Colleen Houck's Blog, page 62

New Shows

Hi!
 
We're getting so very close to the release of Tiger's Quest! I'm very excited and can't wait! My first foreign publisher is getting ready to release Tiger's Curse. It's the UK paperback version printed under the publishing house called Hodder. Below is a picture of their covers. Kate Howard the Senior Editor of Hodder said, "The US covers are just so gorgeous we couldn't help ourselves!" 



[image error]

 
 [image error]


As you can see, they are keeping the art the same as the US version. I don't blame them since the art is so beautiful. They are releasing Tiger's Curse on May 26th and Tiger's Quest on June 9th and their version of Tiger's Voyage will hit the stores on November 10th. This will be great news for my English reading fans living in other parts of the world that have been waiting for a long time.

 
The Tiger Series is headed to Vietnam! Dong A Publishing has picked up the series and will be translating Curse, Quest, and Voyage into Vietnamese. The tigers are slowly spreading across Asia which is very exciting!

 
I was looking at the lineup of new network shows coming in the fall of 2011 because I'm getting a little desperate. I keep losing shows and not picking up any new ones, so this year I'm going to make an effort to get in at the beginning. Here's a list of some I'm interested in. I put stars by my favorites.
 
CBS-Person of Interest *
This is a JJ Abrams show written by The Dark Knight co-writer Jonah Nolan. The project, from Warner Bros. TV and Abrams' Bad Robot, centers on an ex-CIA hitman and a scientist who team up to prevent crimes before they happen.
(This one is getting a lot of buzz so I'm looking forward to it)




ABC-Once Upon a Time
The project is from "Lost" producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. The series will follow a woman who is drawn into a small town in Maine where fairy tales may be real. Ginnifer Goodwin, 32, will play Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret, who is a beautiful woman with dark hair and very pale skin. She has been placed under a spell by the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) and is brought back to life by Prince Charming.
(It may be too cheesy but I'm a sucker for fairy tales)




ABC-Poe
The project, from Warner Bros. TV and Lin Pictures, is a crime procedural following Edgar Allan Poe, the world's very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston.
(If it's done like the Sherlock Holmes movies it might be very good…don't think of Poe as a detective though)






ABC-Tim Allen Project
A comedy that focuses on a guy's guy who's surrounded by women. The storyline is still being adjusted, but the original logline spoke of a character who is "fighting for his manhood in a world that is being increasingly dominated by women."
(Tim Allen can be really funny if he has the right material)

 






FOX-The Finder
A "Bones" spinoff based on The Locator books written by Richard Greener, centers on Walter Sherman aka "the Locator", a former military policeman who can find anything.  (I haven't watched Bones so this one may not work for me)

 






FOX-Locke & Key*
Locke & Key" begins with a tragedy when family patriarch Rendell Locke is murdered. His widow moves her three children to the Locke family mansion in Massachusetts, home to the kids' uncle. Once there, evil continues to haunt the family from across the miles and in their midst. The kids discover supernatural keys that unlock doors in Key House. The first key opens a door, and when Bode walks through it, he turns into a ghost.
(I love supernatural stuff unless it's too scary…there's good buzz about this one too)

 






FOX-Touch*
The show, about a dad (Kiefer Sutherland) who learns his autistic, mute son can predict the future, is the first pilot script from Tim Kring since he wrote Heroes. (Love Kiefer, supernatural stuff, and Heroes so I have high hopes)


[image error]





NBC-17th Precinct*
Described as "an adult Harry Potter." The show is "an ensemble cop drama with supernatural elements," taking place in the mystical town of Excelsior where science takes a backseat to magic.
(Buzz about this…it sounds fun)




NBC-Wonder Woman *
The David E. Kelley's reboot of the popular DC Comics franchise stars Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, a successful corporate executive working to balance the elements of her complicated life.
(I watched the original and thought if I twirled hard enough, I'd get my red and blue costume—guess I needed more twirling)








NBC-Grimm
NBC has begun production of its first network show that will be set and produced in Portland. The show will be a drama called "Grimm," as in Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's a pilot about a detective who starts seeing certain people as beasts and then discovers that his calling in life is to protect other people from them.
(Since they're filming in Portland, I have to give it a try)




