trueromance

Readers’ Crown Award Winner, Sci-fi/Futuristic/Time-Travel Romance

Some ideas are simply before their time. Shortly after I sold my first books, I was invited to be part of a novella. My shapeshifters were born in the hundred or so pages I whipped up for it. These shapeshifters had no home of their own, no identity, no sanctuary, and faced certain extinction. They were stranded on Earth, a world that didn’t understand or want them. In turn, they were forced to become us to survive. I knew them. I understood them. I cried and cheered for them. I loved them. They deserved a book.

Unfortunately for them, the novella never took off and my shapeshifters were relegated to CD backups. I sat on that story for seven years, writing other books, fulfilling other contracts, and watching the world and the market change. To my wondrous ears, readers spoke—more paranormals, darker, edgier, grittier, and sexier. The time was finally right for my shapeshifters to make their début, and I was lucky enough to find a publisher and editor who believed in them as much as I did.

In this series, I bring alien shapeshifters into this crazy, chaotic, complex, treacherous, and sometimes fragile fabric of life we’ve woven. Their problems are real, and the issues they present are difficult, as complicated and challenging as any we face today. How can they be accepted here? How will they survive? Who will believe in them? These are the hard questions faced by my shapeshifters and the humans they fall in love with. Poised on opposite sides of the fence, they clash, they grow, and they come to understand that hope never dies and love transcends all. Even for those who aren’t quite human.

I would be happy to give away one copy of Body Master to one lucky commenter.

For more, visit www.cjbarry.com

Setting: The Highlands of Scotland, contemporary
Subgenre: Werewolf, urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Hero: Ian MacNeill, Laird of Argent Castle, alpha pack leader of a gray pack
Heroine: Julia Wildthorn, red werewolf romance writer

One sentence summary: Modern day werewolf laird Ian MacNeill reluctantly allows a film production company to use his castle, but he knows his secretive clan has a big problem when a beautiful red werewolf female who insists she’s working on the film keeps showing up in the wrong places… and a matter of pleasure…

Scene you like most and would never cut: Where the hero catches up to the heroine in a tavern and gets a good look at her, dripping wet, although she gets just as much of an eyeful as she peruses him as his wet clothes cling to every muscle group.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: My heroine would never ask a Highlander what he wears under his kilt, although she might wish for a nice strong breeze.

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? He raises Irish wolfhounds, which were used in the old days to kill wolves, but also to unseat English knights from their horses in Ireland where the MacNeills were from originally.

Heroine: She has never ridden a horse, except for nags used in trail rides and is terrified to ride on a horse with Ian, although she soon learns holding him tight isn’t such a bad way to ride after all.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Julia Wildthorn is an American werewolf romance writer, as in she is a red werewolf who writes werewolf romances.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Ian MacNeill is the clan chief for the MacNeill clan and the pack leader for the gray wolf pack at Argent Castle in Scotland but soon to lose their ancestral home if he doesn’t act quickly.

What you think readers will like best about this book: The Highland theme with wolfish hunks.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet: The MacNeill brothers, Duncan, who has a story coming up later, and Cearnach and Guthrie, although I’ve already had fan requests for their cousin Heather also.

What’s next: Dreaming of the Wolf is the next release coming up, followed by The SEAL in Wolf Clothing, but I’m currently working on a brand new jaguar shifter series for Sourcebooks also.

Question – Sourcebooks is happy to provide a copy of HEART OF THE HIGHLAND WOLF to either US or Canada addresses, if you leave your email address along with the answer to this question:

If you had the chance to move into a castle in Scotland with a hunky Highland wolf clan, what would you like most about it?

A winner will be selected by the morning of June 12. Thanks to everyone who participates and to Ellen for so graciously having me visit today! For more information on my books, please visit www.terryspear.com.

About Me:

What’s my favorite movie of all time? Prince of Persia because of the romance and humor and historical aspect and fantasy and adventure and danger—it’s just perfect.

What’s my favorite kind of story to get lost in? Time travel romance.

