Archive | February 2015

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 TGIF!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
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Christmas in February–Snow in the Heart of Texas!

Feb26

When I lived in Amarillo, we had snow. A lot. But in Central Texas, years can pass and no snow. The day before we had ice, which has been unusual also of late. So I had taken the puppies out first thing in the morning, hoping that the sidewalk wouldn’t be icy and it wasn’t! But it was raining and we had thunder and lightning, so I was hurrying them along to get back inside.

About two hours later, while working on proofing a book, I took them out again. It was still thundering, but to my amazement, it was snowing!!!

Since the puppies are puppies, they’ve never seen ice or snow before. So this has been a new experience for them. And for me? It’s like Christmas. Which means? I’m out there taking pictures, knowing that it’s not going to last and I have to have proof that we really did have snow in February in 2015!

Oh, I know, some of you that are eyeball deep in snowdrifts are going to be shaking your heads. But really, if you had flowers in February, when you’re normally eyeball deep in snowdrifts, wouldn’t you make a big deal of it? Sure.

So here’s our snow day…and an ice picture or two.

Havanese Paw Prints in Snow

And there you have it! Christmas in February in Central Texas!

I’m off to work on all the stuff I have neglected while I’ve been trying to finish the book. Need to get to work on 2 teddy bears pronto. Others are stacking up quick. 🙂 <3 And then, have to get started on the She-Wolf book before I get behind on it. It will be the first book I have written where a she-wolf is running a pack. And yes, it’s based off a true wolf pack story. 🙂

Puppies are sleeping on my lap–Max just growled—in his sleep. Wonder what he is dreaming about? He’s started to go into hunting mode–the prey, Tanner. It’s the funniest thing. I really got them for research in canine behavior for my wolf stories. He’s done it twice now that I’ve seen. He’ll crouch down low, head down, tail down, and move cautiously toward Tanner. The first time I saw him do it was in front of the AC guy. We just watched, fascinated. Tanner was standing up to him, tail up, anticipating. Then Max and Tanner started to play, really gentle like. They can get pretty wild, so I was glad with an audience, they were good. So then this next time, Tanner laid down on his belly, head up, anticipating. I wish I could get it on video. But often when I grab my camera, they’ll stop what they’re doing, look at me, and come over for attention. 🙂

And we’ve just finalized Call of the Cougar’s audiobook, so it should be coming out in a couple of weeks.

Have a super great day!

The End!!!–Look! No Leashes!!

Feb24

It’s ICY out there in them thar hills! Well, no hills, but the sidewalk? Yes! It was bad all day yesterday, and this morning, I knew it would be also. Last night, so that I could make my way carefully to the frozen grass, I didn’t have the dogs on leash. They’ve been good about my calling them to come, and I hoped my faith in them would be warranted. They were great. Did their business, came in, and we were good.

I wanted to do the same this morning for the same reason. I had Max’s training collar on, so I figured I could use it if I needed to to correct him. But that doesn’t mean a puppy might not make for the hills. Well, no hills, but the cornfields. Even if they’re not cornfields right now.

They’re always really good first thing in the morning, do their business and we go inside. But they’re always on leash, no fenced-in yard.

So it was a risk, but I had to try it because they need to go right away and I couldn’t risk walking fast on the ice.

So no leashes, we went out. Both raced out, slipped a little on the ice, but their paw pads do better on it than my shoes, and they did their first business, pronto, perfect. But then they headed for the house. But then wouldn’t go in. Because they still had to go. Max was headed across the back patio, and I used the collar and told him to come. We don’t ever go in that direction in the dark. Only sometimes in the daylight. He came right back.

So, I told them, “Let’s go potty,” and we headed across the icy sidewalk again and then they both went into the grass to do their second business of the morning. Tanner stayed close by. Max disappeared into the dark where he likes to go when it’s light out. I had to be so patient, trust in him, and not use the collar to make him return when he was probably in the middle of doing his business.

When Tanner was done, I praised him and he came running to me and I lifted him into my arms and praised him some more. Then here comes Max out of the darkness, racing to greet me. Halleluiah. After only 2 training sessions with trainers, and lots of training at home, it worked, and I figured this would be like way in the future. Not that I’m going to do this all the time because I’m afraid they might get bolder about getting out of my sight. But in an emergency–like this business with the ice, I’ll have to risk it. I don’t want to break something and end up not being there to care for the puppies.