CW-Awakening
Awakening is a zombie drama "which centers on two sisters who come of age and face off against one another amidst the beginning of a zombie uprising."
(Not really sure how I feel about this one. Could be fun)
 


CW-Secret Circle *
The CW's new pilot Secret Circle is based on the book series authored by The Vampire Diaries scribe L.J. Smith. "The Secret Circle" is a series of books about witches. A 16 year old girl named Cassie moves, with her mother, to New Salem, Massachusetts. Her new high school is ruled by a group of girls known as 'The Club'. The girls in The Club are witches, descended from the original Salem witches, and Cassie is a witch herself.
(I haven't read this series yet but Vamp Diaries has some amazing writers so this could be as good)

 
 



 
Those are my picks for the fall. Do you have any favorites or want to add more? Let me know which show sounds the most interesting to you. Have a great week!
 
Colleen
 
 
 

Conferences and News

Hello All,
 
First I want to wave my hands in the air for the fabulous reception I got at the Washington School for the Deaf on Friday. There were about sixty kids in attendance as well as a good number of teachers and parents. My number one questions were, "When will the movie be out?" and "Can I be in the movie?" I love sharing the excitement for all things tiger with my fans, especially the kids. You guys are great! WSD cleaned me out of all the books I had and I had to come home and order some more.




We are at 38 days and counting until the release of Tiger's Quest. I'm so excited to have all of you read it and tell me what you think! If you loved Curse I think you'll really love Quest. I'll warn you right now though that if you think you are a Ren fan all the way you may have to squeeze your heart a little to make room for a black tiger. I plan to make a few Team Kishan converts with this book.



 
We're getting ready for the Quest tour now and though we still haven't finalized the tour, I can confirm two events I'll be attending. The first is the ALA or American Library Association Conference in New Orleans. http://www.alaannual.org/ It's being held from June 23-28 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. From what I can tell on the website, it looks like you can get in for a one day pass for exhibits only for $25. I will be signing copies of Quest and I may, absolutely no guarantees, but I may be giving out galleys of Tiger's Voyage. Don't make untimely plans for my demise if I don't have them or you'll never get Tiger's Destiny but it's possible that I may have galleys. If you want to attend, you might want to call ahead to make sure that my information is correct before you show up. You can find a list of authors attending the conference on the website. I personally am hoping to meet Jeff Kinney, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare, Orson Scott Card (who is one of my all time favorite authors), Maggie Steifvater, Sarah Dessen, and Paolo Bacigalupi.





 
The other event I can announce now is the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books http://www.sewibookfest.com/ which will be taking place June 17-18 at the University of Wisconsin Waukesha campus. They haven't posted the schedule yet and I'm not listed on the author page yet but my publisher has confirmed my attendance. So if you are a fan living in or near Wisconsin, I'd love to see you come out…really if you're a fan in Australia or Brazil I'd love for you to come out too but I understand the distance is a little far. =)



 
In other news, my FAQ page is up on the website now. Go to my bio page and click on the FAQ tab. You will find the answers there to many of your questions. Many things are happening in the coming weeks. We should have a new book trailer for Quest up and running in May, it's being done by the same company who did the first one so I'm sure it will be fantastic, we'll have the Voyage cover art ready soon, and the audiobooks will be available.

 
Stay tuned for upcoming June and July tour dates for Quest. I hope to be able to see as many of you as possible. Have a great week!
 
Colleen

Hollywood Vacation

Hello!  Here's my vacation blog.



We started our Hollywood vacation on Monday the 11th by visiting the La Brea Tar Pits.  I learned a few interesting things. I'd always believed that the animals wandered there and got stuck then sank into the tar. This is not the case. The tar seeps up from the ground and mixes with water, then leaves land on top and the animals can't tell it's dangerous. They go to drink and then get stuck and they die by either starvation or dehydration or by being attacked by numerous predators that often get trapped with them. There are no dinosaurs there because the tar pits developed after the dinosaurs lived. Interesting place. After that we went to the Grove which is a huge mall with a farmers market attached. I don't know how we didn't see the farmers market. We didn't find out about that part until later, but it's okay because we couldn't have brought home delicious fruits and veggies anyway. We met Raffi, the movie producer, for dinner at Fogo De Chao, a Brazilian restaurant that served a delicious assortment of fire roasted meats on skewers. The cool thing about that restaurant is that the servers bring the huge skewers to your table and slice it right there. They give diners a set of tongs so you can hold the meat while they slice. Interesting and very fun. They even give you a red light/green light sign which you can flip to signal the servers to bring more or stop.

