She-Wolf–Next….

Okay, so I sell on a plot synopsis. A short synopsis.  A couple of paragraph synopsis. And since I’m nearly finished with A SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble–one of my beta readers suggested moving a couple of things around, to which I said I had NO TIME. Because I’m due at my daughter’s house soon and then won’t have time to write. I’m afraid I might be keeping dogs from fighting the whole time I’m there, *sigh*, but hope they’ll get along. BUT, I made the time because I want the best book out there, and so she and I were going back and forth on how to fix the issues last night, and I’ve been rewriting this morning. :)

And now that it is really nearly done, I’m opening up a file on the next book. I’ve made a start. I opened up a file for the next book. Yes. That’s it. The first step. Without it, no file, no book. And I opened one on the next one because here I thought I had already for  this one and hadn’t. So I’m a step ahead. One thing was finding my blurb to remember what I said I was going to write about. That was like two books ago. And I have 3 more I’m writing.

Then, I typed in the title, which will probably change. And my name. Which most likely won’t. And….yes, Chapter 1. That’s it. The book is started. and I have 80,000 words to go. Well, 79,995 technically. Hey, every word counts. I need to add my bio and that will add a few more words.
But on SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble, it ended up at 90,000 words and I haven’t even added my bio, acknowledgements or dedication. So I know I can do it.

I just have to take baby steps. I have to get to work on the dreaded taxes, and I still need to put Phantom Fae in print form, and I need to send off SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble after any other changes are made on Monday. And then it’s nose to the grindstone on working on She-Wolf.
First, since it’s a romance, I have to think of how they’ll meet–hero and heroine. Since it’s a werewolf story, I have to have the wolfishness show early too…one running as a wolf, or some such thing. And I’ll have to show the conflict early on.

That’s my Mission Impossible, and I’m stepping up to the challenge, as soon as I can. This book is due Jun 1, so no time to lose. :)

Hope you are having a glorious day! It’s FREEZING here, literally, with more snow showers on the way.

I look outside at them today, and they look just as pretty as they did before they got frostbite.

Have a happy Saturday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

50 Shades of Controversy

            So… have you seen the movie version of 50 Shades of Grey yet?  A whopping $90 million dollar opening weekend means that many, many people have, and probably a lot of them are the 100 million people who bought the book. 

            I saw the movie on its opening weekend. The theater was full, with a much bigger percentage of boyfriends/husbands than I would have expected (altho not mine, LOL). I had the misfortune of sitting next to one very uncomfortable man who squirmed and huffed and muttered under his breath during the entire 125 minute showing.

 I thought the movie adhered pretty well to the book, but I did feel sorry for people who came into the theater expecting an erotic romance and instead got a profoundly dysfunctional hero who, to quote Christian Grey himself, is 50 shades of f***ed up.

The reviews have ranged from average to awful, so what do you think? If you’ve read the books and seen this first movie, did you enjoy it? What did you think of the casting of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in the leads? Do you feel the moviemakers toned down the sex in order to attract a wider audience?

At the very least, the film seems to have launched a national conversation about sex. And for romance writers, that’s never a bad thing.

Give me your opinion!

Leigh

www.leighcourt.com

Flowers at Biltmore House

Are you ready for Spring? I certainly am! Here are a few photos I took inside Biltmore House's conservatory a few months ago. I hope they brighten your day!

I hope you enjoyed the flowers!

Gwyn

I Miss Writing!

As many of you know, for the past four months, my hubby and I have been living in our fifth-wheel in an RV park in south central Florida to help my mom and dad. Living in Florida this winter has not been a hardship. Normally we would have been in the middle of all those frigid temperatures and piles of snow. I admit to enjoying the sunshine and warmth weather, being able to walk outside instead of hibernating. But while we've been able to get away for a day or two here and there, I'm here for my parents and basically on call. My dad was discharged from the nursing home last Thursday (yay!) but there's already been a late night run to the ER.

