Colleen Houck's Blog, page 58

Romantic Times Convention

 Hey Everyone,



Here is my Romantic Times Convention report. If you've never been to this convention I suggest you make some time to go. Last year I took my hubby who declared there was no safe place for him look since the entire hotel was full of giant sized romance book covers. Figuring I'd have a much better time with my mom and sisters, I took them instead. 



Me and my mom flew in first and treated ourselves to a nice massage in the airport before we got on the plane. It was a special splurge and well worth it. We also got first class tickets. Mom has never flown first class before and watching her get excited over roasted nuts and a digiplayer was priceless. Since I have three sisters we got two connecting rooms and one across the hall so we could spend a lot of time together. 



Our first cool experience was dinner with Veronica Roth the author of DIVERGENT, and Sophie Jordan the author of the FIRELIGHT series. It was really cool to talk shop with them about being an author and learning how they got started. Veronica wore this cool blue leather jacket with zippers all over it. Really want that jacket.



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The next morning we had breakfast with Sophie Jordan-FIRELIGHT, Amy Plum-UNTIL I DIE, Ann Aguirre-ENCLAVE, SR Johannes-UNTRACEABLE, Kimberly Derting-THE BODY FINDER, & Beth Revis-ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Very sad and shocking really that none of us thought to get pictures. But trust me breakfast was epic. Not the food. The company!



My mom and I met one of my sisters in time to give her a room key and instructions to get our tote bags while we headed out the door to a book signing at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook, Illinois which is southeast of Chicago.



Gave away one tiger prize pack and one ARC of TIGER'S DESTINY there. This was the first time I've ever had boys dress up for an event. It was pretty awesome! One tiger fan brought me a tiger notebook where she keeps everything I've ever blogged or written about as well as scrapbook pages for her dream cast. She was the one who encouraged her librarian to organize the event. You can see her below in the blue tiger shirt.



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After the library our media escort stopped at White Castle where we picked up dinner. Sadly the sliders were not that good. Enjoyed the chicken rings though. They look weird but they're pretty tasty.



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To top off Wednesday night we participated in the YA Slumber party. Here are some pictures of us getting ready. We all braided our hair, wore Kelsey ribbons and sported tiger themed pajamas.



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The party was awesome! I finally got to meet several authors I'd been corresponding with the past year. We played author truth or dare and gave away fabulous prizes. I had two tiger fans find me and win a copy of TIGERS' DESTINY. I picked truth in the truth or dare and was asked if I'd ever had a dream or a fantasy about a literary hero. My answer was yes and it was about Kishan which surprised some people. I also helped Ann Aguirre judge the slipper contest. Here are some pictures from the party.



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I don't know what I was doing when taking a picture with Sophie.

Afterwards, we stayed up even later, giggling and taking silly pictures.



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We slept in after the party and were able to go to two workshops before meeting my other two sisters. Mom got to go into the goodie bag room with me and we walked out with twenty YA books which is exciting. We wandered the halls and picked up free goodies. Authors put out tons of interesting freebees to promote their books: bookmarks, candy, pens, chapstick, hot guy posters, tees, keychains and many more things some of which made us blush and giggle. 



We ate lunch with Bree Despain and Brodi Ashton at a nearby steakhouse which was really nice of them considering my family members are huge fans. I'll get to see Bree and Brodi again soon at an upcoming event in Oregon!



Thursday night we tried Chicago deep dish pizza and didn't like it so much. It looked cool but we later found out it wasn't the right place to order it from.



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We all cozied up to watch Breaking Dawn, gave each other facials, and stayed up till 3 am talking about girl stuff and our husbands. We even staged a pillow fight but don't see any of those pictures here. Must be on mom's camera.



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Friday we slept in and ordered room service. Sadly that meant we missed out on Club RT which was where all the huge prizes and raffle giveaways were taking place. Instead we hired a driver to take us around Chicago. We went on a river boat tour, shopped at the Disney store, the Hershey store, and Ghiradelli's. Then went to dinner at Fogo De Chao which is a Brazilian themed restaurant with a to-die-for antipasto bar followed by sweet popovers and delicious desserts, AND were surrounded by a dozen dashing waiters in white coats who carried around flame cooked meats on skewers. It just doesn't get any better than that, ladies. Our tour guide was very charming and offered to take us out for the real deep dish pizza we'd missed out on but, alas, we were too full from dinner.



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Saturday was the Big Book Fair where I was met by dozens of fans dressed up to show their tiger love. I gave away all but four of my remaining TIGER'S DESTINY ARCs and signed a lot of books. 






 Right after that was the Speed Dating workshop where I talked tiger for three minutes at each table.  



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Did a video interview with RT, ate a late lunch, then headed down to the Teen Party where they had pizza, soda, and cupcakes. My last four TIGER'S DESTINY ARC'S were given out there and I posed for pictures with fans and authors.  



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Sunday we all flew home. It was sad to see my sisters go but I know their kids and hubbies missed them.



If you ever get a chance to go to RT you should! They do an amazing job, especially for the teens and you walk away with lots of free goodies! Next convention is in Kansas City and I've already sent in my RSVP. Hoping to participate in some workshops and panels this time. Whoo Hoo!



FYI my publisher is getting ready to plan the DESTINY tour and they are adding up all the email requests and mapping them out now so if you want me to come to your favorite bookstore, write my publisher right away! Email them at kids@sterlingpublishing.com and leave a comment on this page saying where you'd like me to come on my next tour!



Colleen

April Contests & Hunt Winners

Thank you all for such an amazing Scavenger Hunt!
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I personally got nearly a thousand tweets in the last three days from people trying to win an advanced reading copy of TIGER'S DESTINY. That's some pretty awesome tiger love my friends. Between me and the other 59 authors we received thousands of contest entries. There were over 50,000 page views on the YA Scavenger Hunt webpage and more than 2,000 tweets were sent out from the hunt website in just 72 hours! Between 1300-1400 entries were made for each team contest. Our top entries were from the US; followed by: Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Philippines, New Zealand, France, Sweden, and India. The top referring sites were: Twitter, Facebook, Colleen's website, & GoodReads and over a hundred people Googled the YA Scavenger Hunt and came to us that way. And now for the important stuff...the winners!

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YA Scavenger Hunt Winners!




YELLOW TEAM WINNING PHRASE

W H O   W I L L   W I N   A   H U G E   P R I Z E?

YELLOW TEAM WINNER

Alan Thompson

_______________________________


RED TEAM WINNING PHRASE

S C A V E N G E R   H U N T S   A R E   F U N

RED TEAM WINNER

Tierra Gaillard

______________________

BLUE TEAM WINNING PHRASE

Y A   B O O K S   A R E   G R E A T   R E A D S

 

BLUE TEAM WINNER

 

Jay Uppal

 

Congratulations to all of our Scavenger Hunt Winners!

 

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(My personal contests)






Bracelets:


 
 
Haylee Nielson

R (email is rurusemail)

Fabiana Jadao

Mia MacNeill

Stephanie Miller
 








Books:


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 Carla Delgado

Christina Bodden

Haylee Nicholes

Melissa Marie

Tal Rejwan
 










Tiger Prize Pack:


Including the concept art movie poster...
 
 
Sherry 'Tyler' Knack
 










Tiger's Destiny ARC:


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Sheena Voj


(12 people tweeted over 10 times. 4 tweeted over 100 times! That's stamina.)
 
_________________________________
 
MARCH CONTEST WINNERS
 
 




WINNER #1:  My Dream Movie Cast




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Christina Anguizola whose dream movie cast names were:
 
Kelsey: Shay Mitchell

Ren: Shahid Kapoor

Kishan: Ranveer Singh

Mr. Kadam: Michael Gambon

Nilima: Genelia D'Souza

Durga: Katrina Kaif

Phet: None listed



 
As a fun little bit, I promised to share the popular vote for our beloved characters!

I was surprised that we had two characters with tied votes.

You got to vote, but I got to pick the pictures.



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Kelsey: Emma Roberts and Emma Watson

Ren: Shahid Kapoor (won by a landslide)

Kishan: Ranveer Singh

Mr. Kadam: Amitabh Bachchan

(who also got a lot of votes to be Phet and if I had remembered Lokesh, I bet he would have gotten votes there too--versatile man!)

Nilima: Aishwayra Rai

Durga: Katrina Kaif and Madhuri Dixit

Phet: Anupam Kher (out of all the winners, this one surprised me the most)


 
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WINNER #2: Goodreads




 
 
K-lee Walker
 
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Winner #3. Design A Nail Polish




 
 
 
Caroline Cheval who said:

One would be blue like the color of Ren's eyes and I would call it Dying Love for Dirhen. Another would be amber like Kishan's eyes and I would be somthing like Kishan's Kiss. Also maybe a peach one for Kelsey because Ren says she smells like peaches, and they could all be tied together with a ribbon that Kelsey likes to put in her hair.

Honorable mention:



I hope you know that we read all the comments! (Ahem, not always in a timely manner...)

My favorite was Ashean's - and yes, with different color of nail polish, it is possible to do a gradient design like this one.

I love it! And maybe I'll have to try it sometime.

Nail polish... I don't wear nail polish a whole lot so this is difficult.

 

I don't know what is possible with nail polish, but I have been thinking of like a war between either blue and gold or black and white with like a pale pink fragmenting between...then again that sounds more like a painting then nail polish.