Puppies at Place with their hair rubber banded. Tanner’s was done for the first time. It lasted maybe an hour. His hair is still fairly short. But I wanted him to start getting used to it. Tanner goes to Place, all the time. He sits there and waits until I tell him to come. I can move about the kitchen, move halfway into another room, go into another room now, and he will stay in Place. Max, no. As soon as I move away, he gets off. And ironically, it used to be the opposite. Tanner wouldn’t stay put. But Tanner’s a REALLY fast learner. He is really attentive and watches me to see what I’m going to do. So he’s more easily trained.

I give them kibble for treats, often training them with their food, rather than just feeding them for the two times a day. They just wolf down their meals otherwise and I’m afraid with giving them treats all the time, they’re going to be overweight. And I’ve been giving them praise, or having them do several things to earn a treat: Place, Come, (they automatically sit), Shake (they give me a paw–Tanner actually loves giving me his paw and does it almost with every time I come to give him a treat for doing anything, Place, Down), Down, Circle. Circle is clockwise. My daughter asked if they will go in the opposite direction. So I started working with them on that. Around, for a different key word. Tanner immediately got it. Max–still working with him on that. It’s like his body just doesn’t want to go counter clockwise. But he’s done it a few times. The problem I have is that he doesn’t get it and he wants the treat, and Tanner’s trying to get it. But we’re starting to figure it out and we’ll have it down soon.

When I put them down for bed at night, I say: “Bedtime, Kennel.” They race for the kennel, sit, and wait for their treat. 🙂 But the biggest thing is if I can let them go out with me without their leashes. I struggle to get them on in the morning while they’re wanting to greet me. Tanner used to be so awful and without his rabies tag yet, trying to find the ring on his collar was horrible. But now, they’re much better. Max sits and behaves. Tanner still is super excited, but he’s much better about holding still for the most part, so I can get his leash on. I stopped letting them out of the crate and just leash them while they’re in the crate. I learned that after I was attaching a leash to one, and the other got out and went to the bathroom on my tile floor. But we went from 7 pm to 5 am again, so they’re doing great. Oh, and the guy came about the duct work to have more airflow and the puppies were sooooo good. They didn’t bark, checked him out, were just the best. He said he’s so used to the dogs at the homes he visits being unruly and wild, barking and such that he was really impressed with them. We watched as Max lowered his head to Tanner, and Tanner stood still watching him. I told the guy I wished I’d had my camera. When I get it out, they’ll stop the play, but it was precious. Then the two attacked, but in a cute way.

Okay, so then the other really great news is that I finished A SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble!! I’ll read it one more time, since I still made changes on it and any change can mean I make new mistakes in typing. And then have to turn it in on Monday.

In the meantime, I’m giving it a rest so I can look at it with fresh eyes and so I started proofing Call of the Cougar audiobook. And then I need to put Phantom Fae in print form. And then…yes, it all stacks up when I’m just goofing off. But so I don’t worry about the deadline book, I’m working on She-Wolf next.

And, my editor sent me the revised cover for the Silver Wolf Christmas. The first, he was holding a gun, Christmas was so muted, you couldn’t tell it was a Christmas book, and the wolf was just one eye off in the corner. Since my wolves weren’t running around with guns, this story is really big on Christmas, and my readers love seeing the wolf as much as the guy on the cover, I asked for some changes. I usually love them the way they are, but this story is really humorous, more lighthearted, and the other cover didn’t do it justice. So they sent back three ideas. I tried to show it here, but couldn’t. I sent to some of my beta readers because they’ve read the story and know what it’s about and we all picked the middle one that has more of a Christmas look to it. Plus, more snowy, which the whole story has snow in it. 🙂

Okay, I’m off to listen to more of Call of the Cougar. I think I have listened to about 3.5 hours. I have 4.5 hours to go.

Have a super Tuesday!!!

Macro Shots–Daffodils and a Puppy Portrait

Feb23

Daffodil Ruffles

Ready for the ball.

Musical Daffodils

When I looked at these, I thought of a symphony, musical instruments in an orchestra.

Rain Drenched Daffodils

I had to go out in the rain to get these. It is so cold again!

Mysterious Daffodil

Hiding secrets untold.