[image error][image error] 
Tuesday we were Raffi's special guests at Paramount studios and got a fun VIP tour just for me and my husband. Each Sound Stage has a special history. We started at Studio 19 which was cool for me because they shot Happy Days there. It also has a ghost or so the employees say. They believe the ghost is the little girl from Poltergeist who died at a very young age. They say you can hear her giggle and hear a ball bouncing when no one is in there. They shot Cheers at Stage 25 and the rumor is that the Cheers bar is still floating around Paramount somewhere. We walked into the set of the Dr. Phil show and some Nickelodeon show that I've never heard of. The cool thing about that one was that it had a swimming pool they built inside the stage for the show. They don't have a stage 22 and the theory is that it's in deference to the 22 stars on their logo which represents the original 22 contracted movie stars that signed with the company. That's where the term star comes from. As they signed actors they added more stars but the logo didn't look right so they went back to 22. When Spielberg did Indiana Jones he wanted the logo to be accurate to the time period represented so there are 24 stars on the Paramount logo for the Indiana Jones films. We went down what they call Star Trek alley. He said the recent Star Trek movie was held in such secret that they used a code name for the movie and the actors in costume would be covered with black sheets and driven on set secretly even if they only had to walk a short distance. They have a sunken parking lot called the blue sky tank which they can fill with water. That is where they shoot water scenes like the Star Trek IV movie with the whales. Our guide also told us they recently had a special event for the Justin Beiber movie where they invited all his fan club to a prescreening of his movie. As a surprise, Justin himself leapt out of the 3-D movie and all the girls were so stunned they just sat there in shock which was not what the promoters wanted so they sent him backstage to shoot it again and made sure all the girls were screaming appropriately.

[image error][image error]
Wednesday we were treated once again to special VIP passes but this time at Universal. If you ever have the opportunity to do this you should. VIP guests get to valet park, and are treated to fresh fruit, coffee cake, and juice before being given park maps, ponchos for water rides, front of the line passes, and bottled water. We went on the lot tour first and got to see the set of the TV show Parenthood, saw a sound mixing studio, and toured the set manufacturing building and the prop building. After that we were escorted to the various sets that remain on the lot though the movies are long over. They have the set for Psycho, The Grinch, and the War of the Worlds (Tom Cruise version). They also have a river where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park and a big water pool where they film any water scenes. They also have the water tank where they filmed the scene from New Moon where Bella dives into the ocean and Jacob saves her. After the studio tour we were treated to a gourmet lunch and then quickly made our way through all the rides. We got front of the line passes and even got our own cars for most of the rides. Though Waterworld was a disappointing movie, the show was really amazing and featured many Hollywood actors.



[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]
Thursday was a working day. I shot some video interviews and was able to visit the young white tiger Ziyka who is not a baby anymore. We were invited to dine with Raffi's family who cooked a Russian/American meal of grilled lamb, borscht salad, popovers, and finished the meal with Kiev and Napoleon cakes. Kiev cakes are mostly made of meringue and Napoleons taste like layers of crepe filled with custard. Delicious.


[image error][image error][image error]

Friday we went to the Chinese theater, took a bus tour to see the homes of the stars and the Hollywood sign, which by the way used to be Hollywoodland which was an advertisement to sell real estate. They took away the land part which left Hollywood and over the years the people who live there as well as actors have had to raise money to replace the old sign which was made of wood. We ate at the Hard Rock Café Hollywood and then toured the Wax Museum which was much more fun than I thought it was going to be. They advertised Hugh Jackman though and I was disappointed to hear he'd been loaned to China.

