Happy New Years Eve!

Put on your finery, or not, your feathered cap, or not, and get ready to party! Or not!

That's what's so great about today.

It's your day. Do what makes YOU happy.

Bird's eye view of the day for me:

Write Tom's story. Eat spicy spaghetti, my aunt's recipe. Have green tea. Have chocolate homemade fudge (my SIL's aunt's creation). Watch Supernaturals (Christmas present from my son and DIL--thanks Malinie! Who turned me onto the show!). Write Tom's story. I have to say I'm up to 77,000 words! 13,000 to go! Although they usually end up being 100K by the time I'm finished with them, but it's getting close!!!

:) 

AND first time ever!!!! Happy New Years! My publisher has reduced all our books on Amazon Kindle to $2.99 for 2 days only! They're normally $6.99 and will go back up on Jan 3!!! So if you don't have the first two books in the series, now is the time to get them! :)

 

Winning the Highlander's Heart--Book 1

Countess Anice vows to flee the amorous advances of King Henry I, and return to her home in the Highlands, where she hopes to find a laird to wed. Highlander Laird Malcolm MacNeill, seeking an English bride, becomes entangled with the Scottish lass while trying to find out why her staff has vanished.

Amazon
 

The Accidental Highland Hero--Book 2

Lady Eilis Dunbarton’s life undergoes a drastic change with the death of her cousin, Agnes. Now she’s faced with the disagreeable prospect of marrying the man who was to be her cousin’s husband. Not by a change of contract, though. Instead, by deceit—pretending to be her cousin. But if her husband-to-be discovers she’s not really Agnes, her life is forfeit. So what choice does Eilis have but to flee?

When Laird James MacNeill’s clan rescues a half-drowned lass from the sea, there is speculation she is of the enemy clan, especially since she doesn’t remember her own name. James is immediately enticed with the lady, but his focus must remain on finding the proper bride. For if he does not wed soon, he must give up his holdings to one of his younger brothers.

Focus slips away with each day Eilis is close, and James finds himself contemplating the thought of taking her to wife without knowing her true identity.

But how dangerous would the end result be?

And what will happen if Eilis’s husband-to-be comes looking for her only to find her in the arms of another man?
AMAZON

The past clashes with the present, and one woman finds herself fighting for her own identity in the past so that she can have a future with the man she loves--but with her ancestor's hold over her--Lisa Welsh and Jack Stanton only have a ghost of a chance at love.

Lisa Welsh only wishes to leave a messy divorce behind for a couple of days stay in Salado, Texas, but wakes to nightmares and a cowboy in her bed, and she has no earthly idea how he got there. But the situation gets worse when she wakes in the morning and learns she’s living in 19^th Century Salado.

Even more worrisome is the tall dark stranger and everyone else in town believes she’s some woman named Josephine Rogers. Only she’s supposed to be dead. Jack Stanton can’t believe the clerk gave him an occupied room at the Shady Villa Inn, but worse, he was ready to ravage the woman in that bed—until he realized his mistake. Now the woman he thinks is Josephine, claims to be some other woman—and though he could never abide by Josephine’s fickle ways, this Lisa Welsh intrigues him like no other. Still, everybody in town believes her to be Josephine, and he steps in to help her find her way back home.

Murder, mystery, ties to family roots in the past, embezzlement and murder in the present, and a man she can’t get off her mind no matter what century it is, Lisa has no choice. She must solve the mysteries and face the troubles in her world and Jack’s or they will never be free to share the love that binds them across the ages.
Amazon
 
What are you doing for New Year's Eve?

Mine is booked.

What am I wearing???

Comfortable. And warm! :)

Slippers a necessity!

What are you wearing to your special New Year's Eve???

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com 

Doing Things YOUR Way!

This was a fun picture I took of a bird doing its very own thing. Can you imagine being that...flexible?

Do you remember that saying about dancing to your own tune?

Do you do what everyone else tells you to?  What everyone else is doing?  Or do you dance to your own tune?

