Destiny Launch Party

DESTINY LAUNCH PARTY


You guys! The Destiny launch party was so much fun! My event coordinator, Renee, said we had 175 people come out. So many,  in fact, that we ran out of books! So many that I'm going to have to go back and sign even more books for people who weren't able to get one last night. For those of you who missed it, I wore my red dress from India which included terribly uncomfortable shoes that I promptly removed when I sat down for the signing. My hubby wore his Sherwani coat. I got there an hour early for an interview with Jenna from the MTG blog which she will post later this week.



After that I read from the exclusive edition of Tiger's Voyage, the bonus chapter, then did Q & A. We could've easily gone another hour with Q & A and there were so many good questions. I gave out dozens of prizes that included tiger purses full of books, candles, scarves, candy, etc, a giant stuffed white tiger, and a movie poster with the concept art from my Tiger's Curse movie producers. I also gave out some of the collector's edition boxed sets. I had fans that drove from Seattle and southern Oregon and some that flew from San Francisco, Florida, and New Mexico. I got special little gifts like hand crocheted Ren and Kishan bracelets and hand written cards.



My fans are the best. The staff at Powell's told me that they've never had such a nice group. Even though they ran out of books and the lines were long (I signed books for two hours), my fans waited patiently and happily. What a great kickoff! Here are some pictures.














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So bottom line, the party was just awesome. The only thing we didn't have was a giant plate of Ren's cookies but we'll keep that in mind for next time.



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An announcement from Suki 
 




I have received a few emails about foreign books but here is what I have. They look so pretty on my shelf. I'll be sad to part with them! :-P



2 Slovenia Curse

4 Spanish Curse

1 Spanish Quest

3 Slovakia Curse

3 Poland Curse

3 Czech Republic Curse

3 German Quest

2 Taiwan (Complex Chinese) Quest

2 Taiwan (Complete Chinese) Voyage

4 Portugul Curse

1 Brazil Curse

2 Brazil Quest



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Creature Corner by Heather Lotti




 







Email: Heather@colleenhouck.com 

Relation to Colleen: Sister-in-Law 

Bio: Heather is a lover of art galleries, young adult fiction, and has a forced appreciation of legos (thanks to my two young boys who are now finally old enough not to eat them). I am a former school counselor who currently focuses most of my energies on making sure all household members eat their vegetables and have clean laundry. In my free moments I enjoy period romance movies, painting, and going for walks with the fam. 







The Kraken







“The Kraken” by Tennyson


 
Below the thunders of the upper deep;

Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,

His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep

The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee

About his shadowy sides; above him swell

Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;

And far away into the sickly light,

From many a wondrous grot and secret cell

Unnumber'd and enormous polypi

Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.

There hath he lain for ages, and will lie

Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,

Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;

Then once by man and angels to be seen,

In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
 
What could be scarier than an unknown evil lurking in the water than the mythical Kraken?  Well… Kelsey discovers that is not as mythical as she would like it to be.  Mrs. Houck writes, ““The monster loomed over me like a fleshy purple cloud in the water, ready to destroy me with the violence of a hurricane.”  Needless to say having a giant monster didn’t help our heroine with her scuba diving lessons!



We’ve heard the line from “Clash of the Titans”….”RELEASE THE KRAKEN!”… only to have it bring to mind an octopus-like creature capable of crushing the hulls of ancient ships. Mrs. Houck broadens our scope of dread as the monster lurks in the dark waters.

According to Jenna Bryner’s article “Lair of Ancient 'Kraken' Sea Monster Possibly Discovered” is states that, “A giant sea monster, the likes of the mythological kraken, may have swum Earth's ancient oceans, snagging what was thought to be the sea's top predators — school bus-size ichthyosaurs with fearsome teeth.



The kraken, which would've been nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long, or twice the size of the colossal squid , Mesonychoteuthis, likely drowned or broke the necks of the ichthyosaurs before dragging the corpses to its lair, akin to an octopus's midden, according to study researcher Mark McMenamin, a paleontologist at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.



