* Jacquelyn Frank: Author Override | UTC Reviews
* Skye Warren: Author Override
* Narrator Lorelei King: Interview
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* Carolyn Crane: Author Override | UTC Review
* J.T. Geissinger: Interview | UTC Review
* Men and Women of the Military Giveaway Hop
* Keri Arthur: Interview | UTC Reviews

Friday 9 March 2012

Author Override: Terry Spear

 
Author Override is the place where authors take the reins and take you on a journey into their world. Some may allow you into their private writing dens. Others may take you along with them on research trips or interviews. Whatever the case may be, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride because here you’ll get an in-depth look into an author’s musings.
Terry Spear

Sex and the SEAL
By Terry Spear

It seems appropriate to discuss “undercover operations” when appearing on the Under the Covers Book Blog! So here goes!

I just returned from the Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Conference in New Orleans where I had a delightful time visiting with other writers, editors, agents and fans. But the real highlight was the vampire/ghost tour.

Now all the murders, ghost stories, and vampire tales, and the surrounding pie-eyed either tourists or locals making scary wooooo sounds—as in ghostly noises while they passed us by, really added to the fun! With drink in hand, one guy asked if we’d seen any ghosts yet. I said, “Not yet, but we’re hopeful.”

He laughed and said, “Keep on looking then!”

But the tale we shared the most after returning to the conference site after the tour was about the bouncing truck. No, it wasn’t haunted, nor was it part of the tour. But it was parked right in front of the haunted building where three tour groups had converged.

Two hookers and their “date” decided to have “show time” in a truck with lights shining, music blaring, a big bare butt on display, faked climax screaming, and bouncing the truck as if it was on rough seas.

What is the difference between sex and the SEAL and sex in the city? (Namely in the bouncing truck?)

Romance! Mutual respect! Trust! Caring! Love! Forever! Happily Ever After!

No drugs or alcohol needed. No audience needed.

The “performers” left the truck afterward so we could see just what they looked like and believe me they were not romance material.

In a romance, the sex should be more than just the physical act. It’s about a couple who learn to love one another, to cherish them no matter their faults, to compromise on the small stuff, to share and trust and are there for each other no matter the circumstances and for the long haul.

It’s the cuddling under the covers, the sharing of secrets, the tenderness that says, “I love you.”

I was reading about sex therapy cases for research for my stories and for many of the couples after long years of marriage, busy jobs, and raising kids, they lose the intimacy in their relationship that they had when they were newlyweds.

The psychologist asked if there was anything they could think of that would help them to rekindle the flame.

One couple had lost their electricity, it was freezing out and inside the home, they had no Internet service to continue their work, no lights to read by. They just had each other. They made a tent out of their covers and actually talked to one another for the first time in eons.

And that led to the intimacy and making love.

Now, when they need to rekindle those feelings, they make a tent out of the covers and share that experience of shutting out the whole wide world and just being there for each other. No need to have the electricity go out! Just making the time to close themselves off from everything but each other.

You see the difference? In the case of the bouncing truck, the hookers and their john were doing it for some kind of kinky kick.

But in a real relationship, the sex should be only one aspect of the romance carried on between two people.

When a SEAL wolf gets frisky, he knows if he goes too far, it’s for forever. Sex and the SEAL means mating for life if the woman he’s interested in is a wolf also. That’s why it’s so important for the relationship to be based on so much more.

Here’s an excerpt from A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing when Finn and Meara end up under the covers for the first time:

Tension filling every muscle, Finn held his cell phone in hand, waiting for another text from Anna while he was squished against a bunch of lace trimmed, silk pillows on the guest mattress, a wall between him and Meara. Before he’d shut down his laptop and attempted to come to bed, Meara had had other plans.

The phone jingled indicating he had another text message, and he looked at it.

“Hmm, Finn,” Meara sleepily muttered, her tone annoyed, “if you’re going to have your phone jingling all night, find another bed to sleep in. You shouldn’t be in here with me anyway. Or you should have left me on the couch in the first place.”

