Terry Spear is with us today, yep the one you see everywhere these days! She is such a busy writer I had to trip her and insist she blog for us. When she agreed so I'd let her up from the floor, I asked Terry to blog about anything she chose, so here she is. Please help me welcome Terry Spear.
Which Story Am I Working On???
By Terry Spear
Even though I’m supposed to be talking about Legend of the White Wolf’s release—it’s coming Feb 1, although pre-orders are being shipped already—my mind keeps flipping back and forth from werewolf story to werewolf story.
When writing a series, there are usually a myriad of stories in progress. As I finished Wolf Fever, Book 6, due out in the Fall, I had the edits for Seduced by the Wolf, Book 5, to complete and send back in. To write Wolf Fever, which is based on characters from Destiny of the Wolf, Book 2, I had to reread that book, and make sure I didn’t make any mistakes for the new book. Of course since then, I’d already also written To Tempt the Wolf, Book 3.
Now, I’m working today on the very opening of Taming the Highland Wolf, Book 7, due out in 2011. Yet, I’m also promoting Legend of the White Wolf, Book 4’s release. Confused yet?
I am!!! Shortly, I’ll have to send a pitch on what the hero and his wolf persona will look like for Taming the Highland Wolf’s book cover. Then I’ll be working on final line edits for Seduced by the Wolf. ☺ And I’ve got to keep all these names straight.
Anyone have trouble with names in real life?
Waving hand here. I’m the world’s worst. But when I write stories, I compound the issue. *sigh* I usually get the name sort of right, but I get creative on the spelling. ☺
I love creating both new characters and taking secondaries and giving them more of a role as the primary characters or just further roles in new stories also. In a way, it’s easier just creating new characters. But on the other hand, when you already have one partly fleshed out in a previous story, it can be fun showing their character in more depth, this time from their point of view, when before it wasn’t.
In Legend of the White Wolf, the characters are all new, except for Leidolf, who was in the first 4 stories. I wanted a story that starts out with a human hero and heroine who learn what the truth is about Arctic wolves living in Maine. But I also wanted to have a story about Arctic wolves, instead of just about gray and red. Each story will hopefully be something new and different and that’s what I ultimately strive for.
Half the fun of writing the stories is researching them. From werewolf legends to real werewolf trials, I try to add some realism to my own urban fantasy romance worlds. I have to say that I was researching what a hero’s brother might wear in Scotland on a summer day. I found a guy in a muscle shirt and he’s perfect for the job! I mean the shirt is. Okay, all right, so the guy really is too. You never know where inspiration will come from next!
So what do you think? Muscle shirts a must for a summer werewolf hunk in the Highlands?
http://terry-spear.blogspot.com/2010/01/taming-highland-wolf.html
I have to admit Cameron MacPherson starts out the story in Legend of the White Wolf, wearing only a towel when he first meets Faith O’Malley. ☺
Have a super Thursday!! And remember, werewolves need loving too!
Terry Spear
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male.”
www.terryspear.com
http://www.wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/
http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/
http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/
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http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/legend-of-the-white-wolf-being-shipped/#comment-4502
Terry, thanks for visiting with the Pink Fuzzies, your descriptions of what your working on when made me dizzy! So many wonderful stories with so many sizzling characters. LOL, I too have a hard time with names. I tend to get familiar with one and then can't get it out of my mind. Everyone has the same name. Maybe it would be easier to use the same names until I get to the end then search and change all at once! Congrats on the series.
Hi Scarlet Pumpernickel, you must be related to the Scarlet Pimpernel!!! I'm in love with him, every version I find him in, in every historical story! Just tell him I said so!
I'm thrilled to be here! And to Mary for asking me to do a guest blog! Hmm, I thought I arm wrestled her for the job, but maybe that was the last guest blog spot I managed to get!
Thanks, Mary!!! You did a super job on it!
This morning I'm in a rush to get reviewers for quotes for The Accidental Highland Hero, 2nd edits done, and all that stuff...before I run off to work--talk about dizzying.
As to names, oh, yes, I've had the two many characters with the same name game. That's why sometimes I come up with some odd names, just so I know I haven't used them before. Although most often they come from the Character Naming Guide with a history! What about changing a name midstream? Or at the end of the book, your editor or critique partners say the name is too similar to another, or is too much like a character you had in another book, or someone elses book? I usually am pretty stuck with the first name I think up and it's hard for me to see it differently ever again! It is important though, not to make characters' names too similar. I just finished reading a book where two characters, the hero's and a secondarie's had very similar names. The worst of it was, I kept getting the two mixed up. Never should your reader confuse who your hero is!!! :)
Thanks for having me here, ladies!
Hey, Terry! Off to critique and tutor, but I'll check in later, too
Thanks, Mary! Posting a couple more places, then I'll be off to work. It's a wolf eat wolf world out there, you know!
The werewolf series pulls you in and make you want to believe in werewolves (or at least the hunky kind). All of the myths and lore about werewolves is so interesting and the little bits of humor thrown in makes it seem so realistic.
Thanks so much, Mason! You know, the other day a man helped me jumpstart my dead battery in 16 degree temperatures after work, in the dark. He was definitely a hunky hero and who knows? He might have been a wolf at heart too.
Terry, You make me dizzy in so many ways. The way you balance your Jobs. The way you take all the Jabs life seems to give you.And still come out swinging. The way you keep all the books coming and going. And the amazing world you created with such life like hero's and heroines. You make me Dizzy from desire to have my very own Wolfish Hero. Thanks for doing it all. And P.S. I love the slippers.
