WHERE THE WILDLIFE CAN EAT YOU!

I'm happy to welcome back, paranormal romance author, Terry Spear, to Over Coffee. I have to admit, I love her books and I've been waiting for Jake's story and Dreaming The Wolf, forever. Or so it seems and not just because I have a tag line on the book (Squeee!) but because I loved the premise of this story.


For those of you who don't know it, Terry creates some amazing teddy bears as well as her fabulous stories. I'm planning on having a piper bear in MacKay colors, later next spring. I'll be sure to be squeeing then and will have pictures.

I write about werewolves, and my wolves would never think of attacking humans. Not unless the humans attacked first. And truly most wolves don’t. If there are any attacks, it’s more likely from cougars. Or bears even.

Although I still love bears and love to create them! I make award-winning teddy bears that have been featured in magazines and newspapers, that have won best in show, first place for most unique bears, and first place for best-dressed bears. Many have found homes not only in the US and Canada, but as far away as Australia, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Belgium, and France!

But back to where the wildlife can eat you! What I wanted to talk about is taking a trip to Pensacola, FL and seeing my son graduate from USAF navigator training, and all week long watching Shark Week on PBS, BEFORE we went to the beach.

Oh sure, there are not THAT many shark attacks. And yeah, yeah, so the shark psychologists say that the sharks mistook humans for food. The sharks thought maybe the humans were seals. Or walruses. Or whales. Right. Yeah, yeah, the water was murky. (Or sometimes it wasn’t.) Yeah, yeah, they were out during the feeding hours at night. (Or sometimes they weren’t.) And sure, they were splashing around like nearly dead fish. (Or no, they really didn’t.)

I write fantasy. So I try to make the unbelievable believable. So to my way of thinking, shark gurus do, too.

In Australia, there were three great white shark attacks resulting in three deaths. Either that’s a really confused shark, if it’s the same one, or hmmm, maybe he DOES think human meat is rather tasty? Or maybe he’s not even thinking anything but it’s big, swimming near me and could possibly make a meal. They eat anything, you know.

These all occurred around the same time as I was in Florida and another when I returned home.

We used to live in Florida, and swam all the time at the beach, but on the ocean side. Not half as pretty as Pensacola Beach on the Gulf side. So one day I was swimming out into the ocean, way, way out. The water was black, choppy, I was on my back, half swimming, half floating. Way, way off to the left of me was a rock jetty where fishermen pulled in sharks along with their other catches. And on the shore, my father was yelling for me to turn around and return at once.

He was not a very good swimmer, and had actually had a boat sink on him in the shark-infested Sea of Japan. Another boat full of AF service members had “picked” up my dad and the others, but they couldn't climb into the boat, already full, without capsizing it. So instead, they swam alongside and held on when they couldn’t swim any longer. They were about a mile and half out. He said they barely made it.

So now years later, his thirteen-year-old daughter is out in the middle of the ocean, and Dad didn’t want to get out as far as I was. He couldn’t have helped me swim in if I’d needed his help.

When you float on your back, your ears are under water. So I didn’t hear him shouting for some time.

When I finally realized it, I was terrified. I was so far out; all that was around me was gallons of ocean water. Who knew what was lurking all around me in that really dark, choppy water. I had to force myself not to panic, and to begin the long swim to shore. Dad couldn’t have saved me. No one could have if I’d been attacked. Lifeguards did patrol in jeeps along the beach and put up a flag warning swimmers to get out of the water when sharks were sighted. But there were no lifeguards about that day.

But maybe all the sharks out there knew I was a human, and they just left me alone. I had no life vest, no surfboard, just me in all that water. Boy did I get a lecture from my dad when I got to shore. But only because he was sure he was going to lose me. Believe me, I didn’t need a lecture. I never went far from the shore again. After that, we watched Jaws. I REALLY didn’t get far from the shore then, even though I knew it was just a fantasized story. Sharks don’t really go after people and eat them. Not really.

It was quite chilly when I went with my son and his wife to Pensacola Beach and walked along the white sand, dodging the tons of jellyfish deposited there. We didn’t go swimming. But that night we watched shark attacks at guess where? Pensacola Beach. Two resulted in deaths. Several others were bitten during a surfing contest. My son told me how they could see schools of bull sharks while they were flying over the Gulf also.

I know that sharks don’t mean to eat us, but you know what? I’d take a chance with a wolf. Especially if he was a werewolf.