Finn ignored her, his back to her where she’d stuck the bunch of decorator pillows between them—as soon as he’d woken her while checking his emails--clearly stating: your side, my side. And if he hadn’t gotten the point, she’d also told him so, verbally, pointedly.

As much room as the damn pillows took up on the queen-size mattress, he was getting ready to toss them.

He read the message from Paul, not liking the situation Anna was in once he’d received her cryptic text message, but he wasn’t about to jeopardize Meara’s safety either by leaving her alone so that he could help Anna out. She usually knew what she was doing. Meara wasn’t trained to protect herself the way Anna was. Plus this Joe didn’t know where he and Meara were and if Finn went to Anna, this guy would know Anna was with him. And it would make it easier for him to locate Meara again.

Finn had texted Paul with the news about Anna, asked how close in he was in the event he could give her a hand, and Paul’s quick response stated he was coming to the rescue, but he was three hours out. Hell.

Paul texted: I worry about her doing something stupid.

I know. We just have to trust her. I’ll keep in touch.

Finn set his phone aside, his body protesting that he was attempting to sleep on the edge of the mattress, and he felt he was close to falling off at any moment. To hell with that. Meara was just going to have to put up with not having a barrier between them. He grabbed two armfuls of silky decorator pillows and tossed them over the edge of the bed. Two more handfuls to go and no more barriers.

He smiled at Meara as she gave him a grumpy look over her shoulder. The way her dark hair fell over her bare shoulders, the tiny strap of the silky tank top dangling precariously down her arm, her tantalizing lips parted in surprise, she looked like an open invitation to sex.

That’s when he knew he should concede and leave the bed, the room, and the sweet temptation behind.

But he had a job to do, and he was staying put.


*****

See? It’s not about sex, but about protection! A SEAL wolf’s kind of protection!

Thanks so much for dropping by and saying hi and to Francesca for having me here today!

If you were in Finn’s place, would you have left the bed, or left the pillows, or stayed right where you were??? If you were Meara, what would you have done???

Terry Spear
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terry Spear has written over a thirty paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. An award-winning author, Terry’s Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year in 2008. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear is a librarian by day and spends every spare moment writing paranormal romance as well as historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on new paranormal romances! For more information, please visit http://www.terryspear.com/.

Feel free to stalk! ;)

We have great news for you! Ms. Spear is graciously giving away two copies of A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing (US/Canada).
With the ultimate alpha male hero--werewolf Finn Emerson, Navy SEAL--bestselling author Spear ("Heart of the Wolf") ratchets up the heat in the new installment in her hugely popular paranormal romance series.

Meara Greymere is in charge of the cabin rentals on the rugged Oregon coastline, so her brother and his mate could take a delayed honeymoon. But while Hunter is away, the she-wolf intends to play—she just has to convince the right alpha male to rent one of the cabins, and she’ll take it from there. But when Finn Emerson arrives with every intention of pretending to be her lover, she's not going to take this lying down. She knows he'll tell her brother what she's up to and put an end to her game.

Finn Emerson is a Navy SEAL, formerly one of Hunter Greymere’s team members, and now he's trying to track down a gray wolf, who's already made an attempt on one of their team member's lives. Finn believes Hunter will be targeted next, only to discover Hunter is off with his mate on a honeymoon, and he fears Hunter’s sister is in grave danger. But the SEAL soon learns protecting the unpredictable sexy she-wolf is a mission and a half and protecting her isn’t all he wants to do.
To enter:

1. Be a follower of this blog
2. Comment on this post answering Ms. Spear's question and make sure you leave your email address so we can contact you!

33 comments:

msmjb65 said...

It all depends on what Finn's end game is or what he thinks his end game is. If he already acknowledges on some level that he has a thing for her, he will use the excuse of keeping her safe as the reason he will stay in the bed. It then stands to reason that he had to move the pillows because he was going to fall of the bed. That makes sense, right?
Since it seems that Finn takes protecting Meara as his number one concern, there's no way he is going to leave the room. And at this point, Meara seems obvlious to an attraction to him, at least in this short excerpt.
I really hope I win this cuz this looks interesting!!
MJB
msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com.
GFC follower as MJB
email at aboce address.