I don't mean like being a man in your mid-fifties and wearing bright purple polka-dotted pajamas to the library as a statement that you're different, though. His wife was wearing some other color pajamas. Yep. It was not Halloween.

Or jumping off a cliff to be different. Remember, probably others jumped off that cliff before you, so it doesn't make you any different from them.

Sometimes it's fun to just be different though. Like being one of the few moms who played RPG (role playing games), solving heroic quests and eliminating the bad guys, or being an Army officer and making award-winning teddy bears or writing werewolf romances.

Or attending a cruise ship dinner in a nice elegant blue sequined gown when EVERYONE else was wearing black. Okay, so I did feel like I didn't quite fit in. But it's made for some fun stories. In Dangerous Liaisons, the sequel to the vampire RS (romantic suspense), Deadly Liaisons, everyone is wearing black...except for the huntress. :)

She stands WAY out, since the place is a vampire club on top of that. And she's uncomfortable, but she's not going to leave until she gets what she came for.

So sometimes being different, when it's not intended, can make for an interesting story!

Have you ever stood out either because you wanted to or when you DIDN'T want to?

Have a super Sunday!!! New Years is getting closer and if you made some goals, are you Ready, Set, Go with them???

What you do is you try to get as much of them done this year, and then next year you can take it easy. Just saying...

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com 

Eye to Eye with a Rattlesnake!

I know, I know, some of you all absolutely hate snake pictures, but you've got to admit this is pretty cool! It's hard to get a picture of a rattler who comes up to look you square in the eye and snap the shot before he moves off!

Most times they are sleeping, or moving away from you, but to get ready to strike? That's cool. Isn't it?

No snakes or photographers were harmed in this shot. :) Thankfully. (Especially for the photographer--me.)

I've been to my local zoo four times now. The first two times with friends who did NOT want to visit the snakes. The third time I went alone and didn't even think about going. But when the kids were with me, I walked right by it and my daughter said, "Don't you want to see the snakes?"

Well, they had some interesting ones and a really neat crocodile. :) I'll share his picture later.

Don't you think it's fun to be able to look this guy in the eye and know he can't hurt you?

Have a super wonderful Saturday while I write some more about Tom!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com 

A Countdown to Howl!

Have you any New Year's Goals???

I wrote half of the blogs for the guest blog tour for A Howl for a Highlander before Christmas as the tour is earlier than usual!!! Instead of starting Feb 1 for a Feb 1 release, it's beginning Jan 21!Which means my first New Year's Goal is to write the remaining blogs!!! And finish writing Silence of the Wolf,  start writing the next Highland wolf story and finish it, and the third jaguar story. I've also got to write my next Highland Medieval story as sales are phenomenal, and the next YA fantasy in The Dark Fae series! And I need to pitch another couple or 3 stories to Sourcebooks.

And that's just the beginning.

I'm going to my first RomCon, AAD and I'll be attending RWA Nationals....

Personally, I need to continue cleaning out stuff I don't need or use....I feel so great when I do that...but doing that is hard to do sometimes!!!! I have boxes of stuff in my barn. How much do you want to bet that if I just took them to Goodwill, I'd never miss them? I haven't opened them in 3 years! So it's time to clean out and I've really been working on it. It's almost like losing pounds, which is something else I need to do!!

A Howl for the Highlander

(Book 10)

Sourcebooks

Feb 2013

Duncan MacNeill is a Highlander at heart with a mission—find gray wolf and former stockbroker, Silverman who has stolen the family fortune and is purported to be living in the Grand Cayman Islands. As a Highland wolf, Duncan rarely leaves his native homeland and taking a trip to an island paradise doesn’t appeal. But keeping the MacNeill’s ancestral castle depends on making Silverman pay. What Duncan doesn’t plan for is the American botanist who distracts him from his mission and makes him realize what an island paradise really means.Shelley Campbell is teaching botany at a Florida college, when she receives an email from an old girlfriend, who’s renting a villa on the island and wants her to come to stay with her. Figuring she can study the old growth forest while she's there, and lecture about it when she returns home, she has no idea the secrets she might uncover. When her girlfriend’s a no-show, a Highlander turns up instead, and she has a choice—share the villa, or send him away and pay full price for the accommodations—which on her teacher’s salary is stretching things pretty thin. Since he promises to be no trouble at all, she lets him stay. And that’s when the trouble really begins!Amazon

