Spotlight & Giveaway: You Had Me at Jaguar by Terry Spear

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Terry Spear to HJ!

Hi Terry and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, You Had Me at Jaguar!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Howard Armstrong is with the newly formed United Shifter Force, yet his mission is to protect jaguar Enforcer, Valerie Chambers when she’s off to locate and terminate a rogue jaguar who murdered his wife. She doesn’t want a partner. Howard used to be an Enforcer so he’s perfect for the job, and he’s not giving up his duty to protect her. She finally agrees to allow him to be there, as long as he stays out of her way. How can Howard protect her if he’s not close by? As much trouble as she gets herself into, she realizes having a partner to watch her back again is the only way to go.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Outfitted in black cargo pants, shit-kicker boots, and a black T-shirt, Valerie Chambers was ready to take on physical training with the rest of the Enforcers. Their job was taking down the worst rogue shifters, and sometimes the humans who were killing jaguars or shifters in the wild, so they had to be fit.
Valerie always thought of the training as a challenge, but also viewed it with a fair amount of dread, knowing that if she failed an activity, she’d have to repeat it several times.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

The book is set in Belize—beautiful place that has lots of wild animals that roam free in the rain forest, and the water is perfect for snorkeling or scuba diving. Jaguars love the water so it’s ideal for them. At one point, Valerie and Howard are roaming through the rain forest, and squirrels take off in the trees. Cougars hunt them in the trees, so I mentioned that. And that’s another interesting thing, that the two big cats—jaguars and cougars, and other kinds of wild cats live there. And nearby where the jaguar ran past a baboon reserve, the baboons were having a fit. That’s true. Belize offers day tours into the rain forest, but because so many creatures are nocturnal, they have tours go out at night also. Luckily, the only photographers shooting at Valerie and Howard when they’re seen. And in the story, I mentioned about the alligators that work together to go after their prey, something I learned that was new too.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

Next, she had to do hand-to-hand combat with different opponents. She was petite, like many of the female Enforcers. But even the taller ladies had the same problem. They didn’t have the muscle strength to handle the male jaguars. Instead, they had to use deception, feints, distractions, any tricks they could to incapacitate their opponent. In the field, it would be different. The shifter would often be unprepared for the female Enforcers’ combat maneuvers, so the agent could take them down that way. In training, the Enforcer males were prepared to take the women down. No male shifter wanted to be the butt of jokes if he failed to do so.
After having successfully thrown a woman, Val moved on to her next opponent. Howard Armstrong was rough edges and hard angles, and had stern blue eyes and a growly voice. Muscular build, black hair, and a brooding expression defined him. Yet even before they tangled, he gave her a small smile, the corner of his mouth turning up just a hair, his eyes sparkling. She didn’t know if he was so cocky because he thought she would be easily defeated, or because he appreciated having a woman to tackle this time.
She’d seen him tackle three men to the mat individually before she was paired with him, so she knew he wasn’t going to be a pushover. She was trying to think positively and not let feelings of defeat sabotage her efforts.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

This is the first time the hero and heroine meet. It’s always fun to start off the meet with a twist. Since they’re both highly-trained jaguars, I thought it would be fun to see how they both act and react. I actually had to do this in AROTC training, which is why I set it up this way. What happened? The guy threw me. Hard! It’s time for payback.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

The beauty of Belize and the protection of its rain forests and wild cats, allowing Valerie and Howard to take down the bad guys, yet when they’re running around in their jaguar coats, they are protected, for the most part. Unless they’re dealing with rogue jaguars, which they are. And that it’s important to move on from their past and to move forward, no matter the obstacles in their path.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

Currently, I’m working on another Silver Wolf Town novel—the Wolff brothers and sisters have opened up a ski lodge in Silver Town and new trouble is on the horizon. I’m also working on another SEAL story, and then I’ll be working on another red wolf story, this one for Christmas in the red wolf’s territory.
These three books that are coming out: You Had Me at Jaguar, February, I have SEAL Wolf Surrender coming in May, and Silver Town Wolf: A Home for the Holidays, September. But also we’ll have a fourth book being released and that is the 10th anniversary of Destiny of the Wolf re-release and it includes a brand new novella: Day of the Wolf. Destiny of the Wolf is all about the highly popular Silver Town wolves.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Print copy of You Had Me at Jaguar (Heart of the Shifter #1) by Terry Spear

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you were in Valerie’s shoes, what would you do about Howard and his mission, when you’re just trying to catch the suspect and not look too suspect?

 
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Book Info:

They’re not the only ones on the prowl…but they’re the most dangerous…

The United Shifter Force gives jaguar agent Howard Armstrong an impossible task—to protect fierce she-jaguar Valerie Chambers, when the last thing she wants is protecting. They’re going international to take down a killer and he can guard Valerie all day long. But guard his heart? He doesn’t stand a chance.

Book deals: www.bookbub.com/authors/terry-spear
 
 

Meet the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Terry Spear has written over sixty paranormal romances. In 2008, Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry also creates award-winning teddy bears that have found homes all over the world and she is raising two Havanese puppies. She lives in Spring, Texas. Visit her
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