What’s the first book I remember reading? I was way ahead in English class and remembered reading and loving Last of the Mohicans.

What’s my favorite fairy tale? East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a Norwegian tale where the hero prince is cursed to be a polar bear by day and a human by night, my first shapeshifter story.

What’s my favorite cartoon character? Mickey Mouse, especially in Fantasia.

What’s something I’d like to tell your readers? Believe in yourself and dreams can come true.

What would my occupation be if I were no longer a writer? Being a writer is in the blood, although I’m a librarian by day and a retired Army reserve officer, but the storytelling will always be with me.

What do I do to unwind and relax? Garden, read a book or watch a movie.

Tea or Coffee? And how do I take it? Mandarin-flavored green tea, straight up.

What does love mean to me? It means never having to say goodbye. I think that’s a quote from somewhere, but I think it’s so appropriate because wolves mate for life.

Which era would I least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? The Roaring Twenties—awful hat styles and clothes, Prohibition, Depression Era. Terrible time to live. Most? I love writing about the medieval times, although if you were a serf, it wouldn’t have been fun! But if you were royalty, beautiful gowns, lots of folks to wait on your every whim—then again, sanitation problems, someone was always trying to overthrow someone, most women couldn’t choose a husband for love…maybe today is really best.

What name have I been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? None, yet. I often use the Character Naming Guide to help select just the right name for a character, although sometimes I just think of something fun and wing it.

Dog person or cat person? Both, since I write about wolves that I love so much, and jaguars, that are just as sexy—shifters that is, and I’ve raised both dogs and cats for years.

More sexy werewolves from Terry Spear:

Setting: Chicago in the year 2024
Subgenre: YA paranormal
Hero: we’ll see!
Heroine: Zoë

One sentence summary:
All Zoë has to do is master her dragon shape shifting powers, keep from revealing her nature to her best friend (and still stay friends), survive boot camp for dragon shifters, figure out guys and save her kind from the Mages’ diabolical plan to eliminate all shifters.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
I love the scene with Zoë’s first kiss. Yum.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
Zoë is a fundamentally honest person. What really eats her up is the need to keep her dragon shifting nature secret from her best (human) friend. She feels like a liar and a fraud and I think that says a lot about the kind of person she is. On the other hand, what finally brings her dragon shifting powers to the fore is her desire to protect that same friend from a bully.

Tell us one quirky thing about your heroine?
She likes to draw dragons. She’s, in fact, pretty compulsive about it.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Zoë is 15 and a high school student. She’s trying to figure out what to do with her life – other than be the Wyvern, the only female dragon shifter who has special powers, and generally be a dragon shifter defending humans everywhere like her dad and the other Pyr. I like that Zoë is trying to find a balance point between her life as a dragon shifter and her desire to be a normal human teenager.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
I hope they’ll like Zoë! I had a really good time with her and her story.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
Well, this is the launch of this series. I hope that by the time all three books are published, readers might be wanting to know more about the guy dragon shifters who are Zoë’s pals. That’s Nick, Garrett and Liam. I’m starting to get curious about the boys myself.

What’s next:
WINGING IT, book #2 in The Dragon Diaries, will be out in December. It has another gorgeous cover and is another action-filled story. The final book in this trilogy will be out next June. You can read about both, right here http://www.thedragondiaries.com At the same time, Dragonfire, my adult paranormal romance series is continuing with Dragonfire #7 coming out in January 2012 and Dragonfire #8 coming out in October 2012. You can read about Dragonfire right here: http://www.deborahcooke.com There are a lot of dragons in my office right now!

Question –
If you could be any kind of shape shifter at all, what would you like to be – and why?

About Me:
What’s my favorite movie of all time?
THE FISHER KING.

What’s my favorite kind of story to get lost in?
A romance, preferably one with paranormal or fantasy elements.

What’s the first book I remember reading?
It must have been a book of fairy tales.

What’s my favorite fairy tale?
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Because love conquers all, just the way it should.

What’s my favorite cartoon character?
Bugs Bunny. I like how he’s always one step ahead of his opponent or competition – wouldn’t it be great that way and be funny too?!

