Terry Spear

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Terry’s Most Recent Book Savage Hunger Praise for Terry Spear: “Spear weaves paranormal, suspense, and romance together in one non-stop roller coaster of passion and adventure.” —Love Romance Passion “Just as intense and swoon-inducing as the books before it... The chemistry is steamy and hot.” —USA Today’s Happy Ever After Blog

Savage Hunger

Heart of the Wolf Destiny of the Wolf To Tempt the Wolf Legend of the White Wolf Seduced by the Wolf Wolf Fever Heart of the Highland Wolf Dreaming of the Wolf A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing

 A book deal sitting in an unexpected email changed Terry Spear’s life, and now she’s a USA Today bestselling author, living her dream writing happily-ever-afters. We caught up with this native Californian while she described her inspiration behind writing paranormal romance, her favorite reader feedback moments, and her dream romantic getaway.

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Let’s talk a little about you.

DANL: Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

TS: I grew up all over—originally from Sacramento, California, but lived in Florida, New Jersey, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maryland, Texas, Oklahoma, and Oregon! I live in the heart of Texas now.

DANL: Are you married, have children, and/or pets?

TS: I have two grown children. My son is a navigator with the Air Force, and my daughter’s a newly registered dietician! I was a single mom and homeschooled both of them, and am SO proud of them! I’ve had standard poodles, a crazy Afghan hound that acted more like a cat than a dog, silky terriers, a Labrador retriever, cats, and when I was a kid—a turtle, a chicken, and mice.

DANL: When did you start writing romance novels, and what inspired you to start writing?

TS: I started about 17 years ago when my husband left. That first weekend he had the kids, I began my writing journey with a heartfelt historical romance. From then on, I was driven to write happily ever afters.

DANL: What has been your favorite or most memorable moment as an author?

TS: Making the USA Today bestseller list! I had just gotten home from the first ever Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal RWA conference in New Orleans where I taught a couple of workshops and my editor, Deb Werksman, called. I thought she was calling about edits for another book. It took me a while to focus on what she was saying! Then I was trying to figure out which book it was for. I’m a newbie at the bestseller list thing…and was thinking A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing had just released. It couldn’t be for that one…Yep, it was!

DANL: What do you love most about your readers?

TS: The feedback! I love hearing that readers love the characters and want to know what happened to Bella and her babies, or Lelandi’s babies, or want to know when Tom is going to find his mate. I feel like I write Soaps for the shifter world. And I love it!

DANL: Have you had any memorable experiences or feedback from your readers you would be willing to share?

TS: One of my readers wrote to say she’d shared my books with her aunt who went home and bought every one of the wolf series. The books had opened a whole new world for her. She died suddenly of a heart attack and her niece wanted me to know how much she had loved my world. A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing had still been sitting on a table where she’d been reading it. Her niece’s email, like many others, really touched me, and I dedicated one of the books coming out next year in memory of her aunt and of the niece who shared her story with me.

DANL: What other things do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

TS: Photography! I’m not all that great at it, but I love trying to get close-ups of flowers and distant shots of a full moon. And teddy bear designing! They’ve found homes all over the world. Gardening, especially when my plants outnumber weeds! I also enjoy hiking, when it’s cool.

On Discovering romance

DANL: How and when did you first discover romance novels?

TS: Many of the children’s books I read WERE romances. They were about the princess and the prince and finding a happily ever after.

DANL: Do you remember the first one you read? Which novel was it, and what do you remember most about the novel or your experience reading it?

TS: The first two “real” romance books I read were sneaked to me when I was thirteen. My best friend gave them to me to read because her sister was a librarian and was reading them. She was ten years older than us. They were Coffee, Tea, or Me? and Tender Loving Care. They were wild! Probably tame today. But back then I had never read anything like it. What did I remember most? The heroine’s boobs bouncing up and down. LOL.

DANL: Who is currently your favorite romance author(s)?

TS: Christine Feehan, Karen Marie Moning, Jayne Ann Krentz, and the list goes on and on.

DANL: What is currently your favorite romance novel(s)?

TS: Kidnapped by Nicola Cornick. I loved Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, but this was a new version of that and was a romance, and I loved it.

DANL: Who is the most recent author you’ve fallen in love with, and how did you discover them?

TS: I often discover great authors through judging various RWA contests. I read Rebecca Zanetta’s book through one contest and fell in love with her work.