I'm glad I'm at a point in my life where I'm able to help them. I haven't spent this much time with my parents since I was growing up at home and I'm enjoying much of this time together. I don't want to sound like I'm whining or complaining, but the truth is, most mornings I wake up with a fist of nerves in my stomach. We never know what the day will bring. I have so much respect for caregivers. I'm only doing a fraction of what many of them do.

I miss my family and friends up home. The little guy is two-years-old, growing and changing every day. My son and his wife are expecting their first child in May and I'm missing watching her grow large with child. There are texts and phone calls and pictures and videos, and we'll catch up on all those hugs we've missed when we get home. I expected to miss my family.

I didn't expect to miss writing.

First of all, I thought I'd be able to keep up with my writing. I thought I'd have finished Her Royal Masquerade by now. I thought I'd have another book started by now. After all, I do have a lot of free time I could spend at the computer. But I discovered that just because my time is free, it doesn't mean my brain is. I didn't expect it to be so filled with G-tubes and dysphagia and doctor appointments and pureed food diets and overwhelmed mother and recovering father, that there isn't any room left for creativity. I've tried to write but if I'm not staring at a blank screen, the words I do type are stilted and I end up deleting them.

So somewhere down the line, I stopped writing. I'm allowing myself these few months to give the writing a rest. It will still be here when life settles down. I'm reading a lot. Hoping to refill the well. I have plans for a couple new series and even considering a new direction. But for right now I'm not writing. I'm okay with that. I'm not allowing myself to feel guilty for not writing.

But I miss it.

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

Rats in the Attic! And the Muse and Me are in Time Conflict!

Okay, so the termite inspector came out to do his annual check and yes! No termites! Also, and this was so great, so exciting, the puppies didn’t even bark at him! They greeted him and were still shy, but they didn’t bark and misbehave! They even held it so that I could take them out to potty when he left. That’s a BIG deal.

Tanner tuckered out.

The bad news is–hey, without bad news, all the good news is just boring, right? Who wants to hear about all the great news? That everything is going along fine? We want conflict, right? We want to see that someone else has problems so we feel better about our problems, right? Of course. :) That’s what makes life interesting. The conflict. The drama.

Okay, so I’ve got rats in the attic. So says the pest control guy. I KNOW I get mud daubers in the house constantly in the spring through the fall. I know I have a lot of places that things can get in. Never seen a mouse or evidence of mice in the house, though when my parents lived here, the first few years, they had a terrible problem with them. I have snakes in the house. So maybe that’s why?

Anyway, he said that on a little bit of decking in the attic, he could see rat prints in dust, and their droppings. And that there’s a little bit of chewing. So I’ll have to check this stuff myself, document it, and share it. With you. Isn’t that what friends are for???

I’m finishing a book first. I’ve GOT to finish this. Eleven days and it has to be turned in. I have a ton of stuff stacking up in the meantime. Call of the Cougar–need to proof the audiobook for one.
So what’s happening now is my Muse and Me are in time conflict. What this means is that it wakes up at times that I want to sleep. Sure, I hear the puppies stirring a bit, and that’s probably what really wakes me, but then my Muse decides to go through scenarios in my book. Not only that, but it tells me all the things I should have done during the day or when I get up. Like, Hey, did you put the clothes in the dryer last night?

Shoot! Nope. But if I get up to do it right then and there, which I would if I didn’t have puppies, I would wake them, and they’d want to go out.

Now, the problem with that is for the last two nights, I’ve actually put them to bed at 7 pm, then I continue to edit, or write, and they wake up the next morning at 5 am. It’s great! But it means I can’t turn on the light or get up without “telling” them that it’s time to get up. And I want them to learn that 7 pm to 5 am (or later) is their bedtime.

Oh, and you know I do lots of research for my books, so I’ve talked a lot about the phases of the moon in this one, and so I was looking at the phases, making sure I got it right, and wow, guess what I found???? The werewolf diet. Hey, sometimes I can’t even make up stuff that great!

