Winter Heart by B.G. Thomas Blog Tour, Guest Post, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

b-g-thomas-winter-heart-banner-1

Hi guys, we have B.G. Thomas popping in today with his brand new release Winter Heart, the four boo in his Seasons of Love series, we have a brilliant guest post, a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

b-g-thomas-winter-heart-cover-s

Winter Heart

(Seasons of Love 04)
by

B.G. Thomas

For over ten years, Wyatt Dolan defined himself as the lover of Howard Wallace. Howard made sure Wyatt’s self-worth depended on that role. So when Howard dumps him, he is lost at sea in a storm without a rudder. If it wasn’t for his supportive friends, he doesn’t know what he’d do. Finally, after a series of disasters, he escapes to Camp Sanctuary—a sacred place to him—where he can be alone, try to put his past behind him, and find a new direction for his life.

Kevin Owens is a lonely man. He is very intelligent—several apps he created have gone on to make him a comfortable living—but he is also quite shy and is uncomfortable making conversation. The death of his dear friend and former lover after a long illness leaves him grieving, confused, and adrift. Then a dream guides him to Camp Sanctuary, only to find that the one cabin with a wood-burning stove has already been reserved. And worse, by a man he’s had a secret crush on for years—Wyatt Dolan.

When a snowstorm knocks out power at the Camp, Wyatt and Kevin must share the same cabin to stay warm, and very soon, magickal things begin to happen.

b-g-thomas-winter-heart-banner-1

Gay Men: A Very Interesting Family

A lot of times readers will ask writers where they get their ideas, or at least where that got the idea for a particular story. They want to know if there is any truth in the book. Did any of the story happen to them personally. There are a lot more questions, but many of them center around those ideas.

The truth, at least for me, is that sometimes many ideas come together to make a novel—or in this case my series of novels, “Seasons of Love.”

The first is a subject I’ve been fascinated with for years; gay friendships. Those friendships seem to me to be pretty unique. They’re a family of choice for one thing. A family that outsiders often don’t understand. So often it seems strange that a group of gay men are even friends. They will have little in common and often fight like the proverbial cats and dogs. Why do these men have anything to do with each other? It can seem crazy.

Often these men have been in relationships with each other, or at the very least slept with each other. The group of friends are almost incestuous, tied together through many different factors: Love, hurt, sex, protection, and much more. Maybe two men hooked up and the sex was so-so, but they realize they’d like to be friends. Or maybe they became boyfriends, but after a while break up, yet like each other enough to want to stay friends. And then maybe one guy’s best friend begins a relationship with the ex. In many circles this would be a big no-no. Gay men do it all the time. So then maybe that second relationship ends, but now these three men are some sort of sexless threesome. And meanwhile new relationships begin and change.

This is not always how these groups form, but it’s pretty common. Or maybe they were drawn together for political reasons, or through clubs or mutual interests. That doesn’t mean there isn’t sexual tension and energy—there is a lot of sexual stuff going on when gay men come together. There are lots of reasons why these tribes begin, but what counts is that they are very powerful.

Sometimes they will fight like crazy, seem to hate each other, cause big drama scenes in public, throw cocktail glasses—yet they love each other intensely. They can say anything that they want about each other… but no one outside the circle better dare say a word! These men will fight to the death for each other.

That subject—the family, the tribes of gay friendships—is what I wanted to explore in my “Seasons of Love” novels. I wanted to show what these tribes, these friendships, are like. Give people a little view behind the curtain.

But there were other things that brought this series to life. For instance, many readers think they want a sequel to a favorite book about a particular couple, but the truth is they really don’t. People read romance to see characters fall in love. To relive that wonderful feeling of meeting someone, all that energy, the attraction, the excitement, the butterflies in the stomach, the first sex, the falling in love. You can’t have that in a sequel. The second book is a gay story, but very rarely true romance.

So comes the series. In the case of “Seasons of Love,” four best friends—that tribe I was talking about—all appear in each other’s novels, but each book focusses on one character and that character finding love. Then we get to see the continuing development of those relationships through the other novels. Not sequels. We get a new romance in each book. We get falling in love in each book. But we also get to see those characters from previous books.

b-g-thomas-winter-heart-cover-1-sAnd then there was this Donna Summer album that came out when I was about sixteen years old (I am really dating myself here). The album was called “Four Seasons of Love” and was divided into four parts. Pretty unique to have only four songs on an album. Of course they were long songs. Well there was a reprise song….  The songs were “Spring Affair,” “Summer Fever,” “Autumn Changes” and “Winter Melody.” I was a major Donna Summer fan in those far-off days. I even saw her in concert, front row. She touched my hand. I never wanted to wash it again. Her album and her music influenced my series.