Lady D said...

If I were Finn I totally would've stayed put... If I were Meara, I don't know how I could resist jumping him... or maybe just licking and nibbling a bit... Navy SEAL? Werewolf? Um, YUM!!!!

ladyd2206(at)yahoo(dot)com

Terry Spear said...

msmjb, you just never know! :)

Too funny, Lady D!!!

zookeeper78usa said...

Being a SEAL protecting probley comes as second nature, add love into the mix and there's no way Finn could leave that bed, I know I couldn't. And if I were Meara, I would have said ; "What's took you so long?" :)
zookeeper78usa1@yahoo.com

Carol L. said...

cannot wait to read this book. A Seal and a Wolf together. It doesn't get anymore Alpha then that.
Finn should stay right where he is. After all his job is to protect her. But if I were Meara I'd have to wonder Who is going to protect Finn ? lol from me. :)
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

Joanne said...

He's protecting Meara so he's not going to leave the bed, no matter how hard things get for him (pun intended). Can't wait to read this book. Do these books have to be read in order or is each a stand alone book?

e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

erin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
erin said...

Thanks for an awesome post, excerpt, and giveaway! I haven't had the pleasure of reading Ms. Spears' yet, and I'm hoping to fix that soon :)

Ummm... Finn's got game. I think he did exactly right for who he is. When two consenting adults decide to share a bed, pillows aren't a sufficient barrier. And Meara can leave at any time, so none of that fakey protestation.

This book sounds awesome! Definitely want! :)

have a wonderful weekend everyone!

gfc: erin
efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

Shelley B said...

He's not going to give in...this time.
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Michelle said...

I can't wait to read Finn's story! The cover is, as usual, gorgeous!

If I were Meara, I don't think I would have bothered with "pillows" as a barrier. Finn's a Seal, so it stands to reason that he has an Honor Code. If she says no hanky panky, he's gonna' abide by that. In the meantime, she could at least enjoy cuddling with him! :)
GFC follow
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Barbara E. said...

If I were in Finn's place, I would have stayed right where I was. And if I were Meara, I would have stayed right there too, to see what might happen next.

Barbed1951 at aol dot com
GFC - Barbara E.

Laurie said...

This is such a tease! I want to read the rest! If I were either one of them, I'd have stayed where I was. Hold your ground. Thanks for the giveway!
lfacchini(at)tampabay(dot)rr(dot)com

mcv said...

Of course Finn had to stay put, he had a job to do! Now if Meara was interested in playing around, why was she grumpy? Obviously she thinks Finn is being highhanded in his need to protect her. Sounds like delicious friction that will make for a fun read.

mcv111 at hotmail(dot)com

I am an email subscriber to the blog.

Terry Spear said...

I'm at work, on a Saturday, *sigh*, but I have to say on my break, I'm having fun reading everyone's comments. You all are great!

Zookeeper, Finn better watch out if you get into bed with him. You're going to take charge! Love it!

Too funny, Carol. I can just see where you're going with Finn too. LOL!!!

Joanne, I agree! They can be read as stand alone, but I'd read at least book 3, To Tempt the Wolf so you can see the beginnings of this wolf pack on the Oregon Coast.

Too cute, Erin. The problem with wolves is they mate for life. So they have to be careful or they're stuck with each other FOREVER! :)

Shelley, you're right!

Michelle, true, but I'm afraid cuddling could still get them into trouble. You see in the free serialized read I'm giving in my newsletter right now, Deadly Fortunes, totally different characters. In that case, he's not a wolf... :)And she's not either!

LOl, Barbara, I agree!

Laurie, too funny! I get told that often! :)

MCV, she's grumpy, true. Probably because she wants something she can't have. :)

Okay, back to work! Thanks for all the fun comments, ladies!