The thing about werewolves is they’re hot and sexy and protective and loving—for life—and family oriented and hot and sexy and…well, you get the picture! They’re yummy. No one would mess with you if you took your wolf for a walk. In an upcoming release, the heroine actually suggests that while she and Duncan MacNeill are dealing with the bad guys in the Grand Cayman Islands, in the Highland sequel to Heart of the Highland Wolf.

Oh, and yes, there is a mention of sharks. A couple of mentions, truly. J  I actually did everything that they did—walked the plank from a pirate ship, took the submarine out (they wouldn’t), enjoyed a dinner cruise, swam with the rays…only I didn’t run like a wolf… ate at the restaurant where there’s a bit of a confrontation, walked the beaches, swam…but not at night…like they did. That’s when the sharks come out to feed, you know. And I did witness the man with the chain to his wrist locked onto a briefcase, wearing a dark suit while the rest of us were in beach attire. And did see tons of strange banks on the island. More about that in the story.

But before that, comes Dreaming of the Wolf, A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing, and the first of the jaguar stories. They’re working on a book cover as we speak. Or…as I write.

In Dreaming of the Wolf, we finally get Jake’s story, and I’m working on Tom’s story right now.

Jake has already been in two stories, Destiny of the Wolf and Wolf Fever. He’s the triplet brother of the pack leader and he serves as sub leader, along with Tom. Jake’s the second oldest brother, doesn’t believe in dream mating, although both Tom and Darien do so he seemed perfect to carry on the family history of dreaming of the wolf who should be his mate—with a caveat. She’s human, and werewolves don’t dream mate about humans. So something’s not right with that scenario. Figures. Since Jake doesn’t believe in it anyway. But he fears for her life, so he’s hopeful that the dream mating means she’s still alive. And he’s determined to find her. And learn why he’s dreaming about her when he shouldn’t be. But it’s more than. They have a drive to be together that can’t be denied.

• What would you do if Jake was reaching out for you, even though you knew it was too dangerous for him to get to know you better? And you didn't know just how capable the hunk of a wolf was at protecting you?

Thanks so much to Sia for having me here today! I hope your readers enjoy hooking up with Jake and his wolf pack again. And never swim too far out into the ocean without a plan…

DREAMING OF THE WOLF Available now in stores and online

Jake Silver doesn't believe in fate or dream mating, despite the fact his brother and other family members have been afflicted with this strange notion. But when dreams begin to plague him about a woman so seductive, he wakes up in a sweat and he's losing way too much sleep over it, he seeks to learn the truth. Can dream mating be a reality? Is the woman real? 

Alicia Greiston doesn't dream. Not ever. So when a man visits her in the first dream she's ever had, she's startled, pleased, then alarmed. He's not going away, and the dreams take a sinister turn. He's in trouble, and if the dreams are a foreshadowing of the future, she has to save him. EXCERPT

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, CHAPTERS INDIGO 

TERRY SPEAR: Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Heart of the Wolf named in Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice for BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University  and a Bachelors in Business and Distinguished Military Graduate of West Texas A & M. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses. Terry on Facebook, Twitter, Website

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP—Lydia Dare

My guests today are Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson and known as Lydia Dare. As a team they write historical paranormal romance. I had the chance to read the latest book for review and it was actually the first of their books I had read. I loved their story. Part of what drew me, aside from a well put together story and sexy hero, was the strong ties between the heroine, Rhiannon, and her sister witches—none of which are actually related. I personally have friends that feel more like family than unrelated friends and so I could relate to this story. It is an engaging page turner. 


You can read my review here.

There are two of us who make up the writing team of Lydia Dare. And we’ve had the pleasure of writing some truly wonderful heroes over the last couple of years. Gentlemen we’ve fallen in love with right alongside our readers. Sometimes we even make ourselves swoon – over different heroes, of course. We agree on very little in real life and our choice in men is no different. 

We’ve spent the best time with the wolfish Brothers Westfield, a tragic lone werewolf, and a trio of vampyres who are more chivalrous than their human counterparts. And while we love each of these gentlemen from their wolfish tails to their vampyric charm – there is something magical about the women who have captured their hearts. And not just because they’re witches. But because of who they are.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”

When we first created the Còig, an ancient coven of Scottish witches whose powers and membership pass from mother to oldest daughter, we knew we were creating more than just five friends. We were creating “sisters” in a sense who were devoted to and would do anything for each other. In a lot of ways, these lasses are closer to each other than they are some members of their own families.