Anyway, so I’ve got to figure out a way to talk about it in the book, that makes it seem seamless. It’s not just an urban legend. Some actors supposedly followed it–Madonna, Demi Moore, according to Grazia. It’s also known as the lunar diet or moon diet. It has to do with fasting during the new moon and full moon. But what’s interesting is that when I was at The International Wolf Center, they fed the wolves only once a week. That’s normally how they eat in the wild. They’ll have a dead deer, for instance, (often road kill and someone will drop it off at the center), and once it’s gone, they don’t get fed until the next week. So it’s really appropriate to call the moon diet a werewolf diet, even though it’s not based on the phases of the moon. Anyway, food for thought.

I now officially have wordcount on A SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble, and then had to turn in the cover sheet specs including the blurb. Now I’m still writing the book, but it’s getting closer to being done. I printed out the first 100 pages, again, and am making more corrections. But I still have to finish writing the book.

Max Rubber Banded in Black and White

I love all his black and silvery tips and hope he gets to keep them as his hair grows out. I was able to pull more of his hair back, but this morning I found Tanner chewing on something, and yep, Max’s rubber band.

When I was coming in from one of my trips outside with the puppies, I saw that the daffodils had bloomed! The day before, I noticed they were getting ready to. It’s amazing how fast they open up when I’m not paying attention. Also, freesia has bloomed!



And all kinds of weed flowers are popping up! And my rosebushes are leafing out.
And white stuff on the roof. 

Okay, back to the book.  Nose to the grindstone and all that sort of thing.
It’s getting closer to being finished! And that’s the main thing!

Tanner stealing away from Place

Tanner stealing away from Place

Learning to Place

The funny thing  is when I say Place, Tanner is the first to get there. But then….he’s the first to leave.

Have a great Saturday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Winter in Boston - One for the Record Books

This is the street I live on - after the first snowstorm of 2015. The street is actually plowed. The house you see is showing only the second story poking out of the snow. This is the middle of January.

One week later, a second storm arrives. I don't even remember it. Here is my personal snow tunnel, aka, the front walk. The mailman uses it on the days they try to deliver mail.

Last week, a third storm arrives. Things are getting serious. Icicles are developing. Icicles lead to ice dams which lead to water leaking inside the house. My husband sets up elaborate systems to contain it. The sound of dripping is not music to my ears.

A few nights later, I'm home alone when I discover the lights in the kitchen, the garage and two bathrooms are not working. I'm no scientist, but I am pretty sure that water and electricity don't play well together.

I call the Fire Department to ask if I should be concerned that I have water leaking into the house and my electricity is on the fritz. They insist on coming over, which they do in a large fire truck, complete with flashing lights. (I know I'll be hearing from the neighbors soon.)

Two of the firefighters are Grade A Premium - well, let's say two of them are hot and the third isn't bad either. :) They troop all over my house, including the attic and the basement, causing me to conclude they were bored down at the station. They inform me that my problem is serious, but it's nothing compared to what they've seen elsewhere. Small comfort, I guess. Really nice guys. They leave, lights still not working. (My neighbor calls.)

My husband returns the next day and this is him.

He's on a 24 foot ladder, with a 17 foot rake, trying to get the snow off the roof. He reports that the ice on the roof is a solid foot thick. I hold the ladder, hand him his tools, and keep him company. Happy Valentine's Day. Another foot of snow falls overnight.

I take all the screens out of the windows so I can stick a broom out and knock down whatever icicles I can reach. Hubby tells me to stop before I fall out the window. I discover that many of the windows are frozen shut, so the icicles just hang there and taunt me. "You can't get me. Nah nah nah nah na."

Several towns, including parts of Boston, give up the attempt to keep the streets at their normal width. There is simply no place to move the snow. They turn side streets into one-way streets. All streets going west go one way, east the other. I hope they've posted signs because I am directionally challenged. I have no idea whether a given street is going east or west or, for that matter, north or south.