Julianne said...

I would have stayed in the bed. Its his job to protect her so that's what he's going to do. Now if he has an ulterier motive such as his feelings, he should stay put and see where that leads. Meara seems like she doesn't know she's attracted yet. But that should be fun. I'd just like the chance to lick some of those hard abs.
luvfuzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com

ML said...

If I was Finn-I'd stay put. If I was Meara, I'd definitely give Finn an invite! Let the fun begin :)

GFC: ML
mljfoland AT hotmail DOT com

Terry Spear said...

Julianne, too funny. You start licking, well, that could change EVERYTHING! :) LOL

LOL, ML...I'm totally with you! :)

wickster72 said...

I would stay!!! He would have to deal with it. Hopefully, he would not take too long before he made his move.

tracy.wickman@yahoo.com

Sophia Rose said...

I think it would start out being for all the right reasons so I would stay, but if I was attracted, I would then have the decision to stay and keep my hands to myself or stay and give in to attraction. I'm not that strong. :D

Sounds good and I enjoyed the excerpt. I've never been to a party city so that little story had me giggling with embarrassment. Really? Right in front of a bunch of people?

Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
GFC follower: Sophia Rose
sophiarose1816@gmail.com

Terry Spear said...

Tracy, you're so funny!

I have to say, ladies, I've had so much fun with your responses. I'd also say there sounds like an awful lot of she-wolves commenting and Finn would be ready to make you happy! LOL

Sophia, I agree! And about New Orleans, we were all in the same boat. Some were in denial that such a thing could be going on. Some were giggling. The poor tour guide was TRYING to keep our attention, and he was very good at it, but he really had to compete with the blaring music, bouncing truck, and then the screams of so-called ecstasy! He called it the annoying truck. :)

Victoria said...

If I were Finn I'd stay put and if I were Meara I think you might have to peel me off of him.

vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

Shelly said...

If I'm Finn, i'm staying put. If I'm Meara, I wouldn't have put the pillows there to begin with! This sounds like an awesome series. Enjoyed the interview.

Terry Spear said...

Victoria, You're cute. As much as a wolf as Finn is, he'd be right there with you!

LOL, Shelly! I agree!!! Except for one little thing...you should have seen what had happened on the beach between them BEFORE this scene! :)


You all have been so much fun!
Have a terrific Sunday!!!

Vanessa N. said...

I'm with Finn, I would have stayed too. If I was Meara, I would not have put a barrier between us. Great giveaway. Thanks for the chance.

mythic021@gmail.com

Di said...

Both should stay .... close .... you never know what danger lurks beyond the edge of the bed.

sallans d at yahoo dot com

Terry Spear said...

:) Thanks, Vanessa...they get closer. :)

TOO FUNNY, DI!!! When I was a kid, my parents were watching a scary movie. I don't know if I wasn't supposed to see it or not, but the woman in bed was dragged under it and murdered. I had nightmares about it forever. So I can agree with you about that, Di...scoot up close together and stay away from the edge of the bed! Much safer, sort of, that way! :)

donnas said...

I think both should stay where they are.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Terry Spear said...

Donnas, they will...for a while....

Rachel V said...

If I was Finn I would have tossed the pillows also and stayed put in the bed. If I was Meara I probably wouldnt have put the pillows there in the first place.

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Terry Spear said...

LOL, Rachael, you'd make a hot wolf! :)

SiNn said...

id totally of tossed the pillows for sure if i were Finn butif i were Meara i would of asked for alil soemthing extra besides a pillow lets be real seala nd wolf equals sexy

ty for the chance

mortalsinn@yahoo.com

Emily W. said...

Good excerpt, I vote for leaving the pillows off and both Finn and Meara staying- sounds like there is some good sexual tension going on between those two :) This book is now definitely going on my ever growing TBR list.

monkeyxkilla(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kim D said...

Oh I would have stayed regardless of who I was. LOL thanks for the contest

swkimbell@yahoo.com