Max Looking Scruffy

I tried to get macro portraits of both puppies, but by the time the camera focuses, they’ve moved. And though I had brushed out his beard, by the time I got the picture, he had tussled with Tanner again. 🙂

Okay, I’m in the final edits of SEAL Wolf Diving for Trouble. Finished editing the mss last night when I had to get the puppies out at 1 am, and am now making the changes on the book. 🙂 So off to my writing cave.

It’s cold out! The puppies are again asleep, and time to concentrate on the book!

Have a super great Monday!!!

The Physics of Two Puppies Sharing One Space–My Lap

Feb22

Max on Top of Tanner

Tanner on Top of Max

Tanner Being a Photo Hound

I have to say that taking these pictures is not easy. I have to raise the camera way above them so that it will focus and take them and I have NO idea what I’m really taking a picture of until I bring the camera down and check. I can’t see in the viewing window at the time I take the picture. It’s amazing that any of them captured what I was trying to show, both puppies curled up on my lap while I’m working on my current story, except while I paused to take a picture…or two. I never know when this phase will end with them because they will be too big. Or possibly in the summer, they would be too hot.

Max and Tanner looking back

The towels are there to keep them from slipping off my lap or to the left, from slipping through the arm of the chair when one of them, or both, are sleeping to the side of me. Sometimes, I’ll feel a struggle going on next to me, and see one of them slipping, slipping, slipping…sometimes I’m able to rescue the one falling into deep space, or otherwise, landing on the tile floor. Sometimes not, and then the puppy wants right back up in my lap. So no trauma there. Tanner is 4 months and Max 7 months old Havanese. Max weighs 10 lbs and Tanner 5. It looks like Tanner is about as big as Max in these photos, but a lot has to do with his thicker fur and the angle of the camera.

Okay, off to write on the book some more. I’ve written 5500 over word count so far, and still haven’t reached the end. 🙂 And I always wonder why I worry about word count?

Have a glorious Sunday!

Here was my sunset last night.

The Butterfly Effect–and Windblown Puppy

Feb21

You change one thing and it changes everything. That’s why time travel, if you’re thinking of doing it, can really make a mess of things. So think about it before you buy that ticket.

Oh, sure, you think you know history and so you can go back and make a mint off things that have occurred that no one knows about yet. Investments, etc. But, what about everything else you change?

Okay, so why am I thinking of this? Late last night I got to the last 20 or so pages of my manuscript and discovered that the changes I had made early on in the last couple of days requires me to majorly rewrite the last 20 pages, and I still haven’t figured out the climax. The book is much better, but, ack! The days are slipping away faster than I can allow. You see? That’s where time travel could come in handy.

But think of it. If I went back in time, I wouldn’t have even have started the book yet. And that is a horrifying thought. 🙂

Yesterday I took pictures of wind-blown dogs. The wind was 23 mph, which can be a lot higher, but that’s high enough to make for bad hair days, and funny puppy pictures. I tried to get some pictures of it, but not sure they turned out. I also tried to take macro pictures of the daffodils blooming, BUT, I ran out of disk space. I need to delete some pictures off the disk, but I just don’t have time to do it this very minute. I need to get back to writing. But if I don’t do it, the flowers will have faded. Note to self: have extra disks on hand.

Windblown Tanner

Off to write! Have a super Saturday! Max has his 2nd training today!

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

Feb20

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? 🙂 <3 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. Twelve 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.

Before I turn THIS into a book, I’m off to write on A SEAL Diving for Trouble. I had another epiphany when I was working on edits. Near the end of the book, as I’m editing over and over again, I’ll keep seeing loose ends. I mention something, and then don’t tie it into anything else, or I just forget to explain it. So sometimes when that happens, I’ll see where a loose end is vital to the story. Which is what happened when my muse began talking to me at 3 am. And that means going back in and making some changes that will change A LOT again. *sigh* Did I mention I have only 12 more days to finish this book?

Okay, off to write. 🙂 Oh and TGIF!!!

Got Wordcount! White Stuff on the Roof! And the Daffodils are Blooming!

Feb19

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!

Have a lovely day. I realized that I have the termite guy coming to do his annual inspection this morning and you know what that means? More puppy training! 🙂

No Heat, New Security Lights

Feb18

The night before last, I was fighting with the thermostat, thinking that’s why the heat felt like the AC was on. It was 3:30 in the morning, took out the puppies, came back in to change out more batteries. The temp got to 44 in the house. Way too cold for sleepable comfort. (Yes, sleepable is not a real word. Authors have been known to make up their own. And that’s my story.)