We've had 96 inches of snow in four weeks. I'm tired.

I think it's snowing.

Lachlan's Revenge by R.L. Syme

Win a paperback copy of Lachlan's Revenge, by R.L. Syme, releasing today! Visit my FaceBook page to enter.

My friend Becca (R.L. Syme) has a new book out today--a Highlander, of course!! Here is an excerpt:

“Lachlan MacLeod, lord and ruler of this castle and head of the Clan MacLeod…” The priest was about to walk through all of the promises and Lachlan shook his head, urging his men to step forward. There was only so much lying he would tolerate, and he certainly wasn’t about to make promises to a woman he had no intention of forcing to live as his wife.

Nor would he make her promise fidelity and love and honor. All he expected from her was the ceremony.

He would even put his own life’s blood on the bed sheets if she would not bed him after this. A part of him hoped she would refuse. A rather large part.

She wasn’t rough on the eyes, and her figure was pleasant, if a bit hidden under layers of garments. But she was so young. He did not relish this.

“Skip to the legal part,” Lachlan ordered, his voice low.

Father Bead crossed himself and opened his book. “Very well. This will be on your soul, MacLeod. Not mine.”

Lachlan wrenched the girl forward into a kneeling position. “My soul is already bound for hell. Best to speed it on its way.”

Another frantic sign of the cross.

“My lord MacLeod, do you take this woman, in front of God and these witnesses, as your wife?”

“I do.”

“And my lady. Do you take this man, in front of God and these witnesses, as your lawful and holy husband?”

The men murmured amongst themselves. Finally, Reyf spoke up. “Should we untie the gag, my lord?”

But before they could make a move, Cailean reached behind the lady, grabbed her head and bobbed it in a nod.

“She does,” Cailean said, his voice clipped.

      The priest’s eyes passed over every man. “Very well, then. And God help you all.” He signed the cross above them as though the sheer size of it might cleanse the evil they perpetrated in this chapel. “By the power invested to me by his Majesty, the King, and the office given me by the Holy Mother Church in Rome, I now pronounce you both to be married.”    

Becca is giving away paperback copies to TWO commenters who answer the following question. 

What is your favorite romance plot or trope? Do you love arranged marriage, secret identity, friends-to-lovers? What's your favorite? Remember, instead of commenting below, please visit my FaceBook Page and leave your comment there on the post about Becca's book.

Lachlan's Revenge is a medieval Scottish romance novella. They took his family, they took his freedom... but he's back to reclaim it all!

Lachlan MacLeod survived an English dungeon. He held his own under torture and brutality. He survived the death of his wife and alienation from his family. He managed to take back his ancestral home and restore his son's inheritance. But the English threat has never truly abated. According to his nephew, invasion is immanent. Tired of being subject to the whims of the English, Lachlan will take control of his own destiny. By any means necessary. 

Lady Evangeline, daughter of an invading English earl, has been raised to privilege and the expectation of an advantageous foreign marriage. She is as eager to escape her father's machinations as Lachlan is eager to kidnap her, though the wilds of the Scottish Highlands could be a tad more welcoming.The secret she holds could have deadly consequences--not only for Lachlan, but for his entire clan, not to mention the proud English lady and her retinue. But this is one secret she cannot wait to spill...

Thanks!!

Vonda

www.vondasinclair.com

Coastal Magic Readers Convention--Daytona Beach and Trip to St Augustine!--Valentine's Day Party! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Had a blast. Loved the sunset, the pink clouds and the palm tree silhouette. I could have lightened up the picture of the buildings in the other photo, but they were under construction, so I thought the dark silhouette looked more intriguing.

And of course, Daytona Beach and the resorts. Loved it there. I have video of the ocean waves and bird songs. Will show off when I have time.