B&N

DebraTaylor, The Night Owl Reviews

Score: 5.00 / 5 - Reviewer Top Pick
"Another fun and sexy read from Terry Spear! The Queen of shifter romance has done it again. Whether it be wolf or jaguar, this author is one of the best in her genre. Howl for a Highlander is the sizzling love story of sexy Scottish werewolf, Duncan MacNeill and his American she-wolf, Shelley Campbell.

If you're in the mood for a fun shifter romance then I recommend trying this awesome story. I guarantee you won't regret it and that, like me, you'll be hooked for life."

Here is the schedule for A Countdown to Howl

1/21 Vampire Romance Books

1/22 Night Owl Reviews

1/23 Sia McKye’s Thoughts Over Coffee

1/24 Literal Addiction

1/25 Under the Covers

1/28 Book Lovin’ Mamas

1/29 Anna’s Book Blog

1/30 Urban Girl Reader

2/1  History Undressed

2/8 Book Lovers, Inc

2/13 Fresh Fiction

2/13 Star Crossed Romance

So are you ready for the New Years? And have lots of new stuff you want to do???

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com 

Vulture with Mohawk

When we're writing, it's fun to use descriptions that readers can really envision and that everyone in the world hasn't already used to describe some critter or situation.

So here is a vulture with a Mohawk feather job. If you notice, the other vultures have the normal "hair" style. So to see one like this, all staticy-cling like, which would be another fun spin on describing his unusual look, readers would envision him differently from all the rest.

He was taking a bath in the otter's exhibit, which is the reason for his different look. But sometimes being out in the world can give us ideas that we can't come up with, sitting in front of a computer screen.

I woke with an epiphany this morning. I love when that happens. I have to tie in the heroine's quest more with the hero's somehow. So I've got to work on that. I knew something was lacking. But I just couldn't come up with what it was. Then, as if a light bulb went off, I had it. Well, maybe not really have IT. I have to still come up with a really good idea...but I know that I need to work on that part of the story. :)

I've known for a while that something was missing, but I just couldn't narrow it down to what. Do you ever do that? You've been mulling over some situation...how to do something, and all of a sudden it comes to you?

Don't you love  it when that happens? Don't you wish it would more often????

Okay, I'm off to work on my epiphany, and I hope you all  have a terrific Thursday!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com  

Day After...Lazy, or Harried?

So is your day after Christmas nuts? Like you're running around shopping and crazy stuff like that? Or are you more to play with your Christmas gifts, eat leftovers and chill out???

Today, we're going to a Thai restaurant and then the kids are headed home. We're definitely chilling. It's only 20 degrees!!!

After that, I'm coming home to write!

They got me a Nook, bringing me into the new millennium! Now I just have to buy some books!

I thought I'd reached 70,000 the day before Christmas on Silence of the Wolf. It was wishful thinking. So I've got to make that goal!

Hope no matter what your day is like, you're having a great one!

Happy Christmas after!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Merry Christmas!!!

Storms are knocking out my internet, so really quick, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks so much for loving my books and being wonderful friends! :)

Merry Christmas and I'll be back tomorrow!!!

Terry

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Birds & Merry Christmas Eve!

Can you tell which of these birds is a predator? 

Merry Christmas Eve! Are you doing anything special? We're seeing the Hobbit! Scratch that. We saw it last night and really enjoyed it!

And we're going to the zoo since the kids haven't seen it, lunch out somewhere, and we're having a special dinner of pasta here and watching a movie. I think The Highlander, since the kids haven't seen it. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!!! 