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]


Saturday we just relaxed and went to see a movie, The Source Code, I liked it but figured out what was going on pretty fast. I read four books on my trip too which is really one of my favorite things to do on vacation anyway.

 
Now we're back home. It's nice to be surrounded by my things and have my own bed and reading chair. The countdown is on! We have exactly seven weeks left until the release of Quest. We are finalizing my tour schedule and I hope to be able to announce some dates on my next newsletter.
 
Have a great week everybody!
 
Colleen

Romantic Times Convention

 

Hey Everybody,
 
I had an absolutely amazing time at the Romantic Times conference in Los Angeles! The conference had already started when I flew in so I missed Bollywood night which is terrible! I should have been there since we had the perfect costumes but instead we went to the fairy ball dressed up like an Indian prince and princess (my husband Brad came with).

[image error]
 
The fairy ball was craaaazzzy. They had a fairy oops they spell it faery court who were all introduced and dined on the stage. Our host for the evening was a handsome book cover model with long blond hair (no Fabio but he was a great substitute). During the costume competition they brought out ten male book cover models to escort the competitors across the stage and show them off. They did a good job catering to the mostly female crowd. One cowboy model won the prize when he brought his little dog dressed as a faery.



[image error][image error]
The dancing began after dinner and I was lucky to have such a handsome man to dance with. We waited for a slow song but gave up and hit the floor anyway since it was unlikely we'd get a slow song when most of the crowd was female. I felt a little awkward fast dancing in my Bollywood dress mostly because I'm a bit past my prime dancing years now and I think I've lost all my good moves.

 
The next morning I taught a workshop called, "You've Got to Start Somewhere" which was mostly about how I went from a self-published author to a traditionally published one. Veteran romance writer Cheryl Holt attended part of my workshop which was cool.

 
After my workshop I met with an interviewer for the Romantic Times and taped an interview about Tiger's Quest which they will post the first week of June so keep your eyes peeled for that one. My husband took the opportunity to wander the conference and check out the freebies. There were giant posters up everywhere with scantily clad models posing on romance book covers. He loaded his pockets with candy fake vampire teeth and judiciously tried to avoid eyeing the book covers. 
When I joined him to check out the wares, we stopped by a booth with a very tan male model wearing just jeans and an open vest. He gave me a very deep voiced, "hello there" and I had to say "hi" back. It was only polite after all. He was signing his name on probably 300 covers he featured at his booth. Mom would have stood there and giggled with me and maybe even posed for a picture but my husband just pulled me along to the next booth.

 
In the afternoon I attended a panel with Catherine Coulter, Cherry Adair, and Gregg Hurwitz. Fire alarms went off in the middle of the workshop but we were told we could stay anyway. I'm glad because it was fascinating to hear their stories. Catherine talked about how when people come up to her they say, "My mother loves you," or "My grandmother loves you." She laughs about it and seems very cool and calm. Almost like a grand Dame of writing. Gregg told fabulous stories about the crazy things he's done in the name of research such as jumping out of planes, meeting with FBI agents, and watching cadavers get sliced and diced.

 
My next workshop was a YA panel with Holly Black, Ally Carter, Melissa de la Cruz, Sally Wilcox from CAA, and Melissa Marr who was the moderator. They shared their experiences with turning their writing into movies and television and talked about how much input they have and how they felt about the process. Holly's Spiderwick was the only movie/book combo that I had personally read and seen and it was cool to listen to her describe her experiences. I saw Dean Koontz with his bodyguard but didn't get to attend his workshop. I heard he was hilarious though.

 
After talking it over with my husband, we decided not to attend the Vampire dinner and ball that evening but went to a fabulous steakhouse for dinner instead called LA Prime. It was on the 35th floor of the hotel. Fantastic food both steak and fish and we brought a pistachio/chocolate fudge cake back to our room to eat as we snuggled together watching television that night.

 
Saturday was the big book signing event. It was A MA ZING! We were set up in a place they dubbed YA Alley with stacks of our books sitting in front of us to be sold. I set up the huge poster Sterling had sent me and introduced myself to our fellow authors. On my left was The Ghost Huntress author Marley Gibson who graciously shared her 3 Musketeers candies with me and on my right was Michele Jaffe who is exceptionally gregarious and outgoing. Her hair is arranged in bouncy ringlets and she wore hot pink boots, purple leggings, and the coolest striped dress I ever saw. It had a bustle!