We're having a Valentine's Day party today with lots of giveaways! Please join us!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/757657010949412

And here is one of the puppies before we went home. The lady who was taking the “picture,” didn’t realize it was on video. I didn’t either. LOL But as much as the puppies were moving about, it worked better as a video. However, at one point, I was frowning at her a bit, and that’s when she said it said it was busy, and I wasn’t sure why it would be busy. :)

Puppies Going Home1

►

Had a lovely time visiting with readers, bloggers and authors! And that morning before I was going to be in airports and on airplanes all day, I had the door open, listening to the ocean and the sea birds.

That was the part I hated about leaving.

Now, when Spring Break descends on the area, I’ll be glad I don’t live anywhere near there!!!


And thanks to everyone who bought our Kissing the Highlander anthology!

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,040 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #13 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Historical Romance > Scottish
  • #16 in Books > Romance > Historical > Scottish
  • #61 in Books > Romance > Anthologies

Woohoo, Highlanders are well loved!

Five new Highland novellas by Bestselling Authors of Highland romances that will delight with mystery, intrigue, romance, drama and much more! From the authors who have provided countless hours of reading pleasure so that fans can slip away to the past and live among all those hot Highlanders.
PREORDER BUY LINKS:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
ARe Books (All Romance ebooks)
Kobo
Smashwords

His Wild Highland Lass by Terry Spear

Lady Sorcha Barclay fled her brother-in-law’s castle because of his unwanted advances. An awe-inspiring circle of standing stones captures her attention and she captures the attention of the laird who owns the land.

Laird Ronan Daziel takes Sorcha to his castle to protect her and give her a home. Before long, he wants much more. He’s duty-bound to take a wife whose clan wishes an alliance with his. So why does he long to have something more? Everyone loves the lass as much as he does. But he has pledged his loyalty to his clan. Taking Sorcha to wife could lead to battle on several fronts. How can he wed another when she stole his heart from the first moment he laid eyes on her near the ancient standing stones on his lands?

The Highlander’s Charm by Eliza Knight

They should be enemies… But passion and love know no bounds.
Returning from battle to England, Samuel de Mowbray discovers that his two younger sisters have been stolen by Highlanders. Determined to save them from vicious warriors, he convinces the king to send him north. While there, he discovers that his loyalties are wavering and that a headstrong, feisty lass could destroy everything he believes.

Catriona Buchanan must travel north to ask for help in saving her brother and ridding her castle of brutal English knights. Unfortunately, to do so, she must trust in the thing she mistrusts the most—an Englishman. Minute by minute, the man who should be her enemy breaks down her defenses. There is something different about him and she can’t help but be captivated by Samuel, and his steamy kisses.

Heart of Stone by Willa Blair

Riding home after two years away, Gavan MacNabb encounters a lass and her deerhound in a moonlit circle of standing stones. Little does he know the garland of bluebells she weaves and the spell she sings will change the course of his life.

Marsali Murray doesn’t really believe the old wives’ tale that making a chain of bluebells by the standing stones under a waxing moon will bring true love, but she’s desperate to try anything to escape the boring, everlasting sameness of her life.
Gavan has already seen much of the world denied to Marsali. He’s ready to settle down. She is eager to spread her wings. Can they find what they need with each other?

Kilts and Kisses by Victoria Roberts

Since the deaths of her parents, Ceana Gunn has lived in the shadow of her uncle and his family. She wants nothing more than to see her clan the way it was when her father was still laird. But her uncle has other ideas. Ceana soon discovers that the only refuge to be found is in the last place she expects—the arms of her enemy.

Luthais MacKay wants to be left alone. His only interest is training his prized hawks. He certainly doesn’t have time to listen to the petty squabbling of his clan when his father travels to Edinburgh and leaves him in charge. But when Luthais discovers a mysterious woman on his lands, he’s determined to unravel her secrets…one layer at a time.

My Captive Highlander by Vonda Sinclair

Can unexpected passion and a little ancient magic turn enemies into lovers?

