Terry Spear interview and giveaway!

First off, let me take a moment to say thank you to Terry Spear for this lovely Q&A!


Question: Tell us something about yourself, so that we can get to know you a bit better…

Terry: I’ve been creating stories since I was young, which might also have something to do with my dad who was a great oral storyteller. But with working as a personnel officer in the Army, working on an MBA, personnel courses, the Command and General Staff College, and having a family, I had to set aside my storytelling for a time. Then when my son and daughter were little and I was teaching them to read, I began to write children’s stories, falling in love with the process of storytelling all over again. Then I wrote a western historical romance and that was the beginning of writing romances and I haven’t stopped since!

Question 2: Heart of the Highland Wolf was released this month--congrats! How did you come up with the concept?

Terry: Well, you see, it was all my fault for asking my coworkers what I could write differently in my next story. And one accused me of never writing about poor werewolves. They were all rich! But I had it in mind that my next book would be about Highland wolves. So, I had to come up with a story that would work well for both. And yet, I love historical Highland stories, so how could I come up with an idea that suited both a historical theme in a contemporary story while still having poor werewolves?

I have to say my coworkers are great fun. So what I came up with was a wolf clan that had lost their investments to a scam artist and the necessity for their pack leader to allow an American movie to be filmed at their castle. That allowed me to show Highlanders in kilts fighting against a real enemy clan, damsels in distress, wolf fights, and romance Highland style. Yep, lots and lots of conflict, hot and passionate romance, and pack dynamics as they dealt with clan conflict also. Oh, of course there’s got to be a castle with hidden passages and even a ghostly presence to make the story complete!


Question 3: The MacNeill brothers are quadruplets, and while we meet each of the brothers in this novel, this is Ian’s story-will the other three brothers have a book of their own?

Terry: Oh, absolutely! Duncan’s story is next in the series, THE HIGHLAND WOLF IN PARADISE, title probably to change. But he’s the dark warrior in HEART OF THE HIGHLAND WOLF and is bound and determined to get the money back that the scam artist stole from them. He is extremely mission-oriented, but when he runs into a lone female wolf at the airport, and discovers the hotel room his next older brother reserved for him doesn’t exist, Duncan has to find other accommodations. And that’s paradise for you! But what happens when the man who stole the clan’s money becomes interested in the female wolf? There’s real trouble in paradise! Of course, I’d love to also write about their financial genius of a brother who got them into this mess in the first place, and the second eldest brother, Cearnach, who has a way with the ladies, and is always good of cheer.

Question 4: What drew you to writing werewolf romances?

Terry: Vampires 8) Oh, yes, I know everyone’s wondering how vampires could make a writer want to write about werewolves. But you see, I was writing about these really hot and sexy, not cold and dead, vampires and so was everyone else and their brother! Well, some were cold and dead. The vampires writers were writing about. Not writers’ brothers. And so methinks I need to write about some other hot and sexy paranormal type. I had seen movies about the werewolf beasts--all horror stories, and yet there was a touch of humanity in their characters, to an extent. And I’d recently read Jack London’s CALL OF THE WILD and WHITE FANG, and loved his take on wolves. I never had any notion of writing any other kind of werewolf than one who had human instincts and a wolf’s senses, but was one with his wolf half. No psychiatrist couch needed. No killing monsters, except oh, sure, you’ve got to have a bad guy or two. But just like in every society, we have good guys and bad guys. Same with wolves. Years ago when I entered my first wolf book, HEART OF THE WOLF, in a contest, an editor from a NY publishing house thought it was a great twist on a horror story. Horror story? But yes, that’s what werewolf stories were all about…in the beginning. Now, they come in all shapes and sizes, and are lovable and keepable. I love being a writer because I can make up my own words.

Question 5: I have heard that you have another shape-shifting romance in the works in the form of a Jaguar Shifter Series, what can you tell us about that?

Terry: Think hot steamy jungles, hot sexy jaguars, rainforests, waterfalls, the music of birds and the call of howler monkeys, of danger and intrigue and mystery. And hot jaguars. Did I mention that already?

Question 6: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring authors?

Terry: Never give up! The best advice I can give is to keep writing, revising, and submitting! Also, you should absolutely love the genre you’re writing because to make a name for yourself so that readers will begin to follow your work, you want to brand yourself. But if writing in a certain genre is just to follow a fad, and as a writer you don’t really enjoy reading or writing it, readers will see this in your work. So you have to love the genre you write in because you’ll need to write lots more than just one book in that genre to really garner a following. Even with seven books out in this series, a lot of readers are nor discovering the series.

Finish what you start. I bounce around on several stories at once because I’ll get stumped on one and work on another so I’m always writing. But to sell, you have to finish a story. So at some point, I have to make myself write just that one story, until the hero and the heroine have their happy ever after and I have a closure and can send the book off!

But most of all, enjoy the writing process! Love your characters, share your passion with them, and keep on writing!

Thanks so much for having me here today!! Hope everyone checks out a nice hunky Highland werewolf of two!!


IT’S A MATTER OF PRIDE….

Modern day werewolf laird Ian MacNeill reluctantly allows a film production company to use his castle, but he knows his secretive clan has a big problem when a beautiful read werewolf female who insists she’s working on the film keeps showing up in the wrong places…

AND A MATTER OF PLEASURE….

Julia Wildthorn is not who she says she is--she’s sneaking into Argent Castle to steal an ancient relic for her grandfather and to do research for her next werewolf romance novel. When she catches a glimpse of Ian, she realizes he’s the perfect hero…
(from the back of the arc)


I HAVE TWO COPIES OF HEART OF THE HIGHLAND WOLF TO GIVE AWAY!
CONTEST END ON JULY 19.
RESIDENTS OF THE US & CANADA ONLY