Feliz: 4 Sweet Peas for A Secret Valentine by BG Thomas

BLURB: After his divorce, Steve Manchester came out so he could be himself and find love with another man. But as it turns out, the only man he really wants is his sweet, intelligent, and gorgeous best friend Burgess Cameron. Burgess, however, wants to keep the relationship platonic. When Steve can no longer stand the unrequited love, he decides to move to San Francisco to start a new life. But before he leaves, Burgess invites him to a Valentine’s Day dance, where Cupid may have other plans for them both!

Title: A Secret Valentine
Author: BG Thomas
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Publication Date: February 1, 2014
Series: A Valentine Rainbow
Cover Art: DWS Photography
Length: 44 pages

FELIZ’S OPINION: REVIEW: : This story was part of DSP’s 2014 Valentine’s Day Collection, a perfect little treat in this box of sweets. It’s in Steve’s 1st person POV, and I liked his narrative voice a lot—fresh and genuine. Reading the story actually felt like I was listening to Steve telling it to me, as if he were a real person sharing his and Burgess’s trials and tribulations on their way to their happy end. And that’s all about all there is, interspersed with flashbacks at their first meeting and at the circuits they made toward each other via two red-headed brothers (I loved Kayden and Jayden!) and Steve’s assignment in a foreign city. Just enough misunderstandings and manly lack of conversation to create a bit of frustrated wanting to bang the guys’ heads together, just enough sex to keep things interesting and just enough cute and sweet to warm my reader’s heart.

A Secret Valentine is a pleasant friends-to-lovers, not overly demanding, simply just right when you’re in the mood for a light, positive read.

MR. P’S RATING: 4 Sweet Peas!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day

I hope your day is wonderful and full of love no matter your romantic situation. You don’t have to have a lover to have a life that is radiating with love. Maybe it is your friends, your family, or even better ~ your family of choice.

I am excited today to announce that the audio book of Never Say Never has been released. Imagine how exciting it is for me to hear the words I wrote read to me out loud, and in a nice (sexy) man’s voice. It was amazing! Almost as if it were a movie or radio play. You can even hear a small part of by clicking right here. Look for the little bar you can click on to hear it!

This was the ebook that was released last year, but now in audio format and only $7.99! I was so surprised that the book is so inexpensive. A TON went into the production. Silver Publishing as been working on it for months.

The anthology only has four stories, but they are longer, and I think some of the best I’ve read in a long time. The authors are Shae Connor, RJ Scott, Xavier Axelson and of course, me! Here is a blurb for my story…

A Secret Valentine by BG Thomas- Knowing that only by being open about who he is will he find happiness, Steve Manchester gets divorced and comes out as a gay man. But happiness isn’t fast coming. All Steve finds are cheaters and liars and men who want anonymous sex. Then he meets Bill Cameron, a man who is everything that he wants. But Bill only wants to be friends. Steve tries everything he can think of to make “just friends” work, but every time he sees Bill, his heartaches with longing. Just when Steve realizes he can’t take it anymore and decides to move to San Francisco to get away from his hopeless situation, Bill invites him to a Valentine’s Day Ball.

I hope you will check it out. This is so exciting for me. Imagine! An audio book with one of my stories! It is too good to be true. Look for it right here!

In the meantime, Happy Valentine’s Day once more. Love love love! It makes the world go around!

What’s Going On

So a bunch of cool things is going on right now and I will just fill you in quick.

The first thing is that Dreamspinner Press has a BIG sale going on right now! In honor of ebook week, Dreamspinner Press is offering 20% off on all titles. Rush right over there.

In something fun for me, I have PAPERBACK copies of the anthologies Riding Double (with my story The Real Thing) and Never Say Never (with my story Secret Valentine).

There is something incredibly exciting about holding a book in your hands and knowing you are in it. That your story is right there, before you eyes. Thrilling experience! I recommend it highly.

And the anthology This is the Way the World Ends with my vampire story should be out soon – in paperback!

I recently submitted a story called How Can Love Be Wrong? to Dreamspinner for their 2011 Daily Dose “First Time for Everything.” I am proud of this story, more than you can know, and hope to tell you soon that they bought it! I wrote a version of this story years ago and loved it and never sold it and couldn’t figure out why. Dug it out and gave it a good honest read and SAW why! LOL! It needed work. To be fair to me, the biggest problem with the story was the word count contraint set forth by gay magazines. I had to leave so much out and focus on sex. Not what I like to do. That concept is why I stopped writing for a decade.