We've written a lot about the members of this revered coven:

Elspeth – the healer (Tall, Dark & Wolfish)

Caitrin – the seer  (The Taming of the Wolf)

Blaire – the warrior (It Happened One Bite)

Rhiannon – the controller of weather (In the Heat of the Bite)

Sorcha – the plant manipulator (Never Been Bit, to be released September 6^th)

These five ladies were first introduced in our 2^nd book, and since then they’ve dealt with werewolves, vampypres and each other. But through all their ups and downs, their loyalty and bond has held them together and made them stronger than ever.

Our witches are far from perfect. Some are hardheaded. Some are a little spoiled. Some have tempers. We could go on and one. But despite each lass’ flaws, her coven sisters love her like nothing else.

We've both been lucky enough to have had some very good friends over the years, friends we would do anything for and vice versa. And it is those ladies and those friendships that inspired us to create the Còig in the first place.

• We’d love to hear all about your best friends, the friends who've stood by you through thick and thin, who've been there when others weren’t, and who you love like they were your own family.

In honor of our Scottish witches, we are giving away a set of the first four books that features the coven  - TALL, DARK and WOLFISH; THE TAMING OF THE WOLF; IT HAPPENED ONE BITE; and IN THE HEAT OF THE BITE to (2) lucky US or Canadian commenters who tell us what makes their best friend so special.

In The Heat Of The Bite

Chivalry is far from undead...

Matthew Halkett, Earl of Blodswell, is one of the few men in the ton who can claim to be a knight in shining armor- because that's precisely what he was before being turned into a vampyre. When he spies a damsel in distress in the midst of a storm in Hyde Park, his natural instinct is to rush to her aid...

But not every woman needs to be rescued...

Weather-controlling witch Rhiannon Sinclair isn't caught in a storm-she's the cause of it. She's mortified to have been caught making trouble by the imposing earl, but she doesn't need any man-never has, and is sure she never will...

But when Rhiannon encounters Matthew again, her powers go awry and his supernatural abilities run amok. Between the two of them, the ton is thrown into an uproar. There's never been a more tempestuous scandal... Excerpt on Amazon

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells, Indibound

As Lydia Dare, like most of us, work outside the home, they will be stopping by as they can today.

Lydia Dare is the writing team of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson. Both Tammy and Jodie are active members of the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers and live near Raleigh, North Carolina. They are working together on their next paranormal historical trilogy as Lydia Dare, which will be released by Sourcebooks Casablanca in Spring 2011! For more information, please visit http://www.lydiadare.com/.

MUSE, MUCH?

My guest today is paranormal romance author, Linda Thomas-Sundstrom. She is the author of Vampire Moons series, and her latest is Golden Vampire.

Linda's a southern California native who teaches at the University of California. Napkins everywhere are now happy Linda writes her stories on the computer. I'm not so sure about her poor car. It's had a lot to worry about with a crazy author manning the wheel. 

While she loves dark historicals and gothics she has been known to write lighthearted stories as well. I'm thinking her muse may be schizophrenic. Or just likes variety. But, her topic today is about her muse and inspiration. Like she says, "What are we without our inspirations?"


Muse. You have got to love when one comes a calling. You know - that ethereal, nebulous, misty presence that’s defined as “an instigator of inspiration,” but is actually, as we all realize, a real species of otherworldy personage. Maybe even with wings...

Yep, I have a Muse (thank heavens! ) Maybe two. I’ve never actually seen her or their faces, in person, but figure that because they work pretty much non-stop at singing to me, one would get tired. So maybe mine has a twin.

My Muse sings at the top of her lungs. I either have to listen, or fear she might be disgusted I’m ignoring her help, and leave. (!!) She rarely takes a vacation, but every now and then has been known to disappear for short stretches at a time. I think she’s resting her voice, and prefer to call her time off as “tune-ups.”

She has a tendency to sing at times when I’m trying to do something else, like driving. Or when I’m working out on my elliptical machine, or out for a walk.. I’m probably really dangerous to drive behind, because I write down ideas that come... by having a notebook handy on the passenger seat. You just never know when that inspiration will show up. My motto is to be prepared!

I am lucky to have such inspiration. I know it, and thank my lucky stars every single day.