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]

 
I got signed books from Catherine Coulter, Alexandra Monir, Sophie Jordan, Holly Black, Alyson Noel, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, and my tablemates, Michele Jaffe, and Marley Gibson. I would have gotten more but I was busy signing books and only got to steal away for very brief moments of time. I had the coolest fans come up including a guy, yes a guy, his name was Lance. I had a young lady come up with her mom and she created her own tee with a picture of the white tiger on the front with the saying, "Some Curses Were Made to be Broken" and on the back it said, "Edward who?"

[image error][image error][image error][image error]

[image error][image error][image error][image error]
I even had a screamer fan who squealed rather loudly when I said I'd be giving away galleys of Tiger's Quest in the speed dating workshop. She ran off to get a ticket. I loved being surrounded by other authors and feeling their support and encouragement. I sold out of books which is cool too. I never got to meet Cassandra Clare. Her lines were way too long but I did get a glimpse of her as she left the teen party that evening. 

 
After the book signing, I went to the speed dating session. There were ten tables set up with about ten chairs each. My little group of fans ran up wanting to know where I'd be sitting so they could get a galley. The authors were me, Richelle Mead, Alyson Noel, Ally Carter, Rachel Vincent, Margaret Stohl, Mari Mancusi, Simone Elkeles, Nikki Carter, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. We sat at each table for five minutes and talked about our books and answered questions. I was able to give out 25 galleys of Tiger's Quest and chat with all the teens. It was so fun! I hope they do that again next year.



[image error][image error]
After that workshop, I met with Raffi, my producer, and made plans for this week. I get to go see Ziyka again but she's now double the size of when I met her last, about 150 pounds, and I might get to see Fanindra again, Raffi's pet golden boa.

 
After a quick dinner, we rushed up to the teen party. I signed books, bookmarks, met authors, and did a live video feed with Clare Dunkle, and Dona Sarkar who would be the perfect Nilima by the way. I didn't have time to ask her if she's met John Abraham. She's just gorgeous. I got to answer a question from a viewer which is awesome! I don't know if any of you were able to see the live feed but it is a cool way to get an insider's view of the party.

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]
That is it for my RT Repot. Next year is Chicago!
 
Have a great week! As for me, I'll be vacationing in LA this week and get home next Sunday so if you are waiting for an answer to a question that you emailed me, you'll have to be patient until next week. 

 
TTFN!
 
Colleen

Voyage and Audiobook

Hello!



The rumors are true.  You can now preorder a copy of Tiger's Voyage.  The release date will be November 1, 2011.  Also the preorders for the audiobooks for both Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest are now available too.  They will both be released the same day as the Tiger's Quest hardback which is June 7, 2011.



I downloaded the Audible for my computer since that is the company doing my books and purchased two books to get started.  Beastly by Alex Flinn and I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.  I'm listening as I do my daily walk now and I really like it so far. The big thing that's different for me is that I don't really project myself into the book when I'm listening.  There is a disconnect.  Maybe it's just me, but when I read it's like I hear my own voice as the character. That doesn't happen with every book of course only with those characters I can personally relate to.



Not much going on with me right now except writing.  Destiny is the longest book in the series and it stretches out before me in long chapters waiting for my attention. Maybe it feels long because I'm writing a battle scene.  I'm flailing along with that while trying to get my brother to answer the phone so I can pick his brain.



Watched the opening show for Dancing With The Stars and I have to say I wasn't wowed by the talent. I heard a rumor that Kirstie Alley would only appear if Maks was her partner.  Does anyone know if that is true?  I like Maks but Derek is still my favorite. It's going to be a slow season without him. Rooting for Kirstie and Maks but I think the Karate Kid will take it.  Anyone have a different prediction?



My new UK publisher, Hodder, sent me a bag full of books as a welcome to the company.  It was a literal bag like an old fashioned mail bag.  I've never seen a package delivered like that before. It's crazy how many books I have sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.  It will take me two years to get through the stack.



