Colleen Houck's Blog, page 7

Reunited Blog Tour!

The Reunited blog tour is coming!

 

Week One:

7/31/2017- YA Books Central– Interview

8/1/2017- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review

8/2/2017- YA and Wine– Guest Post

8/3/2017- a GREAT read– Review

8/4/2017- Two Chicks on Books– Interview

Week Two:

8/7/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader–Review

8/8/2017- Ohana Reads– Guest Post

8/9/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland– Review

8/10/2017- The Cover Contessa– Interview

8/11/2017- Riddle’s Reviews– Review

Join me as we gear up for the publication of Reunited! I hope you’re as excited as I am!

The Egyptian Goddess Isis

 

 

FAMILY

Isis, one of the four children Geb and Nut (Sky and Earth) and a main character in Colleen’s new novella and companion to the Reawakened series.  In Reignited you learn Colleen’s version of how Isis and Osiris fall in love and get married.  Knowing their love was forbidden they ran away to a place where no one could stall their plans.  Knowing they would have to confess to what they had done, they went before Amun-Ra to confess their joy.  Their happiest day soon turned into tragedy at the hand of Set who saw Isis as his own trophy stolen by the god he detested the most, Osiris.  Soon Orisis was lost to Isis and the god to blame had a plan to cause even more misery for Isis, the women he wanted compliant at his side.

 

 

When Set (or Seth in Reignited) killed Osiris he spread his body all over, chopped into 14 pieces.  When Isis resurrected Osiris she had to gather up all the bits and pieces to remake Osiris. The tears that fell from Isis due to the loss of Osiris are said to have flooded the Nile river.  Both the death and resurrection of Osiris were relived annual through rituals.  

 

HISTORY

 

First worshiped in in ancient Egypt her popularity rose and was later worshiped in the Roman Empire and even in our modern day. Isis is best known as the Goddess of health, wisdom, and marriage.  So her skills are still needed as the human race still pursues all three. She was idolized as a good mother and wife. She was also listening ear to the poor in life like sinners and slaves. Yet she still carved out time for the wealthy and rulers who had more of everything than most. As all mortals end their journey Isis watches over them and is the protector of the dead. In fact the two sister Isis and Nephthys were often depicted with wings outstretched to protect those in their coffins against evil.

 

The name Isis means “throne.”  Her Headdress is a representation of a throne as well. Often she also depicted with an Ankh in her hand which resembles a cross but has a loop at the tip and is a symbol of life.

 

Ruins of Behbeit El Hagar in the Nile delta

 

Her two most important temples were at Behbeit El Hagar by the Nile and in Upper Egypt was Nectanebo.

 

Vestibule of the Temple of Isis at Philae

 

 

Family Drama

It doesn’t escape us that Osiris, Set, Nephthys, and Isis were all siblings.  If there was a Housewives of Heliopolis it would be filled with drama and some uncomfortable moments.  One of which is when Nephthys wanted a child that Set refused her.  So Nephthys disguised herself as Isis and as a result of this deception came the birth of Anubis.  Fearing that Set would kill Anubis, Nephthys asked Isis to adopt her son to protect him from Set’s wrath. 

 

 

When Isis gave birth to Horus she fled to protect her son from Set.  Isis escaped and protected her son until he was old enough to face Set.  Horus became the pharaoh of Egypt.

Isis was powerful and intelligent.  She tricked Ra into telling her his “secret name” that gave her power over Ra.  She did this by holding the only antidote for a snake bite that Ra had received. Her spells were powerful and these secret names were central to those spells.  She became one of the most powerful deities because of her magical skills.  She used them to resurrect Osiris and protect her son Horus.

 

 

Isis: Roman Empire and the world

 

 

  Isis was part of the Roman religion adopted from the old Egyptian religion. Some Roman leaders like Augustus wanted to restore the traditional Roman religion but those in power like emperor Caligula was fond of the Egyptian gods and goddesses.  Wall paintings and object were even present in Pompeii that were preserved by the terrible eruption of Vesuvius.  There were even followers in Spain,  Germany, Britain, and many more.

 

Roman Isis statue

 

 

 

 

Isis is a good ally to have on your side.  She is powerful, protective, and doesn’t shy away from a fight. If you haven’t had a chance to read Reignited it’s a good time to get a copy and run away to the Egyptian city if Heliopolis.

 

Shara

 

 

 

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July Contest of the Month-REUNITED-Coming to book stores near you!

One more month, just one more month until the official release of REUNITED, the final book in the REAWAKENED saga!