Without a Muse, and inspiration, how would we get any writing done? Books done and published? I just find inspiration everywhere. In a particularly interesting word, a stunning visual, or a haunting melody. I have at least a hundred yellow sticky notes on the walls above and beside my desk, with titles, words I like, and beginning sentences of stories I’d eventually like to get to write. So far, in my career as a writer and published author, the well has not run dry, and my Muse keeps hanging in. This makes writing very exciting for me. A thing I love.

Talk about Muse fodder, and paying attention... GOLDEN VAMPIRE has it’s own unique story about getting published that I’ll spill sometime. In the meantime - here, I’ve tweaked the Arthurian tales for this book and its full sequel, due out early in 2012, and brought some of the Round Table’s Knights into the current century.

“GOLDEN VAMPIRE.” is a re-writing of a legend about sone of those Round Table Knights, who were perhaps unearthly beautiful and undefeated I battle because they were unearthly!

For history fans like myself, you might recognize my immortal Knight in Golden Vampire. His name is Lance. And thought this is a contemporary story about the woman who finds him, Lance’s backgound as an immortal plays a major part in who he now is.

So.... let’s chat. I’m here today.

You can probably tell by this post how excited I am to be writing, and publishing the kind of stuff that inspires me. Paranormal all the way! Yay!

My Muse stays because she likes the energy surrounding me, and vice versa. I am truly blessed, and do not take this for granted. After paying my dues in the writing business, I’m finally starting on my second career, and hope that my destiny is to write many many more books!

Chatter points:

• Do you have a MUSE?
• Do you have to share her with someone else? Blackmail her to stay?
• Do you like the Arthurian tales?

GOLDEN VAMPIRE

For former cop Jesse Stewart, giving herself—mind and body—to sexy vampire Lance Van Baaren meant losing her soul. Hired by the government to find a senator's missing daughter, she instead found a haunting link to her past. And now something is drawing her to the one man she should despise….

Once a knight, Lance had sworn to protect the innocent. And one of those young innocents had been Jesse. Now face-to-face with the alluring woman she has become, he's determined to help Jessie solve her case and make her his own. But would finding the truth of her past—beneath a Blood Moon—push her further away? You can read an excerpt here.

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Books a Million Books are available in e-book or paperback format.

 
 

I write both dark and light paranormals. Vampire and Werewolf tales with titles like Midnight Court, Barbie and the Beast, Red Wolf, Blackout, Wolf Trap, Vampire Lover, etc. And now, my latest book from Nocturne, just released this month is a vampire series called Vampire Moons... and the first full book is “GOLDEN VAMPIRE.”

You can find Linda: Website, Nocturne Authors,

Legend Of The White Wolf, Terry Spear--REVIEW

Legend of the White Wolf



By: Terry Spear

Werewolf Series, Book 4
Sourcebooks, Inc



Mass Market
Price: $6.99

Publication Date: February 2010

• His Wild Side Comes Out With a Vengeance…
  
  Is She The Hunter Or The Hunted…

In this fourth in Spear's werewolf series, Private Eye Cameron MacPherson and forensic scientist Faith O'Malley are both on quests that lead them into the world of magical wolves, mystery and murder.

Cameron arrives in wintry Maine to search for his partners in his P.I. business who are late returning from a hunting trip, and runs into Faith, there to locate her ex-boyfriend who stole her father’s research. But Cameron and Faith instantly are attracted to one another and keeping their business on a strictly professional level doesn't have a snowball's chance of succeeding in a toasty fire-warmed cabin, the couple snowbound and the setting perfect for an unplanned tryst.Together, the two tumble into an icy world of mayhem where myth, legend, and reality merge, changing their lives forever.

"The vulpine couple's chemistry crackles off the page, but the real strength of the book lies in Spear's depiction of pack power dynamics, as well as in the details of human-wolf interaction."

Publishers Weekly

Arctic Wolf in Full Winter White




My thoughts:

Anyone who knows me, knows I love animals. God knows, I have enough of them, including the privilege of having had Micah, a grey wolf, from pup to death (12 years). My favorite animal is the Wolf and the Cougar. My mother says I always told wolf stories and my favorite one was where I could drink a magic potion and become one.


So, when I had the chance to review Terry Spear's Legend Of The White Wolf, I jumped at the chance. One of the main reasons is I know Terry makes it a point to accurately portray wolf behavior. I've read many of the articles she's written about her research. This is not an easy task when writing werewolves. It's all too easy to fall into what everyone else has done rather than make your own world. Terry makes a very believable world and her wolves and the pack dynamics are very accurate.

