Sunday, February 28, 2010

Guest Blogger: Terry Spear

The winner of Terry's book is: Anna Lisa! Congrats, Anna Lisa! I'll send your email address to Terry. Thanks so much to everyone who participated.

Which comes First, the Wolf or the Man?

Let’s say the man.
He’s easier to maintain. And what about this man? I think of shaggy, a little stubble, some hair on the chest. After all, he IS part wolf.

So what do you think? Does he look like he could be a wolf masquerading part time as a man?

Now here’s the wolf.


Does he look like he could make a suitable mate when in his human skin?

But which comes first, the wolf or the man? Or does it really matter as long as you get both all in one?


To Tempt the Wolf is about a man just like this, who has wolfish interests in the woman who rescues him off a cold Oregon beach. She’s a professional wildlife photographer, although her interests are mostly in photographing wolves. Only she learns not all wolves are the same.

In Legend of the White Wolf, the man comes first, because he is not a wolf at all, at least in the werewolf sense. But that changes when he attempts to rescue the heroine, and now finds that the Arctic wolves living in this Maine wilderness are not exactly wolves, either.

In Heart of the Wolf, Destiny of the Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, the hero and heroine are werewolves. But in Wolf Fever, the heroine was not a wolf in the beginning, so becoming one has been a trial, particularly since she’s gifted or cursed, depending on her mood at the time, with psychic abilities on top of that. How can anyone deal with the problems of having no control over “seeing” future happenings, then not being able to control their physical state when the urge of shapeshifting becomes too much to handle?

But if an infected wolf bit a man and changed him, and the werewolf man changed another human, and so forth and so on, originally, a wolf would have changed the human population into werewolves. Once werewolves began mating other werewolves and did not have to change human populations to maintain their small numbers, we would have royals, or those whose lines were mainly werewolf, not diluted with human genes. They have more control over shapeshifting and can change during the new moon, when newer werewolves can’t.

Some werewolves would argue that man came first. That if he hadn’t had the predisposition to turn in the first place, the first wolf bite wouldn’t have affected him.

I say that wolf or man, he’s the perfect mate, committed, loyal, family-oriented, loveable, and protective. So then the question is, which came first? Red wolves or gray?

In Heart of the Wolf and Destiny of the Wolf, the red females speak their minds. Red wolves came first, of course. Gray wolves are of another mind. They came first, and will not be convinced of anything differently.

From Heart of the Wolf:

“You’re so arrogant. No female could ever put up with you.” She pulled the comforter over her shoulder. “I bet if you could get away with it, you would say the original lupus garou was a gray.”

“He was,” Devlyn said with conviction.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “You can’t be serious.” But his expression was completely resolute.

“Sure. The first was a gray. I can’t imagine you’d ever heard otherwise. Somewhere along the line, a smaller gray female turned a redheaded Scot and he started a pack far away from any of the gray clans. Their pups were smaller, some gray, some more red. The reds began to turn other redheads until they were able to find mates among the lupus garou.”

“Bull. Ancient Scots were big men, not small.”

“No, really.”

“You know, just because you’re bigger and stronger doesn’t mean you were first. My grandfather said the first lupus garou was a red — that he was a berserker, a Norseman, who prayed to Odin, the Scandinavian god of war and death but also of poetry and wisdom. Odin could change into any form he liked, but a bear and a wolf were his best known forms. He was thought of as the ultimate alpha wolf when he turned into that beast.

The berserker human was a redhead, and after losing his wife and children to a raiding party of Norsemen, he beseeched Odin to give him the power to right the wrong done to his family and his people.

“Odin took pity on the Norseman and gifted him with near-immortality by extending his longevity, and the ability to change into a wolf — a red wolf — whenever the moon made its appearance.”

Devlyn kissed Bella’s ear. “All right, same story, except the Norseman had dark brown hair and amber eyes, and he was a hulking brute of a man. Big, not small like a red.”

Bella grunted. “He was a red.”

Devlyn didn’t say anything for several seconds, and she thought he’d fallen asleep. But then his hand slipped under the covers and caressed her shoulder. “Is that why Vernetta knocked out your baby teeth? Because you tried to convince her that the first lupus garou was a red?”

***
So you see, the real question of men and wolves still remains today. Was the first werewolf a red or a gray?

What do you think?

Thanks to Lynda for having me on her blog, and hope everyone tries on a hunky werewolf or two for size!

www.terryspear.com
http://www.wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/
http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/
http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/home.php?ref=home
http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/legend-of-the-white-wolf-being-shipped/#comment-4502

**********************

Terry will give away a copy of her book to one commenter. Her winner will be selected and posted on Tuesday evening. Stop back by to see if you won.

26 Comments:

Blogger s7anna said...

Hey Terry,
I enjoyed reading the post...your question bears thinking...I think that the first werewolf as a red one... I don't why but it just makes more sense...I think as the species grew...they slowly evolved to grey weres which might explain the smaller number of red weres in existance...I don't know...it's just a thought...

Happy Reading
Anna Shah Hoque
s7anna@yahoo.ca

10:07 AM  
Blogger Beth Caudill said...

I'm a huge werewolf fan, but I'm not sure which is better. I like that there is a blending of wolf and man. I mean, I love my husband...but he'd be super awesome if he could transform into a wolf so I cuddle up at night with that fur coat.