Soooo, I keep thinking it’s me. I’m doing something wrong, and I don’t want to call someone over to fix it, get a big charge because a switch has flipped or something. Didn’t even think of the breaker box.

So I call an electrician. He says he doesn’t fix heat pumps. But I have 3 security lights out, 2 that were completely not working, and 1 that’s sensor won’t tell it to go off during the day. So I had him change them out so that when I’m up at oh-dark-thirty (yes, this is really a time…I have to get up at that time a lot….lately), I have some light. My main reason is so that I can see that the puppies actually go potty, because sometimes they get distracted with chewing on grass and the like, and so I can see if there’s a skunk about. I have run into one at night before a couple of years ago. So it’s possible. But I’m wondering if it’s better not to see a skunk in the middle of the night…what you don’t see can’t hurt you, right?

Then I call an AC/Heat guy, and he says it’s not a heat pump, but an electric unit. I’m not calling the other electric company again.

Soooo, he found out that the coils were burned out in the unit and luckily it’s still under warranty and no charge on that. But…you know there’s a but, right? If it burned out, there’s got to be a reason. Not enough air flow. That’s going to cost some money. So he’s supposed to get hold of me and they’ll work on that next.

Now, I’m only 1314 shy of getting my word count. See? You didn’t think I could do it with all else going on, did you? Ye, of little faith.

I turned in Silver Wolf Christmas edits, and today I’ll get my word count, but it doesn’t mean the story is done. *sigh* I haven’t figured out my big satisfying ending. Right now, I’m going back in and showing them trying to solve the mystery of who the bad guy is and where he’s at, and tie everything together. It’s a job, and somebody’s got to do it. My characters, as much as I’d like for them to get on the ball, won’t budge unless I help them out.

🙂

How many hands does it take to keep 2 Havanese puppies still for a photo? 🙂 <3

And that really is my story, and why I’ve been focusing on it and not on everything else that keeps demanding my attention, like electricians and heating guys. Oh, and I was working on training the puppies with all the strange men in the house. It was great. At first there was all the barking, but then I was able to use the collar on Max to get him to return to me–he actually ran outside to see the electrician, giving me a heart attack because he was barking and looking scary. Little dogs can still take a nice bite out of a leg. But I used the collar and he came back to me. We had several instances where I had to use the collar. But the key is to be consistent and persistent. After a few corrections, they were fine and stayed by me. He even sneaked out the door when we were in the backyard and I was showing the electrician which lights needed to be changed. Max was an angel. sniffing around at the plants only a couple of feet from me. No fenced-in yard, and off leash. I had scooped up Tanner when he slipped out. I couldn’t grab both dogs.

When the electrician came back in the house to turn off the breaker, we had to start all over. When we went outside to potty, it was much better. When the electrician came inside again, I was actually training them to Place and they ignored him.

Second man, new trial. Barking, only this time Max minded much faster. Tanner is barking some now too, but if Max doesn’t, Tanner quits. Tanner’s also more to just want to greet. So the AC man was in and out of the house so much that after a while, the puppies wanted to see what he was doing, but they no longer barked. The AC man sat on the couch to write up the paperwork and Max was checking him out, but we were good.

So, see? We had an added benefit to getting heat and security lights. Puppy training!

And I got all the stuff together to ship for party prizes, couldn’t write while all of this was going on. But the puppies totally crashed and I was able to make some headway.

Here’s the latest place I’m at with giveaways! 5 print copies of Savage Hunger at Night Owl Romance Reviews! Be sure and drop by to enter!

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Blog/Articles/Jaguar-Pride-by-Terry-Spear

Okay, off to write my last 1314 words and more..

Have a great…oh! Garbage Day. Knew there was something else I had to do today, besides taking Tanner in for rabies shot. 🙁 Have a great Wednesday!

50 Shades of Pink!

Feb15

The sunrise was so brightly pink this morning, I had to run back in the house, dragging puppies behind me to grab my camera. Good thing they’d already been out once today so we’re fine with a morning jog.

Had a picture of a tired puppy last night, but can’t find it on the computer, and the camera’s battery is in charging mode. So will share later. 🙂 <3

Have a great Sunday!

Off to work!!

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Terry Spear's Shifters

"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality."