Josh Lanyon

Josh Lanyon is a professional writer of m/m original fiction. She also writes professionally under the names "Diana Killian" and "DL Browne." 
Josh Lanyon is a former fanfic writer who went pro.
In September 2015, Josh Lanyon revealed that she is a woman, not a gay man. The resulting discussions focused on women and slash, cultural appropriation, branding and profit, authenticity, slash vs. gay, and the relationship between creators and their fans.
A month later, Josh Lanyon posted:
On October 17, 2015, a fan and Lanyon had this exchange on Lanyon's blog:
==Activities as a Fan==
Josh Lanyon had been actively involved in both The Professionals and Mary Renault fandom.
===In Renault Fandom===
"If I had to pick one book that most strongly influenced me--both my writing and my thoughts--it would likely be The Charioteer". — jgraeme2007, 12 May 2007From "Between the Lines" (12 May 2007), the first blog entry by jgraeme2007 to the LiveJournal blog, "Just Joshin'". A fictional movie of The Charioteer also plays a major role in Josh Lanyon's pro novella, The Dark Horse.
Josh Lanyon joined LiveJournal on 24 September 2006 but, although a member of the community maryrenaultfics for some time, did not actively participate until 2 March 2007, when jgraeme2007 (Josh's username) made an introductory post, as was a not uncommon practice with new members.Hi all, I've been a member for some months -- went back and read…", posted by jgraeme2007 to maryrenaultfics on 2 March 2007. The following is the full text:
In a reply the following day to one of the comments, jgraeme2007 added, "I'm still getting the hang of how this all works (the journaling piece, that is)."
At that time, the members of the community were a few chapters into their second chapter-by-chapter discussion of Renault's novel, The Charioteer, focusing on the differences between the original British edition of 1953 and the later American one of 1959. In reply to another comment, jgraeme2007 said:
Not surprisingly, given the friendly reception, jgraeme2007 proceeded to take part in the discussion of the next chapter ("Chapter 5 open for discussion: TC RAYOR CBC 53/59", which began on 4 March), and remained one of the more active participants in the CBC until its conclusion ("Chapters 15-16: Charioteer RAYOR CBC 53/59 discussion", which began on 29 April and continued into May).
Although in comments to jgraeme2007's first post, it is clear that at least one of the MRF mods checked the profile and followed the link to Josh Lanyon's website, this is not to say that all members did so. During the CBC discussion, the fact that this new member was a professional author was at most mentioned in passing. Nor, at this point, was jgraeme2007 referred to by other members as "Josh". It is fair to say that their mutual identity leaked out only gradually. Nevertheless, in a comment on the post "Chapters 15-16: Charioteer RAYOR CBC 53/59 discussion", trueriver (one of the moderators of maryrenaultfics) says, "I'm going to order your e-book btw, I LOVE the excerpt! As my_cnnr and poicale have mentioned in other posts, it's interesting to have your particular slant on things as an author. Good to have you around the place! :)" To this, jgraeme2007 replied, "You're all very nice about this -- and it's very flattering -- but I want to be careful that I'm not ever using Renault's forum to flog my wares. Talk about bad manners." 
It is noteworthy that Josh Lanyon's initial presence on LiveJournal was specifically as a member of maryrenaultfics. Indeed, the first post to "jgraeme2007"'s blog ("Between the Lines") was not made until 12 May 2007, after the CBC of The Charioteer had concluded. It was sparked by faithfulreader's MRF post, "The Charioteer: Review", and used the tendentious opening lines of this "review" to segue into a discussion of the nature of subtext.
When the chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Charioteer concluded, jgraeme2007 continued to remain actively involved with the MRF community for a couple of years, commenting regularly on posts. The Dog Days of Summer Challenge in August of 2007 saw a ficlet, "Oh Crikey". The following year, during the communal In Their Own Words activity, jgraeme2007 was one of several members to provide answers to interview questions with Ralph Lanyon, one of the principal characters in The Charioteer.The In Their Own Words interviews with Ralph Lanyon appeared in the post "Ralph Lanyon: In His Own Words" on 10 February 2008 (originally open, locked by the mods in 2015). And in 2009, jgraeme2007 commented on some of the Five Years On posts when the community reached its fifth anniversary, and was one of several members quick with congratulations when MRF reached its 1000th post. By that time, the fact that jgraeme2007 was Josh Lanyon had become common knowledge; and sometimes members referred to "Josh" rather than employ the username.
However, many maryrenaultfics members were also fans of Renault's historical novels, an interest that Josh Lanyon did not share. When critical discussion shifted to such books as The Persian Boy and The Last of the Wine, jgraeme2007 did not participate. As a result, Josh's interest in the community gradually declined and eventually ceased. Although there was another chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Charioteer in 2011 and jgraeme2007 was invited to return and join in, Josh Lanyon had moved on.
Renault fan fiction:
* "Oh Crikey" (28 August 2007)
===In Professionals Fandom=== 
In 2015, Lanyon said that "Watching The Professional [is my guiltiest pleasure]. It’s an old 1970s British crime show starring Martin Shaw and the late Lewis Collins. I have the entire series on DVD." Interview with… Josh Lanyon 
Lanyon used the name "JGL" in Pros fandom: "I loved you in Pros fandom, loved your m/f romance books, your M/M books and will continue to buy whatever novels you write no matter the pen name." comment by H.L. Holston; "Thank you very much. That's so nice of you to say! :-)" reply by Diana Killian, comments at , September 28, 2015 She links jgraeme and JGL at Pros Big Bang: The Palest Ink by JGL; archive link, September 10, 2010, and at in March 2011 
Professionals fan activity:
* frequent reviewer of Pros fanfic at The Hatstand (some samples are here)
* commenter at Pros fannish spaces
* Bullet With Your Name (Pros fanfic, 2007)
* What I Wish Tonight (Pros fanfic, 2008)
* Calibre (Pros fanfic, 2009)
* The Palest Ink (Pros fanfic, 2010)
* Home for the Holidays (Pros fanfic, 2012)
==Attitudes Toward Fandom==
Josh Lanyon's first post to her LiveJournal blog was in May 2007, the same month she made her first post at Pros-Lit. In the LJ post, she discusses both The Charioteer and Pros fiction, and she writes: 
Some 2007 comments regarding her start in fandom, and in writing in general: 
In September 2007, Lanyon was becoming disenchanted with fanfic: 
In August 2009, Josh Lanyon wrote: 
From a February 2009 Q & A: 
Josh Lanyon left Pros-Lit after posting a long message, a flounce, there on December 16, 2007. In January 2008, Lanyon comments about having left the fandom "... by the time I'd left the Pros fandom, I'd come to change my mind -- well, maybe soften my stance -- on AU fics." -- , August 8, 2008 , but she continued writing Pros fiction up until at least 2011.
==Other Views==
On Identity, Writing, Existing Characters, AUs:
On Filing Off the Serial Numbers:
==Blurbs from Book Reviews==
A 2008 review at Amazon for the book: "Man, Oh Man, Writing M/M Fiction for Cash & Kinks": 
A 2011 review at Amazon for the book: "Man, Oh Man, Writing M/M Fiction for Cash & Kinks": 
==An Exchange: Disappointment, Unwillingness to "Pretend" and Blurring Other Lines==
From a September 20, 2015 exchange between a fan and Lanyon:
==Comments: Fandom Focus: 2015==
[anon at FFA]: 
[kiwisue]: 
[kiwisue]: 
[heliophile oxon]: 
[msmoat]: 
[kiwisue]: 
[kiwisue, comments in italics are by moonlight mead]:
[[[byslantedlight]]]: 
[kiwisue]: 
[smirra]: 
[kiwisue]: 
[istia]: 
[msmoat]: 
[istia]: 
==Other Comments: Less Focus on Fandom: 2015==
There were many, MANY comments in 2015 -- topics discussed:
* pseuds
* appropriation of gender and sexuality to sell books
* dishonesty, deception, cultural appropriation
* false identity
* fandom and profit
* changing attitudes towards m/m original fiction
* how m/m erotic fiction used to be much more of a female space (some say a low-paid corner of nowhere), and now that there is money to be made in it, males are jumping on the bandwagon
* does the gender and sexuality of the creator matter?
Some sample quotes:
 
