Christmas in August

So I am finally almost done with my newest story for Dreamspinner Press’s Christmas/Holiday Advent stories.

This one is called Christmas Cole and is a pseudo-sequel to last year’s BIG seller, Christmas Wish. As I may or may not have mentioned, this one started darker than I intended, but when the clouds finally break and the romance sets it, it makes it all the more joyous! I cried writing it (good tears) and a friend felt the same way.

I have worked my ass off on it and thank God for my wondrous critic and betas, clmiles and essayel. I couldn’t do it without them. They not only see that misspelled word I haven’t caught one hundred times (thanks clmiles!) ~ but suggest actual changes to the story. With this one it was moving a scene to later in the story to keep the momentum going. I was far too close to see it, and trusted essayel enough just to MAKE the change!

This story has been a lot of work! I have loved it, but it has meant quite a few nights up LATE and also not house cleaning to my husband’s chagrin. And it is back to the RL job tomorrow. *meh*

I am awaiting final thoughts and last edits on changes I made and then hopefully it will go off today or tonight. If, NO! When I sell this one, it will be my twelfth sale in a year and a half! Why did I wait so long to trust myself and start writing?!

I’ve already begun work on several projects and am quite excited by them.

I love my life!

All right! That’s it for the moment!
Namasté,
BG

My Christmas Stories Are Now Available!

I am very excited to announce that All Snug and Christmas Wish are now available for purchase! HURRAY!

I am so very, very proud of these stories. I hope you will love them!

You can find both stories by Clicking Right Here. They are only $3.99 a piece! Cheap at twice the price.

Here is a brief description of both stories:

All Snug

Elliot and Shawn each want to buy the same one-of-a-kind item for Christmas—a very old and expensive antique bed—as a gift for their lovers. But when they both arrive at the store at the same moment, the proprietor tells them to figure out between themselves who gets the bed. Elliot and Shawn decide to hold a contest: winner buys bed.

And so the competitions begin, from selling charity tickets to cleaning out stables, and interpersonal tension and burgeoning attraction mount as the days until Christmas pass. But who deserves the gift more: Elliot, who can afford the expensive gift for his casual sex partner, or Shawn, who can barely cover rent, and the mysterious man he’s head-over-heels for?

What makes me especially happy about this story is that Raymond came up with the original idea… Two guys wanting the same item for Christmas and the very ending. I had to figure it all out! *grin* It took forever to get started—I write my ideas—but when I did?—I wrote it in twenty-four hours. And it is a novella! I just had to write it once Raymond took an interest in what I was doing. I dedicated the story to him of course.

Christmas Wish

Harry is desperately unhappy with his life. He hates his job, his apartment, and most especially, he hates the way he looks. Despite this, once Harry hears that his fantasy man, Javier Torres, is playing Santa at the local gay bar, he can’t wait to get his picture taken sitting on Javier’s lap in hopes of finally catching the sexy man’s attention. But it all goes wrong, and Harry ends up telling a different “Santa” exactly how his life could be made better… but he doesn’t expect his Christmas wish to come true!

If you click on either title it should take you right to the title for sale; otherwise Just Click Here.

I hope you will find these stories to be filled with love, laughter, delight, and a moral for this Holiday Season!

I Have a Cover!!

I have a cover! And I am pretty excited by it!

I had a vote in one of three covers and no sooner had I emailed my vote than I got a returned email saying I had the one I wanted.

It must have been the one they wanted? Or they are just amazing wonderful people!

I am so pleased and so happy.

While it is not necessarily anyone from the actual story, it carries the mystery and fun and magick of the story…

If a cover sells a story, I bet Christmas Wish is going to sell well!

I can wait until it comes out! Hurray for me! *G*

And may all your wishes come true as well!

Namasté,
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!!

Second Edits!!

Interesting!

This time Dreamspinner wants second edits on their stories for the Advent Calender!

WOW!

And that is okay.

I am learning SO much. Doing second edits on Christmas Wish right now, and should have them done before requested date. Just too worn out today to do them this evening (did some at work today).

I am sure I will then get All Snug back for secondary edits.

Good thing too because somehow I forgot to dedicate it to my husband, who gave me the seed of the idea that brought forth a story I am very, very proud of!

Namasté,
BG

Story Blurbs

So I got my story blurbs from Dreamspinner Press this morning. My job is to approve them or ask for changes. It is way too early in the morning… I pretty much like them but feel an itch to ad a word or three to one of them..!

All Snug
By B.G. Thomas
Elliot and Shawn each want to buy the same one-of-a-kind item for Christmas—a very old and expensive antique bed—as a gift for their lovers. But when they both arrive at the store at the same moment, the proprietor tells them to figure out between themselves who gets the bed. Elliot and Shawn decide to hold a contest: winner buys bed.

And so the competitions begin, from selling charity tickets to cleaning out stables, and interpersonal tension and burgeoning attraction mount as the days until Christmas pass. But who deserves the gift more: Elliot, who can afford the expensive gift for his casual sex partner, or Shawn, who can barely cover rent, and the mysterious man he’s head-over-heels for?

Christmas Wish
By B.G. Thomas
Harry is desperately unhappy with his life. He hates his job, his apartment, and most especially, he hates the way he looks. Despite this, once Harry hears that his fantasy man, Javier Torres, is playing Santa at the local gay bar, he can’t wait to get his picture taken sitting on Javier’s lap in hopes of finally catching the sexy man’s attention. But it all goes wrong, and Harry ends up telling a different “Santa” exactly how his life could be made better… but he doesn’t expect his Christmas wish to come true!

Edits on “Christmas Wish”

So I got my edits from Dreamspinner on my story that is now called Christmas Wish. They want them back by Friday! Girl! And I bet I’ll get the other story any time.

I am going to be busy this week when I am not working!

So far they have done a good job. Right now I am just skimming at lightning speed to see if I like what they’ve done. Tomorrow I will read the furshlugginer thing and see if I did anything stupid. It happens! LOL! With a fresh mind I will be able to see things I didn’t see when I was too close to the story.

Whew!

To work!

Incredible News! Two More Sales!

I have just received the most wonderful news. It makes me want to sing, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

I sold BOTH my Christmas stories to Dreamspinner Press!!

Hello B.G.,

We have reviewed your submissions for the Naughty or Nice, the 2010 Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar. I would like to offer you a contract to print All I Want for Christmas and All Snug as parts of the Advent Calendar package. Note: I do need to request up front that a new title be chosen for the story All I Want For Christmas. We already have a story by that title in our catalog. I have noted the story as a WORKING TITLE on the contract.

If you agree, please reply right away so I can get your story into the editing queue… …If you wish to decline, simply reply to this e-mail to let me know.

Thank you for supporting Dreamspinner Press.

Lynn West
Editor in Chief
Dreamspinner Press

I am so happy about these sales because Dreamspinner sells a lot of their holiday packages. That means many copies of both stories will sell for that reason and that reason alone. And what that means is exposure. If people like the stories, they will go looking to see what else I’ve written!

And what could be better than that?

Love and Namasté,
BG Thomas