I hadn't had the chance to read the other books in her series although they were on my To Be Read list. I came in on this series with her fourth book. No worries as it stands alone. There some reoccurring characters, but Terry skillfully introduces them so you know who they are without scratching your head and going, huh?

Terry captured my interest in the first page and I read this book in one sitting. She writes a Romance with a real bite to it and it is a fast paced, exciting story with a hefty dose of action, suspense and mystery. You have disappearing people, murder, kidnapping, questions as to who's behind it all. Is it the wolves or a strange group of so-called hunters? What's with Cameron's missing friends and Faith's faithless boyfriend? Who's chasing Faith on snowmobiles the hunters or the pack and why?


What's different about this book is one, the Wolf pack doesn't hide in this story but lives in the open among the community. There are some who have no real idea of who or what they are, but many do, including some of the local Indians. Two, both the hero and the heroine are fully human when they begin this adventure. Both tough and skilled in their respective fields. They each have their own agenda and it leads them straight into the world of Mythical creatures with consequences that will change them both forever.

I liked both Cameron and Faith. The sparks between them are fun and build expectation for the romance. Some secondary characters I really liked was Gavin, Cameron's partner and Leidoff (Oh yah, I'm looking forward to his story, yum).

Legend is well written and kept me turning the page. Terry writes hot sex (get out your fans, ladies because you’ll need one) and gives a satisfying ending.


Simply put:

• I loved the book and it's one that will be sitting in my personal library and soon joined by the rest of the series.

I have two copies of Legend to give out to commenters today. It's well worth the commenting to receive one!

Excerpt:

As soon as she reached her room, she struggled to get the key card to work, then gave the door a shove. The room was dark and cold. She fumbled for the light switch, but when she turned on the lamps, the bedcover wasn’t pulled back from the pillow, nor was a gold foil-covered chocolate waiting for her either. And of course the ice bucket was perfectly empty. She wondered if Cameron got the special treatment because he was a big tipper, or just an incredibly smooth-talking hunk.

She sighed and rolled her bag next to the bed, then headed back for the door. She might as well get this over with before she finally settled down for the night.

Glancing at her watch, she hadn’t realized how late it was already. Probably too late to order anything from the kitchen. But if she ate at this hour, the food would most likely just sit like a lump in her stomach when she went to bed anyway. She knocked on Cameron MacPherson’s door.

While waiting for him, she closed her eyes and yawned. Man, she was ready to skip the shower and just collapse in bed.

The door squeaked opened. Wearing only a pair of stone-washed jeans that looked incredibly soft, no shirt, and his feet bare, Cameron smiled, but he hadn’t brought her parka to the door. He looked every bit as sexy as when he was wearing only a towel.

“Are you sure you don’t want to have a bite with me?” He motioned to the tray on the table.

The old werewolf movie with Jack Nicholson was playing on the television, and by the sound of the growling, she envisioned he had shapeshifted and was fighting the bad wolf, if she recalled the movie correctly.

She gave Cameron a tired smile. “Under other circumstances, maybe. I left my parka here?”

“You look like you could use a meal and the kitchen’s closed by now.” His voice, deep and pleasing, sent little chills of expectation through her.

But she resisted the temptation and held out her hand for her coat. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

He retrieved her coat and gave it to her, his hand brushing hers in a sensuous way, which made her skin heat again. She thought he looked a little wistful that she’d stay and keep him company, but she figured if she did, she would melt right under whatever spell he seemed to cast over her. It wasn’t like her to be that attracted to a guy she’d just met. She glanced down at his hand, no wedding ring. When her gaze returned to his, he was smiling broadly.

Usually a lot less obvious than that when she was scrutinizing a man’s marital status, although he might be married and just not wear a wedding ring, she felt her skin heat even more. “Thanks,” she quickly said before she made any more of a fool of herself, turned around, and left his room. But as soon as she reached her door and slipped her hand in her jeans pocket, she realized she didn’t have the key.
~*~*~*~*~

Terry Spear is an award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historicals. She also writes true-life stories for both teen and adult audiences. She is the author of Winning the Highlander’s Heart and The Vampire in My Dreams (young adult). Spear lives in Crawford, Texas.

A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College. She originally hails from the West Coast but now makes her home deep in the heart of Texas.

You can find Terry at the following places: Terry Spear's Website

Wickedly Romantic Blog

Casablanca Authors Blog

Fierce Romance Blog

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Shifter Romance Blog