I’ve often been asked, “Do you base your characters on real people?”
Will honestly answering this question put me in jeopardy? 
Truthfully, my characters are all made up from scratch. Just like I make my meals. A little bit of this, a lot of that, some of this, and voila! The perfect creation!
So how does a character evolve? Through actions and reactions.
At work, a patron will come up to the checkout counter with a $22.00 fine and be okay with it. Here comes the checkbook, and the apologies. No problem. Another patron comes up behind him and owes fifteen cents and goes ballistic. Both owed money. One was high enough you expect complaints. But the other…whoa, attitude adjustment time. Type A personality, you think?
Actions and reactions. Take my werewolves for instance.
Let’s say you’ve been bitten and turned into a werewolf. How would you react? Depends on your personality, right? If it would fit in with your lifestyle. If you could keep it secret from your family and friends. Or have to leave them. Or have to turn them, too. What about Great Aunt Petunia? What would her reaction be to being turned? Or a teen vs. a child? A recluse vs. a swinger?
Characterization is showing a character at his best and worst. How he deals with conflict, love, issues, whatever he is facing. Adding flaws make them characters—the perfectionist who can’t help himself as he continually tidies up an already neat room, the realist who can’t help telling the optimist what REALLY is going to happen, the pessimist who insists we’re all doomed. Giving characters quirks can make them real. We can relate. Ohmigosh, that’s Uncle Michael, the neat-nick! Or, that’s Misty Moon, who definitely lives with a half empty glass.
In that respect, they are based on real people. People you know; people I know. The names and ages and occupations have been changed to protect the guilty and innocent.
But in reality, they are fictional, just as werewolves are. I have to say this because they live in secret, you know.
So if you are reading one of my tales and wonder if this person is really based on someone real, he or she is…as real as my imagination can make them.
Thanks so much, Tracee, for hosting me! Hope everyone will check out the wolf series and see just what kind of characters are in them. You never can tell, you might just find a whole lot of people you know…
Terry Spear
To Tempt the Wolf—
About the Author
A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, award-winning author Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College. An eclectic writer, she dabbles in the paranormal as well as writing historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas. Her 2008 Sourcebooks Casablanca release, Heart of the Wolf was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. Destiny of the Wolf and To Tempt the Wolf are in stores now, and more are on the way: The Legend of the White Wolf (February 2010) and Seduction of the Wolf (August 2010).
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.
In Stores September 1In 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.
In Stores September 1
About the Author
A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, award-winning author Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College. An eclectic writer, she dabbles in the paranormal as well as writing historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas. Her 2008 Sourcebooks Casablanca release, Heart of the Wolf was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly. Destiny of the Wolf and To Tempt the Wolf are in stores now, and more are on the way: The Legend of the White Wolf (February 2010) and Seduction of the Wolf (August 2010).
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Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.