During a fierce storm on the west coast of Scotland, Shamus MacKenzie barely survives a galley
wreck only to be captured and held for ransom by the enemy MacDonalds. Aided by the gift of second sight, Maili MacDonald, sister of the ruthless chief, senses the handsome, dark-haired stranger will somehow be important in her life. Compelled to help him, she insists on providing him food and a healer to see to his injuries. She knows she is daft to fall in love with this captivating warrior after one forbidden kiss but cannot help herself. With each visit from Maili, Shamus finds his thoughts consumed by the enchanting lass. Can he convince her to help him escape the dungeon and prevent the impending battle between the two clans?

Linda Townsend, her Plum Bear and Me, before we went to the Mad Hatter party. Daytona Beach, Coastal Magic Readers’ Convention.

Omigosh, I had the WORST trip out to the convention: ice delays in Dallas, missed flight to Atlanta, flashing silver lights at the Atlanta airport warning that there was an emergency, and apparently someone had set off the fire alarm, and we were afraid we were going to have to be evacuated when our flight was leaving in just a few minutes, and then when I arrived in Daytona Beach, I had a ruined suitcase and had to buy a new one.

The return trip was MUCH, MUCH better.

But no matter what, I had a blast at the convention. Everyone was super friendly, and listening to the ocean made me wish I was living there year round. When I’m done at a convention, I was ready to go home. You know how it is, home sweet home. But there I was this morning with the door open, listening to the seagulls and the waves pounding the beach, and it really was hard to leave. I was thinking how enjoyable it would be sitting there writing my SEAL stories. LOL :)

For Kissing the Highlander at USA Today!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2015/02/04/kissing-the-highlander-anthology-blair-knight-spear/22811993/
And for: Jaguar Pride at USA Today!

And a lovely review from Pure Jonel!
http://purejonel.blogspot.ca/2015/02/JaguarPride.html
My Review:
This novel is a fantastic mix of action and romance. Spear writes in a manner that allows you to easily picture yourself standing in the midst of the action. She involves her readers in every aspect of the mission her characters embark on. Spear’s hot bedroom scenes leave you drooling. This all makes the unique and unforgettable plot of the story shine through. This author’s fantastic storytelling and fluid writing style top it all off.
This author has definitely nailed shifters as characters, creating a brilliant cast for this novel. She makes these shifters so very real. Not only is it easy to imagine how these individuals can exist among us without our knowledge, the individuals that we get to meet are just plain intriguing. Both the male and the female leads are strong individuals who embrace every part of who they are. They were also fun, approachable people that I truly wanted to read about.
This was a fantastically unique novel that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to other lovers of the supernatural, and of romance with a twist. It can just as easily be read as a standalone or as part of the series.
Goodreads ~ Shelfari ~ Amazon ~ Apple ~ BAM ~ B&N ~ Chapters ~ Indiebound ~ Kobo
– See more at: http://purejonel.blogspot.ca/2015/02/JaguarPride.html#sthash.W9LzXVhx.dpuf

Still trying to get everything up and running on my computer, and my data usage alert said I was going into the dungeon. Well, not really, but that’s how I equate it. No more Internet, and if I can write a note in blood to try and get it out to someone on the outside, we’ll be good. :)
Can you tell I love to make up stories!
Because of the puppies being so sick, no collar training for Max for two days. I figured he’d forget everything he’d learned, but he was really good. Also, I have it on a setting of 3 instead of 5, 7 being highest on the Low button. And he’s minding. But will he still remember everything when I’ve been gone for 5 days?
Anyway, got to get to writing. Spent all day yesterday trying to get my computer back up and running, and I still haven’t finished, and I’m behinder and behinder–yes, it’s a word. My word. As an author, it’s perfectly acceptable to make up our own words. Really. So anyway, I had not planned on writing while at conference, but I might have to. *sigh*
Have a super great day! Mine is much better! Puppies are playing again. Max is relegated to his bed and not my desk chair because he gets up, and then down, and then wants back up, and then backs away when I want to put him up, so figured it was time for him to go to his own bed. And he looks so sad.
This is what I would call tough puppy love.

