Colleen’s Comments (group member since Apr 21, 2014)

Colleen’s comments from the Colleen Houck Book Club group.

Joanne wrote: "I've noticed that the covers for reawakened and recreated look more similar: more detailed and sophisticated; reignited and reunited being more simplistic. Is there a reason for that?"

Hi Joanne, To me they are similarly detailed so I'm not sure what you're missing on the other two. Maybe the glyphs? Speaking about covers in general, there is a trend toward simplicity right now. Personally, I'm like you. The more detail the better. I love examining art on book covers and linking the images I see to what's inside.

Louise wrote: "I noticed that the eyes on the cover are different, is there a special connection between a cover and a character?"

That's a great question! I didn't really get to pick the eyes. Reawakened is Amon's book though and I imagine that eye is his. Recreated is all about Asten and that jaunty eyebrow fits him pretty well. Though Reunited is Ahmose's book, my publisher went with a very feminine eye which is cool too since my girls are very prominent in the book. With Reignited you get the eye of a goddess. That's where the gold comes into play.

Ashley wrote: "Do you know if this book will ever be available as an audiobook? Love the series :D"

Hi Ashley. Yes! They are recording it as we speak. This is going to be my first all male narrator! I'm very excited to listen. You can preorder the cd now. It's not up on Audible yet but the CD will be out April 25th so I imagine it will be on Audible by then as well. https://www.amazon.com/Reignited-Comp...

Shaylee*cheeky* wrote: "Extra(0.5) books are written later, after book 1 or 2. Why is that? (The cover is absolutely lovely)"

Thank you! In this case, the reason Reignited was written after book two was because it was in the contract. =) This book is absolutely essential to understand what happens in book three. It was originally supposed to be released between books one and two but I'm glad it came later so you can meet the gods and goddesses first before hearing their backstory.

Natalie wrote: "what does the cover of the new book Reignited tell us of what's going on in the story? Love the colors, by the way" Thanks Natalie! Yes, the cover does give you a sneak peek into the story and the series in general. The golden eye which, you might notice, is different from the other eyes, represents the all seeing eye of a goddess. In this case, that goddess is Nephthys. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Also, the two winged goddesses are Isis and Nephthys as they try to bring Osiris back from the dead. In the background, you'll see the outline of a feather. Both goddesses have wings in this book and the feather is a symbol of great power that can be stripped away. Isis can use her feathers to heal and gifts one to Lily if you remember. Whew. That was a lot of information and probably not very clear.

What authors did you read growing up?

How did you get started writing?

Thanks so much to the amazing Jennifer A Nielsen! I loved reading all the answers and the great questions! Our winner is Diana! Congrats. Don't forget to join me next month when my featured author is Kassy Tayler!

Louise wrote: "Are you planning on linking the Tigers curse series with the reawakened trilogy?"

I have no plans to do so, though the two worlds could certainly be overlapped.

Sadie wrote: "is there going to be a Tigers Curse movie?"

It's still in the works, which is a good thing. Keep your fingers crossed!

I'm a huge Bon Jovi fan. Still think Jon looks hot. Any band crushes from your teens?

Jennifer wrote: "Ashley wrote: "When did you know you wanted to be an author? Who inspired you?"

Hi Ashley. As a child, I'd never met a real author, never seen an author, and so to me, authors weren't real people...."

I'm exactly the same! I always thought all authors were dead. My school library was full of dead writers. I mean their books, not the writers. ;)

I love Sage in The False Prince, Where did his name come from?

Which of your characters are you most like?

Are you naturally a history buff? Did you have to research a ton for the Mark of the Thief series? I've always been fascinated with ancient Rome.

What's your favorite fantasy film?

Gretchen wrote: "Ashley wrote: "What is your favorite genre of music?"

Ashley, I'm a huge fan of an obscure early 90s indie Brit pop genre called "shoegazer." The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, L..."

Yeah I was going to say I've never heard of those.

What's your next project?

Which of your characters are you most like?

So I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a departure for you from your other books. Were you nervous about trying something new? Was it as easy for you to write?