KATHLEEN AND MICHAEL GEAR—AUTHOR INTERVIEW

It’s my pleasure to have North American Prehistory authors, Kathleen and Michael Gear, as guests. I first fell in love with their writing and stories when I read the first book, People The Wolf, in the Peoples Series. While I’ve not read every book they've written, I have read majority of them and love their ability to reconstruct a segment of the distant past and put me there to experience it for myself. 
I had a chance to chat at length with the both of them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

They will also be around to answer questions about history, craft, research, and the story and their books.

How did the two of you meet?

The Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists held their 1981 fall meeting at the University of Wyoming.  Michael arrived on Thursday night, partied until 3 am, and accompanied by his sheltie dog, Tedi, crashed on Papa John’s apartment floor. He made it to the meeting by 8 the next morning, desperate for coffee and donuts.

Kathleen who worked for the Bureau of Land Management was invited at the last minute to attend the meetings by her boss, Gene Herron. When she walked into the meetings she was introduced to Michael by the BLM State Archaeologist, Ray Leicht.

The moment was mesmerizing for both of us. For Michael the instant remains engraved in his soul with a crystalline clarity: He was staring at the most gorgeous female creature alive. Kathleen fixed first on Michael’s eyes, struck by the depth of soul and complexity in an otherwise rumpled “dirt archaeologist.”  Only later did she discover the reason Michael’s sweater looked that way: It had been wadded in the war bag he’d used for a pillow on Papa John’s floor. (Tedi always objected to be used for a pillow, though he’d volunteer for foot-warmer duty.)

Michael’s single goal at the meetings was to get to the University bookstore during the noon break. But when Ray Leicht invited him to lunch with Kathleen, any such cravings popped like an old birthday balloon.  Kathleen’s goal was to have lunch with Jerry Wiley in hopes she could con him out of a job with the Utah Forest Service. Unfortunately, since Ray was her supervisor, he got veto power.

So you both met in a professional setting. See, I  heard that it wasn't just the fact that Kathleen is gorgeous that caused the unforgettable moment— ?

Back in the day, in the Western states, a man never wore his hat in a restaurant. When Michael was a kid, he’d get whacked alongside the head if he left a hat on inside. Therefore, upon arriving at the restaurant, and seeing no hat rack, he laid his Stetson on the floor beside his chair—which is where it stayed until Kathleen arrived. She stepped full on it with her dainty little foot.  Mashed it flatter than I-80 semi road-kill.

Michael: “That’s my hat!”

Kathleen: “What’s it doing on the floor?”

Michael: “I’m a gentleman. Gentlemen don’t wear hats inside. It’s impolite.”

Kathleen: “You’re a dirt archaeologist. The concepts of gentleman and dirt archaeologist are mutually exclusive.”

Michael: “You’re a historian. What do you know about the influence of cultural behavior, norms, and social values when all you can see are recorded and sterile facts?”

And we proceeded to argue all through lunch. Ray and Metcalf remained ignored and forgotten through it all. We had fallen into our own little world, teasing, challenging, flirting, and generally growing ever more bewitched by each other as the minutes passed.  Afterwards one thing led to another and thirty-some years later we’re still staring dreamily into each other’s eyes. We will spend our 30^th anniversary together this October 1^st. So, yes, Virginia, fairy tales--though rare--do happen.

Ahhh. I can see why it was an unforgettable meeting. J Congratulations to the both of you for living your Happy Ever After for 30 years.
You mentioned a furry companion you had, Mike, when you first met Kathy, Tedi. Tell me about the animals who live with you now.

We currently have two Shetland sheepdogs.  Shannon is 6 and is a tri-factored sable, which means she’s dark brown, white, and tan.  She’s a little angel of a dog who suffers each day from nonspecific canine polyarthritis--a joint disease that literally makes waging her tail a painful exercise. Our second sheltie is Worthington’s Red Canyon Jake, a male tri-color (black, white, and brown) from Al Harris’ line of champion shelties out in Oregon.  While most of Jake’s kin are grand champions in the show ring, Jake has outstripped them all by becoming “Head of Red Canyon Ranch Security.”  He rides perched on the 6-wheeler handlebars and surveys the bison, fences, corrals, and general range condition during the day. At night his usual location is in the middle of the bed, wedged between the two of us. Perhaps he thinks he needs to interfere with any potential hanky-panky? Jake is as smart as the legendary Tedi, but different:  a character, his own dog, and fully capable of stepping on the passenger-side window control just in time to let muddy water splash inside the truck.