What’s something I’d like to tell your readers?
Thank you for reading my books.

What would my occupation be if I were no longer a writer?
It changes every day. Today, I’m thinking I’d be a pastry chef. (Me, hungry? Why do you ask?)

What do I do to unwind and relax?
I knit. A lot.

Tea or Coffee? And how do I take it?
Tea – and I’ll have mine naked, please.

What does love mean to me?
To me, a great romantic love means that the two people are more together than they could ever be apart. A great romantic love makes us more than ourselves, so the union is greater than the sum of the parts.

Which era would I least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?
I don’t think I would have enjoyed the Renaissance much. I think the role of women – and their perceived place in society – changed a lot in that era, and not for the better.
I would have loved to have lived in the 12th century. I used to write medievals – as Claire Delacroix – and just love the period for its drama, history, romance and eye candy.

Dog person or cat person?
Dog. The Queen Bee wouldn’t have it any other way.

Books from the Dragonfire series:

Setting: New York, NY
Subgenre: Paranormal
Hero: Ulrich “Ric” Van Holtz
Heroine: Dee-Ann Smith

One sentence summary: Yankee wolf tries to figure out how to catch and keep the Confederate She-wolf of his dreams.

Scene you like most and would never cut: The softball scene during Fourth of July weekend. Wild dogs versus wolves and cats…it was a blast just writing it!

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying: “I love sitting around, talking about feelings! Please, tell me what makes you cry. So we can bond—like sisters!”

Tell us one quirky thing about your hero? Ric gets really insulted anytime someone suggests he may be using canned anything in his food. Like the entire Van Holtz Pack, he takes his culinary skills very seriously. Heroine: Dee’s love of Big Betty…the bowie knife her daddy got her for her birthday when she was ten. She can’t imagine going anywhere without Big B. So she doesn’t. It makes airplane travel a little difficult, though.

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing: Dee would say that Killin’ is her business and business is…well, you know how that goes. But really she’s a protector. She protects her kind, shifters of all species and breeds—no matter how annoying she may find them as human beings. And sometimes protecting others means doing things no one else is willing to do.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing: Ric has multiple jobs. He’s the executive chef of one of his family’s high-end restaurants, a pro hockey player on a shifter team, a business man, and Dee’s supervisor at the Group. The organization that protects shifters within the United States.

What you think readers will like best about this book: I think they’ll enjoy the way Dee and Ric interact. Considering how different they are and the differences in their backgrounds, I think they mesh together really well. It’s fun to watch them flirt as only wolves can.

What’s next: I’ve started work on Pride #7 (no title yet) and finished up my next dragon story under my G.A. Aiken name, THE DRAGON WHO LOVED ME and a dragon novella in the anthology SUPERNATURAL with Larissa Ione, Alexandra Ivy, and Jacquelyn Frank. After that I start on Dragon #6.

The last few months have been so busy with work, plus I just got a new dog that needs lots of attention. When that happens, when the stress begins to take over, I rarely read romances or any fiction for that matter. Instead, I read lots of non-fiction, especially true crime like Helter Skelter or the Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. I don’t know why this relaxes me…or perhaps it simply distracts me. Whatever it is, it works. And although I’m sure it’s something I should examine more closely—perhaps with a therapist—if it helps, it helps.

So on that point, what do you read when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed? Do you find yourself delving deeper into your romance favorites? Or doing a complete 180 and reading something out of left field?

About Me:

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time?
The Godfather. I have multiple lists in my head of favorite movies. Favorite action fantasy, favorite sci-fi, favorite horror, etc., but anytime I think of the one movie I still haven’t gotten tired of, that I love quoting, that I adore the characters, etc.—it always comes back to The Godfather.

2. What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
Fantasy. Nothing like a little sword & sorcery to help one escape the drudgery of their day.

