J.K. Coi

So in traditional J.K. style, I went out and begged people to agree to be guests on my blog. It’s getting harder now and I had to use bribes. I think I’ll be investing in Ghirardelli stocks very soon.

But it worked this time!

Today I bring you the fabulous Teresa D’Amario! In 2007, she won the award for best paranormal romance and was nominated for best debut author by Ecataromance for her book She Wolf. She was also nominated as best debut author by All About Romance. Honestly, the woman has no shame—all this stuff is blatantly posted right on her website, but of course there’s no real juicy stuff there—and I scoured that site from top to bottom for some good dirt!

So without further ado, let’s start the inquisition—er the interview!

Teresa, so wonderful to have you here. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? No no, we don’t want to hear the practised speech about how long you’ve been writing and it was always your life long dream to be an author, blah blah blah. Give us something exciting! Tell us about your life in the Air Force!

First, I’m glad to be here! Inquisition and all! Wow, ok, well, the best part about being in the Air Force was I got to meet my husband there. The instant I saw him I thought "better get to know that guy since we’re going to get married." Still not sure why that thought happened, but it has affected my writing more than a little. And we even got stationed together our entire marriage! That in itself is a miracle.

So you're saying it was love at first sight. That’s so sweet...except for the part where you stalked him and beat him over the head with your combat boots until he noticed you too...Oh, you didn’t actually say that? No worries, I can read between the lines.

So what does a meteorologist do in the Air Force? You ever been to Area 51?

No, not area 51, but I can tell ya I met some really AWESOME people in Egypt, right there at the pyramids. One day I’ll introduce my readership to these wonderful people and their magick. No, I don’t mean Egyptians! These guys are a powerful race from another world. And they swear they didn’t build the pyramids! *right, I believe THAT*

What was I doing in Egypt you ask? Well uhm… I could tell ya but then I’d have to kill ya. *cackles crazily*

Gee, and I was going to ask why you left the Air Force. Never mind, I think I got it.

So why is it that with such a background, you haven’t decided to write military romances, or nail biting military thrillers? Instead you chose to write about shifters (hot, hunky shifters)

LOL oh yeah...but I prefer to incorporate military and my shifters, and already have a few ideas to do that, so don’t "go away". Makes you wonder, guys, when you’re deployed and sleeping in your tent, the guy next to you shaved this morning. You know he did, you saw it! Yet he already has 2 inches of hair on his face…Is he man? Or beast?

Oh, very interesting. I can’t wait for that one! So then, I guess this is the point where you’ll get to interject about your latest book, Tigress By The Tail. Go for it while I go check and see if there's anyone actually here reading this.

Tigress by the Tail is the story of Lance and Cassie. Cassie’s a shifter, a tigress (bet the title didn’t give that away!) Lance though, he’s a wizard. Or at least he thinks he is. His relationship with Cassie makes him re-evaluate everything he ever thought he was. His magick takes turns even he isn’t expecting.

Cassie always thought wizards looked like Harry Potter or Merlin, and is kind of thrown for a loop when she sees this handsome man saving her life. Doesn’t matter that she’s able to save her own life.

I toss in a few really evil people, dust it with government intrigue, mix with a little lightning, and I have the recipe for an explosive story! I loved adding in the features of the Moon card into the story – It definitely worked well. So if you like Tarot cards, and you like the paranormal, this is the story for you. If you like intrigue, and mystery, jump right on in folks, you’ll love it.

Sounds wonderful. I think I will love it...but remind me never to ask you to bake me a cake.

Oh, hey you even have fans! And they send you presents! I saw a wonderful trailer on your website. I’m so jealous! How does it feel knowing that people are reading your books? What’s the best/worst/most interesting/weird sort of feedback you’ve gotten from a reader?

Isn’t that awesome? I think I cried when I saw that trailer. I don’t know, I was too busy watching it to be sure, but I think one or two scenes blurring were not the way it was supposed to be. *grin* That kid has a huge future in videography, and is planning to start school for it next year. Everyone should check out her profile, she’s got tons of great animal videos she’s pieced together into awesome presentations.

Ok, back to the question. Now you have to remember I’m a new author, and this idea of fandom is just so weird to me. It’s one thing to write a book, but for people to write me and say they love it? That’s strange to me. (Luckily nobody has written to say they hate it). I actually cried when the night my first book came out, someone emailed me to say they’d already read it and LOVED it.

