Ricky Jones is looking forward to his first day on the job as a
deputy sheriff in the cougar-run town of Yuma Town, but he doesn’t
expect to run into his former girlfriend while he’s wearing his cougar
coat. Now he wants her back in the worst way, but he’s sure she’s going
to be even madder at him for dumping her three years back.
Mandy Richards is on her way to an interview at a hospital north of
Yuma Town for the position of a Licensed Practical Nurse when she hits a
cougar in the thick foggy night, a full moon silhouetted in the gloom
on Friday, the thirteenth. Checking on the wounded cougar changes her
world forever.
But her most recent ex-boyfriend isn’t going along with Ricky’s plans
to renew his relationship and things are bound to turn deadly.
We had violent storms yesterday and I put one of my dogs in the closet with his bed. He didn’t make a sound, so I think he felt safer. I had a standard poodle I gave a home to years ago that was terrified of storms. Her former owner had her sleeping on a covered metal porch and storms were magnified, poor thing. So she would sleep in my storm closet and was perfectly fine. A couple of times we curled up in there with her when we were living in Oklahoma too. More storms scheduled for today, and tomorrow for Halloween? 34-52 degrees. Brrrrr. But no storms. Thankfully.
I’m still working on edits on Red Wolf Christmas. I’m up to ch 10, and 20 chapters to go and an epilogue. My process is to go through the whole book and accept and delete all the small stuff. Then just make sure I’ve answered all the questions in the comments that I can. She often questions stuff throughout the book that are explained a few paragraphs down. You don’t hit someone in the eye with all the details right away. You have to show them as you write the story. Wait for it. Wait. Wait for it. There, see? It’s there. Sometimes something can be shown earlier, but not always.
This time, she wanted me to make some major changes. So they didn’t affect chapters 1-20. I made some of the changes in ch 21 and 22, but it will change the last 10 chapters of the book. So I’m going through each chapter before that, making any other kinds of changes I need to, and then probably tomorrow I’ll begin working on the last 10 chapters. And hopefully turn it in.
Then I have to proof the other book. They’re easy, just reading through, making sure there aren’t any mistakes made in the book written 10 years ago. Technology changes, so sometimes I need to update that. I wrote a book 20 years ago before cell phones were a thing. It makes such a difference. lol Now, everyone has to have a cell phone and you have to figure out how to “get rid of them” to put the characters in peril. I’ve had my editors telling me that I can’t have “blackout” areas where there is no cell service. But they exist. Not only in mountainous regions, but like from Waco, Texas to Houston, there’s an area where you can’t get any cell service. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle. Without the Bermuda and the Triangle.
Okay, before this gets any longer, I’ve got to get to work. As much as I wish the editing would get done without me, it just refuses.
Have a super, lovely day!! I’m going to enjoy the rain, but hobble down to the mailbox before it happens!
This one comes with the brand new novella: SEAL Wolf to the Rescue!
To Tempt the Wolf: His love has the power to transform… or destroy…
Award-Winning Author introduces the next installment of her paranormal romance series
• A 2008 Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year Award Winner!
• Night Owl Romance Reader Choice Award for Best Paranormal 2008
In this third in the series, wildlife photographer Tessa Anderson
must prove her brother innocent of murder charges. But when she
discovers a gorgeous naked man barely alive on her beach, she’s got a
new world of troubles to deal with, not least of which is how he affects
her with just a look, a touch, or a whispered word.
Hunter Greymore is a lupus garou, a grey werewolf. Hoping to keep a low profile at Tessa’s cabin on the coast, he’s drawn into her life—and into her bed. His animal instincts war with his human half, but in the end, the only thing he can do about this fascinating, adorable woman is to leave her forever —unless she becomes one of them.
So last night I turned in Night of the Billionaire edits and that editor said she’d be sending me Legend of the White Wolf proofing edits soon. I said okay, figuring I’d be working on Red Wolf Christmas edits in the meantime and a few days later she’d send Legend. She sent it within minutes.
Anyway, I did the acceptances and deletions on Red Wolf Christmas yesterday, first read through. Now I have to decide about taking out some scenes and how it’s going to affect the whole book.
And then of course, today was this new 10th Anniversary Release of To Tempt the Wolf, so I had to put everything on hold to get the word out on this one. The brand new novella: SEAL Wolf to the Rescue is included and it brings in Hunter’s SEAL team for a look at the team before their stories come out later.
I will have Seducing the Wolf proofing coming up also. I’d forgotten I had Legend to do too. What was I thinking that I could write another book?????
And my son-in-law working on Spiderman Jack-o-Lantern!
He did a great job!
Okay, so I’m off to spread the word about the release. Halloween will be here before we know it. We’ll be actually taking my granddaughter for her walk around the neighborhood to Trick-or-Treat. That should be fun to see.