Well, now the story is over three times as long! I added over ten thousand words and WOW – I think it is much better. A pre-review said it was now a “Cracking good read,” which I think is a good thing. Aussie slang!

I am hard at work on a story about a Dude Ranch and I think it may very well be the best thing I’ve ever written. I will keep you informed as it progresses.

Next is that Desert Crossing is on Dreamspinner’s novella best selling list! *does the Snoopy Dance*

Not only that, but it got an amazing review over at Jessewave, just one of the best M/M review sites there is. Feliz had some great things to say that just had me so happy it was hard to believe. WONDERFUL! The reviewer knew point by point everything I wanted and needed to say in that story and it was incredibly rewarding to know that I must have said it or he wouldn’t have gotten it, right? *G*

Thank you Feliz!

You can read that review by clicking right here or this copy of the review

Review of “A Secret Valentine”

So Amos Lassen, well-known reviewer of GLBT fiction has done a review of A Secret Valentine. To say I am please is an understatment!

Here goes…

“A Secret Valentine” – Plans for Love
from “Never Say Never,” Silver Publishing, 2011.
Amos Lassen

I rarely review part of a book but I chose to do so now with Valentine’s Day breathing down my neck. This story is one of four in the new anthology, “Never Say Never” (Silver Publishing).

Steve Manchester is divorced and has come out as a gay man and he decided that the only way he would ever find happiness would be to honest with himself about his sexuality. However, he has not yet found love and it seems that the only kind of men that he meets are those who are not interested in a relationship and prefer quick sex. He begins to question why he ever came out.

Along comes Bill Cameron who seems to be exactly what Steve is looking for. However Bill is just looking for friends and Steve is so smitten with Bill that he tries to make this work, He contains his feelings for Bill by engaging in anonymous sex and by dating other men. However this doesn’t work for him and he suffers heartache over Bill. Finally he realizes that this love will be unrequited so he decides to move to San Francisco but suddenly Bill invites him out on Valentine’s Day. Bill questions how we would feel about going to the Valentine’s Day Ball with Bill when he knows that there will be many happy couples there.

So much for the summary because if I say anymore I will spoil the story and a good reading experience.

Everything about the story is good — the plot (simple as it is), the characters (well defined and thought out) and the prose (sublime at times). Thomas seems to be on the verge of making a jump into the world of GLBT literature and if this story is a sign of what is to come, then we should welcome him with open arms.

http://amoslassen.wordpress.com/2011/02/13/a-secret-valentine-plans-for-love/

My goodness! WOW! Thank you Amos for your very kind words!

I guess I should take a second to say that you can get A Secret Valentine as part of the delightful anthology Never Say Never either as a ebook or paperback by Clicking Right Here! *wink*

Namaste,
Ben

“A Secret Valenting” is Now Available!

Hurray! My story, A Secret Valentine is now available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is very exciting to me as it is the first official IN PRINT book with one of my stories! Something I can hold and point to and say, “Look! I are a writer now!”

It is a part of the anthology Never Say Never. Only four authors were chosen and I was one of them!

Here is the description of my story:

Starting out with a Valentine’s Day Ball in A Secret Valentine, we join two friends in their search for someone to love in a heart-warming tale of how the perfect partner is not just a lover, but also your best friend.

I can’t wait to get my copy!

You can find the listings for both versions if you Click Right Here!

Thanks always for your support and encouragement and love!

Namaste,
BG Thomas

Information for My New Story “A Secret Valentine”

Valentine’s Day. A day for lovers and lovers-to-be. A day to show that special someone how much you care…

This anthology has been brought together to celebrate love and how it can become an essential part of our lives. From unrealised love to new lovers discovered, from the present to the future, these wonderful stories show that even if you don’t have a special someone to celebrate with, it doesn’t mean they won’t turn up. Sometimes in the most unlikely of places.

Starting out with a Valentine’s Day Ball in A Secret Valentine, we join two friends in their search for someone to love in a heart-warming tale of how the perfect partner is not just a lover, but also your best friend. From there we are taken to A Valentine for Evrain and a chocolatier who, having given up on love himself, takes delivery of a flavour he can’t resist. But will he add it to his menu permanently?