Terry

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Coyotes Barking and Howling

Connor had to drop in to say Merry Christmas also!


When working on a story, I love to be able to listen to the sounds that animals make, such as wolves howling, as I heard at the wolf reserve in Texas, broad daylight, but didn't think to record them.

I was on my way to the jaguar pen when the coyotes began to make a racket, so hurried back to see record them.

I missed recording the jaguars the other day as the one was having fits about not being released with the other in the exhibit. So she was roaring over and over again. I thought I was recording and wasn't. So I only got a little bit of the one jaguar doing so the other day. I hadn't before the other times I had seen them. Still, I wished I had caught the sound of the one the other day. She was really upset. And the other was pacing, terribly agitated he couldn't be with her.

I know my videos are a lot shaky, sorry, but I didn't realize (since I couldn't get it to work the last time) that moving in for a closer shot made the subjects blurrier. It looks like in the viewing screen that they're really tiny.

Anyway, I also got some of the tiger cubs playing, so when I'm able to edit both of those, I'll add them.

Have a super Sunday!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Bears

I've come to the conclusion I'm just an animal lover. I love bears, and wolves and tigers, Oh My! And pumas and jaguars and...well, the list just goes on.

This is a black bear that lifted his head to see who was taking a picture of him now.

I had a polar bear on the page, but somehow something happened and it was deleted....so no polar bear. He was looking at me too from inside his cave. Okay, neat trick. I had done a preview of the page and it was still up. So I was able to capture the html from it and add it back to this blog. Which was good. I had uploaded these pictures when I was on the faster Internet at my son's house, and was loathe to try it here again! :) He's pretty, soft looking and also nice and dangerous!

Here is a sun bear. He is vicious!!! He will attack. The one in the background doesn't look that mean. Just kind of wrinkly like one of those wrinkly dogs. Can't remember how to spell it. Can you tell I was up too late last night and way up too early this morning?  Sharpei?

I don't recall the name of this bear, but he has a much sweeter disposition. In this picture,  he doesn't look too wild, but he acted like it when we watched him. But from what the post said on it, he will leave you alone. The sun bear? Nope.

We had black bears all over the place when I lived in Oklahoma. Though they didn't seem to be dangerous...they are!

Okay, kids are still sleeping. I should be too...but I'm off to write. :)  Are you doing anything special for your Saturday?


Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Photo Manipulation--A Girl in Water Becomes a Mermaid

Okay, so I had a little bit of fun with some more photo manipulation...I'm truly writing on Silence of the Wolf. But sometimes it's fun to take a break.

http://bellastanyer-stock.deviantart.com/art/STOCK-28-3-Not-Everything-Is-A-Mermaid-That-Dives-340027109

Now it's back to writing!

Don't you ever like to take a break and just have some fun? Speaking of fun, my elfinberries are off getting toys ready for Santa Bear's sleigh. They have to be. I was going to take a new picture of them and can't find them!!! Does this sound like a reoccurring story???

Have a terrific Friday! Tree man's coming! Pest control guy's coming! Daughter and SIL are coming! It's going to be a really busy day!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Sometimes Simple is the Best!

It's fun to see how a simple garland and red bows and wreaths can turn make a place seem so festive for the holidays!

Wanna Coke? I loved this old Coke dispenser. Tried to get a picture of the cat when she was sitting beside it, but she moved. :)

Okay, I'm up at 1 in the morning because the winds are so high, it sounds like my house is being ripped apart. Can't see anything though and I can't believe my satellite is still up.

Hope in the morning I don't find any damages, but it sure sounds awful out there...it says 24 mph winds, but it sounds like gusts are higher...and 21 degrees this morning!

Okay, back to bed. I need earplugs.

Just checked the house to see if it was in one piece in the light of day. Some of the guttering was torn loose and is sitting on the roof by a nail. That's what was banging against the house! Ugh.

Happy Thursday!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Yes, I'm Goofing Off, but...