My granddaughter loves Dory so my daughter made her a Dory pumpkin. As soon as she saw it, she wanted Nemo too. They’re best friends and are always together, you see. lol
Okay, up at 3:45 with more pain in my arm. Decided to get up and do some stuff, then try to go to bed for a little while longer. I have to take the dogs in for their shots this morning, poor dogs. And I’m over halfway done on proofing Night of the Billionaire Wolf. Ninety pages to go! And here is the delightful cover for the book!
USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear brings you a shifter world like no other
It’s not easy being a billionaire, a wolf shifter, and a woman…
Lexi Summerfield built her business from the ground up. But with great
wealth comes great responsibility, and some drawbacks Lexi could not
have anticipated. Lexi never knows who she can trust… Even on
vacation, Lexi has a hard time trying to relax. And for good reason―the
paparazzi are dogging her, and so is someone else with evil intent.
Then Lexi meets bodyguard and gray wolf shifter Ryder Gallagher, who’s
also vacationing at Redwood National Park. When the two run into each
other on the hiking trails, and then serendipitously rescue two bear
cubs, Lexi feels safe for the first time in she can’t remember when. But
secrets have a way of surfacing… With the danger around Lexi
escalating, Ryder will do whatever it takes to stay by her side…
Billionaire Wolf Series: Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing (Book 1) A Billionaire Wolf for Christmas (Book 2) Night of the Billionaire Wolf (Book 3)
Praise for the Billionaire Wolf series: “Entertaining and suspenseful…another great read from Terry Spear.”―Night Owl Reviews “Heart-racing action with plenty of love and steamy moments… get it ASAP.”―Fresh Fiction “Packed with adventure… Magnificently entertaining.”―RT Book Reviews Top Pick for Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing
Okay, heating pad on shoulder, time to try and get some more sleep. Four to six hours isn’t enough. By midday, I’m drooping.
Start with printing out a picture to use, tape it over the pumpkin, then use a tack or something like it to punch holes around the shape you want to cut out. I used the tool that I poke holes into my fabric for arm and leg joints and to add bear eyes. The kids had a kit with one. You could use a tack or other sharp pointy object.
Peel off the picture and cut out along the pin-pricked lines. Add light to the pumpkin, turn off lights, and voila! This is the best Jack-O-Lantern I’ve ever created. Howool!
And my fun friend, Lola, sent me this picture of herself (I added the wolf and a couple of other embellishments), reminding me I have the 10th Anniversary release of To Tempt the Wolf coming out on the 29th!! Thanks, Lola, you are a treasure!
What with writing and publishing Cougar Halloween Mischief, editing, formatting and publishing Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero, A Ghost of a Chance at Love that I’d received the rights back from (all since I finished the last contracted book, Red Wolf Christmas), and edits for various books and a release last month, it’s been crazy!!!
That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Now I’m working on edits for two more books. Night of the Billionaire Wolf is easy. I should have the edits done today, and then start rereading it, and hopefully turn it in on Monday or Tuesday.
If you were to make a Jack-O-Lantern, what would you make?
I’ll show off the others on Monday. My daughter made Dory and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and my SIL made Spiderman. My granddaughter wanted Nemo too. Dory and Nemo go together. lol
I’m off to check and see if any more links for Cougar Halloween Mischief are available and then working on Billionaire edits some more. Well, AFTER I feed the puppies. They are haunting me for food right now. You’d think they were starved.
Have a super fun day!! The bewitching hour approaches!
Just when I think I’m free and clear to do my own thing…
I finished editing Cougar Halloween Mischief, and am formatting it for publication today and publishing it today….Yay!
But on top of the rewrites they want me to do on Red Wolf Christmas, they sent me edits on Night of the Billionaire Wolf. *sigh* I’ll probably work on that one first. That’s second edits, so it’s not as bad, usually. I haven’t had time to look at it. Still thinking on how to make that other scene more important in Red Wolf Christmas.
I have so many books I’ve finished and am revising from time to time, and so many I’ve written partials on, I’ve been revisiting them. One time, I took two stories that had the same feel to them and combined them and I had my book. I did that with one of the YA vampire stories I’m working on. I loved both vampire stories, but combining them (Night of the Vampire, book 3) and making them fit the first book in the series (Kiss of the Vampire, book 1 out now) was even better. Now I have nearly 14,000 on it, but it’s the 3rd book in the series. The 2nd book is at 9,000 (Bite of the Vampire). But I want to keep working on both of them when I have time and finish them up finally. At least I have covers for them. There are 4 male teen vampire princes though in the Blood Moon Series. So that means I’ll need to write one more for the 4th prince.