==Fanworks Based on Lanyon's Fiction==
* Adrien English- Josh Lanyon Tagged at AO3 
* Josh Lanyon – The Adrien English Series was nominated for 2099 Yuletide
==Interviews==
 
* Multi-Award-Winning Fiction Author Josh Lanyon (2013)
* A One-on-One Interview with the Fantastic Josh Lanyon (2013)
* Interview with Author Josh Lanyon (2014)
* Josh Lanyon & Catherine Dair talk Stranger Things Have Happened (2014)
* Interview with… Josh Lanyon (2015)
* Would the real Josh Lanyon please stand up... (2015)
* What Do We Think of Fanfic Now? (2020)
==Further Reading==
* Josh Lanyon Official Website; WebCite (2008 era, includes bio and photo)
* by Josh Lanyon (October 14, 2008)
* , post and many comments at Dear Author (November 18, 2008)
* by erastes (November 18, 2008)
* by Josh Lanyon (June 18, 2008)
* , by Dick Smart (June 10, 2010) 
* Strange Bedfellows: The Evolving Relationship between Authors and Readers (October 13, 2013)
* , by Dru Pagliassotti (February 13, 2013)
* by Jeff Erno (March 6, 2014)
* (August 21, 2015)
* Goodreads comments (September 17, 2015)
* ("Alternative blog title: OOPS, MY SLIP IS SHOWING.") by Josh Lanyon (September 18, 2015)
* , Diana Killian's blog (September 18, 2015)
* Man oh Man! Josh Lanyon is a woman (really), post at fail-fandomanon; archive link (September 18, 2015)
* This Josh Lanyon Thing, post at fail-fandomanon; archive link (September 19, 2015)
* Pseudonyms vs. Identities by 'Nathan Burgoine (September 19, 2015)
* (September 19, 2015)
* (September 20, 2015)
* A response to “Josh Lanyon” by Brad Vance (September 20, 2015)
* by (September 21, 2015)
* , lgbtSr (September 22, 2015)
* by Josh Lanyon (September 25, 2015)
* by kiwisue (September 29, 2015)
* by kiwisue (September 29, 2015)
==References==
Category:Industry
Category:Fans
Category:Professional Authors