As a general reminder, if you want a signed copy of Tiger's Curse you can purchase one through Powell's online and for those who want a signed bookplate, send a self addressed stamped envelope to 161 High St SE Suite 206B Salem, OR 97301.



That's it for today.  Have a great week everybody!



Colleen

The Good Things

Hi,



Things have settled down a little bit since I'm back home. It's nice to have a month off to just write and catch up with family and friends. Speaking of which I have a shopping date with a good friend on Friday. The two of us have a lot in common.  We're both book worms and interpreters and overdo when we host parties. I think this is the first time in my adult life that I've ever deliberately and consistently scheduled time with a friend and I quite enjoy it. If you don't have a friend like that you should try to make one.  It's very therapeutic and fun to have someone to hang with that isn't part of a couple.



I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that have happened with Tiger's Curse so far in case you haven't been following Twitter and Facebook. Here is a brief glimpse into the life of a book hitting the market for the first time. After the editing, copyediting, and design are done, the marketing team takes over. Here is a little bit of what they've done in the past few months.



They got some great press coverage at the following:



USA Today-featured in the winter preview with cover art and author photo (January 6)
MTV.com, Hollywood Crush blog-
The Oregonian Newspaper– feature interview (January)
AM  Northwest (morning TV show, Portland, OR) – interview (January 18)
Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf – Book News section







They sent out review requests and the following is what has come in so far. (these will be added to the book in future printings)

 


"A sweet romance and heart-pounding adventure. I found myself cheering, squealing and biting my nails—all within a few pages. In short,Tiger's Curse is magical!"
—Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times best-selling author of Hush, Hush
 
"Houck has clearly done a great deal of research on Indian culture, and she is adept at including details that allow readers to understand the story's setting…Twilight fans will appreciate the supernatural, star-crossed romance."
—School Library Journal, December
 
"Richly imagined."  —Publishers Weekly
 
"Twilight fans…are the natural audience for this steamy opener.." —Kirkus Reviews
 
"One of the best books I have ever read. An ultimate thrill ride. A roller-coaster ride from the beginning to end, this book has action, history, poetry, romance, magic- everything you could ever want. A book with so much passion and thrills you won't be able to put it down. This saga is going to be one of the best yet." —RT Book Review
 




They did a lot of Advertising & Marketing


For advertising we did a Barnes & Noble Meet the Writers video, a sweepstakes on TigersCurseBook.com, a full page ad in the School Library Journal, a RT Book Review ad, had the cover for Baker & Taylor Books for Growing Minds, the back cover for Ingram Children's Advance, a cover ad in Publishers Weekly, an online ad campaign, did inserts, and distributed thousands of bookmarks.  



New York Times Bestseller



Of course the big news is that Tiger's Curse hit the New York Times Bestseller list for four straight weeks. For a debut novel in its infancy that's really good and I'm very excited that so much has happened so quickly. Now on new printings of Tiger's Curse and on every other book that comes out, I'll be able to add New York Times Bestselling Author next to my name! =) That's just so cool!





We know it takes a village to raise a child and in a very real way my book needed a whole team of helpers too. I am constantly amazed by the work of my incredible team and feel very grateful for all they have done to bring Tiger's Curse and, before you can blink, Tiger's Quest to market. 



I just finished the edits of Tiger's Voyage with my fabulous editor Cindy and now it's headed off to copyediting and design. I'm looking forward to all of you reading that book. It's my favorite of the series so far and I think it might remain my favorite. Now it's on to writing Tiger's Destiny. My editor wants it yesterday! Like Willy Wonka says, "So little to do, so much time! Wait. Scratch that. Reverse it." =)



Have a great week everybody!



Colleen Houck



 

listed as one of "11 YA Novels We Can't Wait to Read in 2011" (December 30)

Seventeen.com -did a book giveaway on blog on their blog

RT Book Reviews-book review and feature article (which by the way, if you like romance and YA fiction they have a great magazine with reviews, interviews with authors and sneak peeks of upcoming books)

Space Needle

Hi,
Just got back from a book signing at the military base near Tacoma, WA called Ft. Lewis/McCord. I spent the weekend there with my parents and my husband. They have a fabulous store there that's like a Macy's but with Wal-Mart prices. They had huge posters up all over the store and made us all feel very welcome.





