Would the real Josh Lanyon please stand up...

Interviews by Fans
Title:
Interviewer:	Barb
Interviewee:	Josh Lanyon (Louise Harris, Diana Killian, Colin Dunne)
Date(s):	September 21, 2015
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):
External Links:	online here, Archived version
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Josh Lanyon is a professional m/m original fiction writer.

Josh Lanyon was also a fan fic writer in at least two fandoms: Mary Renault and The Professionals.

Some Topics Discussed

• choosing a male pseud
• m/m original fiction
• falsifying an image
• more

Excerpts

Do you see how [choosing a male pseud] is that which makes it look more like deceit rather than merely being ambiguous?:

Do you see how being rejected based on my gender versus the work itself seemed–and frankly still seems–outrageous? In this day and age? You know, I grew up watching women burning their bras on television. I was still in high school when Roe v. Wade was being decided. I am of a different generation, let’s put it that way. I’m the daughter of the generation of women who did not think it was okay to pay men doing the same job a higher salary because they had “families to support.” And by the way, that’s also my real life experience as a woman competing with men in the work place.

Don’t get me wrong. I love guys. I even married one. But don’t tell me it’s not about gender.

Why did you decide to “come out” now?:

Originally I made very little effort to conceal my identity. My publisher was British and I wasn’t sure the books would even show up in the States. I was quite sure no one I knew outside of the mystery realm would ever read them. I wasn’t worried–I was barely on the internet. But around the time I was pitching The Hell You Say to publishers (because my current publisher was going under–as so many gay publishers were at that time) Drewey Wayne Gunn came along asking questions and making connections. He was writing a book called The Gay Male Sleuth and, like me, he had read nearly every gay mystery ever written. He immediately recognized similarities between Fatal Shadows and Murder in Pastel and he wanted to know if I was the same writer.

That scared the hell out of me. I was still toying with the idea of getting back into teaching. And I began to make a serious effort to conceal my identity. I made a much greater effort to create a persona for Josh Lanyon.

But very quickly that felt wrong and fake and, frankly, was too tiring. So instead I tried to walk a neutral line. I continued to use my pen name but I tried to keep everything mostly gender neutral.

I knew the truth would eventually come out, but I also knew unless I acknowledged it, most people would never give it credence. I knew I could deny it forever, if I chose. I also knew I could pull the plug on Josh anytime and that would also be the end of it. Or I could see how things developed. See if I ever reached a point–or more accurately where my loved ones reached a point–of comfort with the idea.

But I have to say that one reason I wanted to hide behind a male pen name was simply the safety afforded by being male. I wasn’t married at the time and from the minute I stumbled onto M/M Romance, I was nonplussed by how much attention I received–personal attention. And it made me nervous. There were a few incidents that made me conscious that there were people obsessed with me. Truly obsessed. You don’t have to read PEOPLE magazine to know how that can end.

I think you can see some of that in how certain people have reacted to this revelation. It’s one thing to express your disapproval or state your thinky-thoughts on the matter–it is a sensitive matter–but a handful of people have tried to turn this into something very different, very personal–an actual campaign to destroy me personally and professionally. That seems pretty extreme. You may not approve of my choices, but I think it’s probably clear I didn’t set out to injure or hurt anyone.

Right now I’m having to deal with unbelievable stuff like people setting up fake profiles for me–complete with male profile photos!–in an effort to make me look like…what? I mean, people who follow me know it’s been the martini glass forever. Okay, there was the cowboy, but did someone really think I was claiming to be a cowboy?! However, some people are new to this party and unfortunately a lot of people don’t want to do the research. They just want to believe what is convenient or titillating or feeds into their own preconceived ideas.

Is it frightening? Hell yes. These are not normal people. The level of hatred and venom? It’s not normal.

Does this better explain why I felt like the firewalls could not possibly be high enough?