10:22 AM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Hey, Anna! Thanks for dropping by!
Hmm, that's an interesting thought!! That's the fun of making up stories, trying to figure out why something happened the way it did. Like myths and legends! Different countries have different scenarios for the reason things are the way they are. So too, the red werewolves and grays! :)

10:23 AM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Hi, Beth! LOL! And just think, if you went fishing, he be able to catch them without a pole! :) And if his cell phone went out, he could let you know just where he was at! :)

10:29 AM  
Blogger robinky42 said...

Enjoyed your post. I like it when the wolf and man blend as one. Love your books. Have read all of the werewolf ones.

10:54 AM  
Blogger Cybercliper said...

Hi Terry - I'm with Bella on this one - red all the way. Her argument makes sense. But either way, they're all pretty awesome creations!

11:05 AM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Hi, Robin!! Thanks so much!!! You'll have to check out Deadly Liaisons, where the vampires shift into wolves for another form of protective mode! :)

LOL, Cybercliper! I'll tell her you said so. She always can use another person in her court who agrees with her. :)

11:29 AM  
Blogger Stacey Smith said...

I belive Gray to blend in whit the snow to hide from there prayand others.i think the world was colder in the past.Sexy Pic.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

1:42 PM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Thanks for commenting, Stacey! It's interesting that so many wolf types evolved from gray wolves--the Arctic, Mexican, the wolves in Europe.

2:03 PM  
Anonymous stephanie said...

I just finish Bloodlust from the news letter. It is great I can't wait for the next installment!

2:06 PM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Thanks so much, Stephanie! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Wish I could have had the whole first chapter, like I thought was being sent! :) But...next week. :)

2:18 PM  
Blogger mariska said...

Hi Terry,
I love reading werewolves story. And since i only watch wolf on the tv, i guess the white first :)

I'm so looking forward to read one of your books Terry, since i haven't read any !

5:37 PM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Thanks so much, Mariska! Hmmm, the white one first. I wonder if I said that in Legend of the White Wolf. Anyone know? :)

5:53 PM  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

I don't know which came first, interesting question. I've always like Werewolf stories, reading the different aaspects of being in each form is always interesting.

9:40 PM  
Blogger Marianne Strnad said...

I'm thankful for ANY wolves!!! Glad I "bumped" into this blog-now I know that Terry is a gal-yay! I've seen her books, now I'll actually read one because wolves rock hardcore!

10:59 PM  
Blogger Danny said...

I absolutely love wolf and so I also love werewolves. In my opinion the gray ones came first.

5:10 AM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

I agree, Mary!

Lol, Marianne, yes, I've had that problem all my life. Especially with being on Active Duty, and everyone assumes I'm a guy. I was corresponding with a distant Canadian cousin who was telling all his family about this guy he had connections with who was a writer, and voila, I sent him my photo for an article I did in that province's genealogy magazine and he was like, "You're a woman!" LOL Yep....So he had to go back and tell everyone in his family that I was not a guy. :)

Hi Danny! Wolves are beautiful and werewolves lots of fun! :)

Good luck, everyone!

5:29 AM  
Blogger CrystalGB said...

Hi Terry. Your books sounds great. I love werewolf books. I think the first wolf was gray.

7:44 AM  
Blogger Nina Pierce said...

Terry, I just read the first in the series. I love your traditional take on werewolves. But I'd like to think werewolves, like other fantasy creatures have always been part of the earth's landscape.

I guess I'd like to think the wolf came first. The color? Hmmm, guess I need to think about that.

9:13 AM  
Blogger Linda Wisdom said...

Hey Terry!

Gotta love the wolfies.

I'd say red.

9:59 AM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Thanks, Crystal GB! Gray, Devlyn will love you. Darien too. :)

Hi, Nina, thanks so much for reading Heart of the Wolf! Yes, they've been around a long, long time. :)

Hey, Linda, who actually owned a wolf dog, I agree, got to love those wolfies! Red means you've got Leidolf's vote and Bella's too. :)

Thanks for dropping by, everyone!

5:42 PM  
Blogger annalisa said...

I enjoyed your post. I'm a big werewolf fan and I think the red was first. :)

TOPSAIL246(at)aol(dot)com

5:52 PM  
Blogger Marianne Strnad said...

Terry-you're a vet??? I work in the chemistry lab at the VA hospital here in Seattle. That is just *superlative* woman! More than ever, you rock solid! News like this really keeps me going on the really bad days at work! <3

7:34 PM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Annalisa, okay, Leidolf will definitely want you for his pack! :)

Hi, Marianne! How neat that you work at the VA Hospital! My dad was from Seattle, a vet also. :) My mother was also a vet, and now my son is. :) Even my grandfather on my mother's side was a veteran of the Canadian forces. :) Thanks so much for taking care of vets! :) Without you, so many wouldn't get the care they need. :) Just remember that when work gets you down! :)

8:20 PM  
Blogger Marianne Strnad said...

Far out Terry-sounds like you come from a long line of heroes! Thanks for the pep talk-I'll take your advice. Sometimes even the vets themselves thank us, those are the days I can barely keep my feet on the ground! Oh-gotta tell ya this-I recently celebrated my love for wolves by purchasing a wolf scrub top; maybe I'll post a pic of me in it on your FB site.

10:12 PM  
Blogger Terry Spear said...

Yes, do, Marianne! I'd love to see it! :) Thanks! If it ever warms up, I've got a couple of wolf t-shirts to wear! :)

5:24 AM  

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