Terry Spear's Blog, page 395

The Ancient Fae is Coming in Print!

I had to work on the cover for The Ancient Fae to create a print copy. So while I was at it...I know, I was supposed to be writing, but I decided I needed to take a day off and get caught up on other stuff, like updating my website and all! ...do I sound guilty, or what???

But while I was messing around with covers, I redid The Siren's Lure and

...The Shadow Elf. I was just having too much fun!But it was Labor Day after all, and I think it's deserved, don't you? Next, I'm going to work on Silence of the Wolf marketing materials. But you see, after I made the covers, I had to upload them to all the sales sites, and then I had to update my webpage. And then I had to update my blog. And then...well, did you ever read The Cat in the Hat's Spot book? Not sure what it was called, but it was about trying to clean one mess up and creating another, and another, and well, one spot led to a whole house full of spots. It's so very true, you see.
So I'm off to clean up all my spots...Have a super great Sunday! Hope yours is spot free!


Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Labor Day Weekend

Are you doing anything special?

I'm getting The Ancient Fae ready for print, which means I now have the interior of the book ready and it's time to work on the cover. It's not the same as working on a ebook cover. You have to make sure that all the print words are not to close to the edge of the book or they'll be cut off. And I have no idea if they are or not until I try this out. Plus I have to make a back cover.

So I'm off to do that, and another guest blog. I'm waiting on 6 interviews to be sent before I can finish those up. Which means? I can write on the books today!

And! I received a Fresh Fiction review for the first jaguar shifter story, SAVAGE HUNGER! Loved it!  Dark, sultry, and primal romance! Woohoow!!! Get ready for a trip to the jungle!




"Dark, Sultry and Primal Romance"Savage Hunger
Terry Spear Reviewed by Jessica Dunn
Posted August 31, 2012

SAVAGE HUNGER is set deep in the Amazon and author Terry Spear brings the dark sultry jungle to life before your eyes. The chemistry between Kathleen and Connor is blazing hot and will leave readers breathless. Best Selling Author Spear known for her Werewolf Series kicks off her new Jaguar shifters series with SAVAGE HUNGER and I believe she has another best seller on her hands.

Savage Hunger , October 2012
by Terry Spear

Sourcebooks Casablanca
352 pages
ISBN: 1402266928
EAN: 9781402266928
Kindle: B008BWABXU
Paperback

Add to Wish List
Buy at


Okay, I'm off to work on The Ancient Fae to see if I can get that uploaded today. It'll take about a week to be available.

Have a super great Labor Day! I'm going to be working on writing. Isn't that what Labor Day is all about??? Labor!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

New Cover for Lady Caroline and the Egotistical Earl!

I am writing, honest! Three more blogs done. I added 3 more, so that means I'm down to 10 to finish...again.

But I really wanted to change out the background on this picture and make the title clearer to read.

So what do you all think?  That's a Medieval background with towers in the back, but the Lady Caroline and her Egotistical Earl wanted to take center stage so they sort of blocked the town from view. Did I ever tell you how much my characters take over in a story? Even on the cover!



Lady Caroline has one mission in mind, helping her mother maintain their estates after her father's death, while knights posing as the earl's men continue to kill their livestock. But as soon as her mother wishes the earl's intervention, Caroline has a new problem--the earl is intrigued with her and wants her to reside at his castle and serve his mother.

Caroline refuses, but as the raids on her family's lands turn more deadly, Lord John Talbot forces the issue. Caroline continues to attempt to uncover who is behind the raids, and with her unnatural ability to remember details, she intends to see justice done.

The lady may be his undoing, but the earl decides she is the one for him and no other will do, if only he can keep her safe from the danger that follows her every move until he can wed her.

Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Smashwords

Okay, off to write more blogs!!!

Have a super great Friday!!! TGIF!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

My Heroes and Heroines are NOT Cooperating!!!

Okay, so here is the story--they've fallen in love from day one. Or...maybe not that early. But close enough. I mean, I've got to write at least 90,000 words! And they can't fall in love like that. No way. It won't work. Readers will be disappointed. Right?


Sure they will. It's disappointing to me, and I'm supposed to be thrilled with their progress. All the great internal conflict. They can't, they can't, they can't, then don't want to, they...well, maybe. No. Yes. No. Maybe...yes! They can't. And ahhh, they did.

