Interview With Terry Spear
Tell us something about yourself, so that we can get to know you a bit better…
Terry: Do you ever go into withdrawal if you don't have a good book to read? That's me with both reading and writing. I HAVE to have a stack of books to read and I feel I have wasted a whole day if I didn't write something new on a current story in progress. I'm a stick-in-the-mud cook, which means I make home-cooked meals, but they're the same old delicious tried-and-true ones. And I love making teddy bears that have won awards and found homes all over the world! Give me a spot by a water source—the ocean, lake, river—and I'm happy—just like wolves and jaguars are. And combine that with a forest and mountains, and I'm doubly happy.
Do you do anything special to get into the right frame of mind for writing?
Terry: I often read the earlier passages to get me set to continue on with the story. I was trying to come up with a hot scene in my last latest work-in-progress, A Hero of a Highland Wolf, but I was stalling on it. The problem was I couldn't visualize it. So I searched for a picture of the kind of study that would work, and that was it!!! I found the perfect old Victorian kind of study that would fit with a Scottish castle decor and I described it, and their hot afternoon delight. I had no problem, once I saw the picture. I love research.
What inspired you to become an author?
Terry: I've always created stories for my friends and family since I was small. When my kids were young and I read to them and was teaching them to read, I began to write my own children's stories to read to them. Then I began to write adult romances and young adult romances. So it's just in the genes.
Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring authors?
Terry: Never give up! I've written for over fifteen years, and spent a number of years learning the craft of writing, entering contests, sending to publishers, then finally was picked up. You have to be in it for the long haul, committed, and willing to write more of the same—to garner a following and brand yourself. But most of all you have to LOVE what you do. This will show in the stories you create.