We don’t have cats out here. We live in a wilderness area.  While we did lose one of our dogs, Ben, to a mountain lion in the front yard, cats are even more vulnerable to owls, coyotes, foxes, wolves, lions, eagles, and just about every other predator.  We have had cats roll through on occasion.  When they appear, we’ll put food out for them in the barn, but generally they vanish within a couple of weeks. One old black-and-white fellow lasted almost 6 months, but he was completely feral.



All of your stories have an element of romance between the main characters.  In some the committed couple has been together for years and deal with the realistic problems that come of a long-term relationship. In others it’s fresh and new and in line with the culture you’re writing.  How has your own romance played into what you write?



Jeez!  Nothing like a tough and penetrating question, huh?


Oh, I've been known to ask some deceptively simple questions.  


We were in our late 20s when we met. Previous to that, we each had been in love, had our hearts seriously broken, and came to the conclusion that we couldn’t compromise about “abrasive traits” in potential partners. No more than six months before we met-- almost to the day--we both had confided in our closest friends that we’d never be married since our personalities and occupations just weren’t suited to it. Further, neither of us knew many couples that were truly happy together. So, yeah, we draw on the same strengths that work in our relationship when it comes to our characters. Part of being a good novelist is “living experience.” Each of us has “been there, done that,” when it comes to love, attraction, betrayal, devotion, disappointment, and fulfillment.



That explains the realistic romance from first meetings to happily married couples in your stories (and I love that, by the way).
You both have written other genres, science fiction, historicals, romances, mysteries, and thrillers. What drew you to writing prehistory novels? 


Dearest Sia, it’s what we do!  The best archaeologists are the ones who excavate a seven-thousand-year-old living floor and see the fire actually burning in the hearth.  We picture the old women at the grinding stones, see the old man knapping out a stone tool while the kids are crawling on his lap and getting in the way. Way back in the beginning Michael had an agent who told us that even if we wrote North American prehistory, she wouldn’t sell it. Then, after working on an archaeological project for Abajo Archaeology in Utah, one of our editors—upon hearing the stories of what we found—asked us to write PEOPLE OF THE WOLF. Finally, someone got it! The “PEOPLE” books have sold over seven million copies just in the US.



Are you still active professionally as anthropologists and archaeologists?  



We are.  Last year we participated in a two-hour forum at the Society for American Archaeology on fiction and archaeology. This year we are presenting a poster at the SAA meetings in Memphis on the marketing of archaeology. For the last couple of years we’ve given lectures in the Great Kiva at Aztec National Monument. We’re hosting the University of Indiana summer field schools at the multi-component Nostrum Spring Site here at the ranch.  Dr. Laura Scheiber brings her field schools here to record rock art, excavate, map, and analyze artifacts. We do a couple of lectures and bring in outstanding professionals for guest lectures.  We also fund research on on-going projects related to the novels we’re writing.


What’s the hardest part of writing stories about ancient peoples?



That has to be deciding which information to include and what to leave out. We’re not writing textbooks. We probably only include 20% of what we know about the culture. If we added more data it would clutter the story, slow the action, and drown the characters. Meanwhile, we’ve gotten canny in how we include the cultural data, weaving it into the story in seamless ways: The grinding stones gave off a hollow grating sound as Two Petals said, “Why would Brave Man say something so terrible?”  



I've noticed you do include quite of information while tying it to the now between your characters.


While all your stories are fiction, the FIRST CONTACT series is a bit different from your PEOPLE series, isn't it?  

Yes...and no.  The biggest difference for us was writing the series in first person from Black Shell’s POV.  Writing in first person is like tying one arm behind your back. Everything has to come through the filter of Black Shell’s perception.  Even then we couldn’t help but add the italicized scenes from Pearl Hand’s POV on occasion—but just enough for spice.

First person POV isn't easy, in my opinion, for that reason. But you weave your fictitious characters so well in the history of the time, with de Soto. I like the way you weave in Spain's, especially de Soto's, mentality and motivations in this series. I can feel the fear (also loathing) in Black Shell when he finally meets de Soto, and the Spaniard's attitude with having to accommodate with this native as an equal. 

