Colleen Houck Book Club discussion
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The Shadow Prince
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The first book in a series is always the hardest for me too. I'm still feeling out the characters. Once I get a good idea of how they think, I'm usually fine.
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Colleen wrote: "Bree wrote: "When I was in college I worked as a special needs nanny for a handicapped boy. He just graduated high school yesterday (in his 20s) and I am so proud! "In my other life I worked with..."
That's awesome! I started out as a peer tutor for special needs students in Jr. High and kept working in that field through college. Working with kids is what lead me to wanting to write for children and teenagers.
Veray wrote: "I loved The Shadow Prince. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their stories. I loved the music aspect as I love to sing. I felt so bad for her dad when his real story came out. I loved th..."Thank you, Veray! I can't divulge such information . . . spoiler, you know! But that is an interesting question. :)
How many books do you plan to write after The Shadow Prince?
Christine wrote: "Dear BreeWhat's your favorite movie and book and drink and holiday and tv show and food and color and book and weather season and song?"
I love Star Wars and The Princess Bride. My favorite book is Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. I have quite the love for blood orange soda, I love spring and fall weather, and my favorite song is "I will follow you into the dark" by Deathcab for Cutie. (Which was the inspiration for this book.)
Samantha wrote: "I was wondering where you got the idea for The Shadow Prince and if you could be anybody in the book who would it be and why?"The inspiration came from the song "I will follow you into the dark" by Deathcab for Cutie. It made me think about the concept of following someone else into the dark for the sake of love.
I would want to be Daphne because she gets to kiss HAden. HAHA!
Valerie wrote: "I loved the idea of stripping away Persephone's victim status by exploring the idea that she made the choice to follow Hades "of her own free will in order to fulfill a greater purpose" and that it..."Thank you, Valerie. This was an important idea for me and one of the reasons I kept returning to this book over the years.
Colleen wrote: "I was fascinated by the teacher's perspective on the Rape of Persephone. How many different versions of the story did you end up reading for your research?"Probably half a dozen, but I also read different essays written about the subject as well.
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I agree. It's awesome inspiration!
Shara wrote: "Bree wrote: "Suki wrote: "Yet another book for me where I liked the guy better than the girl. Perhaps this is an effect of dual-perspective books! Was it difficult to switch back and forth?"Switc..."
I also wonder since we as women often judge ourselves harshly if we have a harder time "liking" female characters as easily as we like male characters. Just something I've been pondering lately...
Shara wrote: "Do you think the short "dating time" Haden has to find a girl to bring to the underworld gides him towards girls with more problems and more unhappy? If so didn't he know from the start that Daphn..."Normally Underlords do pick girls they think will be "easy" to sway--this is why Haden's quest is harder. Daphne is very independent and not an easy catch. But since Haden has is more in tune with his emotions, he is uniquely suited for connecting with her.
Colleen wrote: "Bree wrote: I've only seen High School Musical once..."Okay we seriously need to schedule a HSM party."
YES. THIS!
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I think you have something there. I can't tell you how many times I hear from fans that they LOVE my series and despise my heroine with a passion that just seems extreme.
Enna wrote: "Based on all the comments and questions, I really want to read the book! It seems interesting! My question would be: Do you have a favorite TV show? (To watch for fun or a show that inspires your..."
I have so many favorite TV shows, it's hard to pick one. I love Buffy, Vampire Diaries, Doctor Who, Veronica Mars, Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural and so many others. They all inspire me!
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Okay we seriously need to schedule a HSM party."
YES. THIS!"
I'll supply the food and you bring Zac Efron ;)
Shara wrote: "If you had a choice would you rather live with Daphne's father where she would have more musical opportunities? Or with her mom where she could grow up feeling loved and secure?"That is an interesting question! I am a homebody and family is super important to me so I would probably stay home. But Daphne is very driven by her dreams so she didn't see the importance of home at the time.
Shara wrote: "Is it easier writing about Utah since you live there? Is there a place you would love to visit for a few months and just relax and write? Hawaii? A secluded cabin? A stormy beach?"I took a few trips to southern Utah while writing this book so it was nice to be close by. My dream is to be able to winter in New Zealand and write on the beach in Pauanui of Whangamata.
Colleen wrote: "Is the disorder to hear music in everyday things real or is it something you made up?"There are people who have mental disorders who hear music when there is none, or that they can only relate to the world through music. A relative of mine has musical OCD. But I decided to take this concept to an extreme level with Daphne. Some scientists have recorded the sounds that the earth's core makes (it sounds like music) and other objects. I was like, "What if someone could actually hear the sounds that the world makes?"