Were you always going to “come clean”? Or did something happen which forced your hand?:

[snipped]

But in the last few years M/M changed from simply a bastard sub-genre of mainstream romance into something that was more reflective of LGBTQ fiction as a whole. There were a lot more men writing, for one thing. There was a lot more exploration of transgender, asexual, bisexual topics and themes. That changed the paradigm of pen name versus author identity and I began to try to quietly disseminate the information about my gender.

Do you understand that some people who you friended may feel betrayed? The trouble is I guess Josh was such a friendly guy – people across a whole range of social media outlets may feel that you are not who they thought you were.:

Okay, this is a fine point, but to me it’s an important one. I do not friend people. People friend me. Which I take to mean they wish to be “friends” based on social media’s rules of engagement.

And this is the illusionary nature of social media. I feel very close to a number of online friends–a number of online friends have become very dear real life friends–but this isn’t the kind of info you share with your coworkers or friends at the office or even non-nuclear family members. This was my real life and it affected other people in my life. And the nature of social media is to share, share, share.

And I am not a share, share, share person anyway.

There were absolutely some people I should have spoken to ahead of time. But…in most cases, I kind of thought they already knew. I thought YOU knew, to be quite honest.

What made you decide to venture into the m/m world?:

I was astonished when I stumbled into M/M. It was so clearly, so obviously different from traditional gay fiction. Most of the women writing came from slash fandoms–this is no longer true of the genre, and I know there are people who want to argue that it was ever true, but mostly they are newcomers and do not know or understand the literary history of the genre they’ve chosen to work in. The women who pioneered this genre were a mixed lot, but one thing they shared was a willingness to explore and question and push the boundaries of gender and power and identity.

Comments at the Site of the Interview

[Denise]:

Excellent interview. Thanks to both of you, Barb and Josh, for taking the time to do this. I am a fan, and will continue to be a fan, of both the author and the work.

[Harkness]:

It’s the communication that matters. Yes, she didn’t say one time “I am a gay man”, but do you know what? Communication function nuanced and complex. You don’t need to say something directly, implications can be enough and that is what the blog describes. She created a gay man persona, if deliberate or not. And sorry, I don’t believe her, if she said she didn’t know it.

I can believe that she didn’t do it on purpose, but she KNEW how people and fans saw her and added to that impression. And that’s the reason so many people feel betrayed

[Cat Grant]:

I feel you, Josh, and I respect the hell out of you for not only your writing chops, but your courage in “coming out,” so to speak.

If I were starting my writing career now, I’d probably choose a male pen name. I’m one of those authors who came from the world of fan fiction, so believe me, I know how cray-cray people can get.

[thelastaerie]:

So Gay Men’s Press didn’t pick up “Fatal Shadows” until you switched to a male pen name! that’s disheartening! I was talking about this with other fanyons, I said you probably made that decision for marketing reason, and it’s completely understandable and I thought it’s common practice in publishing world. But it’s quite difficult to hear that your work didn’t even get picked up just because of your gender.

You didn’t set out to lie to people, you could have candid conversation with readers, but still maintaining your brand. I think online social media changes people perception of their relationship with authors.

At least now you can promote your own works freely among different group of readers!!!

[Samone Phillips]:

Are you seriously trying to compare the struggle members of the LGBT community go through to “come out”, with you deciding to tell readers your true gender after years of deceit?

At first I was trying to see things from the author’s point of view but now I’m beginning to think differently. This interview does nothing but mock the community you exploit in your writings. To somehow try to cast yourself as a innocent victim, when you are the one who created the scandal.

So now I guess it’s time for you to “Man Up” and accept the consequences of your actions.

[Barb -- the interviewer]:

It is so difficult... Nothing can equate to the coming out stories that lots of the LGBT community have to endure, and in no way did I intend to mock anyone. But…. I would say that I try not to judge other peoples actions either. Unless you walk in their shoes and know all the intricacies of their lives you really cannot say how you would have acted. I do not feel betrayed or duped, despite not being in the know – because all I am is a reader. I bought the books because I loved the writing of Josh Lanyon. That hasn’t changed merely because the chromosomes have.