Happy 4th of July everyone! There is much to celebrate this summer. My latest book in the REAWAKENED series is being released AUGUST 8th! There will be a LAUNCH PARTY that night (see details below). I just finished a TOP SECRET book that may be published Fall of 2018! Watch for reveals in upcoming months. It’s a BIG one! I’ve received the mock up book cover designs for TIGER’S DREAM! It’s happening my tiger fans, Spring of 2018 can’t come soon enough!

~ Colleen Houck

 

To help celebrate, Colleen is giving away,

2 SIGNED HARDBACK COPIES OF REUNITED!

How do you participate for a chance to win? It’s easy. Simply TWEET to all your friends on TWITTER with one of the following tweets below (be sure to TAG COLLEEN HOUCK so she can see it):

#MustRead NEW #YA book #REUNITED by NYT Best Selling Author @colleenhouck

#BookLovers unite! Hot NEW #YA book #REUNITED by NYT Best Selling Author @colleenhouck

#WhatToRead is the NEW #YA book #REUNITED by NYT Best Selling Author @colleenhouck.

For bonus entries, leave a book review on Goodreads and/or Amazon for one or all of Colleen Houck’s books! Each review counts as a bonus point.

Never done a review before? It’s easy! Simply go to the website (Amazon or Goodreads), look up the book you wish to review, click on link that says review and submit. When you’ve made your review on their website, simply click the button that says “see review” (yours should be at the top or close to it) and copy and paste it into the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be selected beginning of August. Thanks and good luck!

For those interested in the REUNITED Book Launch Party, here’s what you need to know:

Where: Powells Book Store

3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005

When: August 8th, 2017 at 7pm

 

Word Clouds

Word Clouds

 

I’ve had a lot of fun playing with word clouds recently on a website called Tagul. I’ve been able to download my entire book into a program that looks for the most common words in the manuscript and then creates a word cloud for it. This just proves there is an app for pretty much everything.

It’s pretty cool to see what words rise to the forefront. I’ve kept these clouds pretty much intact and just threw out hyphenated words that don’t make sense and then moved the title of the book to the highest setting so you’d see that first.

 

Tiger’s Curse

I chose a tiger paw for this word cloud shape for obvious reasons. What’s interesting to me about this one is the fact that the gada ranked so high and that Phet is almost up there with Kelsey. Incidentally, the gada is the only weapon in the tiger series I’ve been able to find in the cloud. Black is bigger than white though Ren is more used than Kishan. Hair has been a word I’ve used a lot in the tiger series as well. This is the only one where I can find Fanindra and fruit which is interesting.

 

 

Tiger’s Quest

Even though I chose a tree shape for this word cloud I had to change the colors to match the book. I think an orange would have matched a bit better but the black is easier to see. I was shocked to see that Li is so much bigger than Artie. Artie has a weight to his character that I feel each time I read about him but I guess I didn’t showcase him as much as I thought. Bird is big in this one which makes sense and even though I didn’t add Tiger’s Quest on this one, tiger is still prominent. Date is bigger than black or white in this book and I like that love is an important word.

 

Tiger’s Voyage

For this one I used a water drop since water is a main feature of the book. There are a lot of words given equal amounts of weight here but what stands out to me are the words ship, boat, Wes, and water. Dragon is right up there which is appropriate and then there’s hand. I must do a lot of hand holding or touching in my books for the word hand to be so big. Again I added black just so you could see the words better. Oh and I noticed the word golden is easier to find than green or blue or red. The golden dragon is my favorite.

 

Tiger’s Destiny

I chose a flame to represent this book but the shape makes it harder to read all the words. Mr. is easy to find but I don’t see Kadam which is strange. Durga and Lokesh are both prominent and for some reason Li is back in there. Not sure why unless it just needed a short word to fill in. Kiss has been a word that pops up in each cloud which is appropriate. I can’t find Phoenix or Rakshasa. They must be too small for me to see. The green flames don’t seem natural but I wanted to match the colors of the book. 

 

 

Tiger’s Promise

 I am exceptionally proud of Tiger’s Promise. If you haven’t read it because it’s a novella you need to ignore that and check it out anyway. Right now I’m writing a novella for the Reawakened series and if you skip that one you’re not going to understand the end of the series. Because it is a smaller book, the words are more easily found. I like that Rajaram is so big as is the word family. This is the first time Dhiren comes up instead of Ren. No black or white here since the princes aren’t tigers yet. Veil is a big theme in this book since Yesubai trains herself to veil her emotions and her father likes to hide her beauty behind veils. I like the words home, girl, and mother. Then you’ll see flower and garden and beautiful. Yesubai loves flowers. Prince is large and wish being a word I emphasized is pretty cool since this book has a lot to do with wishes.