More about books and reading:

DANL: What is your favorite book of all time and why?

TS: Tons of books I’ve read are favorites for all time! But one was The Immortal Highlander. It was in the middle of the series by Moning’s Highlander series and the first book I’d ever read by her. I loved that the hero had fallen from grace and was so obnoxious in the way he was trying to win back the queen’s favor.

DANL: Who is your favorite author of all time?

TS: Jack London because he gave me the ability to see all creatures as having a place in the world.

DANL: What book would we find on your nightstand now?

TS: I have a long table with a stack of 23 books!!! Highland Sword is what I’m reading currently.

DANL: What was your favorite book when you were a child?

TS: Fun with Dick and Jane because it opened my world to reading.

DANL: What was the last book you bought just for the cover and why?

TS: Nightshade. The title and cover made me want to read about the YA werewolves who weren’t exactly werewolves.

DANL: What is your idea of the perfect romance novel?

TS: Where the story ends happily ever after! They can start out so many different ways, have so many different kinds of personalities involved, different kinds of conflicts to resolve, but the perfect romance novel has a happy ending.

DANL: Why do you think romance continues to be the best-selling genre in American literature?

TS: Happily ever afters. *sigh*

Can you tell us a little more about your writing?

DANL: How would you describe your writing style—how do you go about creating your novels? What kind of research do you do?

TS: I write the story as it develops. I don’t plot it out except to know what my hero and heroine’s goals are, how they meet, what they do in the way of a job. I research everything from weather, plants, wolf and jaguar behavior, to houses, zoos, or other locations I might look to use in my books. Often I’ve found the perfect home listed for sale some place, like the one on the Oregon coast where Finn lived, or the Oregon ranch where Leidolf lives. So someone now lives in those homes that have been featured in a werewolf book! I’ve watched videos on jaguar and wolf behavior, listened to the sounds of wolves’ howling to hear the differences, and the sound of jaguars roaring too. I read blogs of travel trips to the Amazon, and I’ve spoken with a couple of people who had visited it. I’ve used Google Earth to “see” the landscape and terrain in several of my books. I’ve been to some of the areas in several of them, too. I’ve visited a wolf reserve and plan to visit a big cat reserve soon.

DANL: Is there an interesting story about how you got your first novel published?

TS: I was really sick, bad case of the flu. I was NOT going to get out of bed and check my emails on my computer located on the other side of the house. NOT going to happen. That took about fifteen minutes of resolve and then I was logging in to check my emails, telling myself this was so stupid. I was running a fever, feeling horrible and I wouldn’t have anything important anyway. Then I opened up my emails. I had a request for two full YAs and within a month had sold them! It didn’t help with keeping my resolve not to check on emails!

DANL: Do you have any “author advice” you would share with aspiring writers?

TS: Keep writing, revising and submitting!

Would you be willing to share some more personal & interesting things about yourself?

DANL: What is the most romantic thing someone could do for you?

TS: Take me to an island paradise.

DANL: If you could travel anywhere in the world, right now, where would you go?

TS: I’ve heard Fiji is gorgeous. I’d go to Scotland again and stay longer! But I would also love to take a cruise up to Prince Edward Island where my MacNeill Highlanders settled after leaving Scotland.

DANL: Do you have a favorite place you have visited?

TS: I loved Scotland and seeing seven castles. I loved Grand Cayman Island, and some of the smaller islands in Hawaii, the Greek islands and the Caribbean islands. See a pattern? I love islands!

DANL: If you had to choose a favorite character or moment from one of your novels, what would it be and why?

TS: The waterfall scene in Savage Hunger. It was tender, caring, lust-filled, and fun!

DANL: Can you give us a short list of your favorite things?

TS: Chicken, green tea, emerald stones, the color green in general. I’m also Irish, and I love St. Patrick’s Day. I love Haviland thin mints, which I can ONLY get during the holidays here, and I was thrilled when one of my fans brought some to me at the RWA conference in Anaheim!

DANL: We believe in giving back. Do you have a favorite charity you like to support?

TS: Breast Cancer Awareness.

DANL: Where can readers find out more about you or follow you?

www.terryspear.com

Twitter, @TerrySpear.

http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear .

http://terry-spear.blogspot.com

http://pinterest.com/terryspear