 

A pale pink that darkens to a deep red maybe almost like black then to like a shade of pink thats is completely different. Maybe call it shades of love, I am not sure. But to me it would kind of symbolize Kelsey's feelings, her first love(Ren), which deepens(also Ren), and is nearly killed but turns into something else(Kishan).

 

I hope that makes some sense at least.

Congratulations, winners!! If I have not contacted you yet, please email me (Suki) at contests@colleenhouck.com.





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APRIL CONTESTS
 
 
CONTEST 1: "Why I Love the Tiger Saga" Vlog




 



What is a vlog? A vlog is a video blog. You tape yourself talking about why you love the Tiger Saga and upload the video somewhere (YouTube is one of the most popular places) and submit that link to me via the Rafflecopter entry down below. Your vlog can be as elaborate or simple as you want. The only rule is that the topic be why you love the Tiger Saga.



Who can enter? Anybody! There is no age or country limit to enter. The only thing I ask is that if you are under 18 years old, your parents or legal guardian know that you are entering contests.



What prize is up for grabs? A gift card to Barnes & Noble. The winner will be chosen randomly. Oh wait, what's that? We're going to have TWO winners!




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CONTEST 2: Oldest & Youngest Fan




 




What is this about? We thought it'd be super fun to see the wide range of ages of Colleen's fans. All you have to do is enter your name and your birth date in the Rafflecopter entry below. I'm going to take a guess though and say that if you are between the ages of 12 and 40, the chances of you winning aren't very high. ;-)



What prize is up for grabs? Each winner will have their choice of a signed copy of Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, or Tiger's Voyage, or an audiobook of the same. The winners will be chosen by being the oldest or youngest.



Contact Suki Lotti at contests@colleenhouck.com for any questions about contests. But, as some people have figured out, I'm quicker at responding to messages/posts on Facebook or even Goodreads!



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ROMANTIC TIMES CONVENTION!
Don't forget to come and see me if you live in the Chicago area. I'll be at the Romantic Times Convention next week. Very excited about the conference because not only will I get to hang out with many of my fans, and catch up with my author buds, but I'm also bringing my mom and three sisters for a girls only vacation. For info on the conference check out my events and news tab on my website or go to the RT Convention website! Here's a picture of me with Michelle Jaffe from last year's convention.



 



Will pick up with Bollywood Boy of the Month a bit later. I just wanted to get contest info out asap. Happy April Fools! That reminds me.



I am going to tell you three things about TIGER'S DESTINY. Two of them are false and one of them is true. YOU decide which is the April Fool's truth.

Comment below and tell me which one you think is the truth. I'll be picking a random (not someone who necessarily got the answer correct) commenter to win a signed bookmark.

 

 
A) They will face zombies.
 
B) Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan will have a problem with  fire ants.



C) The tiger team will be traveling on a bullet train.
 

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Have a happy couple weeks. It's unlikely I'll blog again until after the convention!



Love ya!



Colleen

 

April Fools Scavenger Hunt

Hello and welcome to the

April Fool's Scavenger Hunt!


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I am Colleen Houck



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and will be your hostess at this stop.
YOU ARE CURRENTLY BLOG HOPPING ON TEAM RED!




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For you first timers, the YA Scavenger Hunt is an online blog hop sponsored by authors who write books for both Young Adults and the Young at Heart. Each of us hosts a different fabulous author on the tour. If you came here looking for my bonus material, a short story set in the TIGER'S CURSE world, you'll have to keep hunting.




Did you really think I'd make it that easy for you tigerfans?


Have you already been here?

Are you stuck? Confused? Lost?

All will be well.



You can click HERE to go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage to figure out which authors you missed.




It is my good fortune to be hosting author

Willow Cross!




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I have discovered that Willow is both a dog and a cat person, and, like me, she loves the supernatural, and we both call ourselves storytellers. 



WILLOW'S BIO


 

Willow Cross resides in Arkansas with her husband, two children still young enough to live at home, an enormous cat named Bitsy, and a neurotic dog named Tank. Her home has been known to host the occasional ghost and several of her friends profess to be witches. Although she dearly loves Vampires and Werewolves, they are never invited for dinner.



(I'm thinking I need to schmooze an invite. Her dinner parties sound fun!)





For this hunt Willow is featuring her book called

THE DARK GIFTS: BIRTHRIGHT






 


BOOK DESCRIPTION
 
For one-thousand years, Druid prophecies foretold of a young witch destined to alter the fate of both human and immortal alike. This witch-turned-vampire would be capable of harnessing the supernatural abilities of both and, in a bloody rise to power, would rule with unwavering control.



Unwillingly thrust into a world she never dreamed existed, Liz Markum is catapulted into an ancient war between rival vampire factions. She must choose between those she loves and the ever-present darkness attempting to devour her very soul.
Only one question remains: Will Liz claim her birthright or surrender to the dark gift?



One choice.



One chance.



Two destinies.


AND HERE'S HER BOOK TRAILER!








 
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

HERE IS WILLOW'S BONUS MATERIAL!


A sneak peek at The Dark Gifts: Legacy.

Third in The Dark Gifts series.



 
Sarah couldn't help but smile as she gazed around the room. Thick strands of garland coupled with the fifteen foot Christmas tree decorating the Citadel's main hall, filled the room with the heady scent of pine. The tree itself was a sight to behold. Handmade ornaments, snowflakes, and ginger people covered each branch while strings of popcorn and dried cranberries zigzagged around the tree in perfect symmetry. Even without the traditional twinkling lights, it was stunning.



Liz sat near the fireplace across the room in a worn rocker reading Dickens. Scattered around her, numerous children listened with bated breath as she spoke. Anyone on the outside looking in would have thought the scene nothing more than the usual Norman Rockwell Christmas. However, those that cared to take a closer look would likely realize that the children's glowing eyes held more than Christmas spirit.



"Are you happy?" Shad whispered in her ear.



She squeezed his hand and nestled closer to him. "Very."



He smiled and dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "You know, in a way this is your first real Christmas."



"Mmhmm." Her eyes closed as she breathed in his musky, clean scent. "It's nearly perfect. I wish this moment could last forever."



Deep down she knew peace of any sort was fleeting in this new life. With that thought, a strange sense of foreboding crept into her heart.
 
 
 


For more information on Willow and her books, check out her Facebook page HERE. 
Interested in buying the book now? Here's a LINK!


Now for the prize portion. As you are hopping from blog to blog there will be a giant sized letter highlighted in RED. After you have collected all 20 red letters, one from each blog, unscramble them to form a phrase. Enter the phrase at this LINK making sure you put the RED phrase in the RED entry form.



When you have finished with the red team you may want to consider moving onto the BLUE and YELLOW author teams so you can enter to win even more prizes. How you get there is by clicking HERE and then selecting an author on either the yellow or the blue team. Collect your blue or yellow clues along the way and enter the secret phrase in the form. Don't forget that most of the authors are doing their own giveaways as well so there are many chances to win something special.

 

 

While you're here visiting with me you can also enter to win a personal contest I'm hosting. 


I will be offering five handmade bracelets, five copies of the first book in my series, TIGER'S CURSE, and then one grand prize, a very highly coveted one, will be given to one special winner. Not only will this winner be getting a Tiger Prize Pack including the ginormously-collectable-no-longer-for-sale self published version of Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest, a handmade tiger bracelet created by my mom, assorted cool stuff and goodies...















BUT...


I also got permission to include an exclusive signed poster depicting early concept art for the upcoming TIGER'S CURSE motion picture! This is a special treat that I rarely give out. Two went to the UK, one was given away during my August Scavenger Hunt, my mom has one and I have one so they are very, very special. Thanks to Raffi Kryszek, one of my movie producers, for this special prize!


 



That's not one but eleven prizes offered here on my website alone AND this is open internationally! Enter my contest here!







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Thank you so much for visiting the Tiger's Curse website!
If you're ready to move on to the next author's blog,
click HERE to head over to Tara Fuller's blog.
 
 
I'll also be sending an advanced reading copy of my fourth book, TIGER'S DESTINY, to a special someone who tweets about the YA Scavenger Hunt this weekend. For easy tweeting go HERE!

The more you tweet the better your chances.



Just make sure you include my twitter handle @colleenhouck in your tweet so I know that you are one of my devoted tiger fans who really, really wants this prize. 




Good luck!



Thank you so much for visiting the

Tiger's Curse website!



If you're ready to move on to the next author,

click HERE to head over to Tara Fuller's blog.

Extra Hunt Post

YOU ARE ENTERING THE REDIRECT PAGE FOR LEAH BOBET!
 
Hello and welcome to the 

April Fool's Scavenger Hunt!


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YOU ARE CURRENTLY BLOG HOPPING ON TEAM RED!




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For you first timers, the YA Scavenger Hunt is an online blog hop sponsored by authors who write books for both Young Adults and the Young at Heart. Each of us hosts a different fabulous author on the tour. 



Have you already been here? 

Are you stuck? Confused? Lost? 

All will be well. 



You can click HERE to go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage to figure out which authors you missed.






Leah Bobet is having some technical difficulties so I am helping her out. Leah is hosting Lisa and Laura Roecker!



To check out their website go HERE!

 




 
 
They are so cute! This picture makes me want to call my sisters.

 
Here is their bio!


Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners with a love of all things Young Adult. Some call it arrested development, but the sisters claim it keeps them young. Plus, it's cheaper than Botox. Lisa and Laura live in Cleveland, Ohio in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn't agree to a duplex.

 
They are the fabulous writers behind the LIAR SOCIETY!






 







HERE'S A BOOK DESCRIPTION



 
Everyone's favorite neon-haired detective is at it again when one of the most popular girls at Pemberly Brown goes missing. Kate Lowry realizes soon enough that this disappearance is tied to the secret societies that rule her private school--only not in the way everyone thinks. As if it's not hard enough to find a missing girl, Kate is forced to team up with the one person she has worked so hard to avoid--not to mention the one person with the potential to come between her and Liam.
As usual, Kate has her hands full searching for the truth beneath many layers of lies.



After all, things are never what they seem at Pemberly Brown.



The Liar Society: THE LIES THAT BIND releases December 1, 2012



You can buy the book HERE!








SECRET CONTENT COMING NEXT! HERE IS A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHORS THEMSELVES!

 




We are BEYOND excited to finally be able to share the cover art for the much semi-anticipated sequel of THE LIAR SOCIETY. Well, technically this version of the cover isn't 100% final, but we love it so much that we just had to give you guys a sneak peek. It's entirely possible that our editor is out there somewhere cursing us for revealing this too soon, but SHHHHH if you don't tell, we won't!

And without further ado here is the cover for Book 2 in The Liar Society Series: THE LIES THAT BIND....

So...do you guys love it as much as we do!?!? This cover PERFECTLY captures book two in the series. Here's a little blurb to whet your appetite....

Everyone's favorite neon haired detective is at it again when one of the most popular girls at Pemberly Brown goes missing. Kate Lowry realizes soon enough that this disappearance is  tied to the secret societies that rule her private school--only not in the way everyone thinks. As if it's not hard enough to find a missing girl, Kate is forced to team up with the one person she has worked so hard to avoid--not to mention the one person with the potential to come between her and Liam.

The Lies That Bind hits the shelves December 1st. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and pre-order your copy today. We can't wait for everyone to read Kate's next adventure!

XOXO,

L&L

Now for the prize portion. As you are hopping from blog to blog there will be a giant sized letter highlighted in RED. After you have collected all 20 red letters, one from each blog, unscramble them to form a phrase. Enter the phrase at this LINK making sure you put the RED phrase in the RED entry form. 



When you have finished with the red team you may want to consider moving onto the BLUE and YELLOW author teams so you can enter to win even more prizes. How you get there is by clicking HERE and then selecting an author on either the yellow or the blue team. Collect your blue or yellow clues along the way and enter the secret phrase in the form. Don't forget that most of the authors are doing their own giveaways as well so there are many chances to win something special.



 

The secret letter is E just in case it didn't show up in red.



If you're ready to move on to the next author, 

click HERE to head over to Lani Woodland's blog.





 

 

Spring Scavenger Hunt Author Reveal

 Hello Everybody,

It's time to announce the final lineup of the Spring Scavenger Hunt!  This year it will be bigger and badder than ever before with 60 count 'em 60 YA authors! With fabulous prizes around every corner you DO NOT want to miss this! Having just loaded all the books into my blog I have to say I am suffering greatly from cover envy. It's not that I don't love mine, but I really like staring at beautiful book covers and imagining what story waits for me inside.

Below is your sneak preview of the authors and the books they will be featuring on the hunt.





 

JUS ACCARDO



 

AMBER ARGYLE



 

LISA T. BERGREN



 

LISA BURSTEIN







SOFIE COUCH 



 

KIMBERLY DERTING



 

LAURA A.H. ELLIOTT



 

CHRISTINE FONSECA



 

ABBI GLINES



 

CYNTHIA HAND



 

KAREN AMANDA HOOPER



 

S.R. JOHANNES



 

GINA LINKO



 

GRETCHEN MCNEIL



 

MIKE MULLIN



   

ERICA O'ROURKE



 

JOY PREBLE



 

JESSICA SHIRVINGTON



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TIFFANY TRUITT



 

DEBBIE VIGUIE



 

ANN AGUIRRE



 

JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT



 

LEAH BOBET



 

TERA LYNN CHILDS



 

WILLOW CROSS



 

DJ DESMYTER



 

LEIGH FALLON



 

TARA FULLER



 

JANET GURTLER



 

CINDY HOGAN



 

COLLEEN HOUCK



 

ELANA JOHNSON



 

JAMIE MANNING



 

CLAIRE MERLE



 

S.L. NAEOLE



 

GREGG OLSEN



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LISA & LAURA ROECKER



 

JERI SMITH-READY



 

CAT KALEN



 

LANI WOODLAND



 

JOSEPHINE ANGELINI



 

BRODI ASHTON



 

CK BRYANT



 

ANGELA CORBETT



 

GINA DAMICO



 

BREE DESPAIN



 

BETH FANTASKEY



 

MARLEY GIBSON



 

RAE HACHTON



 

NANCY HOLDER



 

TARA HUDSON



 

SUZANNE LAZEAR



 

MYRA MCENTIRE



 

ALEXANDRA MONIR



 

LISA NOWAK



 

AMY PLUM



 

INARA SCOTT



 

TISH THAWER



 

MAGAN VERNON



 

RASHELLE WORKMAN




Whew that was a long scroll! Totally worth the carpal tunnel though.  If I was to get all the books I wanted from that list my bookshelf would topple over.  Leave a comment on this blog telling me which book or books you are the most excited about other than my own of course. =)





My amazingly gifted friend and author Beth Revis has created a website just for our Scavenger Hunts! Click on the YA Scavenger Hunt image below to be redirected there. Because we have so many authors this time we are breaking into three groups. We have BLUE TEAM, RED TEAM, and YELLOW TEAM!






Each group is made up of 20 authors and I am on  TEAM RED!









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This means that my bonus material will be found on the red team. If you get lost on the hunt simply return to the hunt website and pick up where you left off. While you check out the website, don't forget to vote on the polls, follow the site, and check out all the prizes. You can even tweet from there too!








 






As for me I will be offering a very highly coveted prize for one special winner. Not only will you be getting a Tiger Prize Pack including the ginormously-collectable-no-longer-for-sale self published version of Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest, a handmade tiger bracelet created by my mom, assorted cool stuff and goodies...
















BUT...


I also got permission to include an exclusive signed poster depicting early concept art for the upcoming TIGER'S CURSE motion picture! This is a special treat that I rarely give out. Two went to the UK, one was given away during my August Scavenger Hunt, my mom has one and I have one so they are very, very special. Thanks to Raffi Kryszek, one of my movie producers, for this special prize!


 





THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT BEGINS THURSDAY MARCH 29TH AT NOON PACIFIC TIME AND ENDS SUNDAY APRIL 1ST AT NOON PACIFIC TIME! THAT GIVES YOU ONLY 72 HOURS

TO COMPLETE THE HUNT!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
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Don't forget that I still have contests for March going on even through the hunt! Click HERE to be redirected to the last blog and scroll down until you find the contest info.



Thanks Tiger Fans!



Colleen

Questions, Questions, Questions

 Hello!



I did a live Ustream chat in February and unfortunately it didn't record properly so I am answering all the questions again on Facebook. I kind of like that format so whenever you have questions you want to ask, send them to contactme@colleenhouck.com and I'll try to answer them on Facebook. Make sure you follow that HERE. I actually like being able to direct you to links, etc to help answer some of your questions which I can't really do live anyway.



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BOLLYWOOD BOY OF THE MONTH
Imran Khan


 


Birthday: January 13, 1983 (Note: Ren's Birthday is January 15th so they are both Capricorns)

Height: 5'11

(Note: Abs)




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Khan married his long-time girlfriend, Avantika Malik on January 10th, 2011.

(Note: I think he looks a bit like Joey from Friends here)

(Note: I have great respect for a Hollywood guy who sticks with his girl)


 


Here is a list of the movies he's been in.



2008 Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na

2008 Kidnap

2009 Luck

2010 I Hate Luv Storys

2010 Break Ke Baad

2011 Delhi Belly

2011 Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

2012 Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

2012 Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola


 


Watch a trailer of his movie Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu HERE.

(Note: I really like the beginning producer's video when they use the colors with the martial arts)

(Note: This scene could be out of Quest when they are at the beach)






Leave me a comment below and let me know if you see Imran as Ren, Kishan, or neither.



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INSPIRATION CORNER


Gourds
When I was thinking of what challenges Kishan and Kelsey would have to face as they climbed the world tree gourds popped into my mind. Gourds are a much more interesting subject than you might think. There are stories that come from Africa that say the universe is a giant gourd that was cut in half. The top half contains the sun, stars, and moon and the bottom half holds the ocean. The land is considered to simply float atop the waters. There is an Asian myth about a rite of passage where a boy chooses a box or an oyster or something he needs to open and there is either something great inside which he gets to keep or something awful. Whichever he chooses determines the course of his life. I can't remember where I read that and its not in any of my mythology books but that story was essentially what inspired the House of Gourds in Tiger's Quest. Below are a few examples of of the many artistic ways gourds can be used. I think they're amazing!



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When I set up the gourd room in the tree, I wanted it to be much more than just pumpkins and jack-0-lanterns. I imagined beautifully lit patterns and artistic renderings of all kinds.



