mmerriam | A Question For The Readers (Reply)

So the lovely wife and I were having dinner and conversation with

porphyrin and her husband (WINOLJ), and

porphyrin asked if me writing urban fantasy/paranormal romance under my real name might be costing me readers. UF/PR is a field dominated by female authors, and

porphyrin pointed out that some of the male writer she knew writing UF/PN were using their first two initials and their last name in order to hide their gender, a trick that female SF authors have used, especially back in ye supposed golden days of SF. She wondered if a female reader might see the male name on the cover and give it a pass, since there is a misconception that males can't write romance (sort of like the misconception that women can't write hard SF).

I thought it was a good question, and one I don't have the answer to. I know that no one at Carina Press has ever suggested I write under a female pseudonym, or go with M.S. Merriam instead of Michael Merriam. Mostly what I'm hearing is that readers are seeing the cover to Should We Drown Feathered Sleep and deciding it is so striking they have to read the story. The art department at Carina Press/Harlequin told me it was one of the more striking and daring covers they have produced for the Carina Press line of books, and I think that gamble has paid off. Granted, I don't have any sales numbers, but everyone at Carina seems happy, and the readers seem happy, and really, what more could you want?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Would you be less likely to buy an urban fantasy/paranormal romance novel from a male writer?