Understands the phrase "throbbing love muscle."

Manly enough to admit he reads romance novels and has an anonymous blog to prove it.

15 comments:

  1. RM is great! I don't know how I stumbled onto him - it must've been one of your tweets, but his posts are hilarious. I love seeing the guy's perspective when he's actually had the balls to read a romance and comment on it. I, too, love Ruthie's book and that only made me like RM more :)

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    1. Thanks, Shannyn! Yes, Remy is many things, but he can never be accused of being ball-less. LOL His public admission to reading--and ENJOYING--romance novels is the biggest testament to that.

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  2. Thank you Gina, you're a sweetie pie. And I am so happy to have met you as well, mainly because you're a female mini-me. Thanks. I have to go cry now.

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    1. Aw, don't cry for me, Argentina! LOL Yes, I'm totally a chick version of you. Except I'm okay with vajazzling, but you know, we can't be EXACTLY alike. LMAO *big squishes*

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  3. Great shout out Gina. I do love my daily dose of Remy! He always puts a smile on my face. Yeah, he'll be viral in no time!

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    1. Thanks for stopping, Toni! It's funny to have my epic posts called "shout outs." It's more like a megaphonic diatribe. LOL And yeah, he puts a smile on my face and fear into my cats when I laugh obnoxiously enough that they scatter from the room. Good times. ;)

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  4. Hi Gina.... what a great tribute to our RomanceMan looks like you made him cry!!! After seeing a pic of your Mom, somehow I think I'm older!!! So happy to have you as a friend, soon, you'll be a blockbuster!!!! See you on the blog...XOXO

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    1. So glad you found this, Pat. Thanks for the tribute kudos. I enjoy making Remy cry like a little girl. It's one of my daily goals actually. ;)

      I'm not sure if you're older or not. She's like...um...I think she's 59 now. I could do the math with her birth year, but that's like work. Either way, no matter! It makes my point even more valid! LOL

      Don't know about the blockbuster part, but I'm definitely your friend. :)

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  5. Hey darlin'...love your post and RM definitely deserves the kudos. I'm not usually so hooked on blogs that I can't just ignore them on occasion, but so far I find myself incapable of NOT checking up on the Romance Man. Funny thing, though--I posted the link to his latest on my FB page and someone got on and said they hated it--quote:

    "Didn't make it to the blog, as I was so turned off at his comment about his "decent looking" daughter that would "make a good Walmart employee someday," not to be confused with his other "two beautiful, smart daughters.". REALLY? Anonymous or not, that's obnoxious in my book. Who cares how funny he is? He has no class."

    And all I could think to say was, huh? Do you not get humor? It's funny stuff, especially because RM comes across like a guy with a hell of a lot of respect for women. I see more snark aimed at himself, to be quite honest, but I love checking out the guy's blog and really enjoy reading all the posts. He's attracted a truly funny and witty group of followers.

    And you're right. You're as bad as me--no short "shout outs" at all. I think it's the writer gene. How in the HELL do you manage twitter?

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    1. Hi Kate! I know, I think he has us hopelessly addicted. But since it's via the internet we can't blame it on the Kool-Aid. LOL

      I saw that comment on your thread and it took everything I had to not fire back. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't want to be disrespectful to one of your friends or fans. But it made me stabby! It's OBVIOUS that the thing about his daughters was a joke. I mean, come on, who in their right mind would say that in all seriousness? And now I'm going to end my rant before I start saying things I'll regret are on the interwebz forever. ;)

      When I read the comments on Remy's blog from my phone I can't see who wrote it unless I scroll over to the right, but I ALWAYS recognize your comments w/o looking because of their length and intelligence. LOL I'm always like, "Oh, this is definitely Kate." And then I read it and feel like my comment in comparison was as eloquent as a three year-old's incoherent babble. And then I'm like, "Damn, she's good. I should've just waited until Kate posted and then said 'Ditto'." LOL

      But I love ya, hon, and I'm so glad we met! I can't wait to read Wolf Tales. I just have to find time in my schedule to read again! Oy.

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  6. Hey Gina

    I have been busy reading a really good start to a possible romance novel. :) You are a very talented writer.....such kind words about the Romance man, you are just as entertaining with your comments. I think of some of your comments throughout the day and I burst out laughing. Love your blog BTW

    Lexie

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    1. Hiya, Lex! You are too sweet. So excited you liked the beginning of the new book. It's funny cause Remy didn't want me to tell him what happens next, but I couldn't if I wanted to. Because I have NO IDEA what happens next. LOL It'll come to me, I just have to wait for Reid and Lucie to speak up. Hopefully they do by Monday when I have kid-free writing time again, or I'll have to take matters into my own hands. ;) I love that my craziness makes you laugh throughout the day. That's the biggest compliment you could give me. Well, that, or that I know how to throw one hell of a party, but since you're way "over there," you'll just have to take my word on that one. :) Hope to see you here again, girl. Ciao!

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  7. Gina,and Kate, It's obvious that I like long posts, so ladies, please keep your thoughts coming. Had to shake my head when you posted about that person who had not read the blog but hated it. Anyone who even takes 2 minutes will realize that Remy is besotted with his daughters, and Lexie too. I have long maintained that it takes a measure of intelligence to understand ironic humor. So if you don't get that Remy is joking..... well, do the math! Thanks for taking breaks from the writing to come on and post. We BBL are thrilled we get to rub shoulders with you!

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  8. What a great shout out to Remy!! I don't normally read blogs - but I am hooked on Remy and the girls. Love all their comments - and love the fact that you, Kate, Ruthie, and other authors pop in and post such great stuff!!! Can't wait till your book is out so that we can read it!! I have actually been checking in here more often too. I have to put a reminder on my calendar for both so that I don't forget!!! Keep up the great work!!

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    1. Wow, thank you so much, Michelle! I get so excited when I gain a new reader! Whee! *lol*

      I need to start blogging more often, but unfortunately it takes me forever to write posts (long-winded + perfectionist = several hours) and I've been so busy lately with my writing that I haven't carved out much time for anything else.

      I promise to get better at it, though. I'd like to post at least once a week if nothing else. :) Thanks again for stopping! I hope I get to talk more with you in the near future. :)

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