I should be writing, but... It's nearly Christmas!!! And so I'm entitled, for a few minutes.

Do you recognize these little goats? The 4 Billy Goats Gruff? They were at the Omaha, NE park and were shivering. So I found a nice warm place in a fantasy world for them to live.

I actually played a couple of role-playing games where they had floating islands like this that I had to traverse somehow! So this reminded me of it.

The island and sky and tree are from Smoko-stock!

http://smoko-stock.deviantart.com/art/Wide-Open-Spaces-250528362

Happy Hump Day!!! I'm really, really back to working on Tom's story....no more distractions! :)


Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut...Sometimes You Are...

Or, I am! :) Now, can you imagine the headaches you would have wearing these? I bet you never even considered that, had you???

Another lovely tree decorated at Horsefeathers in Salado!

So I've been cleaning out a few things I'm not using, and one of the sights we saw in Salado were two Christmas wreaths formed from rusted saws. Yep. That's what I could do. I would just need the red barn to go with it, about forty more rusted saws, and I'd have it made.

Truly, it's fun seeing how creative artists can be. I just had to share. :)

Now, back to Tom's story!!! Happy Hump Day EVE! :)

Terry

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Christmas in Salado--Tree Growing through Building!

This is an actual Live Oak tree limb growing through an 1870's building that was moved in front of the Stagecoach Inn in the 1930's. Rather than cut the tree limb, they made room for it! That's what I call Hug-a-Tree tree lovers. :)

Another shop in Salado all decked out in Christmas finery!

Here is the rest of the tree branch. Note that it has a metal stand that holds the branch up! The live oaks are huge in Salado, and their branches just keep on growing! :)

And I got an early Christmas present from Sourcebooks!!!

What more can I say than that????

Now that's what I call a CHRISTMAS present! Snow, wolf and Tom, and all.....

Where's the mistletoe? Don't need it!

Just one hot body to keep us warm.

He's coming!!! February 1, 2014 in time for Valentine's. Happy Merry Jolly Christmas, Early!

Thanks to Sourcebooks and their wonderful art department and Deb for sending him to me in time for the holidays!!!

What do you think? Are you ready for Tom?


Merry Christmas, Everyone!!! Remember to hug a tree! And your family and friends!

Terry

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Christmas Again in Salado

I loved the old buildings in Salado decorated for Christmas. We walked all over and saw many of the homes/shops that are on the historical tour. Many of these were built in the 1860's. It seems a long time ago, until I think of visiting the Scottish castles!!!
 

Here are some more of the shops and their wooden walkways.

Inside one of the old buildings that once was a residence and now a shop I took a picture of the rock work and pretty mirrored chest, and caught myself in the mirror! I didn't realize I had. Debbie, poor thing, was my coat bearer while I took pictures. It looked like it would rain, but it never did, so we finally ditched the coats in the car. I kept apologizing to her for having to be the workhorse on the trip, and if I had wanted to hide the fact she was carrying our coats, I captured it in the picture. So no tall tales there...

I loved the stone work in the buildings, and in the mirror, you can also see how the glass door has a glass window above it. Many of the buildings had these. My friend kept saying, "Can you imagine dusting all this stuff?"

My mother used to say, "They aren't collectables. They're dustables."

But it's hard not to walk away with something cute from Salado. :) 

The little guy in the middle who is playing his music? He came home for Christmas with me--my gift to me from Salado, my muse. :)

A dust collector? Surely not!

How about you? Can you resist collecting those collectables?

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Terry

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Wetlands in Waco

And here was the wetlands we visited. Nothing much going on there. Too cold. But lots of signs posted that warned about venomous snakes.

 Cattails, there was so much of it floating in the air, it looked like snow

 These are actually man-made and used for studies.

