Scott Pomfret and Scott Whittier discussed how they developed Romentics, a brand dedicated to "true love for gay me," Wednesday at the Rainbow Center.
Romentics is Pomfret and Whittier's company under which they have publish gay romance novels.
Pomfret and Whittier met, fell in love and are currently living together in Boston. Although they say the concept for their gay romance novels came from their love for each other, Pomfret said he also got the idea from his mom. His mom subscribed to a Harlequinn book of the month club, and he realized romance novels were something everyone could enjoy. According to Pomfret, they are "fun and light and always end happily" except "[the gay community doesn't] have this genre."
So Pomfret and Whittier made it their job to combine the romance genre with gay literature. Before doing so, they researched to make sure their concept would be a success.
What they found was that the romance novel is the No. 1 selling genre of paperback fiction and it continues to grow through subgenres such as African American, Asian American, erotica and supernatural romance novels.
When looking into gay literature, they found gay themes present in American literature as early as 1928, in the novel "The Well of Loneliness." Also from the 1940s to 1969 a genre of "gay pulp fiction" was mass marketed and widely available, these "short, steamy" novels featured "gay life in the shadows," Whittier said.
Pomfret said publishers "had no problem publishing these novels ... as long as they were persecuted for their gay lifestyles in the end." This gay pulp provided an insight for previously inexperienced gay men. It taught them something, and also provides a historical reference for current gay issues. Since then gay culture has evolved and become mainstream.
"A funny thing happened on the way to Gay Liberation: We became a market," Perry Brass said.
Whittier found a conclusion after so much research.
"Gay literature has been a guide and benchmark for gay reality," Whittier said.
Armed with this knowledge, Pomfret and Whittier set out to write their novels. Their first step was defining what a romance is, and then they figured out their target audience. Another issue they worked with was how to transform romantic heroes and heroines into gay characters.
"Flowery romance designed for women isn't enough," Whittier said.
They developed heroes who were good by themselves, but also great together. The end result was three novels that Whittier and Pomfret self published, "Spare Parts," "Nick of Time" and "Razor Burn," After the books were published, they advocated "romancing the readers" using their web site www.romentics.com and said they return every e-mail they receive. They ended with a stress upon happily ever after.
"We are proof that true love exists for gay men," Whittier said, Their latest novel, "Hot Sauce," came out in June and was published by Warner Books. The presentation was part of the Out to Lunch Lecture Series sponsored by the Rainbow Center every Wednesday at 12.
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