There is no direct evidence for the beast, though McMenamin suggests that's because it was soft-bodied and didn't stand the test of time; even so, to make a firm case for its existence one would want to find more direct evidence.”



Read more about the Kraken.



An article that lists “10 Scariest Sea Creatures.” 



Here are some images of the Kraken: 



 






 
 


 





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SEPTEMBER CONTEST!
 



Some of you may remember one of the very first contests we did a year ago was a writing contest. We chose a paragraph and you wrote the next paragraph. At that time, we chose a paragraph from an unpublished book so no one knew what would happen next. This time, we are choosing a paragraph from Tiger's Destiny which many of you will read this month. If you have read it, try to write something different than what Colleen did.



There were be a three categories and three winners: the most surprising paragraph, the most hilarious, and a randomly chosen paragraph.



Email your paragraphs to Suki at contests@colleenhouck.com

The prize is a signed book or audio book of your choice.



When I crawled into the tent to join Ren and Kishan,

they abruptly stopped talking.

"Keeping secrets, huh?" I teased. "I don't want to know anyway. I only wanted to tell you that the trees are all asleep.

I think it's just a light's out kind of thing."



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DESTINY TOUR INFO
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Tuesday, September 11 Exton, PA



Barnes & Noble Store #2086

Event time: 7:00 PM

301 Main Street 

Exton, PA 19341



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Wednesday, September 12 Marietta, GA



Barnes & Noble Store # 2656

Event time: 7:00 PM

50 Ernest W. Barrett Parkway

Marietta, GA 30066



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Friday, September 14 Nashville, TN



Barnes & Noble Store #2701

Event time: 7:00 PM

1701 Mallory Lane

Brentwood, TN 37027



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Thursday, September 20 Las Vegas, NV



Barnes & Noble Store #2772

Event time: 7:00 PM

Rainbow Promenade

2191 N Rainbow Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89108



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Friday, September 28 Salem, OR



The Book Bin

Event time: 7:00 PM

450 Court Street NE

Salem, OR 97301




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I will also be doing an event in Salt Lake City, UT on either Oct 1 or 2

and one in Phoenix, AZ on either Oct 4 or 5. Watch for details. 





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DESTINY BOOK TRAILER
 



Last but not least, we are going to be running a very special contest. Are you ready? You all better sit down. Sterling, my publisher, is not going to be making a Destiny book trailer. I know. I know. It's rough. BUT...I was talking about it with my movie guy, Raffi, and we thought it might be fun if a fan made a book trailer for TIGER'S DESTINY.



THE RULES: 



(1) Your book trailer has to be one minute or less



(2) There can't be any copyrighted material, meaning no music or images that are under copyright protection.



SUBMISSION:



You'll have until the end of September to polish your trailer and then it must be submitted before midnight PST on Sept 30.



After that I will personally choose the top five book trailers and we will launch them on YouTube the first week of October. The trailer that gets the most likes by the end of October will become my official TIGER'S DESTINY book trailer.



NOTE:



We're going to set up a way to submit your video without posting it to YouTube, so don't try to send me anything until I give you more info.



THE REWARD:



Are you ready? Are you sure?



The winner of the TIGER'S DESTINY book trailer contest will not only receive an Ultimate Tiger Fan Prize Pack which includes the collector's edition boxed set, the exclusive edition of Tiger's Voyage, a giant stuffed white tiger to cuddle with, a concept art movie poster for Tiger's Curse The Movie, and all the audiobooks, BUT I will also fly to the winner's hometown, do a book event at their local bookstore or school, and take that person and a friend or family member out to a fancy restaurant where I will answer any and every question they want to ask.



ANOTHER NOTE: Before you ask, international fans may participate in the contest but be aware that the prize, though still fabulous, might not be exactly the same.



Good luck to all of you and happy book trailer making!



Colleen