Having the historical journals from the de Soto expedition laid out the plot, of course, but we’ve been there before in MORNING RIVER, COYOTE SUMMER, SAND IN THE WIND, THIS WIDOWED LAND, THIN MOON COLD MIST, and so many other historical novels. 

Like most of our other prehistory novels, COMING OF THE STORM, FIRE THE SKY, and A SEARING WIND are about kicking the myths square in the teeth!  Europeans didn’t just steamroll and victimize the poor defenseless bucolic Native peoples!  Our indigenous peoples did what the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca couldn't—they destroyed what should have been an invincible Spanish army. This should be part of our national education--what it means to be an American.  


The contact period is a murky mess of triumphs and defeats, of alliances and treachery, of advances and retreats for both sides.  If we have the opportunity to continue writing these books, we’ll be able to communicate how chaotic and uncertain contact was for both sides. And people will learn that everyone used everyone else for their own gains. Native nations exploited the Europeans just as often as the reverse. “Hey! If you Georgians wipe out these pesky Yamassee who are bothering us, we’ll give you all of our Cherokee buckskin trade! And as a sweetener we’ll guarantee safe passage to the headwaters of the Tennessee for 15% of what you bring back in trade.” 


Mike, what do you like or admire about Pearl Hand or Black Shell?

Short answer: Everything.

Long answer: They’re classic characters! Each is an exile surviving by their wits. Black Shell was declared a coward by his ruling clan in Chickasaw society; there courage and honor were everything.  As a wandering trader, he’s become one of the richest and most educated men in his footloose world, but still thinks he’s achieved nothing. Pearl Hand is a courtesan, a sexual possession passed from chief to chief. She despises men. When they first meet in COMING OF THE STORM he sees challenging sex, she sees a potential means of escape. They each end up falling for a quality in the other that neither of them expected. That’s what makes them so charming.

Kathy, what do you see as the toughest thing Pearl Hand has to face as a woman and a warrior?

Sia, She’s lived her entire life without anyone or anything. She hasn’t even considered herself a full person. After years of nothing and no future, suddenly she has Black Shell who loves her completely, the dogs, who adore her, and freedom to travel in safety under the Power of trade. Being a trader’s wife grants her status and security she never had as a slave. And just as quickly, she has to choose: She can save her man, her love, and her life, or save her world. If she and Black Shell run away together, and live happily ever after, the Kristianos win. If they fight him, it’s almost a bone-dried certainty that she’ll lose everything. But, as Horned Serpent knows, heroes aren’t heroes unless they’re prepared to sacrifice themselves and their dreams.

At a time in Europe when women were considered brainless chattel, American tribes had women as part of their elite warriors. How common was this and was it only in a time of war?

The majority of North American cultures were matrilineal and matrilocal prior to European contact. That means the women’s lineage ran everything, owned the wealth, buildings, fields, everything. Men had no claim on children they sired. The chiefs were predominantly male, but they ascended to their position based on their mother’s authority. Even so, as you will read in A SEARING WIND, genders were often kept strictly separate. Nevertheless, accommodation was made for women who aspired to male roles, and for males who aspired for female roles. This included what’s called “the berdache” generally accepted as a male born with a female soul inside of him. The berdache generally married another man, the husband remaining a categorical “full male” without any stigma, just as if he’d married a woman.  

Women who sought to participate in male activities were accepted on their own merits: If they could cut it, they made it. Generally they married women who were considered “just another wife” among their female colleagues. The one glaring omission in the ethnographic records that intrigues anthropologists is what happened during a woman’s period. Most of these cultures had strict taboos isolating women during menstruation. What happened when a woman warrior was on the war trail, when adherence to ritual was extreme?  We just don’t know.

You both are very successful authors. What’s the hardest thing you’ve had to face as a writer?  How did you overcome it?

The biggest single obstacle we face is getting the time to write. With success come demands. Back in the good old days before the collapse of the book industry, it used to be promotional tours.  Some years we spend as much as six months total on the road doing signings, media, meeting buyers, schmoozing with reviewers, having supper with bookstore owners. We also had our professional obligations as anthropologists, and of course, then we were running close to 300 bison on the ranch and fully immersed in the buffalo industry.  Now, after the collapse, we’re still in demand as speakers, for book signings, as archaeologists, to host the summer field school, we have two required trips to New York a year to keep up with our publishers, and there’s two hours a day that go to social media. Now, just as we’ve released many of our backlist titles on Amazon Kindle, we learn that they’re full of conversion errors. Things like th were translated as m. The word “the” becomes “me.” The proper name “Adom” becomes “Adorn.” How long will it take to copyedit 13 novels? Amazon can’t do it. And we don’t want to leave slip-shod, crummy product out for our readers!

