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

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

SPOILER!

So the carpet. Is it her magic that makes it move or is it magical in and of itself?

Khalid and Tariq are both very swoonworthy guys. Have you any particular actors in mind for either of them?

Milena wrote: "I just finished ARC af Recreated and what a roller coaster ride it was! This maybe a spoilerish question sho I hope you can answer it. The first book is called Reawakened- we have Amon and his brot..."

Yes Lily is the inspiration behind the title. The original working title was The Heart of the Sphinx. The lion and the unicorn story was originally in the middle of the book but my editor felt it slowed the pace and opted to put it in the back as bonus material instead. This was something I totally made up. As far as I know there are no unicorns in Egyptian mythology.

Louise wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Kylie wrote: "What are your biggest tips for a new writer?
What do you want the cover of Tiger's Dream to look like?
What is it like living in Oregon? (I have lived in WA, TX, NE, ..."

The main inspiration for the Reawakened series is actually the pyramid. The number three is echoed over and over again in the series. I'll be talking about that on the upcoming blog tour.

I would be terrified to fly on a magic carpet! Would you ever get on one?

Can you tell us a bit about the magic book with the key?

Alyssa wrote: "Have you experienced writer's block? If yes, how did you overcome it?"

I always say I don't get writers block, I get writer's laziness or, sometimes, just plain exhaustion. I use pinterest for inspiration but really if I just sit down and re-read what I wrote the day before, I can usually keep going pretty well.

Kylie wrote: "What are your biggest tips for a new writer?
What do you want the cover of Tiger's Dream to look like?
What is it like living in Oregon? (I have lived in WA, TX, NE, SC, and IL but not Oregon)
Do ..."

Still undecided about the Tiger's Dream cover though I have some general ideas.

I have two dogs currently, named Murphy (after Mr. Kadam's pilot friend) and Bitsy. My old poodle who died in 2010 was named Prissy.

I love living in Oregon. The Northwest is the place for me.

My biggest tips are write and read what you love and sign up to go to local book conferences to pitch your books.

Milena wrote: "Colleen, all your books have such gorgeous covers! Who designs covers for your books and how much say/input do you have in the cover design?"

I love my book covers. I had the most input with Tiger's Promise and will have an equal amount of input on Reignited and Tiger's Dream since both will be published by me. Having said that, Delacorte (the Egypt series) has been amazing about asking what I like regarding covers. I send them tons of pins from my secret pinterest boards for inspiration.

Louise wrote: "Just in regards to a spin off series for Tigers Curse, will there be a novella for Nilima"

You never know.

Makeit wrote: "Hi Colleen!
What word of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?"

One word? Read. =) Seriously though, reading is important. I am inspired constantly by what I read and am of the opinion that the best writers are readers first.

Can you tell us a bit about the covers? I love the idea of looking through a lattice.

How much research had to go into these? The series is rich with details. I absolutely love it!

Congrats to Kate who is our chat winner! I'll be sending you a copy of Smash & Grab as soon as it arrives. Congrats and join me next month when my featured author is Renee Ahdieh!

Hannah wrote: "HI! I just wanted to say i loved your books! Last year i stumbled upon Reawakened and then the Tiger's Curse series. I'm so excited for the sequel! It's coming out 2 days before my birthday! Can yo..."

Hi Hanny

Happy early birthday! You will definitely see Asten and Ahmose more in the second and third book. The Reawakened series is three books and a novella. The tiger series will be five books a novella, a spin off story for Wes (eventually) and possibly a few more novellas as time permits. =)

Makeit wrote: "Hi! So, I hope you are ready for the storm of questions. xD

What was your inspiration to write the Tiger's Quest series and the Reawakened series?

The tiger series was inspired by Beauty and the Beast. The Reawakened series is a bit like Twilight meets The Mummy.

What introduced you into writing or what was your inspiration to start writing?

I started writing after I read the Twilight books. I looked up Stephenie Meyer and found out she was a woman my age who just got up one day and wrote a book. I decided to give writing a try too after reading her story.

How many books will be the Reawakened series?(if you ever mentioned it I missed that.)

Three and a novella.

Have you ever visited any of the places that you've written about?

Just Oregon and New York. I'd love to go to Egypt or India someday.

Which destination would you choose next if you decided to do, yet, another series?

My preference is to go a bit sci-fi =)

Which literary genres are you most likely to find yourself reading most of the time?

Definitely YA. It's almost exclusively what I read now.

Which book was your first read?

My earliest series was probably The Black Stallion series.

Is it that books your all time favorite or you have others?

I have many, many favorites.

Also, tea or coffee?

Tea.

Btw I love you writing."

Kate wrote: "I just got ahold of a copy of Recreated via a friend who had an ARC. I am only about 20 pages in-- but how did you come up with the idea for where Amon is at in the beginning of this book? Did it c..."

If you already read Reawakened, you know that Amon leapt somewhere else before he could be judged. At the beginning of Recreated, he is in the Netherworld. This is a bit like purgatory or hell so most of the images and ideas came from things associated with such a place.

Milena wrote: "I loved Reawakened and cannot wait for Recreated! My question is would you ever consider writing a book in a different genre? What other genres, other than YA, do you like to read?"

The thing I love about YA is that I can write almost any genre. I think if I was to venture somewhere else it might be adult fantasy or sci-fi. =)

Welcome to the group! Dan will be answering questions in December in this thread only. In the meantime if you have a question for the author or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so in this thread.

Welcome to the group! Erica will be answering questions in November in this thread only. In the meantime if you have a question for the author or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so in this thread.