3. What’s the first book you remember reading?
I can’t remember the name of it, but it was a picture book about ducks. Beautiful drawings, but kind of a sad story. I think the hero duck dies… But the first romance I read was Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I was 12 and bought it at the church bazaar, which is really strange since it’s the quintessential 70s romance, including forced seduction, girl pretending to be a boy, the evil temptress cousin, etc., etc. I was 12! The last book I read before Ashes was a Nancy Drew. That’s quite a leap.

4. What’s your favorite fairy tale?
I don’t have one. But I was never really into fairy tales growing up and my mother didn’t read them to me. But I’d started reading on my own pretty early and I read about poor ducks dying on a frozen lake.

5. What’s your favorite cartoon character?
Bugs Bunny. He was just so cool! He could sing, dance, do imitations, and was the one-liner king!

6. What would your occupation be if you were no longer a writer?
I’d probably still be an editor in a marketing department.

7. What do you do to unwind and relax?
Watch “Law & Order” or “The Closer” and play solitaire. Not exactly exciting but it works for me at the moment.

8. Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Neither. I hate coffee AND tea. Ice-cold water or Coke with a lot of ice is my thing.

9. What does love mean to you?
Acceptance for who you are. If you have to start changing who you are to make someone else happy…it’s not love.

10. Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most?
Whenever the Puritans ran around. Those clothes do not look comfortable and I hate the idea of being all buttoned up and the universe knows I’m not exactly known for my prim and proper behavior. My most favorite is middle ages and Renaissance. I just don’t get tired of those gowns.

11. What name have you been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet?
Malachai! I’ve loved that name since I saw Children of the Corn in the 80s. Of course, Malachai doesn’t make one think of a romantic hero but a religious zealot. So the name goes unused but I do still love it.

12. Dog person or cat person?
Absolutely dog. After my dog of fourteen years passed in December, I recently got a new guy from the pound. A four-year-old grey and white pit with one blue eye and one brown. He’s a total love bug and I adore him. However, I really do love big cats, too. Lions, tigers, cougars, etc. That’s why I enjoy writing about them so much.

Setting: Contemporary, Montana
Subgenre: Paranormal
Hero: Nick Chien
Heroine: Jessie Healy

One sentence summary:
A wounded Native American shapeshifter’s efforts to escape three blood-thirsty ghosts, places him at the mercy of an enemy healer with supernatural powers as dangerous as his own.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
My very favorite scene is when Jessie, a dream walker who visits the dreams of humans to help them recover from trauma, uses her gift to enter Nick’s dreams in an effort to discover if he is telling the truth. He is so badly injured that she has never actually seen what he looks like until this moment and she is so overtaken that she makes an unforgivable breech of ethics and makes love to him, knowing that he will not remember her intrusion upon waking…but he does. She is so snagged and the fallout is huge for them both. Boy, I love that scene.

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing/saying:
She hates Skinwalkers and has been trained since birth to see them as her deadly enemy. So she would never touch one, heal one, harbor one or love one. But then she does all of those.

What is your heroine’s occupation:
She’s a social worker who helps children overcome extreme mental trauma.

What is your hero’s occupation:
He runs a group of eco-friendly mutual funds and buys land to be preserved as wild space, because he is, after all, a wolf. He’s also a billionaire. Having a long life has such privileges.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
Watching two enemies discover that everything they think they know about each other is wrong as they battle the irresistible attraction for one another.

What’s next:

GOLD RUSH GROOM (Sept. 2011)
A greenhorn prospector is about to lose everything to the surf when a pretty hauler offers to rescue his gear if he’ll agree to be her partner until Dawson City.

SOUL STALKER (Dec. 19, 2011) In the next installment in my Tracker series, a Native American shape-shifting raven needs the help of an enemy, who can speak to the dead, in order to stop a supernatural killer.

For excerpts visit www.jennakernan.com.

QUESTION:
The heroes in my TRACKERS series include a grizzly bear, a timber wolf, a raven and soon, a buffalo. What animals would you like to see as a shapeshifter?