But, oh, Sia, what we’d give for six months of uninterrupted writing!  We’ve got a string of novels we’d love to write, but no time to write them!

If I were to sit in your favorite chair or look at your nightstand, what fiction would I see? 

The first thing is Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A PRINCESS OF MARS, which we’re reading aloud to each other each night before we fall asleep. We just replaced our 1^st edition Ballantine paperback with a new copy that we can read without treating it like an illuminated manuscript. With the John Carter movie coming, we haven’t read this for forty years!  Next comes Kim Harrison’s A PERFECT BLOOD, Shane Gericke’s CUT TO THE BONE, C.J. Cherry’s REGENESIS, C.J.Box’s BACK OF BEYOND, Richard Wheeler’s THE RICHEST HILL ON EARTH, Patrick Rothfuss’ THE NAME OF THE WIND, and finally, David Weber’s Honor Harrington series (the first, BASILICK STATION was so wonderful, we’re doing the rest with QUEEN’S HONOR next.

Burroughs has always been a favorite of mine and I like the Honor Harrington series.

Are you currently working on a new series?  Can you tell me about it?

We’re just back from New York and our annual February publisher meetings. Tor/Forge has committed to at least four new books including a Native American fantasy based on the recent discovery of native mitochondrial DNA in Iceland. Just after 1000 CE a native woman was carried back from North America and her descendents have been in Iceland since. The novel will be about a couple of sisters taken by Vikings, and the religious/fantasy elements of native vs. Christian and Norse beliefs.

It’s been 22 years since we wrote the Cahokia book, PEOPLE OF THE RIVER. Since then archaeological research has completely redefined Cahokia. We went out on a limb to call it a state back in '92. Today archaeologists talk about “Imperial Cahokia” and we’re finding out that it is to North America as Rome was to Europe. So the next PEOPLE book will be a political novel about Cahokia with a possible spin-off with the characters in their own series of adventures.

Simon & Schuster has decided not to publish our two anthropological thrillers, so we’ll be putting COMES A GREEN SKY and FRACTURE EVENT on Kindle by the end of April. These books continue the story of Dusty Stewart and Maureen Cole from the Anasazi mysteries.

In the next couple of months we will pitch the next CONTACT series according to our option clause with Simon & Schuster. We’re not sure exactly which contact episode to propose. There are so many!

I'm looking forward to what's coming up next. I have a fascination with Cahokia so I'm really looking forward to seeing how develop that and everything I've read, indicates Cahokia society was much more complex than what was first thought when Europeans, especially in their politics.

Kathy and Mike, I want to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I know you're on the way to Oregon and truly appreciate making yourselves available to answer questions.

Sia, as always, it’s a delight!  We hope that you enjoy the conclusion to the story we started with COMING OF THE STORM and FIRE THE SKY. We think that A SEARING WIND is a remarkable and stunning conclusion to the story of Black Shell and Pearl Hand. As you read, you’ll find it’s nip and tuck as to whether Hernando de Soto or Black Shell’s own family will kill him first! 

You can read the blurb and excerpt HERE.

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million 


My review of the A Searing Wind should be live on  Amazon later today (Wednesday). I'll post a link when it is.

MONDAY MUSINGS: A Fascination Of Cahokia

Over the years we’ve heard a great deal of the Mayans and Aztecs. They were a marvel. But they weren’t the only sophisticated civilizations on the North American continent. We’ve just heard more about them.

Did you know there was a huge metropolis in the Midwest long before Columbus stepped foot on what is known as the United States? It rivals the Mayans and Aztecs in knowledge, finance, commerce, agriculture, and medical practices. Furthermore, this group of people built a mound that took up the space of a pyramid and was at least a hundred feet tall (considering erosion rates, it could have been even taller)? In fact, the base is larger than the Great Pyramid in Egypt and covered fourteen acres. The surrounding town, consisting of at least 120 pyramid styled mounds (massive bases and flat tops), built around the central plaza and mound and boasted a population larger than many cities in Europe?