Our hotel was right on the water and we took the opportunity to celebrate the achievement of Tiger's Curse hitting the New York Times Bestseller list by dining in the Space Needle. It's pricey but if you have the opportunity to do it, it's lovely. The restaurant rotates as you eat going in a complete circle once every 47 minutes. Loved the maple lavender butter for the rolls. I had a stuffed chicken dish with hedgehogs which were delicious mushrooms all in a lemon sauce. We ordered a lunar orbiter for dessert which is essentially an ice cream sundae fueled with dry ice so it fogs all over your table. Cool dessert!






In other news, I've been getting a lot of questions about auditioning for various movie rolls or for voicing the audiobook. It might come as a surprise but authors have very little say in such things. If there are ever any open casting calls for the movie I will surely let you know. In the meantime, you can follow Ineffable Pictures on Facebook and Twitter for movie news.

 
Also I have been attempting to write back everyone who writes to me. If I haven't gotten back to you, it means that your email address was entered incorrectly on my website. There have been about a dozen of these that just bounce back to me and there is no way for me to know how to respond, so don't feel ignored, just write me again.

 
There is a contest to win an advanced copy of Tiger's Quest right now on Goodreads. Follow the link to enter.

 
My next events will be in April so I should have a quiet month of writing. Check on the events tab for updates with my schedule.

 
Many of you have asked about bookplates. If you'd like to get a signed copy of my book, you can purchase one online through Powell's bookstore, which is my Indie store in Oregon. For a bookplate you can send a self addressed stamped envelope to my husband's work address which you can get when you email him at sales@colleenhouck.com.

 
That's it for now. Enjoy the pictures!

 
Colleen Houck

Arizona

Arizona
Posted by Colleen Houck in General



Hi,
I just got back from Arizona and have a mountain of work sitting on my desk. While it’s still fresh I want to tell you all about my trip.

We had a great event at the Desert Ridge Barnes & Noble store. My aunt Kathy came and several of my cousins with their kids. A 6th grade teacher also came with many of the students in her class. When I got to the Q & A part of my presentation, they all had prepared questions ready and wrote my answers down for extra credit in their class. (The bottom picture is my cousin with her baby girl)

The next day I did a presentation at Maricopa high school. I met the school librarian at the ALA conference in San Diego. She has a group of kids in a reading club called BAM who helped set up. We had around one hundred students come to the presentation, did a raffle, and signed books. Her library is lovely and the students were respectful, inquisitive, and fun!


After that we drove down to Tucson and stayed with my sister for the weekend. She not only put up a banner and decorated but she had hot double chocolate chip peanut butter filled cookies waiting for us! See why I dedicated the book to her? She’s an amazing hostess.


On Friday I went to the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind and gave a presentation to the students, then ate lunch with the librarian. Afterwards, I gave another presentation to the teachers at their in-service meeting. It was good to see the staff as excited as the students. Friday night I had a pizza party with my family.


Saturday I had a book signing at the Tucson Eastside Barnes & Noble. We ran out of books in the first twenty minutes.


Sunday was a long day of travel. We left my sister’s house around ten am and got home around 6:30 pm. Hope you all had a nice week! Next on my calendar is a trip to Ft. Lewis/McCord near Tacoma, Washington this weekend.

Colleen

Arizona

Hi,
I just got back from Arizona and have a mountain of work sitting on my desk. While it's still fresh I want to tell you all about my trip.
 
We had a great event at the Desert Ridge Barnes & Noble store. My aunt Kathy came and several of my cousins with their kids. A 6th grade teacher also came with many of the students in her class. When I got to the Q & A part of my presentation, they all had prepared questions ready and wrote my answers down for extra credit in their class.  (The bottom picture is my cousin with her baby girl)
   
The next day I did a presentation at Maricopa high school. I met the school librarian at the ALA conference in San Diego. She has a group of kids in a reading club called BAM who helped set up. We had around one hundred students come to the presentation, did a raffle, and signed books. Her library is lovely and the students were respectful, inquisitive, and fun! 