I guess the one thing that blew me away was when another budding author was so excited about my books she started a fan club! Really! She’s even working up a cafepress store! http://www.cafepress.com/teresadamario (proceeds go to the setting up of the fan club and giving presents to members!) It’s not finished yet and mostly just shows stuff for SheWolf, but for me, that’s the oddest feeling. I really expected the neighbours to be banging on my door, torches in hand, evicting the neighbourhood freak, but not yet! LOL.

Don't worry, Teresa. I'm sure that will come too. But I’m so glad that you’ve had such wonderful experiences, and I’ll be sure to visit the cafepress store. Do you have a t-shirt that says “I go wild for shifters”?

Okay, now for the personal stuff: I hear you’re like the dog whisperer or something. I love dogs! (And that’s not a lie, even though I have a cat, and my pet before this was a cat, and the one before that was a cat...)

Oh I love dogs. And cats. Ok, I just love animals in general. I really think that’s why I like shifters – I get to use all that awesome info I know by instinct in books. But hubby won’t let me have any kitty cats *pout*. Ok, I’ll be honest, one of my dogs is a cat chaser, so I can now start blaming him. I’ve trained dogs for more than 20 years, and have taught beginning obedience in three states and two countries.

Also, how does one “dance” with dogs? Do you choreograph your numbers? How do you know what music your dogs like best?

LOL So many questions! Canine Musical Freestyle is the name, and yeah, dancing with dogs is the game. The first thing you do is find music. I choose music based on the way the dog moves, and yeah, some dogs are very particular about their music. I’ve heard horror stories of “Fido” howling all the way through a number because he didn’t like the song! In fact, once I was playing with the idea of the song “Pretty little angel eyes”, and my dog came growling and barking from the other room every time I played it. Guess he didn’t like that one.

When I first started, I sat a player next to my dog and played a bunch of different songs. Their body language during the piece can tell you a lot. My lab likes songs with a heavy beat, which is good, cause he moves with strength and power and is very heavy footed. My other dog doesn’t seem to have much of a preference one way or the other.

Then yeah, I choreograph. I find what moves the dogs like (spinning, weaving through the legs, walking backwards, etc), and put it to music. I’ve not seen a single dog not like dancing, though I do see some who get tired very quickly, because it’s a challenge. We’ve used all kinds of nice rock n roll music. Right now my one dog is between songs, (I’m leaning toward the song Bad to the Bone) but the lab is dancing to “It’s my life” by Bon Jovi, and it fits him to the T.

Let me add, I’m one of the FEW canine freestylers who uses hard rock in their presentations. What can I say – we all knew I was weird from the get go!

Well, yes, but I wasn’t going to say anything (at least not until you were gone).

Finally, the important questions: What’s your favourite colour? Food? Television show? Place to visit?

Color – green! Not spring green but that deep, rich emerald green

Food – Hmmm potatoes. Any way, any how!

Television show – I really don’t watch TV as much as I used to. I do like American Idol, and I can tell you I’m really looking forward to “My own Worst Enemy” which starts in September. I like action, adventure, romantic, comedic, and of course the “weird”. LOL.

Place to visit – That is so tough, I’ve been so many places. I could say the fairy-like castle of Neuschwanstein (the one Disney liked so much he built his own) or the dark mystery of the pyramids of Giza. Both are important parts of my psyche. Hmm, should I write a book about fairies in Egypt? JUST KIDDING folks!

Okay, was there anything else you wanted to tell my five readers? (*whisper* this is your only chance, better make it good)

Uh oh, what do I say? Put on the spot! Yikes! Can’t think! Oh wait, I know something. Thanks so much for coming to meet me.  I’ve had so much fun with this interview. The scary part? Why it’s all true of course! Check out my webpage at http://teresadamario.com

And, for being so nice as to read all the way to the bottom, I’ll give one responder a copy of The Moon: Tigress by the Tail!


Whoo hoo, prizes! Thank you Teresa, I'm so glad you agreed to come by. You're a very brave woman--but I guess that goes with the territory when you write the kinds of books that you do and have the background that you do. Congratulations on your new book, and all the best!