An impossible mission…
JAG Special Forces agents Huntley Anderson and Melissa Overton are hot on the trail of poachers when they’re suddenly saddled with two jaguar shifter cubs. They have to locate the parents, pronto-but who’s going to babysit in the meantime?

A lifetime of possibilities… Huntley is a rough, tough jaguar shifter and an all-business agent, but he’s not going to let two abandoned youngsters come to any harm on his watch.
Seeing her super-manly partner try to get the playful cubs under control stirs up some unexpected desires in Melissa, and she begins to feel like Huntley’s not the only one who’s in over his head…

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jaguar-Pride-Heart-Book-ebook/dp/B00NH1UK68

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jaguar-pride-terry-spear/1119260026

Goodreads ~ Shelfari ~ Amazon ~ Apple ~ BAM ~ B&N ~ Chapters ~ Indiebound ~ Kobo

Excerpt from Jaguar Pride by Terry Spear:

Melissa had never had a mission that had turned her world so upside down like this one had. She always had a plan. Maybe not a great one, but she always had some notion of what she was going to do next. This. Was. A. Disaster!

Not only was she feeling highly agitated and concerned about the jaguars the poachers had taken off with, now believing they had to be the parents to these two cubs because there couldn’t be that many shifters in the park at one time, she didn’t think, she worried how they’d care for a couple of baby jaguars.

And Huntley. What an all-around catastrophe, though she was thanking God that the cubs were all right and that at least she and Huntley had been here to care for them in the interim. And that Huntley would be fine. She thought.

The mother had to have smelled that jaguars had slept here, knew they were shifters, and hoped they’d take care of them. The problem was that the babies would be nursing, not adding meat to their diet until they were three months old. They had to get them back to their lodge and then Melissa had to get milk for them, pronto, even though mother’s milk would have been much preferred.
Melissa was so rattled, she had begun to take care of Huntley’s head wound out of instinct, not realizing she’d cleaned it, administered an antibiotic, and bandaged his head before she even knew it. She called her boss right after that.

“Martin, we’ve got a terrible problem.” She explained everything that had happened, and as worried as she was about Huntley, the cubs and the parents, she felt chilled to the core.

What if any park rangers came across them and found them with the cubs? They’d take them away from them and then take them to a facility. And she and Huntley could be arrested for trying to poach the jaguar kits. What if the mother shifted, which would cause the cubs to shift, and they were suddenly two little human babies?

This was a real nightmare of epic proportions.

“Okay, Melissa,” Martin said, and she didn’t realize he’d been speaking to her for some time when he said, “Melissa?”

Breaking through the fog in her brain, he repeated her name and this time she said, “Yes?”

“Listen to me. I’ll have a team there within thirty-six hours tracking down the mother and father, if the ones taken are the mother and father.”

What if they weren’t? What if the mother and father were somewhere else? No, they couldn’t be.

“Your mission, and Huntley’s, is to get the cubs to your cabana. Keep them hidden and safe. Feed them. Nurture them. Protect them at all costs. Watch Huntley. Make sure he’s all right. If his condition deteriorates—”

“He’s unconscious!”

Silence. Then the cubs began to snarl again as if she could feed them!

She felt Huntley’s cheek again, but his temperature was fine and his breathing normal.

“Yes, but we heal quickly. If that changes—he begins to get feverish or shows any other sign of infection, let me know at once. You should pack up your gear and move to the cabana tonight.”

“Huntley’s unconscious!”

A pause.

“Yes. Melissa, listen. You need to move the cubs under the fall of night. You’ve got to get them out of the park before anyone sees you with them. You’ve got to get them to your cabana before morning. I hear them in the background. They’re hungry. They’re going to give you away if anyone’s about. I hear it’s raining also. Good cover. For now. It won’t last though.”

***

Fresh Fiction Review!

