B.G. Thomas is here today talking about his holiday romance, Sometimes the Best Presents Can't Be Wrapped & in case you missed it, check out our 4.5 ❤️ review of it HERE.
Boy Meets Dog
What a delight to be here at Boy Meets Boy Reviews. Thank you for having me. May I say just the name of this site makes me smile happily? And feel wonderful for all the young men coming into their identity as gay men today that they can go out and meet a “boy.” It wasn’t so easy for men if my generation when I was in my teens and early twenties. You pretty much had to move to a big city and live in gay “ghettos” if you wanted community or to find love, and to be able to live even semi-openly.
I didn’t do that. I came out for a year or so, then went back into the closet, got into a relationship with a woman, we had a daughter and then finally I learned that being gay wasn’t about what men do in bed, it’s about what we do in our hearts. That did it and I was able to, more or less, amicably end our heterosexual relationship and embrace who I was.
Know that the romantic in me burst worth like rainbows and fireworks. And writing romances is what I love to do!
Which brings me to my holiday romance, Sometimes the Best Presents Can’t Be Wrapped. It’ a horse of a different color story. Or really, a dog of a different color.
Dog? Is that what I said? Yes, dog. And before you think....that could be disturbing....let me ease your mind....! I promise I haven’t written anything icky, okay? Now, let me press on.
I’ll bet that almost any author will say that the question they’re asked most is some variety or paraphrasing of, “Where to do you get your ideas?”
Well, I think that’s real apropos for my new holiday story, because—wow!—there are lots of answers. First, here’s the blurb....
SOMETIMES THE BEST PRESENTS CAN’T BE WRAPPED
When Ned wakes up the next morning, he’s stunned to discover he’s been transformed into a dog.
In the past year, Jake Carrara has lost his mother, a lover.... even his dog. His boss came close to firing him just before the holidays. He isn’t sure he’s ready for another pet when he’s asked to foster a dog, but Jake’s good heart won’t let him refuse. Little does he know, this isn’t just any dog.
Through a twist of fate, two people with little reason to be friends might teach each other to rediscover the good—and the love—in life.in
See, I knew I wanted to get back to when my holiday stories had some magick in them. Not the wizards and elves kind, but impossible and wonderful miracles. Like when George Bailey discovers what the world would be liked without him in It’s a Wonderful Life. Or when the orphan’s little lamb comes back to life in The Little Drummer Boy. Or, of course, when Scrooge remembers and reclaims the Christmas spirit he cherished as a youth in the classic, A Christmas Carol.
And thinking of Scrooge, I thought how I’d like to write a story about someone who used to be a really nice guy but who forgot the holiday spirit. Sometimes our lives can take us so far down a dark path that it takes a miracle to find the way back home. And that was really appealing.
I had an inspiration in a man I work with who has authority over me. A man that’s not very nice, but I have in eyewitness accounts that he used to be a really good guy. So, with Anne Lamott’s words, “If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better,” as my guidance, I used that man as my model when writing Ned Balding before his transformation.
There was also a co-worker I really like as a model as well, who told me all about his days working in a glue factory and his favorite phrase, “Take it eeeeasy, man!”
And finally, at the time, I was doing a lot of thinking about dogs, even considering trying to work for a rescue shelter. One of my close friends was talking about dogs and how we just couldn’t understand how people can be cruel to them when she said something like, “You know, that would be a fitting punishment for someone who mistreats a dog. They get turned into a dog.”
I sat bolt upright and knew what my Christmas story was going to be about. And see? The story didn’t come from one idea, but multiple ideas all woven together!
“But, Ben,” you say, “How is it a romance?”
Well, that would be telling. But, you know, a boy talks to his dog. A boy is at his best with his best friend. And being the object of true unconditional love, a love that has nothing to do with self-gain or sex? Why, it might be just enough to melt the ice around a frozen heart....
I hope you’ll check it out and see! And I hope you have a wonderful New Year, and that all your wishes come true!
Namasté
B.G. “Ben” Thomas
BUY LINKS:
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
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B.G. loves romance, comedies, fantasy, science fiction, and even horror—as far as he is concerned, as long as the stories are character driven and entertaining, it doesn’t matter the genre. He has gone to literature conventions his entire adult life where he’s been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was a child; it is where he finds his joy.
In the nineties, he wrote for gay adult magazines but stopped because the editors wanted all sex without plot. “The sex is never as important as the characters,” he says. “Who cares what they are doing if we don’t care about them?” Excited about the growing male/male romance market, he began writing again. He submitted a novella and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days. Since then the romantic tales have poured out of him. “It’s like I’m somehow making up for a lifetime’s worth of story-telling!”
In 2015 he made an entry every day in his blog “365 Days of Silver,” where he found something every day to be grateful for. You can find it right here: https://365daysofsilver.wordpress.com/
“Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message. “It is never too late,” he testifies. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”
Website/blog: bthomaswriter.wordpress.com
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