Terry Spear Interview, Author of Seduced by the Wolf
Thank you, Terry, for visiting and sharing with us about your books and writing experience.
Q. Please tell us what inspires you to write the genres you write? Is any genre more difficult than another?
Terry: I love fantasy and the paranormal. But I love true stories too. And the worlds I most enjoy reading have some truth to them. So for me, it’s combining the real world with the world of fantasy that inspires me most. I’ve written a lot of true stories also. So either works for me. I don’t write what I find too difficult. I have to include the mystery, since I love mysteries. I have to include the suspense, because I grew up on suspenseful stories that I loved. I enjoy incorporating real-to-life stories. I love the paranormal aspects that make the stories fun. And I love romance and happily ever after. Humor just is part of the writing. So the hardest part for me is leaving out any of these elements when I’m writing fiction.
Q. When you do a series do you have each book plotted out before you start the first one or do the subsequent books flow from the first book?
Terry: I loved this question, Martha, because no one has asked it quite in this way! I don’t plot any of the books, first of all. Some books were considered stand alone titles from the onset.Heart of the Wolf
and Destiny of the Wolf
, for instance. Although Leidolf Wildhaven appears in both. Then when I wrote To Tempt the Wolf
, I had fun including him again. But the stories themselves were individual efforts. The same with Legend of the White Wolf
. Many fans asked to see more of certain key or secondary characters in the first four books so Wolf Fever
(Dec 2010) was written for Carol Wood from Destiny of the Wolf, and I enjoyed revisiting so many of the characters from that 2nd 
book. Jake, the pack leader Darien’s brother, also wanted his own story, so I’m currently wrapping up Dreaming of the Wolf (Book 8, due out 2011). 
Heart of the Highland Wolf (Book 7, Jun 2011) was also a new world set in Scotland, new characters except for the thread of a prolific romance werewolf author, Julia Wildthorn, who has writer’s block. What better way to get unblocked but then to meet a hunky Highlander wolfish kind of guy? And the great news is that now Ian MacNeill’s brother will have a story of his own as he tries to track down the man who stole their money in The Highland Wolf in Paradise. And several fans wanted to see the story about Meara from To Tempt the Wolf
, so I’m going to have fun writing her story in The Wolf and the SEAL. J
I can say that
Seduced by the Wolf
was fine as a stand alone but it also drew to to want to read the other book.
Q. Do your characters live with you (inside your head at odd times?) as you write?
Terry: Sometimes!!! I’ve been having trouble keeping my Highlander at bay. He keeps wanting to get to the Grand Cayman Islands to meet a sexy botanist (when he’s supposed to be trying to track down the money a crook stole from the clan, when I’m still trying to finish Jake’s story in Dreaming of the Wolf. One story at a time please, folks. But if that’s not bad enough, Meara is waving her hand, saying, ME FIRST!!! Except in her case, no way does she want the SEAL to come to her Oregon coast woodland resort. He insists he’s there to protect her. She insists there is no need.
Jake intervenes. HIS story first. It’s nearly done. Just wait your turn. Meara crosses her arms and gives him a truly waspish glower. *sigh* What is a writer to do? I love them all, but sometimes, they just won’t mind!
Sounds like those characters keep you busy writing so they can give you some peace. :)
Q. Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why? Can you describe your voice in a sentence?
Terry: Both. The story has to be told. The voice defines how it is told. Hmm, I’d say mysterious, romantic, a thriller of sorts, served up with a slice of subtle humor.
I love the touch of humor which gives extra warmth and life to your stories.
Q. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating the Wolf series?
Terry: That werewolves are real. J
Now there is an interesting answer to ponder.
Q. In Seduced by a Wolf what is something your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying?
Terry: Ohmigosh, Cassie Roux would never ever say that werewolves are more important than wolves. She would just cringe at the notion. Now Leidolf is none too happy about her sense of loyalties, and tries fervently to show her how much she’s missing in life. And it’s working!!! Kind of. J
I agree...it is kind of working. *BG*
Q. Is there an ancillary character you had the most fun with?
Terry: Absolutely! I love lots of characters, and sometimes my secondaries can really steal my heart. And when it happens, I usually end up having a lot of fan comments on how much they stole theirs, too. And the next thing I know, I’ve got to make a story for them. But I have to say that oftentimes I don’t plan a story for these characters. However, sometimes I do think I’d like to really write the brothers’ stories, in Destiny of the Wolf, for instance. I wait to see if anyone else loves them as much as I do, though, first. Jake has his coming up, and Tom, I hope will, too. I hadn’t realized how much fans wanted to see more of Carol Wood and Meara in their own stories, though. And initially, I hadn’t planned it. But I had a ball writing Carol’s story. And I can’t wait to revisit the characters from To Tempt the Wolf in Meara’s story. Now, in Seduced by the Wolf—two characters stand out for me—the omega wolf, the first time I’ve written one in a story, and the teen heartthrob. J Both I really enjoyed working with. J
It makes me wonder how complicated that gets going back to tell the story of a character from an earlier book.
Q. I note that you do online classes and workshops. How long have you been doing this and why?
Terry: Four years. I love helping others to achieve their writing dreams. Early on, I had advice from a multi-published author and her one key piece of advice, “Start at the beginning when the character’s life has turned upside down,” stuck with me. I’d perused a ton of books on writing, but the most valuable advice I received from critique partners when I was just beginning my journey. One of the things my students find most helpful is that I actually look at snippets of their work and help to show what can be improved, or how it looks just great after giving the lesson. Getting feedback was what made all the difference in the world to me. Not just how others did it that made it work, but how that related to my actual work.
That is so good of you to give back in this fashion to help others.
Q If you could trade places with anyone, real or imagined (including paranormal creatures), in any time, who would it be and why?
Terry: A mermaid. I love the water and the idea you could travel under it for miles without a care in the world (as long as you didn’t garner shark interest), has always appealed. Exploring unknown worlds, the deepest underwater caves, find all kinds of interesting treasures left behind by sunken ships. See the myriad of brightly colored fish and coral, and enjoy the stormy seas, but never be harmed by them.
I so expected this answer to be a wolf so mermaid came from out of the blue!
Q. What is something unique about you that you would share with your readers?
Terry: I love tomatoes and tomato sauce and ketchup, so why not stewed tomatoes or tomato soup? I love Chinese snow peas, but I can’t stand regular peas. Do you have strange aversions for food that is so similar, you wonder why?
THANK YOU!
Thanks so much, Martha, for having me today on your blog! I loved your questions. They were a lot of fun and thought-provoking!!!
And to readers, thanks so much for dropping by and commenting!!
Terry