Another thing that inspired this scene in my books was the idea that good or bad things could happen and it was simply the luck of the draw that decided your fate. One of my favorite movies growing up was Flash Gordan. I love those old campy movies.  I drew inspiration for the House of Gourds from the scene where a boy becomes a man by thrusting his hand into a tree scorpion creature's den. It was called the Trial by Treebeast. If the boy was stung, he wasn't worthy and he died, but if he survived then he joined the other men of the tribe. A very young Timothy Dalton played Prince Barin of the tree realm called Aboria. Huh...and now I also know there were once Prince Barin action figures. Excellent.



   



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REMEMBERING DAVY JONES


Now many of you may not know who Davy Jones was but he was a member of the first boy band I ever followed, The Monkees.



 


Keith Partridge was #2 but I'll save him for another day and maybe do a top ten boy bands list in a future blog. Sadly, Davy passed away this week and I thought a fitting tribute might be to show you my favorite clip from when he appeared on The Brady Bunch. Seeing him on that show gave me the faith that if you believe in your boy band crush strongly enough, he'll come through for you and take you to your prom.








 


As a personal tribute, I am revealing this never before seen outside my family clip of me and my sisters hamming it up to Daydream Believer. I'm the one in brown. Gotta love dad's old 70's shirts. Since I don't have a tambourine I'm playing a plate. We had great perms didn't we?









We'll miss you Davy!



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FEBRUARY CONTEST WINNERS 


FEBRUARY WINNERS

Winner for tweeting about Colleen's ustream chat: jpbessler



Design a Date Winner: Jessica Gussias

She wrote: For my dream date it would be a little messy!! Around 4:30p.m. I would want him to pick me up. We would go to a lake and first have a picnic. Then we would go in a canoe and I'd splash him. He would splash back and then I would push him in! I would go in then too. We would swim and have a good time for a while (this dream date takes place sometime in the summer). We would go to shore and cuddle together trying to dry. We would watch the sunset over the lake and look up at the stars after. When he takes me home, I'd end the date with a kiss on the stairs!!!



Tiger's Voyage Poetry Winner: Sarah Harding

She wrote two poems but this is the one that is the winner. Can anyone else relate?



Oh dear Kelsey,

please make up your mind.

You know two great guys,

that really are kind.



They love you both,

we can see its true.

Oh dear Kelsey,

we envy you.



Who wouldn't love to know,

two noble men,

who are also part tiger,

and the perfect male specimens?



Oh us crazy fans,

like to believe

that you and the brothers exist.

We are not in our right minds you see?



We can't get you guys off our minds.

We think of you in the shower,

(yes we are very obsessive)

and even in the wee hours.



Oh us crazy fans,

have decked out our rooms and walls,

with everything tiger,

that we could find in our local malls.



We've read all the books,

oh a few hundred times through.

Absorbing every moment,

fight, quest, and kiss too.



We agonise terribly,

waiting for the next book.

We count down the months, weeks, days,

just because Colleen has got us hooked.



So dear Kelsey,

when will you make up your mind?

But I guess Colleen

will reveal in her own good time.





Our honorable mention this month comes from Ana Barrios who titled her poem "A Confused Dream". It is from the view point of Kelsey when she had a dream.



As I walked through a forest,

I felt the soft grass beneath my bare feet.

Lush and green,

Wet with dew from the morning rain,

Each drop captured the sun's light,

Becoming little stars upon the earth,

Shining like jewels.



I heard the sound of rushing waters.

I ran as fast as I could,

The forest becoming a blur of green,

Passing by me as the winds blew through the trees

Like a whistling sound.



The sound became louder as I came closer.

Suddenly, I slowed down

For what I saw was a breathtaking sight.

A waterfall surrounded by a garden of evergreen.

Thousands of colored flowers in full bloom,

Many petals fell upon my long hair,

As if the petals were snow in winter.



I walked towards the water.

Clear and blue as sapphire,

Glittering from the sun's reflection

As if gold coins were shining within the waters.



Looking down upon the waters,

I saw the reflection of a beautiful woman.

I realized the woman was me.

I was wearing a dress as white as the moon,

Long and flowing down the forest floor.

My hair cascaded down my back

Like a veil of brown curls.

My lips colored as red as a rose,

And my face was radiant with happiness as I smiled.



I closed my eyes as I listened to the sound of the garden.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching me.

As I turned around,

My breath was caught within my throat.

Standing in front of me was a warrior angel.

His eyes were as blue as the skies,

His hair as black as night,

And his skin was golden as bronze.

Wearing robes of white silk he approached me.



His hand gently touched my cheek.

Warmth radiated from his touch.

All of a sudden, I heard another set of footprints

Approaching us.

I turned around and was shocked to what I saw.



Standing in front of us was a dark pirate

With skin the color of antique bronze,

His hair was black as the hair of my angel.

Wearing robes of black silk he approached us

With a devilish smile formed upon his lips.



I turned towards my golden angel.

Anger was sketched upon his artistic face.

The dark pirate had suddenly become sullen

Once he saw his rival.



I looked at them both and finally understood.

The warrior angel was Ren.

The dark pirate was Kishan.

My heart bound to them by a red string,

Yet the string was pulled both ways.

Tighter and tighter the ends were pulled

By the Indian princes

To win a game of love's tug-of-war,

Deciding who shall gain my heart.



As I kept my eyes tightly shut,

My beautiful dream transformed into a horrible nightmare

Once I had opened my eyes.

The skies became gray,

Thunder and lightning erupted,

The leaves fell from the trees,

Dried up and turning to dust.

To what I saw next was frightening.

Two tigers,

One white, one black,

With faces so ferocious,

They had become beasts of my nightmare.



A war had finally come between my two princes.

A war to whom shall win my heart.

Finally, it had begun.

Fangs were bared, claws tearing through skin.

Crimson blood was shed through each bite and swipe.



Running away in fear,

I ran into a forest of silence.

Yet as I heard the sweet voices of the princes,

I dared not to look back.



The ground began to crumble,

Disappearing until a void was formed.

Running far beyond the void,

With all my remaining strength,

I headed towards a light.

But it was too late.

I fell into the darkness.



As I opened my eyes, I could see light.

The forest was once again as green as emerald.

Lying down on the soft grass, I realized I was not alone.

Looking down upon me were my Indian princes.

Their wounds were healed as their skin was smooth as marble.

Carrying brilliant smiles, I smiled back at them.

But, all of a sudden, my smile faded away,

For I had realized as I lost consciousness,

My heart belongs to them.



Awakened with shock, I walked over to a boat window.

Overlooking the midnight sea, the waves had calmed,

The moon glowed with a light of silver,

And many stars twinkled upon a curtain of violet.



My heart began beating as fast as drums,

Swirls of emotions and thoughts spun through my mind.

My breathing was heavy, my face red with blush.

As looked up at the night sky,

I saw the two faces of my warriors.

My heart suddenly became small

As I became saddened of what my dream meant.

My heart yearns for Ren and Kishan,

Yet my heart was filled with guilt.

A choice must be made.

Who do I love?

My heart has become a confused heart

For I do not know who is true within my heart

That lies within my soul.





Those were great! Congrats to the contest winners!


_________________________________________________


MARCH CONTESTS
(Note: Suki hasn't added the rafflecopter stuff yet so check back in a few hours for that)




MARCH CONTEST #1: My Dream Movie Cast


Use the Rafflecopter form to submit who you would like to see cast in Tiger's Curse. This will be fun to see! Maybe I will even tally up votes and share who the most popular choices are. Each character that you have an actor or actress for gives you an entry for the prize. You can earn up to seven (7) entries for this giveaway.



The prize is a movie-themed prize pack! The prize pack is put together by me (Suki) and every prize pack has something made by me.



{rafflecopter goes here}



MARCH CONTEST #2: Goodreads


Goodreads is like wandering a larger than large library or bookstore. You can organize and review books that you've read, vote for books in lists, join virtual book clubs, connect with friends, and even enter giveaways. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter to win the prize. You will need to sign up for an account if you don't already have one. You can earn up to ten (10) entries for this giveaway. You must complete the first four entries (the ones you can see right now) before the remaining six entries show up.



The prize is a signed book or an audiobook of Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, or Tiger's Voyage. Winner's choice!



{rafflecopter}



MARCH CONTEST #3: Design A Nail Polish


Use the Rafflecopter form to design your own nail polish. You can earn up to four (4) entries for this giveaway. You must complete the first entry (the one you see right now) before the remaining three show up.



The prize is a nail polish-themed prize pack! The prize pack is put together by me (Suki) and every prize pack has something made by me.



All giveaways will accept entries until Saturday, March 31, 2012 at midnight eastern time.



_____________________________________________________


That's it for today my friends!



Colleen

Valentine's Bonus Material

Happy Valentine's Everyone!
Below you'll find my Valentine's gift for you all...bonus material!



Here is the first part. This is the extended Valentine's date scene from Tiger's Quest. Most of the material you have but some of it was cut from the new version. Enjoy!


[image error]



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I got the scissors and clipped a red rosebud from the bouquet and tucked it into his lapel.
He grinned at me, kissed my cheek, then helped me into my coat and offered me his arm. Once he got me in the Hummer, he took a long time to get my seatbelt on because he got distracted kissing my ear. We drove to a nice hotel where we were escorted to a private dining room. After we were seated and waited on by no less than three personal wait staff, I whispered, "A normal restaurant would have been perfectly fine for me."
"A normal restaurant is where hundreds of men are taking their hundreds of dates tonight. It's not special or private. I wanted to have you all to myself tonight."
"Don't you have me all to yourself every night?"
"Yes. But not on Valentine's."
He captured my hand and kissed it. "It's my first Valentine's date with the girl I love. I wanted to see you sparkle in the candlelight. Speaking of which…" He pulled a sheet of paper from the lapel of his jacket and handed it to me.
"What's this?" I opened it and recognized his handwriting. "You wrote me a poem after all."
He grinned. "I did."
"Will you read it to me?"
He nodded and took the page. He began speaking, and I felt the timbre of his voice warm me. He read…

 
I lit a candle and watched the flame
It danced and twisted
Wild and unfettered
It captured me and flickered in my eyes
When I passed my hand over it
It stirred
The flame rose higher, burned hotter
When I pulled my hand away the heat diminished
Grew fainter, and extinguished
I stretched out my hand again to savor the burn
Would it singe and scald? Blister and blaze?
No! It tingled and warmed
Smoldered and glowed
Setting me ablaze, body and soul
It was glimmering, luminous, radiant
The fiery blush of her cheek
Ren




He ducked his head as if embarrassed at the beautiful words. I stood up and walked around to his side of the table. He turned toward me. I twisted my way onto his lap and put my arms around his neck. "It's beautiful."
"You're beautiful."
"I'd kiss you, but I'd get lipstick all over you."
"You think I care?"
I laughed. "Probably not. But what would the waitress say?"
"She can say whatever she wants."
"I'm fighting a losing battle, aren't I?"
"Yes. I plan on kissing you…a lot, before this night is over."
"I see. So I might as well get on with it then. Wouldn't you say?"
"I would definitely say you should."
I didn't hear the waitress come back in. The only reason I even looked up was because Ren started laughing. My face burned bright red, and I hissed in his ear, "Why didn't you tell me she was back in the room?"
"She's come back to the room three times."
"Are you serious?"
He laughed quietly. "Yes. Don't worry. I'll leave her a big tip."
The waitress approached our table as I awkwardly removed myself from Ren's lap. To my horror, the bottom half of his face was smeared with red lipstick. I could only imagine what my face looked like. He didn't care at all.
I asked where the restroom was, and Ren spoke up, "There's a private restroom behind that door."
I sped off to the restroom and asked him to order dinner for me while I repaired my makeup. By the time I returned, dinner was waiting. Somehow, Ren had gotten all the lipstick off his face without stepping away from the table.
"How did you get cleaned up so quickly?"
"Our wait staff kindly brought me a mirror and some towels." He rose to help me sit and leaned over to press his cheek against mine. "Don't feel self-conscious. I overheard the wait staff talking, and they think it's the most romantic gesture they've seen in a long time. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I plan on doing it frequently."
As he sat, I said, "Really? I guess I'd better switch to glosses then and throw out all the lipstick."
He looked offended. "Not all the lipstick."
I laughed. "Fine, you can help me decide which shades to keep."
He sat back in his chair delighted. "I would be more than happy to help you test out how each one looks on me after you thoroughly kiss me."
"I'm sure you would be." I played with my earrings during dinner, and he noticed.
"You don't like them."
"I think they're lovely, but—"
"But?"
"I feel really guilty about you spending this kind of money on me. I think you should take them back to the store tomorrow. Maybe they'll let you just pay a rental fee."
"We'll talk about it later, after our date. For now, I just want to enjoy seeing you wear them."
"Okay, we'll talk more about it tomorrow."
After dinner, we drove to the dance. All the proceeds from the dance would go toward funding the Jensen Arctic Museum.
We checked our coats at the door, and he swept me out on the floor and twirled me around the museum displays that had been set up to showcase the museum's pieces. Holding me close, he never took his eyes off me as he spun me to the music. He was so distractingly handsome that I couldn't tear my eyes away from him either, even to look at the interesting exhibits as we passed by.
He hummed along to a song. "I like this singer, who is he?"
"Josh Groban. He's very talented."
I listened to the song for a minute. It was called "My Confession." Smiling, I admitted, "This song describes how I feel about you."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it took a long time for me to confess how I felt about you, even to myself."
He listened more carefully to the words then smiled. "I always knew how you felt about me."
"Since when?"
"Since that kiss before we left Kishkindha. The one you got really mad about."
"Oh, the one you thought was enlightening?"
"It was. Why were you mad about that?"
"Partly because you seduced me so thoroughly that I dropped all my defenses. But, mostly, I was mad because you said it was enlightening, like you were scoring me."
He laughed. "I wasn't scoring you. And if I was, I would've given you a ten."
"Why did you say that then?"
"It was enlightening because that's when I knew."
"Knew what?"
"Knew that you felt as strongly about me as I did about you. You can't kiss a man like that and not love him, Kells."
I reached up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck. "So that's why you were so cocky and self-assured after that."
"Yes. But that all bluster went away after you left."
His expression became serious. He kissed my fingers, pressed my hand to his chest, and said intently, "Promise me you'll never leave me like that again, Kelsey."
I looked up into his cobalt blue eyes and said, "I promise. I'll never leave you again."
His lips brushed against mine roughly. Then, suddenly, he smiled mischievously and twirled me out, then yanked me back up tight against his chest. To support me, he slid his left arm behind my back, trailed his other hand up my arm, and pressed it against my hand at his neck, holding it firmly in place. Then, he lowered me slowly, gradually, swinging me in a circular dip. He snapped me back up quickly and began moving to the tango music, maneuvering me smoothly along with the Latin rhythm.
I knew people were probably watching us, but, at that point, I didn't care. He was able to sweep through the moves expertly, even though I didn't know what I was doing. The dance was fiery and passionate, and I was quickly overwhelmed by him and the cadence of the melody. He wrapped me up in a blanket of mental and physical sensations, orchestrating the perfect seduction.
When the song was over, he had to hold me up for a few minutes so that I didn't fall down. He laughed and nuzzled my neck, happy with my reaction.
I became aware of my surroundings again and saw other couples had stopped to stare at us. Several women had raised eyebrows and open mouths. Some of them stared at me with jealousy and some with confusion. I couldn't blame them. I'd wonder what he saw in me too.
Even a few of the men were staring at Ren, but their expressions were unhappy. They'd lost the attention of their dates. Ren was a hard act to follow. I mentally wished them luck in trying to compete with Ren's presence. Ren was oblivious to the effect he had on everyone around him, of course. All of his awareness was centered solely on me.
The song changed back to a normal slow one. After I had recovered enough from his tantalizing onslaught against my senses to speak, I said, "I thought that kind of dancing only happened in the movies. Where did you learn to dance like that? And why do you know how to dance and Kishan doesn't? Didn't your parents teach you both?"
"Kishan was never interested. My mother taught me several traditional forms of dancing, and then I picked a lot of moves up over the years by watching. Mr. Kadam's a good dancer and was happy when I expressed interest in learning modern styles. He hooked me up with Nilima, who became my practice partner. She's an even better dancer than he is. It's a good workout actually, not too unlike wushu."
I frowned. "I don't really like the idea of you dancing with Nilima. If you want to practice, then teach me."
"Nilima is like a sister to me."
"Still."
"Alright, I promise to never dance with another woman again." He smiled. "Though, I still like it when you're jealous."
We got some drinks, and he led me to a quieter place with fewer people. We started slow dancing again, and I put my head on his shoulder, closed my eyes, and just let myself enjoy the feeling of being held by him. The song was only halfway over when I felt him stiffen and saw him look at something behind me.
"Well…well…well. The shoe's on the other foot this time. I believe this is my dance."
I spun around. "Kishan? I'm so happy to see you!" I threw my arms around him to give him a big hug.
He enfolded me in his arms, pressed his cheek against mine, and said, "I'm happy to see you too, bilauta."



______________________________________________




And we couldn't truly celebrate Valentine's unless we had a Kishan scene too. So, for the first time you'll get to see what happened before Kishan and Kelsey jumped out of the plane to save Ren in Tiger's Quest.
 
[image error] 

A Leap of Faith

 

The old plane rumbled so loudly that I could barely hear myself think, which allowed me to give most of my attention to my lurching stomach. I swallowed thickly wondering if I was going to be able to jump when the time came.

Mr. Kadam was in the front of the plane talking with the old pilot and, seated across from me, was Kishan. His golden eyes studied me and his unasked questions made me nervous.

I unbuckled my seatbelt with the intention of talking with Mr. Kadam in the front when suddenly we rolled, banking to the left and I stumbled right into Kishan's arms. He softly growled and sat me down next to him then made a great show of buckling my seatbelt.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed before we even save Loverboy?"

"No," I spat. "I just wanted to see how long we had left until we reached our target."

"We still have ten minutes or so."

I nodded and lowered my head into my hands, momentarily overcome by air sickness. Kishan rubbed my back and the warmth of his hand distracted me.

"I'm fine," I murmured. "You don't need to do that."

"I want to help, Kells. If you can't jump, then stay on the plane. We'll meet up with you later."

"No. I need to be there. The plan won't work without me."

He shrugged. "We'll adapt."

"You shouldn't have to."

After a moment, he said, "There is another option, you know."