Abdulazeez wrote: "Hi Bree, mu name is Abdulazeez Henry Musa, I am the author of Cybersex: A Nightmare of the 21st Century. I am based in Amsterdam and it is my great pleasure to be part of this forum."Nice to meet you, Abdulazeez!
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I think that is true of most of us. We think home can be anywhere or discount the importance of love and support. When things go wrong though our first thoughts are of home and the people who make it home. I'm sure she'll come around. :) I think for most of us it's when we have our babies.
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"that is surprising. i wonder if this has to do with the whole issue of society frowning on confident, independent women."
That's possible. The other part of it may be the immediate gratification thing too. They want the guy and the girl together immediately and if you do that then the story is boring and they lose interest.
Heather wrote: "Which POV was your favorite to write from, Daphne or Haden?"Haden! He is my most favorite character that I have ever written.
Colleen wrote: "What genre of books is your favorite to read?"I like to read contemporary YA while I'm working on my fantasy books. I kind of see it like a palate cleanser.
Valerie wrote: "Haden was the easiest character to write. Exploring his changes as ..."You write male characters really well. Do you have good relationships with male friends? Did you when you were younger?"
Thanks, Valerie! Yes, I was a total tomboy growing up and had a lot of guy friends. I am also the only girl in a house full of boys. I finally adopted a girl cat so there would be some more estrogen in the house.
Colleen wrote: "If you could win the starring role in a musical, which one would you choose? AND who would you pick to be your costar? ;)"I'm a terrible singer so people might get mad if I were the star. However, I met my husband when we were both in a production of The King and I (he had a big part and I had a tiny one because of my lack of singing ability) so that play has a very special place in my heart. I would love to be Anna next to my husband playing the King.
Colleen wrote: "Bree wrote: "I also wonder since we as women often judge ourselves harshly if we have a harder time "liking" female characters as easily as we like male characters"I think you have something ther..."
Yes. I see this comment all the time. I think as women it is easy to "like" men, but we judge female characters the way we would judge ourselves. I find this to be very unfortunate. And BTW, I love Kelsey!
Colleen wrote: "Bree wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Bree wrote: I've only seen High School Musical once..."Okay we seriously need to schedule a HSM party."
YES. THIS!"
I'll supply the food and you bring Zac Efron ;)"
You have no idea how sad I am that Zac Efron has aged out of being able to play teenage characters. I would love to have him in a movie of my books!
Shara wrote: "Bree wrote: "Shara wrote: "If you had a choice would you rather live with Daphne's father where she would have more musical opportunities? Or with her mom where she could grow up feeling loved and..."I was much more adventurous as a teen. Teen me probably would have chosen her father as well.
Shara wrote: "I love getting a thick book. It's like finding 2 layers of chocolates in your See's chocolate box. Most YA books aren't that long. Did you have to "negotiate" a lot with your editor and publisher..."They had me cut some from what was in the ARC to what is in the final copy. However, they did ask me to keep the sequel shorter. Thick books are expensive to produce! The sequel will probably come in under 90K but the first book is probably about 134K.
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Enna wrote: "How many books do you plan to write after The Shadow Prince?"There are three books in this series. But I plan to keep writing many other unrealted books for as long as people still want to read them.
Shara wrote: "Does Daphne has a musical dream? If so would it be solo or other musicians around her? Who would be in the audience?"I see her wanting to be a musician with substance, not just a silly pop artist, or a one hit wonder. I think a lot about Adele when I think about Daphne.
Colleen wrote: "Valerie is the winner of our special Bree Despain prize! Send me a message with your mailing address and I will send you a copy of The Dark Divine AND The Shadow Prince and maybe I can even scroung..."Congrats, Valerie!!
Colleen wrote: "Aw thanks Bree for being on this chat with me! Love all the insight I got into you and your books! I'll be in touch about the High School Musical party ;) Have a great night everyone!"Thank you for having me, Colleen! This was tons of fun. I hope I didn't miss too many questions. There were so many good ones.
Colleen wrote: "Aw thanks Bree for being on this chat with me! Love all the insight I got into you and your books! I'll be in touch about the High School Musical party ;) Have a great night everyone!"Thank you both for this wonderful chat. I can't wait for book 2!
I haven't read the book yet but it looks superb. What do you do when you have writers block?
Dear BreeWhen did you first start writing your own books?
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Switc..."
Yes, but I had to be super detailed with the outline. I had a note card for every single scene. I could then move the scenes on a magnet board. Surprisingly, I didn't need to do this while writing the sequel. I guess I have a better handle on their voices now.