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, Kim! I can always use the chocolate therapy!

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

Lelandi Wildhaven is on a mission—find out who murdered her sister. But what she doesn’t expect is to find is that Darien Silver and his gray werewolf pack run Silver Town, and he believes her sister committed suicide. All he needs is for the little red lupus garou to turn his already upside-down world into more of a mess. And she’s ready to oblige.

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

My publisher. ☺ It was originally Don’t Cry Wolf. ☺

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I love the paranormal and had been writing psychic stories, then got into hardcore paranormal—vampires. ☺ But the market was becoming saturated, so I shifted to something that wasn’t at the time, Werewolves. And since the only ones I’d seen were of the sort where the poor guy was changed into a werewolf and didn’t know if he was a good guy or was killing people at night or the strictly horror stories where werewolves are monster-like creatures who kill for the sake of killing and had to be killed, it was fun changing the whole idea. In none of the previous examples was the werewolf allowed to live. They had to die, these hideous nonconformists.
So with mine, I wanted to make them human, well-adjusted to the notion they wore a fur coat sometimes, having their own secretive society, and enhanced abilities due to their wolf counterpart. But their wolf part of them is always with them, just as their human instinct is when they’re a wolf. Plus, they’re sexy, powerful, and protective of their kind—which made them perfect romance material. They mostly have trouble with other wolf packs, although humans can cause some angst as well. ☺

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

In Heart of the Wolf, I don’t really show the pack dynamics in a functional pack. So in Destiny of the Wolf, I wanted to show a pack running the town in Colorado, unlike most packs that live within the human confines, and how they deal with problems within that pack, including how to resolve the trouble one little red lupus garou female causes when she arrives.

What are your favorite paranormal research books or sites, and why?

I really don’t use sites for researching the paranormal. Instead, I research wolves, werewolf legend, real werewolf cases. The paranormal element is based mostly on stories I’ve read or movies or plays I’ve seen that have influenced the way I create my own paranormal worlds.
Which character did you like writing about the most, and why? Carol Woods was a fun character because she’s human and I wanted to show how a human who wants to save the heroine from being a werewolf gets into trouble. But she’s not just any human. She has psychic abilities and can foresee future and past events.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing?

Just as we as characters evolve from how we deal with issues daily, my characters do also. It’s not that it wouldn’t be fun creating character sheets and all that. But it just doesn’t work for me. I have to set my characters loose, and then see how they deal with conflict, with others, with trying to reach their goals. ☺

How does your research and/or world affect your character development?

I try to make the world as real as possible, even if they’re werewolves or have psychic abilities. So I create characters who readers hopefully connect with and then think, wow, my next-door neighbor could be a werewolf! For real. That’s what makes creating a paranormal world as real as possible fun.

How do you go about building your world if you use one? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?

In Heart of the Wolf, I printed off map elevations and figured out distances to place my fictional cabin near Wolf Mt in Oregon. I used the description and pictures to “draw” from for a ranch that was for sale in the country also for one of the werewolf characters. For Destiny of the Wolf, I used pictures of silver mining towns, and since I’d been to some of them, I just incorporated things I liked and made up my own to suit my story. In To Tempt the Wolf, I used to visit the Oregon beaches when I lived in Portland/Tigard/Beaverton. But even so, I looked at pictures for the various beach areas, and made up my own that would suit the story.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

Too many to name. I’ve loved both historical and paranormal romance authors, many of whom inspired me to write books that entertain just as they have done.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

Having new releases out! When readers see that you’re not a one book author, it sells earlier books and new releases. ☺ I’m finding that a lot of folks hadn’t heard of Heart of the Wolf, until Destiny of the Wolf caught their attention. Since then, Heart of the Wolf has been selling like crazy again. The same with Winning the Highlander’s Heart. Plus, I got a new review of Winning the Highlander’s Heart which was a surprise since the book has been out for a couple of years. I posted it all over and sales picked up considerably. ☺

What do we have to look forward to next?

To Tempt the Wolf is coming Sept 1. The cover is posted on Amazon, although I’ve been told it might change. But the story is set on the Oregon Coast. In this, we have a hunky hero whose pack has mutinied, his sister has disappeared, and the woman who rescues him turns his whole world upside down. ☺ In every story, the mystery and adventure unravels, but they won’t be the same old story. Every one of them has a total new take. I’m currently working on an Arctic werewolf story also.

Also, Deadly Liaisons, my new vampire romantic suspense from Samhain is due out Mar 31. It just received the Golden Blush Recommended Read from Literary Nymphs, Amazon Nymph! ☺

Thanks, Terry Spear!

To celebrate her book release, Terry Spear is offering a free ebook of Destiny of the Wolf to one lucky commenter on today's blog. 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, Heart of the Wolf just named in Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice for BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

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 and a Bachelors in Business and Distinguished Military Graduate of West Texas A & M. 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.

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, Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Allure of the Wolf, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, Deadly Liaisons, The Vampire…In My Dreams (young adult), Deidre's Secret (young adult), The Accidental Highland Hero (2010) and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.

Check out author’s website at www.terryspear.com

And you can friend her at: _http://twitter.com/TerrySpear

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698072929
http://www.myspace.com/terryspear

Buy http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Wolf-Terry-Spear/dp/1402216688.