GREAT NEWS, EVERYONE!

I am so excited! What a wonderful way to end my week!

Just look here…

Dear BG Thomas,

It is my pleasure to accept your story “Blood Plague” for my upcoming anthology This Is The Way The World Ends. I will be on vacation from 27 November until 6 December; upon my return I will answer any questions that you may have and discuss contract details.

Welcome to the Fountain!

Sincerely,
Catherine Leary

That means I’ve sold seven stories this year, my first year of finally reaching for my dreams to be a writer. I think it is safe to say that I am one. I am a professional author!

wow

Why did I wait so long to pursue my dreams? Of course, now might just have been the perfect time. When everything was right?

Leap and the net will appear! Trust me. I know.

Now the story/anthology won’t be available until March of next year. But then that is less of a wait than many authors go through.

PLUS! As I said last time, it will be available in all major e-book formats, Kindle, and print!

wow

Thanks for all the help and all the well wishes!

BG Thomas

Blood Plague

Okay, I just sent off Blood Plague to Freaky Fountain Press!

I should have sent it out last week, but to tell you the truth, I freaked out! *G*

I have really worked a hell of a lot on this story. I liked the idea for the anthology that was taking submission. As I said in my last post, it is called “This is the Way the World Ends,” and they want “…stories exploring the connections between destruction and sex, death and love, survival and rebirth, all set in the post-apocalyptic landscapes of your hottest dreams.”

Well, for the longest time I have had this idea for a couple of vampire stories that were the “what if?” consequences of a book like Salem’s Lot. In that story, they take over a town. But what if it went further than that?

Something sorta kinda like Richard Matheson’s classic I Am Legend, but not.

Ever read a story or book and you were just loving it and then it went places that made you disappointed or think “WTF?” Why did s/he do that?

So this story was years and years coming with lots of different influences. The love child of Richard Matheson and Stephen King and God knows what/who else.

Anyway, I got ready to send it out the other night — finally, damned did I work and re-work and RE-work that story! — and when I went to the site for Freaky Fountain, I couldn’t find any books. It looked like they were taking submissions, but weren’t publishing anything! And how could the story sell if they weren’t selling any books?

Finally, an LJer by the name of pointed out what I had stupidly been missing, and that is that Freaky Fountain is a new company and their first books won’t be out until spring of next year. And I guess their books will be available in all major e-book formats, Kindle, and print!!

Hurray! A print book!

*does the happy dance*

I could actually sign my very first autograph ON a story!

So here I am, sending out my next creation into the Universe in good faith that this is just one more step for me and my stories. I am quite excited. This could be great!!

And remember!
It is never too late to pursue your dreams!
I did it!
Namasté,
BG

Another Story Completed

So I have finally finally finished my “final” draft of my vampire-apocalypse story!

Whoa, this one was work!

It wrote itself in many ways, I didn’t know where it was going as it went, but it was also a bitch getting there. The first draft I liked. I liked a lot.

But I didn’t love it. And if I didn’t love it, how could I expect anyone else to? How could I expect a publisher to buy it?

The story was close, but not there. And I had to get it there. It had to be about more than just the story. There are lots of good ideas. But to get the story to work, I had to get the reader to believe and care about the characters. So I worked and worked on it, set it aside, worked on it again, set it aside and worked on it again. And I think I finally did it!

So I have now sent it off to my beloved betas and await their response. As fast as they get back to me, I can do final touches and mail it off.

The biggest problem now it that I think it is something like four thousand words more than they are looking for. Actually, in their ad, they forget to include a word count. But if you look to their other anthologies, you see they want stories between 2000 – 8000 words.

Two thousand words? They want “character-driven stories written about sexual desire, sexual interaction, and sexual themes with a focus on the inner life… “ and …raw, sensual, beautiful language and stories that dare to step outside of genre conventions.”

How can anyone do that in two thousand words??? I can’t do it in eight thousand words!

This anthology is called “This is the Way the World Ends,” and they want “…stories exploring the connections between destruction and sex, death and love, survival and rebirth, all set in the post-apocalyptic landscapes of your hottest dreams.”

So my story, Blood Plague is my interpretation of that desire. I think it has it all. It is certainly character-driven, and it is most definitely about desire, destruction and sex, death and love, and survival and rebirth! And HOW!

I really want to sell this story! I want to sell it to them. I want to get another publisher in my “resume.”

But you know what? I love this story. I will sell it one way or another! And then I can share it with you!

Namasté!
BG

More Cover Art!

I have my second cover! And yes, I am pretty excited about it too!

As well?

Hmmmm…

They sent me three covers for this story as well, and they and I liked this one best.

I love it.

Again, it is not exactly correct, but what cover is?

It is SO damned close and it sets the stage and hopefully makes you want to see what it is about. The two men are dressed completely different and appropriately and that is just right!

I am very happy. Are other authors as lucky as me? I hope so.

But I have heard horror stories, I can tell you.

Now I wonder what they will do with Desert Crossing? I am hoping to get a chance to start doing some of my own covers… Trying to get permission to at least have a shot at that in the future.

Got some edits back on Valentine’s Ball (and I still hate the name of that story…) and waiting for more.

Got some more insight on my vampire story and don’t have a CLUE what to call it! While transcribing it from the handwriting at work to my computer, I decided I wanted it a little bet scarier. Watched 30 Days of Night to chill me up (no pun intended) and it worked. I am going to love this one and I hope you will too.

More later!
BG

This Week In My Life

So I have finished second edits on both All Snug and Christmas Wish and I am very very happy with them.

LOTS of work, but I learnlearnlearn, and that is important.

Yesterday I finished my first draft of a story I am tentatively calling Valentine’s Ball (hate that title with its too porn implications). It is a sweet story, very romantic, and I hope it is well received. Sent it to my betas and hope to hear back soon so I can submit it.

Today I am working on my vampire apocalypse love story. Yup! All three in one story! These are nasty scary vampires, not rockstar-long-haired-googly-loving-eyed-sissy-boi-vampires. Nasty nasty nasty…

How can that bring romance? Stayed tuned to find out!

Work work work!

And a date with my husband today/tonight as well!

Namasté!
BG

PS: Anyone going to ConTraception this year? I know that better be there!!