Interview with Terry Spear

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Terry Spear. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

Thanks so much for having me at Much Cheaper Than Therapy today! I needed to be where a dose of chocolate is always plentiful! (We aim to please!) KW

I understand you have a new release out called Heart of the Wolf. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Publisher’s Weekly said this about Heart of the Wolf:

Red werewolf Bella flees her adoptive pack of gray werewolves when the alpha male Volan tries forcibly to claim her as his mate. Her real love, beta male Devlyn, has been out of her life for years, but comes after her when she finds herself accidentally captured by humans. Bella becomes convinced that Devlyn only wants to return her to Volan, but soon realizes that Devlyn loves her as much as she loves him, and is willing to fight Volan to the death to claim her. That problem pales, however, as a pack of red werewolves takes to killing human females in a crazed quest to claim Bella for their own. Bella and Devlyn must defeat the rogue wolves before Devlyn's final confrontation with Volan.

The vulpine couple's chemistry crackles off the page, but the real strength of the book lies in Spear's depiction of pack power dynamics, as well as in the details of human−wolf interaction. Her wolf world feels at once palpable and even plausible.

Heart of the Wolf is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

I like to have a title that shows what the story is about—especially a shapeshifter like this. And since it’s not a werewolf horror story, I wanted to show that it was a romance. So Heart of the Wolf was born. All the series end with Wolf, to keep some consistency. The next three titles sold to Sourcebooks also--Don’t Cry Wolf, Betrayal of the Wolf, Allure of the Wolf.

Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?

Yes. In each of the stories, real wolf behavior is researched and included as snippets in the world building. Plus, even though I’ve lived in Colorado and Oregon, I do a lot of research, even to the extent that I printed out a bunch of elevation maps in Oregon, to better picture Bella and Devlyn searching in the woods for the killer’s clues. In Allure of the Wolf, I’m researching the Canadian Arctic and all about Arctic wolves as opposed to the red and gray wolves that are in Heart of the Wolf and in the other stories. And in fact, Arctic wolves are a subspecies of gray wolves, but different due to living in that region.

What character did you like writing about the most, and why?

I like all my characters, or they wouldn’t be in the book! From the bad guys to the secondaries like Bella’s neighbor who keeps trying to catch the gray wolf’s attention, to the zoo-man who creates lots of trouble for them, although he only wants the best for wolves, and Leidolf, the mystery red werewolf, who finds his way into all my stories. In fact, he just now appeared in my WIP, Allure of the Wolf. And of course, Devlyn for his devotion and unwilling desire to have Bella and keep her safe, to Bella who could never find anyone she loved like Devlyn.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

Jack London and his Call of the Wild and White Fang. I’d read them years ago as a kid, but that’s part of why I wrote about wolves as I did. :) (I loved those books, too) KW

What do we have to look forward next?

The Vampire…In My Dreams (YA, coming August 26, ’08), Deadly Liaisons (vampire romantic suspense, coming Fall ’09), Don’t Cry Wolf is coming out Spring ’09.

Thanks, Terry!

Thank you all for having me and I wish you all a great summer!

To celebrate her book release, Terry is offering a free ebook of The Vampire...In My Dreams or Winning the Highlander’s Heart, winner’s choice to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please make sure we have a way to contact you if you win) She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Bio. Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses, gardening, judging contests, and reviewing books. Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of Heart of the Wolf, Don’t Cry Wolf, Betrayal of the Wolf, Allure of the Wolf, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, Deadly Liaisons, Relative Danger, The Vampire…In My Dreams (young adult), Deidre’s Secret (young adult) and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.

Check out author’s website at http://www.terryspear.com/

Buy http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Wolf-Terry-Spear/dp/1402211570/ref=pd_rhf_p_3/104-6913220-0206331