"What option?"

"Jump with me. In tandem. Like we did in practice."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Kelsey—"

"No! You're too…touchy feely when we jump together."

He folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes while I lowered mine, my face flaming.

"I have never behaved inappropriately."

I gave him a look and he gave me a half grin and said, "Very well, I admit to enjoying the feeling of holding you in my arms."

"Don't forget about kissing my neck and shoulder."

He grinned outright then and rubbed his jaw. "What can I say? Your bare neck was irresistible." Tilting his head, he remarked, "You're just being overly sensitive, bilauta. You feel guilty for reacting to my touch."

Kishan was right about that. I couldn't deny that I enjoyed the feeling of being close to him as much as I wished it weren't true.

"Will you jump with me if I promise to limit our…contact?" he asked.

"No."

He sighed. "Kelsey, don't let your stubbornness cause an accident."

"The only accident would be letting you get your way."

Kishan laughed. "If I was getting my way, we wouldn't even be here now." He captured my hand and pressed a lingering kiss on my bare wrist. Leaning in closer, he said, "If I got my way, I'd whisk you far away from here to a warm beach where we could play in the water and the sand. We'd let the cares of the world slide from our shoulders like a worn shirt and find delight in the freedom of being together."

The vision Kishan shared was entirely too tempting. It was easy to imagine standing in the sand with waves lapping our feet while he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to his very nice bare chest. With a start, I realized I was about five centimeters away from kissing him which made me angry all over again.

I jerked back under the gaze of his twinkling golden eyes and he smiled as if he'd been reading my mind and was satisfied with the images found there. To prove a point, I yanked my chute closer and put it on, determined to show him not only my utter dedication to saving Ren but also my resolve to keep him at a distance.

When I sat back, he sighed and put on his own chute, resigned to my decision. Mr. Kadam came out then and said we were ready. The back of the plane opened and, with a wink, he jumped out. I peered down and saw his chute open.

Kishan stood behind me. "Your turn, Kells."

I bit my lip nervously and felt my leg muscles clench and soften as I tried to summon the courage.

Kishan cupped my cheek and turned my face to his.  Lightly, he kissed my cheeks one by one and said, "I'll be waiting if you change your mind."

Before I even allowed myself to consider the impact of his promise, I took two steps and leapt through the back of the plane. As my body spun in the night sky his words echoed through my mind.

I'll be waiting…

Now if that wasn't a Valentine's treat of bonus material, then I don't know what is. =)

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Don't forget that the February contests are still ongoing! There are a few weeks left to enter.

FEBRUARY CONTEST #1: TIGER'S VOYAGE POETRY


 


Write poetry that has been inspired by Tiger's Voyage. Email your entries to me at contests@colleenhouck.com with the subject line of "Tiger's Voyage Poetry". I have seen some awesome poetry out there so this is going to be good.



The contest ends February 29. A winner will be chosen and notified on March 1. The winner will receive a Tiger Saga book or audiobook of their choice.





FEBRUARY CONTEST #2: MY DREAM DATE


 


Design your dream date and email it to me at contests@colleenhouck.com with the subject line of "My Dream Date". Send your date in before the 14th and I might just use it for me and my love! Send it in after the 14th and I still might use it.



The contest ends February 29. A winner will be chosen and notified on March 1. The winner will receive a date prize pack.

  
_________________________________________________


I hope you all have an amazing Valentine's Day! Leave a comment to let me know which bonus material you liked best.


Colleen

Top Twelve Romantic Movie Couples

 MOST ROMANTIC MOVIE COUPLES


February is the month we celebrate romance and since romance is something that inspires me when I write, I thought I'd dedicate this blog to my favorite romantic on screen couples. Seeing as we are now in 2012, I've limited my selection to my top twelve. Without further ado, here they are...



#12
Robin Hood and Marian Dubois


[image error] 


I actually like the idea of Robin Hood and Maid Marian much more than I'm interested in Kevin Costner's version. Still, the line, "I'd die for you," though delivered without any emotion to back it up, is a pretty good line. In this movie  Alan Rickman, aka Severus Snape, is awesome as the Sheriff of Nottingham. If you haven't seen this film you should. It's one of my favorites.



# 11
Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsen


 


When you go together like Rama Lama Ding Dong what else can you say? Hopelessly Devoted is one of my favorite songs and its even on one of my tiger playlists. Still love John Travolta. When a guy like him sings Why yi yi oh why did you leave me, I raise my hand and shout, "Take me, instead!"



# 10
Richard Collier and Elise McKenna


 


Now you all know I have a Superman crush and by Superman I mean Christopher Reeve. In this romance he goes back in time to woo a woman old enough to be his grandmother. His determination to know her helps him leap through the years and then when they are ripped apart he goes crazy. This film also has one of the coolest time paradoxes ever. Cue eerie music...where did the watch come from?



# 9
Giselle & Robert Philip


 


This movie is just so darn cute and fun. I love this couple and this story. She sings and plays with animals and she's crazy and homeless and he just grins and goes along for the ride. Also the handsome prince who tries to find her and sings as he searches is hilarious.



#8
Zorro & Elena Montero


 


Super hot sizzling couple! Love especially when they argue and when they dance. It's pretty safe to say a few Kelsey and Ren moments were inspired by these two. 



#7
Buttercup and Westley


 


The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time. I can practically quote the entire thing. It's more comedy than romance and yet when Buttercup hears that her "poor but perfect" love dies and says "she'll never love again," I'm certain she means it. 



#6
Jack Colton and Joan Wilder


 


I love that Joan writes romance novels and has never had a boyfriend and then she goes off on a wild adventure and meets a guy exactly like the one in her head. She's naive and falls head over heels for this guy and he turns out to be the guy she always dreamed of. Still, if he cashed in on the treasure he should have bought her a huge diamond. The guy buys himself a boat. I'm just sayin'.



#5
Christine & Raoul


 


I go back and forth between the Phantom and Raoul. The music is so romantic that I often swoon in either direction, especially in the recent movie when Gerard Butler was playing the Phantom. Zoo-Wee Mama!



#4
Aragorn & Arwen


 


Dang I wanted some more romantic back story in this movie. The brief clips we saw these two in were amazing. I really would have loved to see them together more. Also, hey, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Legolas get a girl too.



#3
Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater


 


Titanic is an awesome movie. Some of you might already know but Leonardo DiCaprio is one of my favorite actors. I don't think there are many men who can pull off a romance straight faced but Leo can. There are a couple lines I would have changed at the end but all in all a great romance.



# 2
Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara


 


Rhett plays it cool for the most part, letting his dry humor cover up his feelings. He loves this woman madly yet she's in love with someone else. I don't think I'm alone in wanting Rhett to turn around at the end and come back to her.



#1
Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet


   


The chemistry between these two was awesome. I felt every emotion they did. I don't think there ever has been or ever will be a better Romeo than Leo. At the end, I just sobbed my eyes out.



Those are my top picks for my favorite romantic couples on the big screen.  Did I miss any? Who are your favorite onscreen couples? Leave a comment to let me know.

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 Bollywood Boy of the Month
Hrithik Roshan


 
Birthday-January 10, 1974

Height: 5'11

Weight: 72 kg or about 160 lbs


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Movies of Note: Jodhaa Akbar, Guzaarish, Krrish,  Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Dhoom 

Other Gigs: He was a judge for a reality competition show called Just Dance, he also sings

Marital Status: Married to Suzanne Khan Roshan daughter of actor Sanjay Khan.

They have two sons named Hrehaan and Hridhaan.




 
Interesting Facts:


He has two thumbs on his right hand that are grown together
He's an excellent dancer
He's considered a Sylvester Stallone, Brad Pitt, and Michael Jackson combo
He made stubble fashionable in India
Often visits terminally ill children
Got 30,000 marriage proposals on Valentine's Day in 2000
His wife and parents handle all his money
Was diagnosed with scoliosis





 


Quotes:

(March 2000): I can never wear the same shirt twice because it's always torn by the time I come home!
(July 2004): I am the person I am today primarily due to the fine example set by both my parents.
(December 2006) They say that many people come in your life, but some leave a footprint on your heart after which your life is never the same again.





Let me know what you think of our Bollywood Boy of the Month by leaving a comment on my blog. If you were casting the Tiger's Curse Movie would you let him audition? If so, for which part?



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Contest Info From Suki


WINNER OF THE BATTLE QUESTION


We asked "If you had to fight a monster, demon, villain from one of Colleen's books, which one would you choose and why?"



The winner, chosen by random, is Anna Woloshin who answered "I would choose the sirens because even though Kishan and Kelsey don't physically fight the sirens, they fight them mentally. They would test you with temptation." Congratulations, Anna! You won a bookmark!





WINNER OF THE VOYAGE ART CONTEST


It was so hard to choose! So hard that my husband didn't want to help. Haha. So I enlisted someone else's help and together we made some tough decisions. Congratulations, Katie C! You won a Tiger Saga book or audiobook of your choosing.



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Katie C said that it was titled "Where She Falls" and I absolutely loved this piece. It just screamed emotion to me. My heart was wrenching.



Really, I wish I could personally say something about each and every entry. This contest was so hard to judge! I wanted to give an honorable mention. This entry was so simple and yet I instantly loved it.