Today, we’re pumpkin carving at my daughter and SIL’s, and she brought my granddaughter over to play with me for a short while yesterday. I haven’t seen her since Wednesday last week when I broke my toe. Even with having her over yesterday afternoon, I had to put my foot up so she couldn’t step on it. We kept telling her Grandma hurt her toe and she kept wanting to touch the booboo. Ack! I still can’t get a boot on, too bruised and too much pressure on the toe. But I was thrilled to be able to see her and she was likewise. Nothing better than toddler cuddles.
Up at 4 am, so off to begin the process of getting Cougar ready to publish! Yay!
These bears and a couple of others are ready to ship. Just have to wait for the rains to stop and the temperature has dropped from the 80s to the 50s with it feeling like the 40s. Brrr. But I’m glad!!
So I got first edits back on Red Wolf Christmas and the editor wants me to take out whole scenes and rewrite huge sections. Everything in a story is connected. It’s like a train running down the track. Oh, just remove that car and half of that one while it’s still moving down the tracks. It’s like a train wreck waiting to happen.
Say what? You remove one thing and it can change tons of other scenes. I know. Because I’ve done it.
One kiss moved to an earlier part of the story has a rippling effect. One person removed, changes scene after scene. I did that on my own in a story before I turned it in because I didn’t want to give up rights to the character. But I had to change scenes all over the place when I removed him. Same with another story that I decided to remove some extra ghosts. It was really hard finding all the phantom mentions in the story and after two beta readers read it, one of my editors said, “You mention ghosts, but there’s only one left here.”
Right. But there had been more. She just didn’t know it.
Will changing everything improve the book? Maybe. Maybe not.
Years ago, an editor told me to remove a scene or make it have more impact on the story. It was an important part of the story. It’s not just a connecting part, but these two teens were having trouble with bullies and the scene needed to be. But I gave it even more importance, added depth to the characters, and it worked.
I think that’s what I need to do here. Add something that makes the scene more important to the story. Now what could that be? Still thinking on it.
I’m still waiting on my final beta reader’s notes and then I’ll finish up Cougar Halloween Mischief. I have five more bear orders, but I’m waiting on payment before I embroider the paws. I’ve finished bears completely, then the buyer never pays me and I’ve had to pull the bear apart, rip out the paws, and sew in new paws and then put the bear back together again–way too much work to do for no reason. So when it’s someone who hasn’t bought from me before, I will make the bears, but when I’m ready to embroider the paws, I need payment first.
I’ve also bought three plaids from Scotland for customers who never paid me for the bears. My bad. The fabric is very expensive, and I never sell the bears. New rule: I order plaid from Scotland for a customer, the bear is paid for upfront. I don’t even make my money back on one bear with the plaid, but maybe 3 bears will do it. Some I make money back on. Some I never do.
Okay, I’m off to do something until it stops raining and the post office opens so I can send these little bears on their way.
I’m in limbo now. I love it when I can do what I want. On the other hand, I’m not sure which direction I should take. And then I’ll have to start working on the contracted books again. I need to write another Highland book. I have a cover. I just need to write the story.
I just picked up yet ANOTHER cover for a fae book, and I started writing on it last night. Angel Fae.
If it takes off, I’ll finish it, but I have a ton of other stories I’ve started that I’d love to finish. And stories I need to revise that are finished. But when I mean I have to revise them, I mean majorly. Sometimes it’s easier writing a new story. But some of my best selling books have been revisions of earlier stories. So I’m not giving up on them!
I’ve been getting caught up on cleaning. Another 3:30 am wake up. Ugh. And I need to finish 3 bears and ship them, so I’m working on one of them this morning too.
So I’m in…limbo. Where will my muse take me today? Wake. Up. Muse.
*sigh* Maybe I will be museless today and just do my own thing without her.
I was excited to sell three more books to my publisher: a Highland Wolf book, Red Wolf book, and another Wolff Brothers Wolf book (Silver Town Wolves). Now I have to write them. They’ll be coming out in 2021. The books for next year are all written. Yay!
And I’m nearing the end of writing Cougar Halloween Mischief. I’m just working on the Halloween party, wrapping up loose ends and adding some more character details and it will be off to beta readers.
And my publisher sold the audiobook rights to the Wolff Brothers book: You Had Me at Wolf, coming out in February! Yay!
Shoulder was killing me again at 4 am, so got up and exercised it. Teach it to keep me awake, so I put it through its torturous routine. My gel pack heating pad broke. So need to make a rice one, but no rice.
Now I’m off to do edits and then get back to writing the novella.
Fifty-two this morning. I could get used to this! Unless the weather changes, our coldest day will be Halloween. at 49 in the morning, reaching 63. Yay! Then it’s going back up.
I’m off to work on Cougar Halloween. I’m getting 2,000 words a day at least. I need 3-5K more. Yay!
Have a great day! I’m off to feed my little furry wolves before they drive me crazy and then back to writing.