Cahokia was huge, even by European standards. It’s estimated the nation was made up of about fifty loosely connected communities in the greater area spread out from the main mound (Monks Mound). Surrounding the mound were many well-built houses and many had family gardens. Numerous mounds had official buildings sitting on the top of them; some were homes of the elite. Population is estimated at around 20,000 in the city and probably another 30,000 in the surrounding area.

We think of football fields are huge, but the plaza was roughly the size of 45 football fields. That’s huge and it was enclosed in a wooden stockade (which took approximately 20, 000 logs to make).

What’s truly amazing to me is that the residents built these mounds. Keep in mind they didn’t have horses and wagons to do this. Instead this dirt was hauled by basket carried by men and, no doubt, some slaves were also used. Many tribes had slaves from enemy tribes.

The surrounding area was lush because it was part of the Mississippi bottomland. Rich soil, at least initially, for supporting an advanced agricultural society. It boasted of some good forests but those were cut down for building, especially the wooden wall around the top of the mound. Cahokia also sat at the convergence of the Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi rivers and so there was commerce from trade. Using the rivers trading reached from the gulf area north to the Minnesota area. Who knows, for sure, how far traders went on foot through out the lands surrounding the city. Archaeologists have found goods that indicate the trade routes were quite far reaching. But can you just imagine being on a trade canoe and seeing Cahokia for the first time? It would have been a wondrous sight to see.

Experts say the town only lasted about 300 years and then was abandoned. I imagine as they used up the resources (they weren’t great land managers) and the weather changes had many leaving and heading to smaller, more sustainable, settlements and villages. Many of the Native Americans in the area had similar beliefs and building styles so that would fit.

Cahokia is one of the largest archaeological areas in North America and it’s practically at my doorstep. I want to visit the area again and really look around. Walk up those 150 some steps and stand on Monks Mound and imagine a world of 700 years ago. I want to stand below the mound, in what was once the plaza, and imagine a sunrise cresting that mound and the awe of the populace when they saw the sun ‘being born’ from the top of the mound.

Have any of you visited this area? Or have you visited other archaeological sites?

  

Here’s a 10 minute excerpt from 500 Nations The Cahokia mound builders. Pretty cool.

HOW WRITING HAS CHANGED MY LIFE—Alex Cavanaugh

My guest today, is Sci-fi author, Alex Cavanaugh. I'm glad to have him visiting again, Over Coffee (psst don't tell anyone, but Alex is a favorite of mine).

Alex wasn't a blogger, nor did he have a online presence, until his first novel, CassaStar, was soon to be published. He literally went from unknown to what he is today, intrepid blogger, the host of various blogfests, and now has well over a thousand followers. Pretty amazing, isn't it? However, to achieve this calls for a lot of time. I think he mentioned his time went from fifteen minutes a day to two, sometimes three hours a day, online. That's a lot of hard work. His life changed drastically once he sold his first novel.

How, I wondered, did all that change his life? He tells us a bit about it.

Life used to be simple. I worked. I watched movies and played games. I jammed on my guitar. I volunteered at my church and spent quality time with my wife. My life wasn’t adventurous but I liked it.

And then, I found that old manuscript.

I’d enjoyed writing when I was a teen and thought it might be fun to tackle a rewrite of this story. The plot was crappy, but the characters were strong. So I spent the next couple years rewriting it and then submitting it. After many rejections, I landed a small publisher, and a release date was set.

I was told to “get my butt online,” which I did. And through blogging I met some really amazing people. They were encouraging and supportive and saw me through the release of CassaStar. I was excited and having fun.

What happened next sent me into a panic. Fans began to ask about the next book. So did my publisher. Next book? I’d never planned on more than one. You mean I had to go through the process again?

Yes, it did. And life wasn’t so simple anymore.

It has taken some serious adjustments and time management skills to make it all come together. My game playing time took the hit first, and over the past few months. I’ve seen far fewer movies. I do still play my guitar, as it’s my way of relaxing, but the jam sessions are shorter. Even time with my wife decreased. (Fortunately, she’s very understanding.)

What takes up a lot of my time now is promoting and networking. I’m blessed I can blog from work while performing my duties and during down times. I’m also on Twitter and a couple other sites. But on a busy day that can take six hours. That doesn’t count the time it takes to compose blog posts either. Or do guest posts or interviews. And since I run the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and I’m an A to Z Challenge co-host, those take time as well. Toss in the promotional requirements from my publisher, and some days it’s just insane.

