Or, How Jane Austen Inspired My Gay Romance
One thing Saint Jane did brilliantly in all her novels was absurd humour and painfully human characters. She exposed the frailty of human ego. She made you cringe at painfully awkward proposals while you rooted for her heroines to find their true love.
When I wrote After the Scrum, my first Gay Romance, I used her approach to characters and humour. The story is filled with irreverent humour. I used my observations of human nature as an autistic to form many of the slightly zany villagers of Looe. It certainly made for lively characters.
I hope my beloved Saint Jane would approve.
The other way Austen’s novels have shaped my writing is in showing the path of love is rarely smooth sailing. You only have to look at the tribulations of Anne Elliot in Persuasion (my favourite of her novels). The Wanderer and The Caretaker, in particular, show how matters of the heart can be equal parts pleasure and pain.
When I first considered this post, I’d wanted to write about why readers should dip their toes in the Gay Romance genre—and my novels of said genre. As you can see, I got a bit distracted. A lot distracted.
The thing is if you love absurd humour, witty banter, and love stories, you’ll enjoy my novels.
If you love great romances, you’ll enjoy the Gay Romance genre.
The love is the same—it’s just two men snogging.
And it’s good snogging as well.
Author Dahlia Donovan 
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