Not to forget Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”

The changing of the seasons changes us. And I used the ideas of those seasons in my books. Spring: newness. Summer: falling in love. Autumn: changes. And Winter: the hibernation before new awakenings.

So there you are. The story of “Seasons of Love” and some of how it came to be. And I haven’t even talked about the new book, Winter Heart.

Know this. Winter Heart was my hibernation. I didn’t write much besides Winter Heart the year it took me to write it. The book tore me up, exposed old scars, ripped out my heart… and reminded me how very lucky I am to have found the man who stands by my side today.

And if you want to find out how Wyatt Dolan, the little bear who is the very heart of “Seasons of Love,” finds his true love, then I hope you will check out my new novel Winter Heart. And if you haven’t read the other books? Maybe after reading this essay, you will!

Namasté,

B.G. Thomas

PS: Yes, there is a lot of myself in this series of book. And a heaping helping of me in Winter Heart.

Wyatt by Paul Richmond
Wyatt by Paul Richmond

Exclusive Excerpt

They chatted quietly into the evening. They updated each other as usual.

Scott and Cedar talked about how they were going to visit Cedar’s mother, the famous rock star Cyan Carrington, for Christmas. She still hadn’t met Scott and wanted to, and Scott was as nervous as fuck about meeting her.

Wyatt was agog. “Wow! You’re going to meet Cyan Carrington! You know she wrote ‘Dark Witch,’ right? And ‘Night Birds’? I mean… whoa! And her new one playing all the time: ‘Stuck out on the open road, I don’t know which way I’m supposed to go….’”

He stopped, hearing the voice of his ex in his head shouting, “Don’t give up your day job!” every time he sang. “You sound like a cat in heat!”

“Why do you think I’m so damned nervous?” Scott cried.

Sloan talked about how he might be flying out to New Hampshire for a few months to open another call center and how he didn’t like the idea of being away from Max for so long. Max didn’t like the idea either. They hadn’t even been together a year, but the opportunity was incredible.

Asher told a few tales of Hollywood and what it was like to film a movie. Peni talked about all those weeks he spent recovering from getting his pe’a—his body tattoos—and how different life in Samoa was. But it had allowed him to find out even more about his heritage.

There were polite but cautious inquires as to how Wyatt was getting along.

Then, while Wyatt went to refresh several cocktails, Peni followed him into the kitchen and asked for a couple himself.

“I thought you didn’t drink,” Wyatt said.

“Not really. Especially after that drunken night when we all went to The Male Box.” Peni rolled his eyes. “But I think I would like one tonight. Experience what you made. The ‘lead-free’ version is pretty good.”

“Well, as long as you understand the lead-in version packs a little more punch, no pun intended. So be careful.”

“I will.”

“And Asher? He’s drinking?”

“We’re experimenting. We had a glass of wine with our dinner last week. It went just fine. He drank it slow and told me he couldn’t remember actually enjoying a glass more. So I thought we could try one of these.” He pointed at the decorated cooler.

“Okay.” Wyatt nodded. Poured the fruity cocktails into the plastic tiki goblets, stopped about midway, and asked if perhaps he could half-and-half them with the nonalcoholic version. Peni thought that might be a good idea. Then just as he was about to hand them over, Peni was suddenly hugging him—holding him—in his arms.

It felt so good. To just be hugged. Even by a friend. Maybe especially by a friend.

“Thank you, Wyatt,” Peni whispered into his ear.

He was taken aback. Thank you? For what? “For what?” he asked aloud.

“For being you. I love you so much. I thought of you….”

“Th-thought of me?”

“When I was getting my pe’a. Sometimes.” Peni got a faraway look on his face. “The pain….” He trembled. “It took me to this other… plane. I don’t know how to explain it. There were times that I sort of… rose out of it. Like I wasn’t in my body. Like I was… not drunk exactly. I don’t know how to explain it. Strange thoughts would come. One time I was thinking of Tangaloa—the highest Samoan god—and then…. Well. I heard you. I heard your voice in my head—talking about your religious beliefs. And that day, you were what got me through it all.”

“Wow.” Wyatt didn’t know what to say. What did you say to that?

Peni pulled back. “When you said my pe’a was holy ground, I knew you understood. Maybe more than Asher—and I know he gets it.”

Wyatt sucked in a breath and for some reason felt like crying.

“It reminded me of something. The other day I was thinking about us. You and me. About the paths we’ve chosen to walk. The not-Christian paths. And suddenly I remembered something. Don’t you have a holy day coming? Isn’t it really soon?”

Wyatt sighed. Felt that deep ache again. “Yule,” he replied, remembering years of celebrating with Howard. And circles of friends, standing—hand in hand—celebrating the defeat of darkness and the triumphant return of light. “The Winter Solstice.”