A providential meeting introduces two lonely men in Stripped, but will a man’s novel approach convince a stripper to take a leap of faith? And finally we are taken to a future in Valentine 2525 where procreation is considered the only reason to pair up. After taking a chance on a made-to-order Companion, will a man discover love can be found in unexpected ways… and is worth any sacrifice?

Each of these stories is a reflection of how, no matter whether a person fits the mold or not, we can all discover, and keep, love.

All of us here at Silver Publishing hope you find you find the path of love and your true soul mate. May love fill your heart and guide you through the rest.

I am very excited about this! Can’t wait to see it!

It will be available through Silver Publishing on February 12th!

oh oh oh! This will be in paperback as well as an ebook! Print! OMG!

Cover Art for “A Secret Valentine” / Never Say Never

So I have the cover now for the anthology Never Say Never which will include my story A Secret Valentine.

Very nice don’t you think?

I thought you might like to see it.

Yup, and there is my name, right up there on Cupid’s shoulder.

*smile*

I am looking forward to seeing this one and reading the other stories. I’ve wanted to sell to Silver Publishing for a long time and I finally managed it. This bodes well for the future.

A few more calls for submissions and then I am just going to start writing what I want to write. Figuring out this new pirate story and not making it like every other pirate story every written is going to be a bitch!

Namasté,
Ben

“A Secret Valentine” Sells!

Quick post as I am off to work and cannot be late.

Woke up to a wonderful email.

I’ve sold another story!

Silver Publishing wants to buy my story A Secret Valentine. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. LOL! This makes eight stories sold in one year. And I am a brand new author. This is also four publishers.

wow

Wow

Thank you one and all for your support.

More info soon!

I am truly blessed.

Namasté,
BG

Another Submission!

So two things…

One: I finished up my final edits to the galley of All Snug and sent them off to Dreamspinner Press just awhile ago. Made a few changes, mostly technical. I hope I don’t have to read it again for a long while! LOL!

I adore the story and it makes me very very proud, but I have read it too many times! Hopefully I am finally done with it.

I can’t wait for it to see “print!”

Two: I just sent a submission to a publisher I have never submitted to before; Silver Publishing. They seem to be a pretty reputable house and I am very excited by the idea of selling them a story.

A dear friend, , suggested that I get my stories sold to as many houses as possible as it looks good as an author resume. She didn’t use those exact words, and maybe she will comment here, but you get the idea.

It looks good to show that multiple houses think you are worthy of publishing.

This story is called A Secret Valentine and I am submitting it to their anthology Never Say Never.

This is what they are looking for:

Any subgenre will be accepted, but must follow a Valentine’s Day theme.

This anthology will feature M/M couples celebrating Valentine’s Day!

We’d love to see something off the beaten path. What have you got for us? An alien being introduced to the customs of Valentine’s Day? Non-human creatures affected by the magic of the holiday? A secret admirer revealed? An ex back in the picture? A wish fulfilled in a new and interesting way? We want to see your best sensual or erotic romance Valentine’s Day story.

Now there are no aliens in this story. It is more like a “A secret admirer revealed,” and I think it is very sweet and romantic with a fearsome HOT love scene. Let’s hope they agree.

Silver Publishing was also accepting Halloween and Christmas stories and wound up closing their submissions weeks (almost two month respectively) early. So even though the deadline wasn’t until January 8, 2011, I wasn’t taking any chances!

I love this little story and I hope they do as well!

And now to bed and tomorrow it will be working on a second draft of my vampire story!

Good night all, and pleasant dreams!
BG

A Secret Valentine

An interesting thing about writing is how long a period there is between writing a piece, and when it comes out.

This becomes especially “interesting” when writing a holiday piece. Trying to get into the Christmas spirit in July so that a story can be written and then submitted, and then hopefully bought, then edited and re-edited, etc etc on its way to publication.

So today or tomorrow I will be sending off a Valentine’s Day story. The good thing about this one is all I had to do was think “romantic” and that is easy for me to do! *G*

I am submitting this one like three months at least before the deadline because it will go to the company that keeps closing their submission call at least a month and a half early. It is a bitch writing something thinking you have until a certain deadline, and then finding that company closes their call as soon as they have received enough stories they like for their purposes.

How are you supposed to know whether to bother?

I think this is a good story. Sweet, romantic and finally HOT as hell.

I look forward to seeing what happens. It would be wonderful to sell to yet anther company.

Wish me luck!

And of course, special thanks once again to my amazing betas, , , and . As always, you guys are the BEST!

BG