Terry, I never read the word wolf without thinking of you!!! You are a whirlwind of energy. Please rub some on me. While reading, editing, promoting, writing so many Wolves books I can understand you get mixed up with names. My CPs laugh when they catch me using a previous hero's name in another story right in the middle.
Thanks so much, Diva Donna!! I'm thrilled I'm able to give you so much reading pleasure! I think of you in all that snow and I'm sure not far from where you are, the wolves, werewolf types, are meeting! They'll have to be in a story too!
Oh, Mona, that is too funny about changing your hero's name in the middle of a story (do I dare mention I've done the very same thing??? lol), and thanks for the comment about thinking of me when you hear the wolf word. :) That is the biggest compliment! My co-workers at the library where I work, put aside every book they see about wolves that come through our branch. The funniest were two stories told from the wolf's pov in a couple of fairy tales. I reference them in one of my books! :)
Terry, thanks for visiting the Pink Fuzzies! I'm working on a vampire story, do you see the world building for wolves different from vamps or do you think it is the same process?
Melba Moon
President-Elect KOD
Thanks for coming to visit. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has trouble keeping names straight. Do you keep an updated bible of all of your characters and their information or do you go back to previous books to see how you described them or what they were up to at the time?
Waving hi, Melba!! And congrats on being Pres-elect for KOD! Good luck on your vampire story! The world building is different for me. For my werewolf series, I try to keep it as realistic as possible, while keeping the truth about werewolves under wraps. But for my vampire stories, hunters, vampires and humans make up the world. Politics are different. The vampires are a known entity. I still try to make it as realistic as possible based on the way things are run now, but with some additions and of course the paranormal side of the equation. :) But any way a writer creates his or her world can work. :) Good luck!
Joelle, thanks! I should keep a bible of names and other information, but instead I reread passages referencing characters from the books. It helps me to recall more about them, not just about eye color, or name, but how they reacted to conflict in an earlier story. Not that characters don't change, considering their situation. We were commenting at work how we all sound differently when we answer the phone compared to when we speak to patrons at the desk.So a character who might act one way in a situation could very well behave differently in another. :) Anyway, it seems like too much trouble to maintain bibles! :) Do you keep a bible?
Like you, I've been rereading sections of previous books when I need to refresh my memory on a character, but I am seriously considering a basic Bible of characters in Indian Falls - my town. It's more to keep who owns what store and where the store is located straight. That stuff starts to confuse me after a while:) It's wonderful to hear how you approach your connected works. Thanks!
Terry, you are amazing!You are just loaded with wonderful ideas and stories.
I should have half of your drive and the fact that you can handle it all. I'm just blown away. Good stuff Terry.
Wow, I'm impressed with how you manage to keep it all together. I have a hard time remembering what my character did on page 1 once I'm on page 300. To compensate, I've learned to write everything down. Names, places, descriptions all get jotted down in a pad I keep on my desk. This saves me a lot of frustration and rewrites.
I can't end this without thanking you for writing such a wonderful Highland werewolf series. Your alpha males meet all my expectations.
Amazing, How do you juggle it all?
I'm terrible with names too. I have to keep an excel file with characters names listed under books titles, just so I don't fumble.
Your covers are awesome! Congrats.
AJ
Yikes, my comment didn't go through last night and now I have to remember what I said! I used to have this problem where I'd click publish and it would glitch and I'd have to start all over. I ended up having to copy my comments, then publish, and if they were lost, paste them again until the post finally went up. Copying and pasting can be a lifesaver!
Hey, Joelle, sounds like a great idea. In a fantasy time travel I had written, I actually had to sketch a map so I could keep it straight as to where everyone was located and for the trek the heroine had to make. :)For Heart of the Wolf where they were running through the woods in a couple of scenes, I actually downloaded topographical maps to look at the layout of the land to use in my descriptions. :)
Thanks so much, Pamela!!! I forget stuff too...especially if the character is in another book, but sometimes even in the book I'm working on. Now what color were her eyes? LOL It can be overdone, though. In one book I was reading, everyone had such distinctive green eyes, she realized they were all brothers, even though they all had different mothers. And it mentioned the green eyes way too much. But one thing was in the author's favor. She didn't forget what color eyes everyone had. LOL! But I also do the find/search a lot to see if I've overused a phrase or eye color, or if I can't remember an eye color, or something else that I'm trying to remember if I had in the story! :)Thanks again for loving my heroes, Pamela!!!
Hi AJ! I've heard of others using Excel too. That's so neat to be that organized. I know it would probably help once I did it, but it just sounds like so much work! LOL :) Thanks for dropping by and commenting, AJ!
I usually don't "advertise" someone else's blog on a guest post, but I thought this was such a neat way to reveal more about a character in your book in a different way, some of you might want to try it.
It was a tarot reading for Cameron MacPherson of Legend of the White Wolf, and though it was really tough to do it--in the book, Cameron has a dark history, and so it fit in nicely with the reading, it was difficult because the tarot reader found him really at odds with the reading. She hadn't read his story, had no idea what he was about, just had his birth date and astrological sign. He waffled between assassin and priest, if that isn't a combination!!! I was alarmed at first when she warned me, because I thought, OMG, he has to appear heroic or he'll never be loved. :)
http://tarotbyarwen.com/blog/?p=2227
But I think he sounded quite heroic after all! What do you think?
I keep learning a little more about that first scene. Can't wait to read.
Thanks, Sheila, hope I haven't given away too much! :)