Aloha to Terry Spear and DREAMING OF THE WOLF

Today is December 7 - the day of infamy that brought terror, destruction, heroism, and determination to Hawaii, the Pacific, and America.  Pearl Harbor become a rallying point for America to stand firm in our fight for freedom. Joining me today is Terry Spear - veteran, librarian, and author of DREAMING OF THE WOLF:

Award-winning author Terry Spear has written a dozen paranormal romance novels, with over 60,000 copies sold. She received Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year in 2008 for Heart of the Wolf. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry is a librarian by day. She lives in Crawford, Texas. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com.

Kim: I read in your bio that you are “a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserves.” Can you share a special job, mission, or experience that made you say, “I'm glad I serve”?

Terry:  One of my jobs in the military was to consider soldiers for hardship discharges or compassionate reassignments. In either case, the soldier had someone who needed family care—a dying parent, a child that needed medical care that couldn’t be offered at the post we were stationed at and I really loved my job. I had to determine if the service member truly needed either a hardship discharge or compassionate reassignment based on medical reports, the medical commander’s recommendation, a minister’s recommendation where appropriate, and other recommendations, including the service member’s commander also, and the service member’s own heartfelt reasons for wanting the change in his or her duty status. I felt badly for the service member who was faced with such trials, but glad I could be of help in aiding them to get to where the service member needed to be for his or her peace of mind and for the ones they loved. One of my other duties as assigned was working with soldiers who needed help with their taxes. I have an MBA and loved to help any solider in need. 

MARY C. FULLBRIGHT, first WAC promoted to
colonel in the Army Reserve
history.army.mil

Kim:  You are also “a librarian by day.” Most readers would think this is heaven! What are the challenges and rewards of being a librarian?

Terry:  Have to laugh here. I love books and I love my coworkers and we have some of the sweetest patrons in the world. But though most of us love to read, reading is not an option while we work, which is a crying shame! We’re busy from the time we walk into the building, counting money, shelving books, checking in books, pulling holds for patron requests, turning on the 24 computers and myriads of other printers and copiers, and sending off expired holds to the next patron on the list. And that’s just in the first hour before we open. After that it’s a constant barrage of reference questions (we have no reference librarians, so we are it), from what is the date of the next full moon (did the person know I write about werewolves and have a handy dandy lunar calendar available?), which is more valuable—24K or 14K gold and the second call: How do you spell carat? Being a writer, and owner of both gold weights, I had a ready answer. But some are not so easy. How do you look up a medical condition that the patron has no clue how to spell? Google is my answer for nearly everything! Just as I use it in my own research for locations and wolf characteristics and even about jaguars for the latest book. But that’s only a fraction of what we do! Helping patrons to find books, checking them out, and receiving fine money are some of the jobs we do. When someone doesn’t want to pay a fine and she or he gets really nasty? I wish I had one of my wolf friends at my side. :) 

themolokaidispatch.com

Kim:  You live in Crawford, Texas. What is your favorite sight, smell, and sound from your town? Any Presidential sightings?

Terry:  I love when the corn is so tall I feel I’m in a jungle. And I love listening to the Texas breeze blowing through the corn as if it were a forest. It’s quiet out where we live, with only the occasional car driving by and the wind shaking the oak trees around my home. The air was dusty and dry and smelled that way when we were deep in the draught. But refreshing rains made it smell like a bit of heaven, sweet, and wet, and cleansed. When the president lived here, we heard jet planes flying overhead and knew someone had again violated the airspace around the ranch. And we knew he was in residence. Most of the time the cavalcades would go a different direction from where we lived. But once, black unmarked Suburbans with flashing lights attached to their bumpers forced me off the road. Then the regular traffic following them wouldn’t let me back on the road. My thought: I pay my taxes too!

I was glad the president and his visitors used a different road most of the time to go to the ranch! Otherwise it was business as usual in the area surrounding there. 

curtisonthenews.blogspot.com

Kim:  What inspired your Werewolf series and your newest book, DREAMING OF THE WOLF?

Terry:  I was a vampire writer, but breaking into the market was difficult. So I thought about another very misaligned group of characters—the werewolf. Basing werewolves on real wolves rather than beasts, I envisioned that with werewolves, some are good and some are bad. Just like with humans. It’s not all black and white. I developed a love of wolves from reading Jack London’s wolf tales—White Fang and Call of the Wild—when I was a kid. That’s why I wanted to treat my werewolves as real wolves, not horror-kind of beasts. 

An ex-father-in-law doctored the Mob, and one of my great grandfather’s brother-in-laws had a run in with the Mob, both in Chicago. So I’ve always been fascinated with the oral stories. I also watch a lot of bounty hunter and cop shows (real life), so these inspired me to have a heroine who was a bounty hunter, trying to turn in a couple of mobsters who had murdered her mother. Jake Silver isn’t looking for anything but a place to consign some of his wildflower photography, but when he spies Alicia taking pictures of a vehicle’s license plate, he’s intrigued. Unable to get into the art gallery, he decides to join Alicia in a restaurant across the street and that is the turning point in his life. How can a wolf get mixed up with a female human bounty hunter? Easily!The problem is disengaging from the relationship. But when he begins to dream about her, and she about him, there’s no turning back. 

Dog the Bounty Hunter's store front on Oahu
hawaiimagazine.com

Kim:  What's next for Terry Spear? 

Terry:  I’m currently working on Tom’s story in Silence of the Wolf, the 11th book in the wolf series Book 9, A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing, and book 10, Highland Wolf in Paradise, will be in stores in 2012 and 2013! 

I also have a brand new series beginning in Fall 2012 about shapeshifter Jaguars! The first book is already written, and I’m currently writing the second, which will be about Maya, the sister to the hero in the first jaguar book. No final titles yet! 

Thanks so much for having me on your blog! Hope everyone has a chance to read about wolves—werewolves, that is, who are a little more human than the real ones! 

The Jaguar maybe a shape shifter ....
... but is is also a road hugger!

Mahalo, Terry, for joining us today, especially today, as we remember those who gave us the freedom to write and read as we choose.   Sourcebooks is giving away two print copies of DREAMING OF THE WOLF:

A fierce hunter…
Alicia Greiston is a no-nonsense bounty hunter determined to bring a ring of mobsters to justice. Her dogged pursuit of the crime family has forced her to avoid relationships—any man would only become a target for retribution. Luckily, Jake Silver is more than a man, and his instincts are telling him to stop at nothing to protect her.

An animal passion…
However, the mob isn’t entirely human either, and soon Alicia must flee for her life. When Alicia and Jake’s passion begins to spill over into their dreams, Jake learns he will have to do more than defend her—he’ll have to show his mate the way of the wolf.

To enter the giveaway, 

1.  Leave a comment about paranormal creatures - what is your favorite?

I enjoyed reading DREAMING OF THE WOLF but I am excited for Terry's new series with jaguars!

2.  Sourcebooks's giveaway is open to North American residents.  I am giving away a copy to one international reader.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 10, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winners on Sunday, December 11.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

To learn more about Terry, her books, and her wolves, check out her website at www.terryspear.com.

To read my review of DREAMING OF THE WOLF, click on this link.

At least werewolves can enjoy the beach!
theworldsbestever.com