Is the (fantasy) reading world ready for...

I have one more thing to add to this thread:

Poutine.

BenPanced said:

I have one more thing to add to this thread:

Poutine.

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Oh my god yes! But I like it with added vinegar and peas. I know. I know.

I was introduced to poutine when I lived in Northern NY and ventured across the border to Ottawa. It was very, very filling.

This thread is about food, right? Y'all are speaking languages I do not understand.

Is the fantasy reading world ready for marmite and poutine?

Poutine? Over here we call that a 'Frietje Kapsalon' (Frietje meaning Dutch fries and Kapsalon is a hairdresser's).
It's fries with either shawarna or döner meat, topped with Gouda cheese, then grilled, with added salad and garlic sauce.
It was originally thought up in Rotterdam by a Cape Verdian hairdresser and a nearby shoarma shop.

Graylorne said:

Poutine? Over here we call that a 'Frietje Kapsalon' (Frietje meaning Dutch fries and Kapsalon is a hairdresser's).
It's fries with either shawarna or döner meat, topped with Gouda cheese, then grilled, with added salad and garlic sauce.
It was originally thought up in Rotterdam by a Cape Verdian hairdresser and a nearby shoarma shop.

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we call that donor chips.

you can basically get anything on chips here.

OMG, that sounds good right now. I'm not drunk, but I feel the need for greasy junk-food tacos.

As for the publishing part of this thread: I've just heard from some other AW members who write LGBTQ stuff. They're seeing more and more publishers asking for non-erotic or sweet-romance M/M, F/F, etc works.

For erotic or non-erotic LGBTQ stories, I feel just from similar anecdotal evidence that there's way more room across the publishing spectrum now, than there ever has been. The small-press and digital pubs seem to be growing up and aiming for more quality. The Big Five imprints seem to be less skittish than they were, even five or ten years ago. And self-pub is a wide open field for anyone who can market effectively.

It's a good time to follow your bliss, while keeping a day job.

Amadan said:

Is the fantasy reading world ready for marmite and poutine?

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With curry and cherry vanilla ice cream?

And cheese curds. Don't forget the cheese curds (those are a part of poutine, though, aren't they)?

Marmite might actually make poutine palatable to me. Poutine takes three awesome fatty foods I love and combines them into something I find it pretty bland (as well as heartburn-inducing, but that never stops me.)

Hansel and Gretel
Frankie and Johnny
Adam and Eve
Lancelot and Guinevere
Marmite and Poutine

WriteMinded said:

Hansel and Gretel
Frankie and Johnny
Adam and Eve
Lancelot and Guinevere
Marmite and Poutine

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<humming> One of these things is not like the other...

BethS said:

<humming> One of these things is not like the other...

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Exactly. Hansel and Gretel are brother and sister!

I'm actually considering buying myself some marmite and poutine, now. See what you have done to me, people.

Roxxsmom said:

Exactly. Hansel and Gretel are brother and sister!

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Kallithrix said:

Better make sure it's not an American 'beer' then

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Strange as it may sound, I have to defend the honor of American craft beers. The US is really weird when it comes to beer; the most popular brands are some of the worst in the world, but there's also a lot of really good beer available. Most people just don't buy the good stuff.

In other news, I like peanut butter, but not in ice cream. Give me raspberry cheesecake every time.

As for the original question; I think the first SFF book I read with M/M romance was Diane Duane's The Door into Fire. I don't generally read a lot of M/M romance (I don't read much romance in general, but M/M is probably the least represented in my stack). It just isn't really my thing.

Then again, I tend to actively look for strong female protagonists, which may be a factor. Any romance that doesn't involve the protagonist is at best going to be the B-story.

Same here, Dave. The Duane 'Middle Kingdoms' books were my first intro to LGBTQ protagonists who were written just like their straight counterparts in epic fantasy. They remain part of my benchmarks for spec-fic quality and diversity even now.

The Half Bad series, by Sally Green, has that exact thing. I loved the first and second books, but the third was a bit boring, and the ending was like "holy hell she actually did it" now I wanna do it too.