Today, author D.S. Dehel is guesting. She’s talking about her latest release Christmas Wrapping, a steamy holiday romance.
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Being an author was always a dream of mine. When I was very small there was no question in my mind that I would be an author. (Of course, there was also no question in my mind that I would be a princess and a doctor. One out of three accomplished.) Seven or so is when I first wrote my stories down, and yes, I still have one, so writing has always been part of my life. (An aside here: that story, titled “One Dark Knight” still has potential. If I could only remember how it played out.)
As a pre-teen and teen, I wrote continuously (still have those, too.) and again believed that I’d publish eventually. But back then the formula for being an author was step 1: write, step 2: publish, step 3: be rich and famous.
If only it was so easy.
Life and reality caught up with me in my twenties. I still wanted to write—and I did off and on—but I had a family and needed to make money, so I tucked that bright, shiny dream away until the time came to focus on myself for a change.
That time came once my youngest turned fifteen. I relinquished all my leadership positions at work, quit the extra jobs, and wrote, even though I still worked full-time. That semester I’d been assigned Creative Writing as a class, and I decided to utilize all the resources available from NaNoWriMo’s Youth Writing Program, but I also decided that I would plan when my students planned and would write when the kids wrote.
That November, I poured out the novel that had been lurking in my head for years. In twenty-one days I wrote 50,000 words…and kept going. That draft hit over 110,000 words. I took a breather and dumped out the next—rather large—book in my head which clocked in at over 200,000 words. I wrote two books in four months.
And I kept going.
Neither of those first two books (Okay, the second one is three books) have been published…yet. Both are strong plot wise, but need finessing that I haven’t gotten around to thus far.
But my third manuscript was the second novel I published. It was also the first one I submitted, and though it sparked interest from agents, no one accepted it. In retrospect, this was a good thing because I went back and tweaked the plot and sharpened the language. Gods and Mortals is a much better book because of the rejection.
So what made me submit Gods and Mortals? One of my Beta readers encouraged me to put together a submission packet and put myself out there. She even came and stood beside me as I clicked the submit button.
Mostly she browbeat me into submitting. And that type of tough love made me overcome my fear of humiliation, rejection, and nobody loving my book baby. She also cheered me up when all three of those things happened.
She was also the second person I told when I had my first acceptance. Because Tanya is the reason that I wrote my first published novel Inferno. I’d spent months whining about the success Fifty Shades of Gray had. (It’s really a poorly written book, but I digress.) She told me that I either had to write a better version or shut up about it.
So I wrote one. And to this day, I’m still proud of that book. Still proud that I have my name printed on the cover of a book.
And you, if you’ve read this far, you, too could—no, make that can—be a published author, too. You just need to finish that book that’s lurking inside of you. Or perhaps you started a manuscript and never did the really, really hard part of slogging through the dreary middle and making it all the way to the end. Of course, you need to do the work of revising, revising, and even more revising, but it’s so worth it in the end.
And get yourself a cheerleader Beta Reader. You’re going to need her.
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Title: Christmas Wrapping
Series: N/A
Author: D.S. Dehel
Genre: Steamy Holiday Romance
Heat Rating: 3 Flames (open-door sex, but no explicit language used)
Length: 30,602 words/107 pages
Publisher: Extasy Books
Release Date: December 8, 2023
Totally wrap yourself in holiday magic.
Blurb: Christmas 1985 promises to be dull for Steph Marshall, a computer whiz stuck in a dead-end mall job. Then two small strangers enter her life…and kidnap her as a present for their boss, Nick Claus. When she wakes under a Christmas tree, Steph is furious at her abductors and Nick. But she soon learns that Nick is not like his father, Kris Claus. He’s charming, funny, and most of all, kind to everyone he meets. She finds herself drawn to the Santa-in-Waiting.
But things at the North Pole aren’t like the songs describe. Not everyone is a jolly old elf. This world is too different from all she knows, full of magic and reindeer shifters, and to make things worse, Nick won’t stand up to his father and make the changes the North Pole needs. Can Steph help Nick break from tradition and be the Claus he’s meant to be? Or will Christmas morning come too soon?
Purchase at:
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | Extasy Books
Not knowing what else to do, she padded toward the rug. If nothing else, she could warm her toes and plot her next moves. She padded over to it. Her feet had just hit it when a thud startled her. A dropped tin mug rolled in her direction.
The CEO she’d met at HipSociety gawked at her from the doorway. Worn plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a red Henley replaced his khakis and turtleneck. His white hair was still spiked perfectly, but now spilled tea puddled around his stockinged feet.
“What in the dickens are you doing here?”
“I-I don’t know.” She absently tugged her zipper down an inch, then back up. “I woke up here. Well, there.” She pointed to the base of the spruce. “Next to the packages.”
“Ow.” He jumped sideways. Apparently, the hot tea had soaked through his socks.
“Are you okay?” She walked to the edge of the carpet.
“Yeah.” His voice exuded disappointment. Then he bent down and peeled off his socks and used them to mop up the tea. “My morning is just starting weird.”
“I know the feeling.” She picked up the dropped mug and handed it to him. “My day has been weird, too.”
He stuffed his socks inside the mug, set it on a nearby end table, and gave a snort. “I imagine. Hang on. What’s that?” He reached for her.
“What?” She backed away.
“Stay still a moment.” He walked behind her, his fingers causing a twitch at the back of her neck. “Those idiots.”
“What?” She tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice. As she turned around, she heard the rip of adhesive coming off the flannel of her footie pajamas.
The man held up a sticky gift tag. Written in something remarkably like crayon were the words To: Boss, From: Jack and Perry. Perry’s name had appeared first, but a line was drawn through it, and Jack’s name was emphatically written above that.
He shook his head again. “I can’t believe those two.”
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D.S. Dehel is a lover of words, wine, and the Oxford comma. When she’s not immersed in a book, she is a mom to her four kids and her spoiled feline Mr. Darcy or two pampered pooches: Piper and Jaime. Having “retired” she spends her days dreaming up new plot lines and word smiting for hours on end. She adores literary allusions, hot sex scenes, and British men. Her husband is still convinced she writes children’s books. Please don’t enlighten him.
Find D.S.: Web Site | Facebook Page | Facebook Profile | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Amazon
Maggie Blackbird 