Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Gender Wars!

Most fiction readers are women.

From a consumer's perspective, I can guess that most historical fiction is geared toward women.

First clue: Almost all the protagonists are women.

Second clue: There is always some sort of romance.

I've had both men and women read HATSHEPSUT and it's interesting to note the differences in their comments regarding their favorite parts. They are pretty much polar opposites. My favorite part is the romance, but I had a ton of fun writing the war. Hatshepsut gets to cut off the hands of her enemies- what's not to like?

My women readers adore the love angle while the men tend to like the politics and the war. I've tried to balance both, but there are definite sections that will appeal to women more. And they're my target audience so that's okay.

I've also get a male POV that gave me fits to write, but seems to be part of my strongest writing. Go figure.

What about you? Do you write more to one gender or the other? Do you stick to one gender's POV?

And here's a preview of Friday's blog topic: Do you have issues when men try to write female protagonists or vice versa? I've got a definite stance on this one, but I'm curious to see what you all think!