 

Reawakened

For this one I chose a pyramid for the shape and added the word Reawakened so you’d know the title. Right away I noticed dark and light which is a theme I play with a lot in this book. Asten and Amon are pretty equal which surprises me. Ahmose is slightly smaller but that’s to be expected since he doesn’t appear until halfway through. Power shows up a lot which is different from the tiger series. I think Lily is about equal to Kelsey in mentions. This book, like the tiger books, are in first person, so Lily and Kelsey are the narrators which means their names aren’t used as often. I never realized before that Hassan and Kadam sound very similar. Interesting. And there’s hair again. Apparently, I have a thing for hair. 

 

Recreated

 For Recreated I chose a star to symbolize the book. You’ll notice that Asten features as prominently as Amon in this book. Heart and Eye are also very important. Arm and Head are coming up more frequently than Hand this time so not as much hand holding as I usually do. You’ll also notice Tia is very large. Tia is a new character you’ll be meeting in Recreated. Power is back and Feel is usually a big word for me. If you look really closely, you might find Horus in there somewhere. Nephthys and Isis make an appearance as well. Amun-Ra and Ma’at were kicked out due to punctuation, it seems but they are important in this book as well. Also there a character called the Devourer. The program only kept devour so you might see that but not her name. 

 REALIGNED

For the Realigned word cloud, I chose a tree since Osiris is the god of all growing things and the first kiss he shared with Isis was in a gazebo in his garden. You’ll see my characters prominent on the tree. Other important words are power, star, want and mortal. You’ll have to read the book to figure out why. Can you find the word sister? That’s a big one in this book as is heart.

REUNITED

With Reunited, I chose the shape of the full moon. This book belongs to the moon god, Ahmose but you can still spot Asten and Amon. Tia is much more of a prominent voice here than Lily or Ashleigh which is interesting. I really like the word ONE being so prominent. It’s a good representation of the book’s theme. What else can you find in here that hints of what will happen in the story?

 

Check back and I’ll add more books as we get ready to publish them!

The Modern Ink Society-Featuring Sarah Beth Durst!

Write What You Love

by Sarah Beth Durst

 

I want to tell you about my least favorite bit of writing advice: “Write what you know.”

Bleck.  No.

Well… that is… not exactly.

 

Okay, maybe there’s some truth to it, but here’s the sneaky little secret with that old chestnut: what you know at the start of writing a novel is entirely different from what you know at the end of it.  By the end of it, you’ve written about what you know.  It’s just you didn’t know it on page one.

 

The act of writing is an ongoing act of discovery.

 

I’m constantly drawn to writing about the things I don’t (or even can’t) know, such as what it’s like to fly on a winged lion or to ride a zipline between Lothlorien/Endor-size trees or to summon a kraken.

 

I love to write about places I’ve never been, places I can’t go, and places I’d never dare go.  I love to write about being brave, doing the impossible task, and fighting the unbeatable evil.

 

In real life, I’d make a terrible adventurer.  I overpack.  I hate bugs.  I don’t like being too hot or too cold, and I am deeply grateful for modern plumbing.  But in fiction… ahh, in fiction, I can travel anywhere, be anyone, and do anything!

 

For my new epic fantasy series, The Queens of Renthia (which started with THE QUEEN OF BLOOD and continues on July 4th with THE RELUCTANT QUEEN), I created a world of extreme beauty with trees so enormous that cities are nestled in their branches and mountains so high they pierce the clouds, and I filled this idyllic land with nature spirits.  But these aren’t sweet, pastoral sprites — these spirits want to kill all humans, and only certain women have the power to control them.

 

In other words, I created a world in which I’d be dead in about five seconds.

 

So I thoroughly reject the “write what you know” advice.

 

Instead I’d like to change it to: “Write what you love.”  Write what interests you, what moves you, what touches your heart.  Write the book you want to read.  Don’t write what you know; write what you WANT to know.

 

Check out Sarah’s new book! Read her Q & A on Goodreads.

 

Unicorns

When I first think of Unicorns I remember the movie titled “The Last Unicorn” released in 1982.  I can still hear the song in my mind.  If you haven’t seen the film I would suggest you take the time and watch the graceful kind unicorn run through the forest with her companion like the less than skilled magician, a brave knight, and a evil old unicorn hunter. Unicorns have not lost their magical pull on the young and old.  We find them in modern movies like Harry Potter when Voldemort used the unicorns blood to stay alive.  They are even found in Despicable Me. 

