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Heart of the Wolf--Tossing Aside Convention

I’ve either spent the day in the snowy wasteland of the Canadian Arctic, researching about wolves and how everyone lives up in the cold northern reaches for Allure of the Wolf, or I worked on puttying nail holes and painting my daughter’s room in the now hot Central Texas weather.

Such is the life of this writer! And just after I shut down my computer to call it quits for the night, a little Marie voice whispered to me—“Remember to post your blogs the night before.”

So I crossed the floor in the now dark house, tripped over my black standard poodle, who didn’t stir, and turned on the computer to write—

What? I’m not a night person.

Not only had my computer shut down for the night…!

But I’ll give it a shot—and if this doesn’t make any sense, Marie, it is not my fault!

For me, writing the new werewolf series was based on my love of vampires.

??? I told you I was not a night person!

Because vampires were becoming so rampant, uh, make that vampire stories, I needed to think of something just as sexy and strong, but maybe a little wilder. I love to do research and so I based the first and subsequent stories on werewolves who were much like real wolves in their wolf states and who carried some of these traits over to their human side. But in their wolf states, they still have their human sensibilities. Hmm, to think we could be stronger, have an increased sense of smell, sight, hearing, and the added benefit, could live longer. Greater than all that—that our chosen mate would be ours forever, and with increased longevity, this would be for a very long time indeed.

I’d seen werewolf monster movies and knew how werewolves were supposed to be killed. But while researching information for a young adult novel, I had learned about the mythology concerning werewolves in the Norse legends, and so used this and others to explain why a select group of people are the way they are. I think my fascination with real wolves came from stories I read when I was a teen like White Fang and the Call of the Wild by Jack London, and from stories earlier on like Little Red Riding Hood.

All I needed to do was create sexy, semi-immortal, shapeshifting characters—and Heart of the Wolf was born. Like Linda, I took a chance and tried something new that I had never done before. And now, I’m working on the fourth book in the series.
So if you could toss aside convention and go for the most outrageous story you could come up with, what would it be?
Terry Spear
Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf

Comments

  1. For me it was a slam dunk once Jazz started talking.

    Linda

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  2. Great post Terry

    I loved call of the wild when I was young and I have read a couple of Nalini Singhs's shapeshifter books and loved them.
    I love the way that a lot of animals mate for life the way people are supposed to if they have found their true sole mate (I know it doesn't always happen that way LOL)that is probably why I love romance books so much because of the HEA.
    The research must have been lots of fun as well learning all there is to know about wolves.
    I will be adding these books to my must get list and hope to read them soon.
    Have Fun
    Helen

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  3. For me, Linda, it was the heroine stirring up the hero!! And then the first kiss--that was the unbreakable bond~~

    Thanks, Helen! I agree with finding your true soul mate. I just learned that swans do also. Really romantic! Roadrunners do too. We had a pair that would jump our fence in Oklahoma and I loved watching them together. {Sigh}...HEA is what makes the world a better place! Enjoy Heart of the Wolf! :) And thanks again!

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  4. Wow, I warranted two mentions in your blog and you're hearing me nagging you. Is that a good thing? LOL! Great post, Terry. I so admire the amount of research you had to do for your series. Didn't one of your great reviews mention how well researched Heart of the Wolf is? That's way cool!

    For Line of Scrimmage, I was "forced" to watch a lot of football (major hardship--all those tight white buns running around and bashing into each other...) I stepped way outside my comfort zone to write about a football player. In fact, when my muse showed up with Ryan Sanderson, I tried to remake him into a shortstop because baseball is the sport I love (and the WORLD CHAMPION Boston Red Sox in particular). But alas, Ryan wasn't having it so I had to figure out what the big whoop was about football. I'll admit that the magic had always eluded me. However, since the 06 season when I was researching LOS, I've become a convert and watched every one of the New England Patriots' 18 victories and um, that one loss, last season.

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  5. LOL, your little voice came to me right before I went to bed, Marie. But I ended up getting up at 4:30 this morning, so could have posted then! :)

    Too funny about your football experiences. You see that goes to show you can write about anything if you do the "proper" research. :)

    I mean all those tight ends...hmmm-hmm...that is what they call them, right? I'm afraid I know more about wolves!!!

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  6. Terry,

    I myself did some research on wolves a few years ago for a story I was writing. What fascinating, misunderstood creatures they are! Also I saw some real wolves at a preserve in Omaha, Nebraska. They were shy, and very hard to spot, but the ones I caught sight of were hypnotizing. Your research adventures sound amazing!

    Your pal at Sourcebooks Casablanca,
    Christina

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  7. Hi, Christina! Fascinating about your own wolf research and seeing them at the preserve.

    I'm glad you got your cover up!! I was just reading about a sighting of an alpha male and female in Canada and how the man who was trying to catch a glimpse of them had his dogs with him. Wrong move! All of them were territorial! Could have been a disaster. They say the same about taking dogs on wilderness trails. They attract bears!

    Can't wait to hear about your story!

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  8. Great post Terry, whether it was the result of Marie's nagging or not! :-)

    In my own research, I stumbled upon modern research into an ancient genetic marker that turned into a major plot point in The Wild Sight... But I don't wanna say too much about that because I'm guest blogging about that very topic later in the month at The Wet Noodle Posse.

    We are off and running here, Ladies! Let's keep the momentum going!

    Cindy

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  9. Very cool! Thanks for sharing with us.

    I have Heart of the Wolf sitting here in my TBR pile...looking forward to reading it.

    And reading the comments...Marie, I LOVE sports romances and recently blogged about how I wish there were more of them...will have to check out yours.

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  10. Hi, Terry--Loucinda alerted me to your group's new blog. It looks gorgeous!

    I'm a night person, so I'm familiar with that midnight burst of unexpected output, but I imagine it can be tough for a morning person. Your post shows what beautiful paths research can open up for us. Norse myths and wolves are two of my favorite subjects anyway. Thanks for a interesting look at the birth of this book.

    If I cast convention to the side and wrote just whatever came to mind, it'd be the spy book I'm polishing now. We'll see whether it bears fruit. Congratulations again to your group on this great new blog.

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  11. Welcome Nancy! (Waves to my fellow Bandita)

    Thanx a bunch for stopping by! You know my fingers are double xxed (and typing is very difficult!) for good news on you spy book. I KNOW you can do it! Plus, you always have a GREAT attitude about picking yourself up and trying again that is an inspiration to me (the poor poor me whiner).

    See ya around the Lair!
    Cindy

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  12. Thanks, Cindy! Good thing Marie has a good sense of humor! :) That sounds so neat about your ancient genetic marker find!! That's what makes the stories so interesting, truth along with the fiction!

    Thanks so much, Jennifer! I hope you enjoy Heart of the Wolf! Look forward to visiting with you on your random musings too!

    Hey, Nancy, you can do it! I have always been fascinated with spy stories. I loved North by Northwest and so many others! Real and otherwise. Good luck with your creation.

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  13. Mmmmm! I've always had a thing for a tight end, myself!
    Great post, Terry! That'll be me trying to post in the middle of the night!

    Cheryl

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  14. Wonderful new blog, ladies!!! I'm enjoying reading it. Your wolf research sounds fascinating, Terry!

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  15. Cheryl, we have a new posting thingy where we can do it the night before and set the date. So next time, I'm trying that!

    Thanks, Nicole! I can't wait to read your Red Sage story!! :)

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