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Victoria said "I drew a white duck that's supposed to be the one Mr. Kadam named Daffy. I drew it because I thought it was something cool that we learned about Mr. Kadam, and we don't get to learn a lot about him."



But because we had so many amazing entries, we decided to showcase them all! Here is a link to a web album where you can view all the entries and their blurbs. Also, please don't hate me if your blurb doesn't show up exactly as you wrote it. I had a character limit and had to cut some words out of some of them.





WINNER OF THE DESIGN A DRAGON CONTEST


Note to self: don't judge two contests in the same month! Just like the Voyage contest, super tough decisions. Congratulations Bailee M! You won the dragon prize pack.



My dragon's name is Starlesco. His favorite food is Key Lime pie with a Vanilla Milkshake on the side. His favorite sleeping spot is the big dipper. Since the big dipper is like a giant bowl, you have to put something in it. It's to big for soup but it is the perfect size for my dragon. His intense fear is ladybugs because he is covered in giant polka dots and he is afraid that the ladybugs will steal his if they run out. He is usually very happy all of the time. He loves to explore and acts a lot like a kid. He is not very mature and sometimes his curiosity gets him in trouble. He likes to pretend he is a fearless hero but is actually quite shy when meeting other dragons.



His whole body is white but if you look really close you can see his scales. Each one is shaped like a star that is outlined in silver. All the space between the stars is filled in with white. All over his body there are big polka dots of all different sizes. Where those polka dots are, the scales are one of three colors. The bright blue color of the water at a Florida beach, the rich green color of an Emerald, or the bold purple color of a purple amethyst. His tail has four plates, one on every side of his tail that look like the wings on a dart. On the very end of his tail is something very interesting.... a cloud. It is the whitest white and looks like a giant cotton ball. His whole head looks like a metallic rainbow so you see the colors of a rainbow but it looks like it has been coated with a shiny, silvery coat. His face is gentle and soft. Pieces of clouds make up his white eyebrows that arch over his eyes. His eyes look like rainbows with the 7 colors of the rainbow actually swirling around in his eyes. He has a mustache and small beard made out of little clouds too. He has 2 little strips of cloud that lay on his skin about 2 inches on the outside of both of his eyes. The rest of the strip sticks straight out from the sides of his head. He has big white teeth and his lips are a silver color like the outline of his scales. He has small arms and legs compared to his body. There are 6 fingers on his hands and he had 7 toes on each foot. He has retractable claws that are the same metallic rainbow colors of his head.



I chose Baylee M's entry because while I was reading it, I could visualize her dragon very well. My co-judge said "this entry is so cute!"



Our honorable mention goes to Angela P. We loved this nature dragon of hers.



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Angela wrote "My dragon loves protecting and living with nature. His scales resemble bark and instead of horns, my dragon has branches growing out of its head, back, and wings. My dragon enjoys eating the spring blossoms that bloom in the trees. When the blossoms aren't blooming, my dragon soaks up some of the nutrients from the soil. He makes sure to only soak up as much as he needs, for he wishes to leave enough for the trees and plants that live in the forest. His favorite sleeping spot is on the highest tree tops. My dragon doesn't have many fears but his most intense fears are fire and deforestation."



There are two places to go to view all the entries. A web album for the pictures and a word document for the written dragon entries.



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NEW CONTESTS!




FEBRUARY CONTEST #1: TIGER'S VOYAGE POETRY


Write poetry that has been inspired by Tiger's Voyage. Email your entries to me at contests@colleenhouck.com with the subject line of "Tiger's Voyage Poetry". I have seen some awesome poetry out there so this is going to be good.



The contest ends February 29. A winner will be chosen and notified on March 1. The winner will receive a Tiger Saga book or audiobook of their choice.





FEBRUARY CONTEST #2: MY DREAM DATE


Design your dream date and email it to me at contests@colleenhouck.com with the subject line of "My Dream Date". Send your date in before the 14th and I might just use it for me and my love! Send it in after the 14th and I still might use it.



The contest ends February 29. A winner will be chosen and notified on March 1. The winner will receive a date prize pack.



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I just want to say that your talent amazes me. All of the submissions for the dragon and the art contest were outstanding! I need a giant notebook for all the art you guys send me. Hopefully I can add all of the pictures on the website at some point.



Also I will be doing another Ustream live chat on Tuesday, February 28th at 6pm pacific time. Send questions to contactme@colleenhouck.com so I have a list of things to talk about.



That's it for this blog my friends. Have a fabulous Valentine's Day. Personally I bought tickets to see Beauty and the Beast on stage and have reservations at a nice restaurant nearby.  Leave a comment and tell me what your Valentine's plans are!



Colleen

Heroines

 Hi Everyone,



So first two big announcements. The US paperback release of TIGER'S CURSE will be May 1st and the hardback US release of TIGER'S DESTINY will be September 4th! I will be headed out on tour for both books so don't forget to write my publisher at kids@sterlingpublishing.com if you'd like me to come to a town near you. Remember to add where you think a good location for me to come might be whether that's your school, a library, or a bookstore.

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MY TOP TEN HEROINES OF FILM AND TELEVISION


I wanted to dedicate this blog to my top ten heroines in television and movies. Hint: Two of them played the love interest of Harrison Ford.  So here they are...



#10 YU SHU LIEN


 


Yu Shu Lien portrayed by Michelle Yeoh was a character desperately in love with Li Mu Bai in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. This is one of my favorite movies because not only does it showcase amazing martial arts but the story is so moving. As the two older characters try to help a talented young girl from going down a dark path. they confess their deep love for one another. These two characters connect in such a powerful way that they don't even need to touch for you to feel the depth of their emotion. 



WHAT I LEARNED FROM YU SHU LIEN: Discipline and self-control, while admirable, are no compensation for lost love.
 
#9 DOROTHY GALE


 
 

Dorothy is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. She opens her heart and shares her journey with unlikely traveling companions and finds lifelong friends. On her way she discovers that what she has been looking for has been in her reach all along.  So many times I've wondered how I would overcome a certain obstacle. When I look back, the problems I faced as a teen or as a young wife seem almost trivial to me now but at the time they were tough. The story of Dorothy reminds me that sometimes the journey through the difficult times is the very thing that makes you strong enough to overcome it.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM DOROTHY: The experience of going through tough times makes you a strong person.




#8 LOIS LANE
 
 
 

I fell head over heels in love with Christopher Reeve as Superman. What is so interesting about Lois is that she's a tough reporter who is very practical when it comes to men and career. She treats Clark like a co-worker and gives him big sisterly advice and then she turns around and hems and haws at Superman. The shift between how these characters react to each other is fascinating and exciting to watch.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM LOIS LANE: Don't get so wrapped up in work that you can't see the guy behind the glasses.




#7 MARION RAVENWOOD
 
 

The first time we meet Marion in the first Indiana Jones film, she's drinking a guy under the table. She's aggressive, obnoxious, and a spitfire. She also takes care of herself.  She doesn't wait for Indiana Jones to come to her rescue but does what she has to do to escape on her own. I like her spunk and her freckles are endearing.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MARION RAVENWOOD: Don't wait for adventure to come to you.






#6 WONDER WOMAN
 
 
 

Lynda Carter is Wonder Woman to me. She didn't really do anything super incredible stunt-wise on the television show but she was amazing regardless. I practiced spinning in a circle over and over convinced that if I spun fast enough my costume would show up. I like that she was kind and that when she'd give her stern motherly talk to the criminals, they'd listen.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM WONDER WOMAN: A beautiful confident woman lives within every work-a-day girl, she just needs the right motivation to bring her out.






#5 DANA SCULLY
 
 
 

Dana was tough, smart, and could communicate volumes with just a look. She was the Yin to Mulder's Yang on THE X-FILES. The thing I liked about her the most was that she grounded the x-files and Mulder in the real world. She was every computer nerd's fantasy and yet I really liked her and would love to have her as a friend.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM DANA SCULLY: An open mind doesn't mean you have to give up your beliefs.






#4 PRINCESS LEIA
 
 
 

Leia Amidala Skywalker was one of if not the first female heroine to influence me as a tween. I tried to recreate the buns in my hair and practiced putting my hand on my hip and imitated her dry sense of humor. She could wield a blaster with the rest of boys and still had no wisps of hair falling in her face. Even though she was much smaller than him, she stood up to Lord Vader with courage and only showed weakness when he destroyed her home planet. She also strangled Jabba the Hut while sporting a gold bikini. I'd be too busy using my arms to cover my waist. Loved the romance between her and Han Solo.

#WHAT I LEARNED FROM PRINCESS LEIA: Bravely standing your ground can often make bullies back off.






#3 MADDIE HAYES
 
 
 

This woman is beautiful, smart, and funny! There are not too many actresses who can equal Bruce Willis in sarcasm but Cybill Shepherd can. In the television show MOONLIGHTING, her come backs are sharp, her shoulder pads were big, and her hair was always in place. The inspiration for the show was THE TAMING OF THE SHREW which is my favorite Shakespeare play. This show was a big influence for my books. In fact, Kelsey's real mom's name is Madison Hayes.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MADDIE: Sarcasm can be used very effectively to create romantic tension.






#2 BUFFY SUMMERS
 
 
 

The character Buffy from the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was so fleshed out. She was a vulnerable hero who made mistakes and yet she still managed to get the job done. When she cried, I cried. When she was confused, so was I. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a terrific actress who really brought life to the part.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM BUFFY: A heroine can be human and vulnerable.