See? It's that easy! Truly. So get it together folks. Play a little harder to get. Or a LOT harder to get. Yes, you can lust after each other. That's perfectly acceptable. Desirable. Really wanted! But no: I want you now, forever, and forever, and forever from page one.

Unless...did I mention how the world is full of exceptions? Unless the characters are ripped apart just as they're ready to make that commitment.

So what do we need? Not external conflict. Oh, sure, that's important to the story. But for the romance element it's not the external conflict that drives the story.

How many have read a romance where the hero and heroine are making out and it's just really getting good when the phone rings? No, no, no! That's a writer cop out. Why? Because there's no emotion going on between the hero and heroine. Frustration at the external intrusion, but not between the hero and heroine.

Unless...oh, yeah, did I mention how the world is full of exceptions? Unless the internal problem between the hero and heroine include that the he or she is a workaholic, and no matter what, has to answer the phone. Then it's an internal issue. Even for an intimate moment like this, he/she won't give up the call to duty. Yeah, maybe it's really important. But you know what? It's ALWAYS important. But is the relationship between them THAT important? The choice has to be made. Choices. Tough choices. That's what it is all about.

So in that case it works. It's part of the internal makings of the hero/heroine. It's what can come between them.

I'm working on two Highland stories and Silence of the Wolf and guess what? All the characters are not cooperating. Not with me. With each other, they're doing great. I can't have it! Readers can't have it! We have to have a drastic change.

Ever watch the Twilight Zone? I'm going to have to pull some strings. I've got to step in and thrown in some emotional monkey wrenches. These Highlanders and wolves are not going to want to get emotionally involved with each other.

Do I feel like an evil puppet master? Yes.

Really, I mean if they're happy, they're happy. Why should I mess with their lives? What gives me the right?

First of all, someone's got to do it if anyone wants to read their story.

Ever know of the perfectly lovely couple and their perfectly lovely family and how everyone is perfectly happy? First off, I hate them. Think, Stepford Wives and there needs to be an uprising.

Second, even if these people exist, NO one wants to read about them. :)

So if these characters want their stories told, they're just going to have to get with the program.

I just watched The Hunger Games and really enjoyed it. The hero and heroine had to kill each other. Like in The Highlander, there could be only one. Perfect for conflict. They might care about each other. They might be falling in love. But in the end, their job was to survive.

Was there a puppet master? Absolutely. When things looked to be going too well, or not, the puppet master stepped in. But in reality, we want the characters to be their own people. We want the issues to be deeply buried in them. So I'm not going to just throw some external issues at them to get them to cooperate. It won't work. I've got to dig into the psyche and give them some past history that will cause them to back off--from each other. They might be great at what they do...but when it comes to the hero and heroine relationship, it sucks. They don't want each other...but they do. The push/pull of the relationship!

In Forbidden Love, the heroine, a huntress, has the hero, a vampire, on her terminal list! What could be better?


[image error] nookbook
 Huntress Alena MacLeod is given a mission: work undercover to discover a rogue vampire’s secretive work, then terminate him.

Ephraim MacNeill, aka Sutton Bastrop, knows Alena is his Elizabeth MacLeod from an earlier time, and he’s determined to return to the past and right all the wrongs to end the curse placed on the love of his life before it’s too late—again.

Together, they must risk all to stop a war between a newly formed Brotherhood of rogue vampires, tired of the status quo, and the League of Hunters, who have ruled for centuries over the vampires—both changed during the Black Death—some of the survivors becoming vampires, and others hunters of the same.

***************
In this story, she has the mission to kill him. He has the goal of convincing her that she has always loved him and turn her back on her own people.  Lots of touch choices. And it works.

So I'm off to cause some real trouble for a bunch of heroes and heroines. They won't be really happy with me or with their h/h. But that's just the way it's got to be.

Wish me luck!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

The Visitant--My Best Friend's Husband Produced the Movie!

I have to share this. When I had to move from Florida, my junior year in high school, the hardest part was saying goodbye to my best girlfriend. We had plans to room together in college, but with the layoffs at the Cape, we had to move. I gave her a locket, and she kept it all those years.