    
After that we drove down to Tucson and stayed with my sister for the weekend. She not only put up a banner and decorated but she had hot double chocolate chip peanut butter filled cookies waiting for us! See why I dedicated the book to her? She's an amazing hostess. 



 
On Friday I went to the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind and gave a presentation to the students, then ate lunch with the librarian. Afterwards, I gave another presentation to the teachers at their in-service meeting. It was good to see the staff as excited as the students. Friday night I had a pizza party with my family. 

     
 
Saturday I had a book signing at the Tucson Eastside Barnes & Noble. We ran out of books in the first twenty minutes. 

   
 
Sunday was a long day of travel. We left my sister's house around ten am and got home around 6:30 pm. Hope you all had a nice week! Next on my calendar is a trip to Ft. Lewis/McCord near Tacoma, Washington this weekend.
 
Colleen

Utah to Arizona and Valentine's

February 14, 2011

Utah to Arizona and Valentine's
Posted by Colleen Houck in Fun Stuff


Hello!

Back home for one day then I'm off to Arizona. I'll be doing a book signing in Phoenix at the address below.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Book Signing at Barnes & Noble Phoenix
7pm @ 21001 N. Tatum Blvd. Suite 42, Phoenix, AZ 85050

Then I'll be doing an appearance at Maricopa high school on Thursday the 17. Friday through Sunday I'll be in Tucson visiting family and hopefully doing some events too.

I had a fantastic book signing in Utah with 100 people coming out. It took me over an hour to get all the books signed. Can I just say that my fans are awesome! They came in T-shirts with their own stuffed tigers carrying old books and new ones. Utah rocks!


On Friday I went to Springville and spoke at Merit Academy and Reagan Academy. The kids were so fun! They brought in books from the Orem Barnes & Noble store and sold out quickly. The librarian is taking orders for more this week. I got a lot of pictures of kids hugging the tiger and even had one parent bring his videocamera so we could tape me with his kids.


The next day I went all over the Salt Lake Valley signing books at Barnes & Noble stores so if you missed me on Thursday you can still get a signed book at any store there including Bountiful.



I went to a Penguin author event featuring five YA authors and took pictures. Authors were-Beth Revis, Across the Universe, Ally Condie, Matched, Andrea Cremer, Nightshade, Brenna Yovanoff, The Replacement, and Kirsten Miller, The Eternal Ones. There were about 150 attendees and it was held in the downtown SLC library. Beautiful venue. I missed having dinner with Beth but enjoyed the extra time with my in-laws.



Headed off to Arizona tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing my brothers and sisters. Today is Valentine's Day and though me and my husband are planning to celebrate it later, I'll leave you with a few Valentine's thoughts.

Here's a poem by Robert Burns

A Red, Red Rose

O, my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my Luve's like a melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair as thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run:

And fare thee well, my only luve!
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile.

During Valentine's I like to do something for everyone in my family and decorate. I have a Valentine mailbox that sits on the counter that's the perfect place to stuff Valentine's cards. I also like twinkle lights and have colored lights for almost every holiday. My February ones are purple and pink. I collect children's books for every holiday and like to sit and read with my nieces and nephews when they come over to visit. The ones who live far away send me little valentines with candy hearts that often get crushed in the mail. I like to send them holiday cards with stickers or a gift certificate to Baskin Robbins.

A perfect Valentine's day to me includes the following:

1) Chocolate (this is my number one for a reason)
2) Hand Holding
3) Flowers (preferably roses)
4) A Fancy Dinner (either made at home or at a restaurant)
5) Music (Romantic music is nice but since Brad is Deaf it's usually not on his radar)
6) Candles (I like scented ones and the other bonus is that candlelight makes everyone more attractive)
7) Dressing Up (It often seems like I dress up more for my fans than my husband so I try to make a special effort when we celebrate Valentine's)
8) Long Stemmed Dipped Strawberries (not a requisite but really romantic)

That's it for me. What are some of your favorite Valentine's Day traditions? How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Colleen Houck

Pictures on my website.