Safe to say, I never planned on all of this. And I’m supposed to be working on the third book!

I won’t be able to keep up the pace forever, but there are a few things that make it worthwhile right now. Such as the amazing friends I have made online. I draw energy from their enthusiasm and triumphs. They are also the most supportive bunch of people I’ve ever met. I would’ve given up ages ago if it wasn’t for my blogger buddies.

And I would’ve given up without the support of my wife. Some days we don’t spend a lot of time together. But when we do, I make sure it is quality time. We never miss dinner together, either. That often becomes our time to talk. She’s just amazed at what I’ve accomplished so far with my books and my blog, though. And you know every guy wants to impress his wife! I also promised her a killer vacation in the next couple months, which scored one for the Ninja!

So, for any writer who is seeking publication, just be ready for the changes. (And be ready to write another book!) Know that life won’t be so simple anymore. But you know what? It will be better! 

• Visit the author’s site and leave a comment during his book tour for a chance to win CassaFire, CassaStar, and a CassaFire tote bag and mug!

COOL BOOK TRAILER

CassaFire

CassaStar was just the beginning...

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. 

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. Excerpt

All Byron wanted was his privacy...

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” 

- Library Journal

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE

Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He is experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Currently the author lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

You can visit the author’s site at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Goddess Of Wolves And Bears—Terry Spear

Latte Art  http://www.oddee.com 

My guest is Terry Spear. I freely admit I love her books and the hours of entertainment she has provided through them. Terry has a day job, writes—if you visited her website you’ll see she writes a variety of stories, not just wolves. She’s a pretty busy lady. We all have things we do to unwind. Hobbies. Terry talks about hers—making teddy bears and not just any teddy bear, but Celtic clan bears.

See? Terry isn’t just your average goddess of the wolves, but also of bears. 

Years ago I was making quilts, cloth dolls, embroidering pictures, hooking rugs, you name it. My folks had begun a business of creating unique doll carriages and other doll furniture for collectors and taking them to shows all across the country. They were really successful and bought a number of dolls to display sitting on their furniture at the shows. But that meant wrapping up all these dolls and keeping them safe, and lugging them all over when they had to be just as careful with their doll carriages.

So my dad asked me to create an old fashioned teddy bear and they’d take them to the shows. And I began to take them to teddy bear shows at the same time. They won best of show at a Fort Lauderdale doll and teddy bear show, best dressed bears, and most unique bear for a pirate peg-legged bear. Three were featured in separate issues of Teddy Bear Review Magazine, one was featured in Texas Monthly Magazine and others in Texas Co-op Monthly and the MacNeill in the MacNeill Galley. They’ve been showcased in several newspapers also. And Spectral Visions showed them in The International Teddy Bear Connection film.

So the business was born! With the advent of the Internet, I was excited to create a webpage and showcase the bears for the whole world to see. And then with paypal, I was able to take payments online! Besides the baby birth bears paws that are embroidered with a child’s first name and the birth date on the other foot, one of my goals was to create the beloved Celtic Clan Bears. I periodically add more clan plaids to my collection to create a bonnet and sash for the bear, and then embroider the clan name on the bear’s paws.

The bears have found homes all over the States and Canada, and as far away as Switzerland, China, Kazakhstan, France, and Australia!

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of fun with comments about the bears. At one show, I had a broken finger in a splint as I tried to embroider bear paws that had been bought at the site. A man said, “I see your bears bite.”

A lady commented, “You’re poking them with the needle, and I can see why you got bitten.”

Now, the man reminded me of my dad, and so I figured that a man would have said such a thing.

The woman reminded me of me. LOL I didn’t expect a woman to say anything of the sort.

Oh, and the way I had broken my finger? I had a black standard poodle, and a white one, both on leash, both leashes in my right hand, and both dogs dashed in the opposite direction, the leashes wrapping around the finger and yanking, hard.

So the bear story was fine. Yes, the bears don’t like being poked with a sharp needle and sometimes they bite.

Over the years I’ve also had a number of comments: “You make the whole bear?”

I smile. “Yep. From scratch.”

“Do you buy the head from somewhere else?”

I pause and think of a shop that sells only bear heads. “Nope. I make the bears from scratch.”

When I made my first bears, my dad looked them over and said, “You didn’t make these.”

I gave him one of my looks, head tilted to the side, lips pursed, raised eyebrows.

“Did you?” he asked.