I've kept in touch over the years, losing contact, then regaining it with email. Her husband is a film producer and in the latest release, The Visitant, the actress in the story is wearing the necklace I gave my girlfriend. That's what I call real friendship and I had to share!
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www.thevisitant.com
Ironically, when we were girls, our mothers would buy used ballroom gowns for us and we'd trick-or-treat in my neighborhood as fairy princesses, of course, and then return to my house where we made a tent out of the ping pong table. With only the eerie glow of the flashlight, I'd tell spooky stories.
We lived across from a jungle-like swamp (see why I can write about the Amazon?) and we used to explore it. But I always envisioned stolen pirate's treasure and ghostly beings living there--always the vivid imagination. Ghostly Liaisons was the YA book I wrote about it. :) 
[image error] nookbook Amazon
Emily Rundle’s curious nature causes her big problems when she moves with her family to Florida. First of all, she’s different. Really different. Then the nightmares begin. The kind she can’t escape. Somehow she has to unravel the mystery of the ghosts who plague her before it’s too late.

Michael Shipley just moved to town, too, and realizes at once Emily is trouble with a big T. If he becomes involved with her, his life will change forever. Premonitions he has that Emily’s life will be in danger forces him to make a stand to protect the girl who’s gifted with extraordinary abilities like him. They instantly bond as the two weirdest kids in school.
Back to writing guest blogs!!! 13 left to go and the RT article is done!
Terry"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"www.terryspear.com

Yes, I'm Writing, but....

Okay, I've been writing 4 blogs a day...so I AM writing, worked on Tom's story in Silence of the Wolf and it's now at 13K, and two Highland historicals romances that I had started, both at about 20K each now. So I was looking for another cover for a Highland romance and came across this. No, it's not a Highland romance cover, but I loved it.

I have some fantasy books I've written, and so this will be the cover for one of them. Isn't it gorgeous? Kayden McLeod of Otherworlds Publicity created it and she's making me a Highland cover for my other book, simply, The Highlander. But I still need to do a ton of work on the fantasy stories that are done--revise, edit, revise some more.

Here are two other covers I fell in love with. Did I mention I'm incorrigible? One is for a fantasy, the other for another historical. :) What I was looking for was a Highland cover and I need a vampire cover for Dangerous Liaisons, the sequel for Deadly Liaisons. That book is about 20K. See a pattern? I just need to finish the books! I began writing all these books in between books. And then ended up with deadlines and had to set them aside. But when I'd get stumped on a book on deadline, I'd go back to working on the other books that are partially done just so I could take a break and get unstumped on the deadline books. Makes sense. Right?

Some writers take a vacation, go do something else to jumpstart the muse. Me? I write another book!

Elaine does a beautiful job too. I still want to play around with some of my earlier covers on some of my books with Photoshop...but in the meantime...I've got to get back to working on some more blogs. 18 more to go!











































Have a super wonderful Tuesday!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Messing with Covers Again!

The first is the original...the studio background is all that's behind them. I'm just learning how to do this stuff, so it's still not the greatest, but anyway...I changed the background to a grunge woodland scene. It was a pretty blue/green, but I wanted more of a reddish cast for a vampire cover, so I changed the hue and saturation, etc, and then came the title. I liked the original, but couldn't remember the font I used, so I did the bottom one, but thought the title didn't show up as well in a thumbnail size picture.

So I used a font that was more showy, and I thought it emphasized that this is FORBIDDEN!!! Like it's stamped on the act. You know--vampire wants huntress and she's SUPPOSED to be terminating him? So that was fun!

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Okay, off to get the newsletter ready, that you might have noticed I didn't send this weekend because I was trying to get A SEAL Wolf Christmas off and now have only 22 guest blogs left to do! Which I need to get back to. And then??? It's Tom's story and Dougald's story, and the Dragon Fae story, and oh, I'm soooo excited! It's like Christmas!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male were fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

In Between Projects...What to do Next!

I have 27 more blog posts to write, so it's not like I don't know what I've got to do next! I wrote 4 yesterday and 2 others a couple of days ago, so 33 blogs in total to finish. But I pulled out my partial manuscript for Silence of the Wolves, which is the next book I need to work on, reread what I've written for Highland Rake, and...

Am trying to figure out how to layer in Photoshop! I love trying new things and I'm fascinated with the idea of blending photos together to create new artwork. Will I ever get good at it? Really good at it? Maybe not. I should stick to writing.

But I'm fascinated with it! Just like with photography. And taking really interesting pictures. Some of that is just because I'd love to manipulate pictures and make them fascinating to look at.