 

The magic of unicorns still  captures our imagination and that’s because of their beauty and magical qualities.  Their horn is known to purify poisoned water and heal sickness.  Their tears and blood are also said to be healing. Unicorns are hard to catch and it’s said that they will only come to a fair maiden wearing white and who are found weeping alone. They will come and fall asleep on the maidens lap, then the hunter will take them.

Legend says they can only be found during the light of a full moon. A unicorn symbolizes innocence, freedom, purity and feminine power. It’s counterpart is a lion which symbolizes the masculine virtues.

Most young girls have loved a stuffed unicorn or at least dreamed of a white soft unicorn with a sparkly golden or silver horn. Unicorn means single horn, and many beasts have been mistaken as unicorns.

 

Even though unicorns are mythical they have had a impact on history in many parts of the world especially in China and India.  I’ll list a few.

Marco Polo believed he found unicorns and described them as “…very ugly brutes to look at. They are not at all such as we describe unicorns.” That’s because he actually saw rhinoceroses. 

Picture yourself READING Contest + BONUS contest ***Winner Announced***

The Winner Is

Kimberly LeeMaster

Here is her entry:

 

This month we want to encourage cozy, engaging, inspirational, relaxing perusal of your favorite Colleen Houck book.  This is a super simple, quick, and fun way to win some extra books for your upcoming summer vacation. 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few ideas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Win:

Pick your favorite Colleen Houck book.  Pick a place that has lots of light or get creative with the light.  Make sure we can see which book you are reading by showing it to the camera!!! Add props like a stack of favorite books, a soda pop and straw, sunglasses, etc.  Then take lots of pictures, pick the best, and post it on your Pinterest account and paste it in the comments section below.   I can’t wait to see where you love to read!

 

 

What you will Win:

A copy of Reignited or a advanced reading copy of  Reunited.  You can choose!   PLUS 2 more surprise bonus books.

 

 

        [image error]

 

This contest runs the entire month of June 2017

 

 

Both contests run for all of June 2017

BONUS CONTEST:

Enter to win an additional book from Colleen just do one or all (to increase your odds of winning)

Pick a 2nd book to win pick some different than the first contest


Follow Colleen on Twitter
Add Reignited to Good Reads “To Read” list
Add Reunited to Good Reads “To Read”  list
Link a review of any of Colleen’s books on Amazon or Good Reads (just follow the instructions below)  This one is worth 5 x more points

On GoodReads

Find the book
Review the book
hover over “My Review” and right click over it to click on and copy the link
paste the link in the proper area on the Rafflecopter

On Amazon.com

Find the book
Review the book
hover over the “title” of your review and right click over it to click on and copy the link
paste the link in the proper area on the Rafflecopter

 

Good luck!

 

Shara

 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Picture yourself READING Contest + BONUS contest

 

 

This month we want to encourage cozy, engaging, inspirational, relaxing perusal of your favorite Colleen Houck book.  This is a super simple, quick, and fun way to win some extra books for your upcoming summer vacation. 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few ideas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Win:

Pick your favorite Colleen Houck book.  Pick a place that has lots of light or get creative with the light.  Make sure we can see which book you are reading by showing it to the camera!!! Add props like a stack of favorite books, a soda pop and straw, sunglasses, etc.  Then take lots of pictures, pick the best, and post it on your Pinterest account and paste it in the comments section below.   I can’t wait to see where you love to read!

 

 

What you will Win:

A copy of Reignited or a advanced reading copy of  Reunited.  You can choose!   PLUS 2 more surprise bonus books.

 

 

        [image error]

 

This contest runs the entire month of June 2017

 

 

Both contests run for all of June 2017

BONUS CONTEST:

Enter to win an additional book from Colleen just do one or all (to increase your odds of winning)

Pick a 2nd book to win pick some different than the first contest


Follow Colleen on Twitter
Add Reignited to Good Reads “To Read” list
Add Reunited to Good Reads “To Read”  list
Link a review of any of Colleen’s books on Amazon or Good Reads (just follow the instructions below)  This one is worth 5 x more points

On GoodReads

Find the book
Review the book
hover over “My Review” and right click over it to click on and copy the link
paste the link in the proper area on the Rafflecopter

On Amazon.com

Find the book
Review the book
hover over the “title” of your review and right click over it to click on and copy the link
paste the link in the proper area on the Rafflecopter

 

Good luck!