And then he wanted to take them to the Dallas Trade Mart to sell with their carriages, and then the doll and bear shows, and I became the bear lady.

Although one of my fans calls me a wolf goddess.

So how have my bears helped with writing? They’re like characters in furry form. Each is an individual, and like with writing, I love to take a break and do something different.

• Do you have a hobby that you love to do?

You can find out more information about my teddy bears here: http://terryspear.tripod.com/celticbears/

A SEAL IN WOLF’S CLOTHING  BY TERRY SPEAR – IN STORES MARCH 2012

Her instincts tell her he's dangerous...

While her overprotective brother's away, Meara Greymere's planning to play—and it wouldn't hurt to find herself a mate in the process. The last thing she needs is one of his SEAL buddies spoiling her fun, even if the guy is the hottest one she's ever seen...

His powers of persuasion are impossible to resist...

Finn Emerson is a battle-hardened Navy SEAL and alpha wolf. He's a little overqualified for baby-sitting, but feisty Meara is attracting trouble like a magnet...

As the only responsible alpha male in the vicinity, Finn is going to have to protect this intriguing woman from a horde of questionable men, and definitely from himself...

Experience the sensual, action-packed, critically acclaimed world of Terry Spear, author of a Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year…

Terry Spear has written a dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. An award-winning author, Terry’s Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year in 2008. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear is a librarian by day and spends every spare moment writing paranormal romance as well as historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on new paranormal romances! For more information, please visit her website http://www.terryspear.com/.

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MONDAY MUSINGS: A Woman of Inspiration

 'I'm sanguine. I expect it [death] any day. But I live as if it will never happen.'

I’m not a person easily impressed, especially by people. I have met a few truly inspiring people in my life. Read about others whose accomplishments have wowed me. Oh, not ‘award winning’ whatever, but whose life has been a testament of a spirit and conviction, or body of work which has been impressive. They did it—whatever it happened to be.

In this case, it’s Ruth Gruber. Amazing woman. I caught part of the documentary, Ahead Of Time, this afternoon on The Movie Channel.  I say part of, because I was working in my office and went to get a cup of coffee and take a break when my ears picked up snatches of dialog from the show my husband was watching. It caught my interest and pulled me into the living room to see what it was. I only meant to stay long enough to satisfy my curiosity, and ended up anchoring down in my chair and watching the last 40 minutes of the show.

Did any of you see it? The things this woman has been involved with in her life. Especially when you consider her age—in her 20’s—and at time when women journalists were mainly covering ‘women’s’ fluff stuff, gardening, society pages, family issues, and maybe the occasional neighborhood news. They certainly were not jetting off, before there even were jets, to the hotspots of the world.

Ruth went places and did things that would raise the eyebrows today and we’re accustomed to women accomplishing noteworthy things or embarking on important work. But in the late 1920’s and 30’s? At a time when few women got Bachelor degrees, much less PhD’s by the time they were 20 (there weren’t any men getting them by 20 at time, either). College was a time for getting a teaching degree while waiting to find your husband. Didn’t change radically (except the degrees) in the next 20 years, either.

Here she was barely 19, single, and traveling alone (a big thing at that point in time) in 1930, to Germany for her graduate study. Let’s add some danger, shall we? She’s the child of Russian Jews and she’s living for a year in Germany when Hitler and the rising of anti-Semitism were just about full blown. I shake my head thinking what I’d feel as a mother watching my child do this. Of course, America was mostly in the dark when it came to what was happening in Germany until Hitler was in full power and even then, they felt it wouldn’t get worse. Phfft!  To her credit, she wrote about what she saw and heard when she returned home.

Ruth was 24 when she won a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship to study women under fascism, communism, and democracy. This is in 1935 and my grandmother, who was almost 5 years younger, was pregnant with my mother. While my grandmother was having her first child and finding out firsthand the joys of motherhood, Ruth was traveling to Soviet Siberia to interview women. She was the first foreign correspondent, male or female, to visit the Soviet Union and interview prisoners in Siberia. Six years later she’s sent on assignment, by Secretary Of The Interior, to Alaska to make an economic/social study of the state prior to it being opened to homesteaders and veterans. Can you imagine spending 18 months traveling around Alaska? Oh, this would be by bush plane, motor vehicle, and mostly by dogsled. What an adventure and only one of many more, some very dangerous, in her life.