“What are you going to do this year? I mean… since….”

Since he wasn’t with Howard anymore.

“I don’t know,” Wyatt said. “I guess I’ll skip it. Just celebrate Christmas with the guys. It’s not like Asher celebrates Chanukah, right?”

“But it seems wrong,” Peni replied. Then something happened in his dark eyes. A determination. “Come here.” He took Wyatt’s hand in his own, ignoring the drinks, and led him back to the living room. “Hey, guys. I want to ask you something important.”

They all stopped talking and turned, curiosity clear on their faces.

“What is it, baby?” Asher said.

Peni looked at Wyatt. “When is Yule?”

“I….” What? “It’s in a couple weeks. On a Sunday.”

Peni turned back to the group. “Yule is in two weeks. Big deal from what I understand for our friend here. And Wyatt doesn’t have anyone to celebrate with. I think I’m going to. No. I know I’m going to. Does anyone want to join me? Join us?”

Wyatt almost gasped. What? What was Peni saying?

“Yeah,” said Cedar immediately. “I’m game.” He looked at his lover. “Scott?”

Scott smiled. “Sure. Why not? You mean like a circle, right? I’d love to.”

Wyatt’s mouth almost fell open.

“You know you can count on me,” Asher added, further astonishing Wyatt. Asher and Scott? In circle? Sloan he might have imagined but….

“I think that sounds fantastic,” Sloan said.

Max, ever-practical Max, nodded. “I’m willing. It’ll be educational. To see another spiritual approach to this time of year.”

“Seriously?” Wyatt asked.

He looked around the room, and they were all nodding. Including friends that had—at least at one time—called what he did “witchy-woo-woo.” Of course, one of those people had been Scott, and now he might as well be witchy-woo-woo himself. These friends. They had all changed so much. It wasn’t just their love lives. It had been a year of transformation for all of them. And now? Now they were willing to celebrate a pagan ritual with him.

The tears came back to his eyes. “You guys…. You won’t think it’s too weird?”

“Not me!” proclaimed Scott. “Not after some of the things I saw this past summer.”

“And I dig it big-time,” added Cedar.

“I’m excited,” said Peni. “I mean really excited.”

“Oh gosh,” Wyatt whispered, a tear threatening to roll down his cheek.

“Does it have to be Sunday?” Asher asked. “If we did it Saturday, I could fly in that morning and then go back to Los Angeles on Sunday.”

“No!” Wyatt smiled. “Saturday is fine. We mostly do that anyway. Celebrate on the Saturday closest to.”

“That works great,” said Peni.

Everyone agreed. Wyatt couldn’t believe it. The tears were building.

No! No tears. He had to fight them. This was wonderful. A time of joy!

And then! Inspiration struck! The night would be complete!

“Hey,” Wyatt cried. “I got a joke.”

Would wonders never cease, no one moaned!

“What do you call a bear with no teeth?”

Everyone shook their heads. Apparently no one had any idea, although he was sure someone would have guessed.

“A gummy bear!” he exclaimed.

There were groans. And a few giggles.

It wasn’t a very good joke. But considering the circumstances, it wasn’t bad at all.

b-g-thomas-banner

About B.G.

B.G. is a novelist and blogger. Every day last year he made and entry 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/

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 conventions since he was fourteen years old and has been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was child; it is where he finds his joy.

In the nineties, he wrote for gay 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. Gay men are what he knows best, after all. He submitted his first story in years and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days.

“Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message to all. “It is never too late,” he states. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”

Visit his website and his author blog at http://bthomaswriter.wordpress.com/ where you can contact him. He loves to hear from readers and is always quick to respond. You can also find his Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bgthomaswriter

b-g-thomas-winter-heart-all-four-books-s

Giveaway!

Win any one of the first three books in the series, ebook formats!

(Just leave a comment on this post)
(Ends when B.G. says it ends!)
Dreamspinner New Banner

10 thoughts on “Winter Heart by B.G. Thomas Blog Tour, Guest Post, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!

  1. Thank you for the awesome post! I love learning how books come to be and enjoyed finding out how much went into this series. Plus always appreciate a chance to look at the lovely covers.

  2. Thank you for the look inside this series. I need to add this series to my wishlist. Thank you for the giveaway chance.

  3. Great post and very interesting topic! I love your insight into the friendships and relationships! This series sounds great too, definitely adding this to my TBR list! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

  4. Congrats. Sounds great. Actually, the whole series sounds like a man for all seasons 🙂

  5. Thanks for the post. I see what you mean about the group dynamic with my son & his group of friends, only they have the added stress/bonus (both) of gay and trans people in their mix. They’re a great group of people & fiercely loyal to each other.

Comments are closed.