#1 SCARLETT O'HARA
 
 
 

I have watched GONE WITH THE WIND countless times and yet I'm still fascinated with this woman. She starts off a spoiled plantation girl who stomped her feet when she didn't get what she wanted and morphs constantly through the film, always carrying with her an inner core of strength and a determination to get up, dust herself off, and keep fighting. I think she's simply brilliant and I will always admire Vivian Leigh.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM SCARLETT: A heroine never gives up.



Those are my top pics. Leave a comment below to tell me who your favorite heroines are!
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Inspiration Corner
 
Shanthi Guest House
 

There are all kinds of hotels outside of Hampi and many of them are called Shati or Shanthi Guest House but the one that I chose is based on these two pictures. Since I only used the pictures for inspiration, I imagined what it would look like inside. I originally had the Coke sign in the book but we omitted the use of the brand name and changed it into the generic Cola Bottle. I did keep the mint green paint and the flamingo pink trim.

 
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Don't forget that you only have a week left to enter the three contests this month. If you already have the books and are looking to land something new, there are audiobooks available if you win. 



Have a great week and Happy Chinese New Year!

 
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Colleen

Year of the Dragon

 Happy New Year!


I'm very excited to ring in the new year. 2011 has been an amazing journey for me. I've been able to see and do more things and visit more new cities in the last year than I ever thought possible. Some of the highlights of 2011 for me include:


Speaking at the National Book Festival in DC
Meeting Orson Scott Card & Christopher Paolini
Attending the Romantic Times Convention in Los Angeles
Getting three books published in one year
Seeing fans on tour
Signing my movie deal with Paramount
Getting a new cobalt blue car with my custom TGR-TGR plates

What a whirlwind year and it's starting all over again in 2012 with more fun and exciting things to look forward to.


Publishing TIGER'S DESTINY
A trip to Hawaii for both work and play
Attending the Romantic Times Conference again (this time with my mom and sisters in Chicago)
Seeing the Tiger Series get published in other countries
The paperback version of TIGER'S CURSE comes out
Concluding the Tiger Series and starting something new

How cool is all that?



This year I am especially grateful for all my fans who have been extremely supportive and super dedicated. Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and for your constant participation in everything tiger. You guys are awesome!  We've got tons of fabulous contests, games, and prizes in store for you this year. 2012 is going to be A-MA-ZING!



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Bollywood Boy of the Month
Ranveer Singh


 



Ranveer was a fan suggestion and I hadn't heard of him before.

I just have to say you guys sure can pick 'em!



 



His first passion was acting but his second is writing.

Birthday-July 6, 1985





Here's the trailer for his latest movie.







 



He has great hair!



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He seems more of a Kishan to me than a Ren. He has a bad boy edge.







Here's a trailer for his movie Wedding Planners.



 



I just...wow.  Now imagine him with golden eyes.

 

 



This is like a scene straight out of TIGER'S VOYAGE. I need a tissue to dab at the drool.



I can't find an official website and he doesn't tweet but he has a massive twitter fan club @ranveersinghfc who I'm sure would love to hear your comments.



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MY FAVORITE READS OF 2011


I participated in the Goodreads reading challenge and read 50 books in 2011 which is pretty good considering everything else I had to do.  Here are my top eleven of 2011.



Here they are in no particular order.



 



I ate breakfast with Beth at Slappy Cakes in Portland when she came to town. She sent me an ARC of her second book and I love this series. Who doesn't like a space mystery romance?



 



I met Sophie Jordan at the RT Conference and she is awesome! I just finished her third book in her FIRELIGHT series which is called HIDDEN and I was asked to write a blurb. Love, love, love this series.



 



I also met Alexandra at the RT Conference. In fact, I think she was sitting next to Sophie. Time travel and a hero that looks awfully similar to Ren so what's not to like?





 



This was my first steampunk book ever and it was cool! Kady fired my imagination AND she makes her own steampunk boots! Talk about multi-talented!



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I finally met Bree in Utah this month and she is so cool! She has her own nailpolish collection and she gives away a bottle to each fan at book signings. Her werewolf books are divine. =)







Kiersten White is one of the funniest authors I know. Not only do I love her series but she makes me laugh when I read her tweets. My goal is to someday be as talented a tweeter as she is.



 



I met Jeff Kinney at the ALA Conference in New Orleans this past summer and got a signed collection of his books. He was very friendly and warm. Unfortunately right as he was signing the last one they opened the doors. I scooped up my books and hightailed it out of there before I was caught in the stampede of 5th graders so I didn't get to chat with him as much as I would have liked. Love his books. They make me laugh hard and that's a great thing. I finished all of them before gifting the set to my young nephew for Christmas.



 



I finished this series in 2011 and found it compelling. The society Scott created is chilling and fascinating.



 



I originally picked this up because it had a tiger on the cover. Wow! What a ride! They're making a movie too which will be very interesting I think. I love a book that can take the whole world inside it and flip it on end. Really good book!



 



I met Andrea last spring in Utah when I was on tour. Loved her book! I haven't bought her second yet but it's on my list. Great read!



 



This book sucks you in right away and the characters are so real you can almost see them. Such a creative book!



There's my list and remember that most of these are series books so don't forget to pick up the others since I only listed the first one.



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INSPIRATION CORNER
Kelsey's Dresses


I shop for clothes for my characters on the internet often then mix and match to create clothing that suits my purposes. 



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Here is Kelsey's purple dress from her date with Ren at the end of TIGER'S CURSE. I shortened the skirt to make it younger and gave her a touch more sleeve.



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I used these three images to create Kelsey's blue dress from TIGER'S CURSE. The color of blue is more like the first one. None of them are exactly right but they were close enough that I could describe her dress.



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When Kelsey went on her date with Li, she wore something like this in peach.



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In Shangri-la I modeled Kelsey's dress in a Greek style similar to this one.



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I imagined Kelsey's Shangri-la robe with woven flowers to look something like this.



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Here is a picture of the dress Kelsey wore on her Valentine's date. She got the red one.



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In TIGER'S VOYAGE Kelsey had a date with Kishan and she wore something like this but I shortened it and made it a coppery color.

Are you sick of dresses yet? But wait...there's more!



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This one is from Kelsey's date with Wes to the beach party.



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This is Kelsey's top when she cut her hair in Voyage.



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I used the layers of his dress to create Kelsey's pink princess gown from when she was held a captive of the green dragon.



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And then there was the Star Festival! So if you don't already envy Kelsey for her men you can now envy her for her wardrobe. You can see that I spend many hours in "research" for your sake. It would be awesome to have a wardrobe like Kelsey's. I have a weakness for party dresses, not that I need them much since most of the time I dress in sweats. =)



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CONTEST INFO!


CONTEST #1: Tiger's Voyage Art Contest
 
PURPOSE: This is a much anticipated contest. I have received dozens of questions on if and when we would have an art contest for Tiger's Voyage. It's here!
 
INSTRUCTIONS: Using any medium (clay, watercolor, crayon, wood, finger paint), create an art piece that represents a part of Tiger's Voyage. We do ask that they are your own original work. Send me an email at contests@colleenhouck.com with Tiger's Voyage Art Contest in the subject line and the following information: your name, a picture of your art, and a little blurb about your art. You can submit more than one art piece if you so choose.
 
WINNER: Winner will be hand chosen by me (and probably also my husband). When we announce the winners, I'll do some honorable mentions as well--there is sure to be some awesome art pieces headed my way! I will contact the winner by email.
 
PRIZE: Winner's Choice of a hardcover book or an audio book.
 
DEADLINE: Contest ends on January 31.
 
 
CONTEST #2: Design A Dragon Contest
 
PURPOSE: Chinese New Year is on January 23 this year. We will be in the Year of the Dragon. How appropriate with Tiger's Voyage just being released!
 
INSTRUCTIONS: Design a dragon. Another one for you artsy people! However, if you aren't an art person, you can write a description. You can design however much of a dragon you want. Besides how they look (big, fat, small, tall, green, smooth, tusks, an elephant trunk), give them a personality, a favorite food, a favorite sleeping spot, an intense fear. Send me an email at contests@colleenhouck.com with Design A Dragon Contest in the subject line and the following information: your name, a picture (or wording) of your dragon, and a blurb about your dragon. Please only submit one dragon for this contest.
 
WINNER: Winner will hand chosen by me (and probably also my husband). When we announce the winners, I'll do some honorable mentions as well. I will contact the winner by email.
 
PRIZE: A dragon prize pack! I can't tell you what will be in the prize pack--only that it will be dragon themed. (I have a long-time love for dragons so I think this is a pretty cool prize!)
 
DEADLINE: Contest ends on January 31.
 
 



CONTEST #3: If You Had To... Contest
 
PURPOSE: We like to have a simple and fun contest each month. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS: Using the Rafflecopter entry form, answer the question we ask there. After you answer the question, you can mark the other options.
 
WINNER: Winner will be chosen compliments of Random.org. I will contact the winner by email.
 
PRIZE: A bookmark.
 
DEADLINE: Contest ends on January 31.
 
 
 
If there are any questions, please send them to me at contests@colleenhouck.com.
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That's it for now my friends. 



Hope you all have a safe and fun New Years!



I'm planning on pizza and movies personally.



Enjoy!



Colleen