The Fun in Being Eclectic by Terry Spear

As I began to write my stories, I heard—you HAVE to brand yourself, write in one area, develop a following, be like McDonalds with the Golden Arches, Pizza Hut with the red roof, or well, a genre that readers will see and say—oh, I know an author that writes that, and to stick to it.

But I love to write about a variety of different kinds of worlds from contemporary romantic suspense to fantasy, to urban fantasy romance to contemporary romance to historical romance to time travel romance to…even true stories.

I love to diversify, because I’m an eclectic reader. I read everything.

True, I’ve branded myself with paranormal romance, specifically werewolf romance. I have 15 contracted wolf books, nine out, four more either written, turned in, still being edited, or being written. With having so many wolf books out in the same series, I finally made USA TODAY bestseller with A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing. I truly believe it had some to do with branding. Not quitting at writing three or four wolf stories, but writing several with more to come so that if readers like your world, you develop a following. I’ve had fans who say that they see a picture of a wolf, read about a wolf, they think of me. Fans send me pictures of wolves and articles about them. One sent a picture of her family dressed as Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, which I featured on my blog. That’s branding.

So yes, it’s important.

But I love to write about a variety of different kinds of worlds. It helps me to keep my longer series works fresh. I’ve just started a jaguar series with Sourcebooks also. I’m working on book two with book one, Savage Hunger, coming out in October. It’s new, the jaguars much different than wolves in personality, yet they are shifters like wolves and I’ve begun to make connections between the two worlds for fun. I hadn’t ever intended that, but…that’s the way I write. I don’t plot out whole worlds and a whole series, or…even a whole book at once.

The characters create the story.

That’s some of why I create different worlds. I get an idea, and take off running. When I wrote The Dark Fae, all I thought of was I wanted to write about a world where the fae coexist with us and where they are the reason for some of our missteps in life. The series took off. I had never planned to write more than one book. I did it for fun. But I had so much success with it, I wrote three more in the series with another one on the way. So some of the reason for writing eclectic is that I can enjoy writing something different, and find that readers love the new world, too. Or some that wouldn’t touch one kind of book that I write, might like something else I write. Others read everything I write, so for me it’s a win-win situation.

I also write a Highland historical series. I have two out with readers clamoring for more, but haven’t had time to write them. I am in the process, and have three books started. Winning the Highlander’s Heart began the series. I love to read historical romance and I love to write about Medieval times. I have a lot of Scottish roots, so write mostly about Highlanders, but I’ve written others also.

I also have a YA vampire series and adult vampire books, with another couple partially written that when I have time, I’ll finish up.

I’m just editing a book written some years ago—a third marriage comedy kind of book. It’s a contemporary, Marriage under Duress, in the line of Marriage, Las Vegas Style, and Exchanging Grooms. I wrote them for Flipside, but my stories have humor and a serious side to them so they didn’t work for the line. Again, they were a fun diversion from other works I was writing.

For me diversifying is the key to keeping my writing fresh. Branding is great, but for some of us, we need to try something different to keep the creative juices flowing.

The voice is what makes the work ours. With mine, I have mystery, adventure, romance, and humor. It can be set in the 12^th Century Highlands, or in contemporary world America. It can be our world with a paranormal twist with vampires or werewolves or jaguar shifters living among us. It can be pure fantastical worlds or futuristic even. Or we can drop everything and travel to the past like in A Ghost of a Chance at Love, a time travel western ghostly romance.

That’s because I’m an eclectic reader and love to read everything!

What about you? Do you tend to read in one special genre exclusively? Or do you like to read for variety? And if you write, which is it for you?

Thanks so much for having me here today!

Terry Spear

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author, Terry Spear has written over three dozen 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 works in a library 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 three wolf books, another jaguar book, and has a variety of other eclectic works in progress! For more information, please visit http://www.terryspear.com/.

www.facebook.com/terry.spear

www.terryspear.com

www.myspace.com/terryspear

http://terry-spear.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/TerrySpear