Sage Ardman | Confessions of a Male Romance Novelist

Let's start with a basic but rarely heard statement: I am a man and I am a romance novelist. I have kept my identity out of public view for a few years, but now I'm willing to admit it. And I know what's going to happen, too. Some people will tell me I cannot possibly write decent romance since I'm gender-challenged. Outsiders will attack the entire romance genre, proving that my books have no value. I hope to lay both of these arguments to rest.

First some background. I'm an old computer nerd who's been programming for over 45 years. Back in the late 1960's, I was a high-school hacker, long before the term was common. I got my doctorate in computer science and worked at a number of research laboratories. I even married a fellow nerd (Amy also has a Ph.D. in computer science), and we raised two sons who are in their 20's now, off on their own. I've done lots of unusual things in my life, including being the lead singer of Severe Tire Damage, the first band to ever perform live on the Internet. As I approached my 60th birthday, I felt the need for something more.

One night I decided to write a story that had been floating around in my head. Something about it grabbed me and wouldn't let go because I typed all night, through the next day, and up until bedtime the second night. Six days later, including a second sleepless but productive night, I had a draft of my first novel. Amy read it and told me that I seemed to be writing a romance novel, although we couldn't be sure because neither of us had ever read one. In fact, hardly anyone I knew at the time read them. So before I went any further, I needed to know more.

I started to read romance novels as a learning experience, curious to know how my first book fit in. And I discovered two things: first, my story needed loads of work; and second, I really liked romance novels. Now I know what you're thinking. Why would a man like romance novels? First of all, they're fun. I was tired of the usual dense fiction I tended to read, full of deep messages, wordy sentences, and ambiguous conclusions. And I'd had my fill of non-fiction—those tiresome tracts about the sorry state of the world and how we're all going to die. So romance was a respite from it all, a fantasy where love would always win in the end.

And that's the second thing I like about romance novels: love. No, I don't mean sex, although that's always entertaining, too. I mean love. For me, the best part of a romance novel is that single moment when one character does something special that forces the other character to stop and realize that they have found the one. It actually brings tears to my eyes.

I'll admit it: I'm a softie and I cry at touching moments in movies. Actually, plenty of men cry, but few admit it. And fewer read romances. But in my opinion, men should read romances. Why? It's simple: they teach you how to be a better man. Romance novels are predominantly written by women, and although the female characters are often far from perfect, the male characters are the stuff of dreams. These boys may be flawed at the start, but by the end, they have been transformed into the most perfect specimens on the planet. They're strong, sensitive, and solid. Ideal men.

I'm not trying to suggest that every man should strive to be like a romance hero. It just isn't possible. I'm in my sixties, with arthritic knees, so I'll never sweep my wife off her feet and carry her to the bedroom. She'll have to walk there by herself. But I have learned a few things from these books, and other men can, too. After reading hundreds of romance novels, I've gained all sorts of insight about what women want. And Amy agrees!

Okay, I hear you say. Enough about my male experience...what about my books? As a man, I write fantasy heroes and heroines—my books feature strong women. Also, my books play with common romance themes, pushing them in ways I don't often see. Readers and reviewers all find them fun to read.

My first book (EXECUTIVE SWEET) takes the tired trope of the powerful CEO and the innocent young girl (yes, I'm talking about Fifty Shades of Grey) and twists it on its head. Instead of the man having all the power, my story has the hero and heroine banding together to fight against unsavory businessmen, turning their sexist ways against them. In one scene, the hero acknowledges that the heroine is smarter than he is. But the romance works because he's not threatened by this.

My second book, A GOOD LITTLE GIRL LIKE YOU, is a playful story that makes light nods to The Wizard of Oz (the title is one of the Wicked Witch's lines). The heroine of this book is quite accomplished: a gymnast, a polyglot who speaks seven languages fluently, and an MBA businesswoman.

My third book in the trilogy, SEDUCTIVE SYNCHRONICITY, addresses a problem in romance literature that I see quite often: wealth imbalance. Why is it that every story with a rich man and a poor woman ends up happily, but when the woman is the rich one, it never works out? Oh sure, the woman may give up her fortune to be with the poor man, or the man might go off to find his own fortune so that he has as much. But without one of those outcomes, it's rare to see them end up together. So I flipped that, and wrote about a powerful heroine who's a lawyer and very wealthy. Can she end up with the much poorer school principal? Yes, as long as he isn't threatened by her.

I try to move beyond the notion that men need to be powerful alphas, the best at everything. Some romances come close, and describe powerful women who are almost as good as the men. I want the women to be better. Romances envision all sorts of scenarios for women, many of which are hard to find in real life. Why not envision a world where both characters excel. Where, instead of being threatened, the men are confident and welcome these women as partners. Do such men exist? Yes, I'm an example. It's one of the secrets of my thirty years of HEA marriage.

-Sage Ardman (really Steve Rubin)

About SEDUCTIVE SYNCHRONICITY

For ten years, Constance Westerley has been having a recurring dream about a mouth-wateringly handsome man with a dragon tattoo on his chest. Some of her dreams are quite erotic.

Her girlfriends, a group of spiritual adventurers who call themselves The Witchy Women, tell her to meditate on this and find him. Of course, her outrageously wealthy family doesn’t know about her dreams and they certainly don’t care for her spiritual leanings. They just want her to find a respectable, rich man and settle down.

Nick Veseli grew up on the streets and in foster homes but was lucky enough to be adopted by loving parents. Since then, he has made it his life goal to give back to the community that saved him as a child. But his crusading idealism will pit him and Constance against powerful corporate interests, including some very rich Westerleys.

Wait until they see the dragon tattoo on his chest.

About Sage Ardman

The Westerley books are my first novels. I did write two technical books, but they weren’t nearly as much fun.

After a lifetime of reading general fiction, I discovered romance at age 59, and fell in love with it. Now I fill my time reading and writing romance novels.

Also, I never drank whiskey before. But since I wrote characters who drink it, I became curious. Now it’s my favorite drink.

Life in Northern California is full of surprises, including these romance novels. I have been happily married for thirty years, and we have raised two wonderful children. I honestly wouldn’t trade places with anyone else, living or dead, real or imagined.