Men who write romance

You've got to check out Paperback Writer today. She talks about two fascinating web sites. The first of these is Whatever Happened To. If one of your favorite authors has been missing in action, you may be able to find out what happened to them by visiting that site. You can also post a query about someone who hasn't been listed yet.

The other site I found educational and, well, just a lot of fun. It's devoted to revealing men who write romance novels, sometimes under psedonyms and sometimes under their real names. Outting Men was a hoot because I found my old buddy
Tom Townsend listed under his Tammie Lee moniker.

Tom published a Leather & Lace Romance in the early eighties. At the Outting Men site there are even links to book stores where used copies of said book are available. At the time his romance novel was published, Tom was a mercenary in a far away jungle. If I correctly recall the story he told, he was photographed for a famous news magazine as he walked, M16 on his shoulder, through the jungle. The caption accompanying the photograph said: "Romance author Tammie Lee."

Tom went on to a successful career as a juvenile fiction author with several children's book award nominations. Occasionally he wrote a general fiction novel and struck gold with one called Panzer Spirit. The book has been under continuous movie option since its publication in the early 90s. Tom, with his collection of military vehicles, started a company that supplies military equipment and drivers, sometimes stunt people, to the movies. He's worked with many different productions but the only one that comes to mind is the Meg Ryan/Denzel movie "Courage Under Fire."

If you go to his web site, you can find out more about his Toyland Combat company and his books. He sells copies of Panzer Spirit and its sequel Reichbahn 6-9, both paranormal thrillers. Trust me, these books are worth ordering--from him, of course. (We authors are all a starving lot so we need all the help we can get.) He writes a different kind of story. You won't be disappointed. Tell him Joan sent you!