 

Shara

 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My Favorite Places to Read

Where do you read is a question best answered by when can you read.  I read at night when all the kids are asleep. Some read on the beach on vacation, some read on their phone, others along the way to work each day on a train, plane, or tube.  We all have different pockets of time which determine where we dive into our books. 

 

 

My favorite spot is all nestled into my bed sheltered by my quilts, down comforters, and stacks of pillows.  I always have to have a pillow on my lap to hold the book as I turn pages.  I noticed that I inherited the lap pillow from my mom.

 

 

I’ve also read outside when the weather is good.  In Tucson you avoid spending too much time outside nine out of twelve months. Yet when you have those cool months reading outside somehow adds to the drama between the pages as the wind runs through your hair, and sunlight warms the words.

 

 

 

However the most important part of reading is who comes along the journey with me. My little Shih-tzu Kyle is my most loyal friend and stays with me during all the cliffhangers, romances, and undiscovered lands.  Sometimes he sleep cries and I always wonder what he’s dreaming about.

 

 

Do you have a favorite place to read or a favorite furry friend that keeps you company?

 

 

Shara

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Lions

 

Lions once lived in Africa, Asia, and southern Europe.  Now they are mainly in the game reserves of Africa.  Some can still be found in the Gir Forest of India but they are highly endangered.  An adult male lion can weigh as much as 550 lbs and grow as long as 11 ft including the tail.  Females are about 15-20% smaller and don’t have the beautiful mane the males have.  They live in families called prides just like you see in the movie “The Lion King.”  Only two mature male will be in one pride and they spend about 20-21 hours per day resting leaving the hunting and cub rearing to the females.  Hmmmm…sounds like a pretty relaxing life, right? Even when the lionesses hunt the food the males eat first, then the females, and last the cubs.

 

I have to imagine that the pride unit works well. In “The Lion King” there is a scene where Mufasa teaches young Simba about when to be brave. I still get the giggles when Simba ducks down into the grass when Mufasa grouchily calls to him.  However Mufasa’s temper is soon calmed as he gives Simba some wise fatherly advice . I love this father-son moment in this movie.  Especially since we later find out that Simba will be on his own all to soon, and will ache for his father’s presence.

 

 

 

 

 

Male lions have been a symbol for thousands of years across Europe, Asia, and Africa.  The most common depiction is that of king, like king of the jungle or of all beasts.  A lion is though of as royalty, brave, and a leader.  The earliest depiction of lions in cave art about 32,000 years ago in the Chauvet Cave in southern France, and later in the Lascaux cave 15,000 years ago.

 

In Egypt we first see lions in the form of a sphinx, which has the head and shoulders of a human and the body of a lioness.  These sphinx were protectors of the pharaohs.  Later the pharaohs themselves were depicted as sphinxes to boost their credibility as the offspring of deity.  In fact Bastet or Bast was a goddess in  the Egyptian religion worshiped in the 2nd Dynasty.  I don’t want to give any spoilers to those who have not read Recreated,   but you will find a lioness who befriends Lily in her adventure to save Amon. Lily and the lioness rely on each other to get through the many challenges they face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sekhmet, the war goddess, is depicted with a woman’s body and the head of a lioness.   It’s said that sacred lioness was responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile. 

 

 

In Greek mythology Heracles barehanded killed the Nemean lion and wore the pelt as an invulnerable magic cloak.  This lion is also said to represent the constellation Leo and the sign of the Zodiac.

 

 

Then in the Bible we have Daniel in the lions den, and somehow survived the night and miraculously survives. If your curious you can look up the account in Daniel 6.

 

 

In Chinese and East Asian traditions start with the Buddhist missionaries from India in the 1st century AD who first introduced lions. Lions are not native to China but they are in the art and believe lions protect from evil spirits.  In fact there is a Chinese New Year lion dance to scare away ghosts and demons.

 

Check out the video below where they dance on the stilts. I love watching the eyes blink.

 

 

 

On Wikipedia they listed leaders with lion-ish names.  Have you heard of them?

Title of kings and political leaders

Various kings and political leaders in different cultures and times, famed for courage or fierceness, were titled “the lion” – such as

Llywelyn the Great, along with his family, were the first to bare lions on arms.
Henry the Lion
Richard the Lionheart
Robert III, “The Lion of Flanders”
Lala Lajpat Rai, “The Lion of Punjab”.
The Al-Assad family, ruling in Syria, derives its surname from the title Asad (“lion” in Arabic) of an ancestor.[30]
Thirteen popes took the name Leo.

Lions have been around for a long and hopefully we are wise enough to make sure they stick around.

 

Shara

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