Interview with Terry Spear and Giveaway - October 29, 2012

Please welcome Terry Spear to The Qwillery.  Savage Hunger, the first novel in Terry's new Jaguar series, was published in October 2, 2012.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery!

Terry:  Thanks so much for having me here! I love your blog name!

TQ:  Thank you very much!


TQ:  Writing quirks! What are some of yours?

Terry:  Omigosh, I have none!!! Should I? This is the second interview where I’ve been asked that and I’m starting to feel I’m missing something. I drink green tea while I’m writing. Does that count?


TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers?

Terry:  Jayne Anne Krentz, Karen Marie Moning, Christine Feehan, Leslie Lafoy, Sara Humphreys, Sharon Lathan, Shana Galen, Carolyn Brown, Tracey Devlyn, Linda Lael Miller, Vonda Sinclair, and Amanda Forester, and…well, the list goes on and on!


TQ:   Are you a plotter or a panster?

Terry:  Definitely a seat of the pants writer. I do plan the hero and heroine first meeting. And I have to set some kind of goal and motivation for reaching that goal for the hero and heroine. But other than that? The characters set the tone of the story. They truly do decide what they’ve got to do next. One kind of character would handle a situation one way, another a completely different way. So it’s fun to see how they get out of the predicaments they get themselves into. Note: I did not say I did it!


TQ:   What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Terry:  It depends on the book. Sometimes it’s the beginning—I’m not getting the characters together fast enough, or there’s not enough conflict in the beginning. Sometimes I have more of a time figuring how I want to bring about a satisfying end. Sometimes I feel it needs more action, more forward movement, or more sexiness. So it really depends on the book! Sometimes all these things seem to gel without any effort on my part—and I LOVE that. That’s when the characters have totally taken over and write the book. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s sure fun when it does!


TQ:  What sorts of research have you done for the Heart of the Jaguar series? What is the oddest bit of information that you’ve come across in your research?

Terry:  There is so much about the Amazon I didn’t know! Or that any of us know, really! Even with working on Jaguar Fever, the second in the series where I set it partially in Belize, a lot of the rainforest hasn’t even been explored. Same with the millions of varieties of plants in the Amazon. I really enjoyed researching—reading up on the plant life, the animal life, true stories about visiting or living in the Amazon. I read about a boy who was about three years old who wandered away from his village and survived two days on his own before relatives finally found him! He was covered in prickly thorns (which I used in Savage Hunger—the thorns, not the child), and was dehydrated, but otherwise fine. Can you imagine? With venomous frogs, snakes, crocodiles, boa constrictors? He was a small meal waiting to happen! I’ve watched videos about the Amazon, about the jaguars, YouTube videos about jaguar behavior and visits to the Amazon, read blogs where visitors trekked through the jungle, spoke with a couple of people who had been there. Really fascinating place! But I couldn’t get one person from work to agree to go with me on a trip there! Scotland? I had several takers!


TQ:  You've written many novels about werewolves. In your research for the Heart of the Jaguar series have you found any common traits between wolves and jaguars?

Terry:  Wolves and jaguars are very different in that wolves are pack animals and jaguars are loners. Jaguars will take a couple of mates, their territories overlapping with his. Wolves mate for life. But wolves and jaguars are both territorial. Both are predators. Both take down the bigger prey. Each love to swim. The cats can climb trees, not the wolves. The cats blend into their surroundings because of their rosettes. Wolves blend into their surroundings to an extent also. Both use dens for their offspring. Wolves will fight others encroaching on their territory to the death. Jaguars might scrap, but they don’t fight much. Wolves are very vocal. Jaguars are not as much. Mostly because they call for mating and not to socialize with other jaguars, whereas wolves communicate to gather the pack, to mate, to mourn. So when I created the new shifter world, I had the challenge of making them like their jaguar cousins, but not so much that they couldn’t have a mate for life—a happily ever after.


TQ:  Tell us something about Savage Hunger that is not in the book description.

Terry:  Are you adventurous? Would you explore the Amazon? I find it fascinating to take a person and put them in an environment that is not truly theirs. It belongs to the wildlife that lives and dies there day in and day out. Kathleen McKnight has been to the jungle before on an Army mission, but she’s not from that part of the world. Connor Anderson, on the other hand, can blend in with the jungle, become one with it, is whole there—as a jaguar shifter. Two different people. Two different lifestyles. Can she learn to be like him?


TQ:  Which character in Savage Hunger has surprised you the most?

Terry:  Wade Patterson. I didn’t know how he was going to react about losing Kat to Connor. But he helped out all along the way, and he has some secrets of his own, which will be revealed in Jaguar Fever.


TQ:  What's next?

Terry:  I just finished up the second in the jaguar series, so if readers get hooked on Maya, Connor’s sister, and Wade Patterson, their story is next up in Jaguar Fever! That’s coming August 2013. Also, A SEAL Wolf Christmas, Oct 2013 will be featuring Bjornolf Jorgenson, hot SEAL, and Anna Johnson, the undercover operative he was sparring with in A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing—if you didn’t have a chance to read it yet, it had to do with her stockings and tying her up—talk about putting them on the wrong side of the battle field from the beginning.

Now, it’s time to finally finish writing Tom’s story, Silence of the Wolf, the youngest Silver triplet from Destiny of the Wolf pack fame. I can’t wait to get back to that. After Savage Hunger though? We’ve got more of that wild Highland wolf pack of hunks, Feb 2013, Howl for a Highlander, featuring the youngest brother, Duncan; and May 2013, A Highland Werewolf Wedding, about Cearnach. I still need to share Guthrie’s story—the financial wizard for the pack. Which means? No goofing off for me! And lots more stories for you!


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Terry:  Thanks so much for having me!! My question to readers: What would you do if you found a jungle cat who wasn’t all cat??




About Savage Hunger

Savage Hunger
Jaguar 1
Sourcebooks, October 2, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has captured hearts worldwide by wrapping the realities of nature into the glorious romance of the wild. Now, she turns her award—winning imagination from the sexy werewolf hunt to the intense sizzle of jaguar shape-shifters.

As a jaguar he is graceful and gorgeous...

Speedy and stealthy...
Fierce, independent, and wild...

As a man he is passionate and powerful...

Willful and wonderful...
And he'll stop at nothing to protect what's his...

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Sourcebooks

About Terry

Terry Spear has written a couple of dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance and continuing her new series about shapeshifting jaguars. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear.











THE GIVEAWAY

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Savage Hunger (Jaguar 1) from Sourcebooks. US/CANADA ONLY

How:   Answer Terry's question:

What would you do if you found a jungle cat who wasn’t all cat??

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US or Canadian mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Monday, November 5, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*