Houston Japanese Gardens... Beautiful roses!

So no more looking at pictures...

One of the things I do whenever I finish up a book is I throw out all the papers I was revising on...so I had two garbage bags full. That was because I hadn't thrown out the papers on the last two books, so four books total!!!

I feel...freer. Ready to jump into the next project! Is my desk clean? Nope. But cleaner!

I've got to write 27 more guest blogs and interviews. Three interviews are partially answered, so think I'll pop over and finish those up!

When you've completed a major project, what to do you do to celebrate?

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Covers! Highlanders! HOT Sexy Jaguars! by Terry Spear

I quit my day job 3 weeks ago and I'm inundated with deadlines! Isn't that terrific! But I wanted to share some neat covers! First, The Highland Werewolf Wedding is coming out in May, 2013! This is Cearnach's story from the Heart of the Highland Wolf pack in Scotland! A Highland Werewolf Wedding is listed on Amazon now!

This is Duncan's story from the Heart of the Highland Wolf pack, coming Feb 2013!

Savage Hunger received 4 Star Review from Romantic Times Magazine! This will be released Oct 2013, just around the corner!


I just finished Jaguar Fever and sent it in. It debuts August, 2013!

I just had to send marketing materials for A SEAL Wolf Christmas, which means they're going to work on a cover! Always something that's totally fun. It should be out October, 2014.

I'm just doing edits now for it! So hopefully will be able to send it in soon.I've already edited it a ton of times so it doesn't look bad so far! 100 pages read, 134 pages to go!

I'll be getting edits soon on A Highland Wolf Wedding.

And my next project is Silence of the Wolf, finally, Tom's story!!! He's from the Destiny of the Wolf pack, one of the Silver brothers. I've had folks ask for him forever! :) So he debuts in Feb 2014! His story is already begun.

Some have asked if I have a lot of time to relax....since I quit my day job. I was working 40 hours per week at that and 40-45 hours per week on writing, squeaking in writing, editing and promoting every waking hour. Now? I'm working 80 hours per week on writing! And I LOVE it!

No complaints from anyone but my characters! :) And I can deal with that! If they get too rowdy, well, I can just cut them out of the story! They're smirking at that. They know I hate to cut out anything. :)



Next on the agenda is writing 40,000 words worth of blogs for SAVAGE HUNGER for the last week in Sept and all the month of October. That means free books daily on each of the days I'll be at a blog site.

Then??? I'm working on Highland Rake! This is the third book in the Winning the Highlander's Heart series. It's started and I can't wait to work on it again! I've been asked forever about Dougald's story!!

So am I bored yet? Not even when I dream.

What about you? Do you find you are happily busy???


Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Jaguar Fever--It's Done!

Besides having a great cover, one of the best things to happen is finishing the book! Writing THE END! Yes!!!

It's not the REAL END...as I'm going to read the book from start to finish today to see if I can catch any other mistakes. But the book is done!

Which means? I can goof off!

Wrong.

Next, I need to pull out A SEAL Wolf Christmas. It's done also. But I need to reread it and see if it needs a lot of editing...or not. Hopefully not. I had to quickly put it aside when I realized Jaguar Fever was needed like fast. So I don't recall how many times I already edited it.

:)

Hey, sometimes I get my projects out of order. What can I say? I had the idea for A SEAL Wolf Christmas, couldn't quit writing on it, scene after scene after scene after scene, so it just HAD to be written! :)

I love it when that happens. It doesn't usually.

And then it's 40,000 words worth of blogs. The good thing is that I was so excited last night about finishing the book, I wrote one of my guest blogs! Yay! One down. Plus I've turned in one interview! Two down. And then I signed up for another guest blog for last night.

The bad thing was last night when I went to bed I was thinking of him. Wade. Yum. I didn't want to let go of him. Really. :)

So today I have one more day of loving him, and then...I've got to get back to Bjornolf and fall in love all over again...with him.

Oh, oh, oh, and Tom!!! Yes! As soon as I finish up these two books and finish the guest blogs and interviews, Tom's story comes next. I've already written the first 10,000 words! Woohoo! I was thinking of him too last night. *sigh* All these hunky guys in bed with me while a cricket was chirping near the bed half the night. :(

I wanted to wish everyone a super great Friday and TGIF while I'm back to reading the book, because I'm DONE!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com[image error]