The Author Guy Blog by Larry B. Gildersleeve (Oct 25, 2024)

25th October 2024. 

Larry B. Gildersleeve


Hello out there,


Welcome back. When I began my author journey a bit over ten years ago, I gave no thought into

which genre my first book, and as at turns all, all four of my books, would fall. My indie

publisher made the decision for me, and I’m pleased and proud that I’m comfortably nestled in

the Romance genre in the manner of Nicolas Sparks to whom I’ve been favorably compared by

readers and professional reviewers.


While I’m flattered by the comparison to Sparks, we differ markedly in that I write to convey

realistic lives of flawed Christian characters. I don’t shy away from sensitive topics like

intimacy, infidelity and terminal illness, addressing them with believable tension and suspense

but without profanity or explicit descriptions.


Being slotted in the Romance genre is advantageous in several ways. Few men write what I

write, which engenders a degree of uniqueness in a crowded field of aspiring or emerging

authors of fiction. But the biggest advantage, at least in my view, is that Romance is by far the

most popular fiction genre having displaced Mystery/Thriller a few years ago.


Speaking of Nicholas Sparks, whose novel The Notebook was first turned into a movie and is

now on a Broadway stage, I thought you might have an interest in this interview exchange that

appeared in a March 25, 2024 Time magazine interview:


What are some of your favorite romance novels? You’d start with Jane Austin, but then go to A

Farewell to Arms. If that was written today, it would probably be a bestseller. I also like The

Horse Whisperer and The Bridges of Madison County. I thought Outlander by Diana Gabalon

was really original and well written with such an epic feel.


Who knows, perhaps Time magazine will seek me out with the same question sometime down

the road of my author journey!


Until next week … Vaya con Dios


Larry B. Gildersleeve

Location: Bowling Green, KY, USA

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