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

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

I've got to head over to my chat about Reawakened now but first I wanted to announce the prize winner for this chat! Our winner tonight is Jennifer! Thanks so much everyone for joining Beth's chat! I'll leave the discussion open for a while so Beth can finish up with everything. Don't forget to join me next month when my special author guest is Marissa Meyer!

Jennifer wrote: "Aren't you a little bit tempted to write stories to children so your child will read earlier your work ? Or are you kind of hoping to introduce to him some of your childhood book friends ?"

I don't have any kids but my nieces and nephews all read my books or listen to the audiobooks at a very young age. Not sure I'd be interested in writing middle grade since I love the romance aspect so much.

Matthew wrote: "how about the good ratings? do you guys feel proud after reading a good or high starred review? do you stalk the reviews of your books in goodreads?"

Definitely proud if it comes from a friend, colleague, or reviewing body. Otherwise, I don't read them. Danger! Danger! Will Robinson.

Beth wrote: "When I was reading about all the inspiration you had for The Body Electric, especially with the characters of Jack and Rose (Doctor Who - woot!) "

Okay so now I need to know who is your favorite Doctor? *cough* better be David Tennant *cough*

Matthew wrote: "are you scared of what people, who did not enjoy your books as much as us, might say? are you scared of bad ratings and criticizm?"

Scared? No. That's mostly because I don't read any reviews at all except the big guys like PW. It's counter productive most of the time and the only ones you remember are the bad ones. Depending on how you handle it, it can crush your spirit as an author. It comes with the territory that this will happen and at some point every author has to learn to let go and accept it for what it is.

Allana wrote: "When you finally get your book, published and bound in your hands, what is the first thought and feeling that comes to mind?"

For me its, "I did it!"

Tina wrote: "For Colleen: Are you a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between? Or do you have your own methods?"

For me it's like a road trip. I know I want to stop in Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, and NYC but I give myself permission to explore stuff along the way, if that makes sense. I guess I'd call myself a loosey-goosey planner.

Tina wrote: "Do you remember the first thing you ever wrote? If so, do you ever look back at it and think back to how you felt in that moment?"

The first thing I ever wrote was a recipe book with my grandfather that spanned four or five generations. It's very precious to me and I use it all the time even though half the cookie recipes call for lard ;)

Allana wrote: "What feelings do you get when you finish a book, attend book signings, and talk to fans?"

The fans are so great! They understand. They get the love I feel for my characters and they are as real to them as they are to me. So awesome to hang out with fans, I'd invite them all over for dinner if I could.

Beth wrote: "Some really great books I've read recently are Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff; Damage Done by Amanda Panitch; The Cage by Megan Shepherd; The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh; Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan. And I *just* got Colleen's new book, Reawakened, in the mail yesterday, so I can't wait to dive into that one! "

Just added some more books to my TBR pile! Sigh. There is never enough time to read everything I want to. My goal is to try to read at least one book from all the authors I meet at conferences. I'm so behind! Upped my reading goal to 100 books per year which is a lot for me. Also switched over to audiobooks for about 50% of that.

Matthew wrote: "are you big fans of anything? and i mean like crazy-hardcore-fangirls haha"

Since I was in my teens I was a huge fan of boy bands. Still am. Yes, I rock out to One Direction though I don't have any posters or anything. I geek out over Comic Con types of stuff like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. #Legolas

Is there any chance there might be a sequel to this book?

Beth wrote: "That was the moment that it really hit me that this was real, and it was now my life, and I loved that moment. "

=)

Allana wrote: "When you're writing, do your characters always come out the way you imagined?"

For me, the answer is yes and no. They always grow in ways I don't expect.

Matthew wrote: "do you ever get writers block? if so, how do you get past it? any special tricks?"

I don't get writer's block, I get writer's laziness. Not quite the same thing.

Colleen wrote: "Still have most of the poem from the third book, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, memorized."

In fact, Madeleine L'Engle might be why I love incorporating poems and spells into my books so much.

Beth wrote: "I also dearly loved A Wrinkle in Time. I'd like to say it's because I saw something deeper in it, too, but I really just loved Meg and wanted to be like her. "

I also love this series so, so much! Still have most of the poem from the third book, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, memorized.

Colleen wrote: "Matthew wrote: "is there anything that you guys have to di to get your creative-author-magic going? i mean like any song you listen to while writing? snacks you have to eat?"

I always light a cand..."

Oh and you know how in Misery the author has a bottle of something and a candle as a ritual? Mine is Olive Garden. After I finish a book we celebrate by going to Olive Garden and ordering a full appetizer, entree, and dessert. ;)

Matthew wrote: "is there anything that you guys have to di to get your creative-author-magic going? i mean like any song you listen to while writing? snacks you have to eat?"

I always light a candle to remind me to incorporate the five senses. If the character doesn't see, smell, taste, touch, or hear something, you don't either. Otherwise, it comes down to parking your behind in the chair and forcing yourself to work. =)

Beth wrote: "But also, bees become a symbol of Ella's mind issues."

I really like the cover design with the bees. Who did your cover?