Hmmm, a good time to go is when nothing much is happening, and it's cold out! I wouldn't have wanted to have encountered any venomous snakes! :)

http://digitalbooktoday.com/2012/12/14/three-exciting-new-releases-2/

Dragon Fae (The World of Fae) by Terry Spear. Seeking to save Cassie from the dark fae, Princess Alicia runs into trouble in the form of dangerous fae seers. A dragon fae, who is different from all the rest, is sent to locate and rescue her. Simple mission. All Ena has to do is find the princess and return her home. Except nothing is simple in the world of the fae. Not when two fae kingdoms are involved. And humans. And fae seers. And all the trouble that can cause. Fearing losing Alicia, Prince Deveron is ready to eliminate his own cousin for all the trouble he has caused over Alicia’s best friend, Cassie, a human she grew up with. But Micala is not giving her up, even if it means taking drastic measures.

Have a super great Saturday!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Colombian Mammoths

 Colombian Mammoths found in Waco, Texas, between 14-20 feet tall, weighing up to 20,000 pounds!

 Saber tooth cat's tooth found here. It's in a museum, but the picture depicts its size in comparison with a dime. They believe it was a baby tooth!

The next picture is of the 3-toed camel. They said it looked more like a llama, longer neck, bigger than our camels today.

 A friend of mine has been off from work so I wanted to do some things with her that I never have found the time to do. One of the things was visit the Mammoth site in Waco. I went to it years ago with a professor from Baylor before it was open to the public. Now they have a building over the site and the remains here were the way they had found them.

It's really remarkable to find so many Colombian mammoths in one place. Sixteen! Three floods in the area caused the mass deaths. In the picture above, that is a bull mammoth and he stood 14 feet. The paleontologist told us that woolly mammoths actually stand as tall as an Asian elephant, but Colombian mammoths were much taller.

To the left of his body is a female's. And to the left of his tusk is the skeleton of a 3-toed camel.  On the rocks to the far left upper hand corner, they found a saber tooth cat tooth.  They believe it was a baby tooth.

 As huge as these mammoths were, can you imagine they had only 4 teeth? All four are seen here. And they had 6 pairs of them, so they just replace the four with another when the time came. When the ridges were really prominent, they said they hadn't ground them down so were fairly new. :)



Now it's back to Tom's story! I was feeling guilty because I didn't write on it, and then I remembered I had written 6 of the 12 guest blogs I need to have done for January for A Howl for a Highlander! So today is devoted to Tom. :) No more playing in the Caribbean waters with Duncan!

Can you imagine running into a mammoth??? My friend said that would be the end of her car. LOL

Have a super great Friday!!!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com

Redecorated on a budget!!

 This had a plain beige bedspread. And everything else was plain beige. Still is. LOL

But I bought a comforter set for $70 that had all the pillows pictured, shams, decorator pillows, bedspread and bedskirt. The two beige sham covered pillows in the background were the original beige pillows with a beige comforter. The black and white pandas that I had made with their black and red feet, and the other wearing a black and red kimono worked. The kitty cat on the one table has a red satiny outfit, and the penguin was perfect to add to the color scheme and a bit of Christmas whimsy.

 Everything other than the bedspread was just moved from other rooms to attempt to color coordinate a bit. :) The bluebonnet painting, I picked up at an antique shop years ago and it's the only place it will fit, but with the touches of blue on the furniture, I think it still works. The bear is one that I made and he's wearing an antique chain-mail and velvet like tunic, red velvet cape and my mask! The Christmas elf was a gift years ago. The pink rose painting is very old. And the antiqued looking paintings of the rabbits added a bit of black and red.

 Heart of the Wolf seemed to fit in here! My mother painted the birds above. The motorcycle bear is one I made. And then I had the two tiny oil paintings of red flowers that I moved from a bathroom to add to the collection.

I have some other bears in black that were not shown here, but are in the room also. The black sparkly wizard bear, and then hey, I know it's not Christmassy, but who's to say a vampire bear can't enjoy Christmas? He's dressed in the right colors and that's all that matters! :)

I thought it looked fun and inviting instead of dull and boring. What do you think?

Have you ever decorated on a budget and it really made a difference?

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com