Setting: New Mexico Desert
Subgenre: Paranormal Romance
Hero: Quinn Maguire, Dragon Shapeshifter
Heroine: Dr. Jasmine Kane

One Sentence Summary:
Quinn Maguire, renowned healer of the Dragonstar clan, has spent centuries trying—and failing– to cure the insidious disease designed by his enemies to kill off his people; in a last ditch effort, he enlists the help of take-no-prisoners human doctor, Jasmine Kane, but in doing so gets much more than he’s bargained for.

What is the scene you like most and would never cut?
The scene where Jasmine sees Quinn turn into a dragon for the first time. It’s tender and poignant and a little sweet—something Jasmine usually isn’t. Plus, it comes right after a particularly dark scene and I think helps change the mood for an important portion of the book.

What is your heroine’s occupation?
Jasmine is a hematologist for the CDC. Currently she is on medical leave as she was injured by a roadside bomb in Africa and has had to undergo numerous surgeries to recover. She comes to the Dragonstar clan at the request of her friend, Dr. Phoebe Quillum, who is currently engaged to the Dragonstar King.

What is your hero’s occupation?
Quinn is the premier Dragonstar healer. He is also a doctor, having been to medical school, but his supernatural talents all stem from his ability to heal even the most devastating injuries. His skill and power can’t cure the disease sweeping through his clan, however, and Quinn’s entire sense of identity and worth is shaken by what he considers his failure.

What is the thing your heroine would never be caught dead doing or saying?
Jasmine would never allow herself to get wrapped up in her emotions. Just the idea of love gives her a case of the hives. The idea that destiny has chosen her for Quinn’s mate is ludicrous—and terrifying.

What do you think readers will like best about this book?
Jasmine is a tough cookie and Quinn is a major bad boy, yet from the moment they meet there is a vulnerability, a tenderness between them that is nearly palpable. The way their relationship unfolds is my favorite thing about the book and one I really hope readers respond to. Of course, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that readers will also like the deeper glimpse this book gives them into the Dragonstar world.

The person readers want you to write about, but haven’t yet?
Oh, that’s an easy one. Gabe. He is Dylan, the Dragonstar king’s, best friend, and he lost both his mate and his daughter in the first book. I get tons of emails from readers asking me when I’m going to write his story and even my editor has started asking as he’s her favorite character. His book is coming, but not for a while yet. He’s a mess right now and still needs more time to heal.

What’s Next?
April and May are super busy for me. Later this month, my next Harlequin Superromance, Deserving of Luke, releases under the pen name Tracy Wolff, and on May 10, my first YA paranormal romance, Tempest Rising, written under the name Tracy Deebs, hits the shelves. And the next Dragon’s Heat novel, Forbidden Embers, hits the shelves in October.

Now, a few things about me:

Favorite movie: Good Will Hunting

Favorite Kind of Story to Get Lost In: Paranormal romance and Urban Fantasy

First Book You Remember Reading: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Favorite Fairy Tale: The Little Mermaid—Hans Christian Anderson version. And really, it’s more of an obsession…

Favorite Cartoon Character: Phineas, from Phineas and Ferb. He has the best ideas!

What would my occupation be if I was no longer a writer: I’m also a college professor, so probably that. But if it’s something totally removed from my real life … I’ve always wanted to be an archeologist.

How do I unwind and relax: A good book, playing with my kids, cooking, hanging out with my friends on Movie Friday, shopping….

Tea or Coffee: Tea. I’ve just discovered the yummiest tea drink—A London Fog. It’s delicious.

Which era would I least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why? Most? Least? Most—the 1920s. I love flapper dresses and art deco. Least– Pioneer times. Seriously, nothing good came out of that era in women’s fashion. And I’m way too fond of my creature comforts to give them up for life on the plains.

What name have I been dying to use as a lead character, but haven’t found the right fit yet? Nadia. I love this name, but I haven’t found the right character for it yet. Someday, I’ll figure her out…

I’ve read a plethora of good books lately, but I’m always on the lookout for a new author or book. My favorite book from the last couple weeks is actually a YA, called The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. What good book have you read recently? Leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of Dark Embers, book one in the Dragon’s Heat series, and Deserving of Luke, my April superromance.