At the time my grandmother was seeing her daughter getting ready to graduate from high school (my mom was 16 when she graduated in ’54 and she finished her college degree at 19, in Georgetown and met and married my dad in 1955), Ruth decided it was time to experience being a wife and mother. Of course, she got a bit of a start on her family (by several years) before my mom did, but comparing her life to what was going on with the women in mine…it boggles the mind. It gives me context.

“Have dreams, have visions, and let no obstacle stop you.” Ruth Gruber.  

I’d say she’s living proof of that statement, wouldn't you?

If you get the chance to see, Ahead Of Time, do it. It’s truly fascinating.

 ~**~**~**~

Upcoming Guests:

Wednesday, the 7^th I will be having Terry Spear (A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing) visiting and talking about bears—teddy bears that she makes.

Friday, the 9^th, Alex Cavanaugh (CassaFire) will be visiting and his topic is on how writing has changed his life.

Wednesday, the 14^th, Mike and Kathy Gear (First Contact Series and Searing Wind) will be interview guests and will be around to chat or answer questions.

Friday, the 16^th, I have Diane Kelly (Death, Taxes and a Skinny No-Whip Latte )

Her topic is on trust.

Quite a round up of topics and guests, so be sure to stop back by.

BOOK REVIEW: CassaFire, Alex Cavanaugh

CassaFire

Author: Alex Cavanaugh

Publication Date: February 15, 2012

Format: Print and ebook

Length:  235 pages

Publisher:  Dancing Lemur Press LLC

Rating: Four Stars

From the Amazon best-selling author - CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities. 

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

MY THOUGHTS:

If you like Star Trek and Battlestar Gallactica, you’re really going to enjoy this one!

CassaFire, for me, was reminiscent of the best things about Star Trek. Exploration of new worlds and cultures and the adventures that the characters went on to solve the mystery they were faced with.

In Cassafire, reclusive war hero, Byron, has kept his promise to his beloved mentor and friend by being part of the ship’s company on an exploration ship, The Rennather. The ship’s compliment has been dispatched to the planet Tgren to discover the identity and source of the newly found alien ruins. I loved the way the author introduced this and developed a real world. There's an immediate sense of excitement and mystery.  


The Tgrens have achieved air flight but not yet reached beyond the planet and are suspicious of the Cassan’s mental abilities, technology, and motives. There are some good secondary characters, both on the planet and with the ship's compliment. They are well developed and move the story forward in a realistic manner and with them the author puts me on the spot. The Rennather science team must unlock the secret of the writing in the alien ruins and discover whether it is a weapon or perhaps the key to when and how the Tgrens arrived on the planet. 

Byron also has another assignment and one he’s not particularly thrilled with. Access the immerging mental powers of the Tgrens. To do this Byron also has to interact with the pilots and the author skillfully captures the pilot mentality and their arrogance. He’s soon paired up with the planet’s ace pilot, Athee, who shows extraordinary mental powers.  She also happens to be gorgeous and sexy which makes it difficult for Byron to maintain his solitary mindset. The race to find the answers of the mystery becomes a matter of life and death and there’s no way Byron can remain detached. 

CassaFire has a good sense of humor skillfully weaved in the story. I found myself laughing and chuckling. This story is well told and has a rich sense of suspense, danger, and an element of romance. Mr. Cavanaugh creates some wonderful three-dimensional main characters that readers can’t help but be invested in emotionally. I love Mevine, Byron's friend. and Athee is spirited and full of adventure as is the whole story. I loved the sense of mounting danger Alex Cavanaugh was able to induce throughout the story to the end. A very satisfying ending.

There were a few minor distractions for me in this story. Mostly centering on a few phrases used which pulled me from being a part of what was happening and placed me back as an observer. Part of it may have been because Byron was a bit emotionally distant from those around him but Byron came to know and care about these people and so descriptions such as ‘the young man’ or ‘the lad’ when referring to his friend Mevine, one on one, were unnecessary and a bit distracting. Same with Athee being referred to as the young woman when their relationship was now close and he shouldn’t have been thinking of her dispassionately but personally. This wasn’t a big problem, just a minor thing I observed here and there, and just enough to pull me a bit from the scene because it didn’t fit the situation.

Overall, this is a fun and entertaining adventure, which kept me turning the pages to see what happens next and I didn’t want it to end. 


I'll be buying the next book from this author. I’m truly looking forward to the next adventure.