Jaguar Pride
Terry Spear

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko
Posted February 1, 2015

Thriller Paranormal – Supernatural | Romance Paranormal

JAGUAR PRIDE is fantastic! Author Terry Spear weaves her magic and takes her readers for an action packed, race through the jungles. I loved Hunt and Melissa and their mixed up lives and enjoyed watching as they came to slowly realize that they were perfect for each other. Having these single people deal with those cubs was funny and really sweet because not to long before they did the “never having cubs” conversation and anyone could see they would make perfect parents. I also got a kick out of the matchmaking play that had gone on behind their backs and couldn’t help but laugh at how they found out about it. There is a lot of action and camaraderie between them and other members of the different teams that come to help rescue the poached jaguars as well as the growing romance that makes this book one that you will want to keep reading to the end and then want more. This is in my TRA (to read again) shelf and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

***

Okay, puppies were sick ALL day yesterday. They seem to be doing well today, but I’m still cleaning all the bedding they threw up on. My watch is now repaired. I just got my computer back and everything is wiped out, so except for finally getting my blog up and running, I have nothing on my computer, so need to try to really get it up and running. My heater was not working, but it appears to be now.

And…it’s time for me to go to conference. Oh, and my editor called about edits last night, just as I was rushing a sick puppy out the door.

10,000 words left to go on current WIP and edits due on another.

Have a super great day. I need a vacation. :)

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com

Help Me Name My Character

My slightly-futuristic erotic series, the Tau Cetus Chronicles, has been very successful.

The first book, Programmed To Please… about a very human police agent named Jai Turner who goes undercover as a Beautiful Doll sex robot to bring down the planet’s most notorious weapons manufacturer… has been my best-selling book to date.

The second in the series, Programmed To Protect, features Jai’s police agent partner, Leith Wyatt, who actually does fall in love with a Beautiful Doll sex robot. I’ve gotten some wonderful feedback from readers who say the relationship between these two characters is completely believable.

I’m now working on the third book, called Programmed For Power. It centers on Tau Cetus’ dark and dangerous premier, a man named Theus. He’s been a secondary – but very important – character in the first two books, and now it’s time for his story.

But I need to give him a first name.

Authors know that character names are very important to the story, and a strong character needs a strong name. In the world I’ve created, the characters have somewhat common last names, but unique-ish first names. Chavis Smith. Talis Rainey. Titus Veraine. Celis Jaqan.

So I need a distinct and powerful first name for the premier of Tau Cetus. I’ve been playing with a few:

Olid Theus

Kehde Theus

Severin Theus

Tryon Theus

Riggin Theus

Berrien Theus

Wythe Theus

What do you think? I’d love to get some votes, or even some suggestions!  This book will be released by the end of the year and will be the final story of this series, so I’d like to leave readers with a name they’ll remember long after they’ve closed the book.

I’d love to hear your opinions!

Thanks,

Jenna

www.jennaives.com

A Freebie

Have you been having tech difficulties? Because I'm having them big-time! One device after another is giving me fits. Because of that, I won't be posting anything very long today.

What I wanted to pass along is that my publisher is offering a free book. Not mine, but another author's. It's called Still Life in a Red Dress, and the reason I mention it is because I really liked the story. If you like mainstream fiction with an element of the historic, a love story backdrop, a hint of war, and really great characterization, you might want to read this. Besides that, if you read it and like it, there's a link in the e-book you can go to sign up for the publisher's readers' group to get another free book by the same author, Dennis Jung.

This other book, The Morning of the World, is a little different. It's kind of scary, actually. It's about a married couple dealing with the loss of their child, about which there are unanswered questions. I'm only into it a little bit, and I don't want to put it down, until it gets a little creepy again, and then I put it down. And hide. lol What I like about these books is that he sets them in these interesting or exotic locations, like Bali and Nicaragua, and he really makes the setting come alive. Setting is one of the elements of fiction I really have to work at, so reading someone else do so well with it is a real treat.

That's all for today. I'm off to trouble-shoot my stereo...and my phone...and my printer...and my Internet connect...

Woo hoo.

Happy Reading,
Cameo