[Cleon]:

WHAT exactly the consequence of the actions you mean? If you don’t like her, feel free too. But such wording makes me think of #gamergate. People do stuff you don’t agree with. Fine. Move on. Find some douche bag everyone should hate...

[Kate Sherwood]:

I haven’t seen anyone objecting purely to the use of a male pen name. I haven’t seen every comment everyone’s made, of course, so maybe somebody somewhere has objected just to this. But I certainly don’t think it’s the dominant sentiment.

I have seen people express concerns about the larger identity Josh promoted. I’ve seen some of the comments she made about women writing m/m, and I’ve heard from male m/m writers who felt she criticized their portrayals of gay men from a position of authority she simply shouldn’t have assumed.

So I don’t think it’s fair to write as if people concerned about this situation are over-reacting pearl-clutchers. And I really don’t think it’s fair to in any way equate this situation, in which someone assumes a false gender identity for convenience/profit, to transsexuals expressing their TRUE gender identity for their own health and self-actualization.

I don’t feel personally betrayed by Josh Lanyon – I never interacted with her, to my knowledge, and I’ve been aware of the rumours that she was a woman since I became aware she even existed. But other people have had different interactions with her, and if they’re upset about the way she behaved, that doesn’t mean they’re trans-intolerant.

[Sarian]:

OMG! I can’t believe some readers felt betrayed or deceived by JL for being female. Pulease that is so none of our business. For JL to be a pen name doesn’t surprise me because that was what it was like to make it back in those days. You do what you can to make it in the publishing industry. Having a pen name of the opposite sex has been done for centuries when women want to go into publishing in what was mainly a male dominated industry. So I don’t see what the big deal is.

Also, as far as I’m concern people in Social Media are not your friends. No matter that they want to “friend you” (eyes rolling.) At the most for a writer they are your fans, or acquaintances. Friends are people you actually hang out with and are there for you through thick and thin. If your “fans” or “acquaintances” disrespect you for what is none of their business, “unfriend” them”. At the end of the day, this is a business, where you write a story to sell and if the readers/fans enjoy great. If not, there’s always the next story or they can just move on. Some people just have nothing better to do then just starts flaming.

For me, I don’t care that JL is a female. I kinda figured it out base on her writing early on so not surprise. I luv her writing and will continue to buy her stories because it is very rare that a writer can write a page turning, humorous, great romance wrapped in a mystery of an m/m story where females and gays alike can enjoy. That is a rarity. I luv the fact that she always takes time to connect with her fans via blog, Goodreads etc. She always the first author that I recommend as the best m/m writer. I hope this whole nonsensical issue will be drop soon and she will move on to her next project which I’m looking forward to. Always a Fanyon.

[jrtomlin]:

What bugs me, and yes, it really does, is that for years she has deliberately given people the impression she was gay. I don’t care about the gender issue, but pretending to be gay? Coming from an author whose work I have enjoyed, I can’t even tell you how much I am put off. It may well not be fair, very possibly isn’t. I would tell people not to judge an author by their sexuality. But this situation where an author has deliberately given that impression, maybe she has asked to be judged by that.

[wyckedthoughts]:

How very interesting… So. What you’re saying is…other people have a right to know–up front–you are lesbian so they can determine whether or not they wish to support you? Hire you? Buy something from a business you own? How very retroactive of you. As to your other comment involving “our” community…that is very offensive to those of us straight chicks who support your right to eat at the y and do what we can–in our day to day lives–to help bring equality about. I didn’t realize I was supporting an exclusive club who would exclude me based upon not belonging to any of the LABELS you attach to your sexuality. How very strange for me to discover I have been fighting to REMOVE labels and exclusivity in communities while your pent-up anger and pain feels the need to exclude me and anyone who does not identify myself properly for “your” community.

Personally, I would think anyone who does anything to further the cause of those persecuted would be a welcome addition; regardless of whether or not they were wearing the right sticker on their forehead. Ah, well…I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised–I always did have weird ideas that never matched the “herds” I’ve traveled amongst. Your comments just sound so reminiscent of some racists and homophobes I’ve heard over the years that I guess it just kind of shocked me.