Colleen Houck Book Club discussion
Ask Colleen
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Favorite color to wear is red. Favorite overall color is blue. I'm inspired by all the things I love, fantasy, sci-fi, dragons, pinterest, lots of things. My main supporters are my family. I have a big one.
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I did! Good catch.
Colleen wrote: "Natalie wrote: "when you were working on Tiger's Destiny, did you get the idea of Kelsey being abducted by Lokesh and rescued by two brothers from the story of Lord Rama and his wife Sita who was a..."wow. i remember when i was a kid that i was curious to know who Hanuman was from watching 1994 The Jungle Book and eventually did some research out of curiosity. then in high school, i came across your 1st book and liked the part when kelsey was learning about Kishkindha and Hanuman. and then she had some monkey problems :D
Hello Colleen,I just joined your group last week, I'm reactivating my Goodreads. I was wondering if you post challanges? I'm an author and thought it would be fun to do challanges with other authors and readers.
Let me know,
Janet
I too am an author I write under various pen name such as Sarah Ruth Scott and Simon Robert sinclair
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I just joined your group last week, I'm reactivating my Goodreads. I was wondering if you post challanges? I'm an author and thought it would be fun to do challanges with other autho..."
If by challenges you mean word count racing for an hour or so, then no. I have done that a few times on twitter but I'm not typically the instigator. =)
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Welcome to the group.
Thank you so much for being an amazing author!
is there going to be a Tigers Curse movie?
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It's still in the works, which is a good thing. Keep your fingers crossed!
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I have no plans to do so, though the two worlds could certainly be overlapped.
Hi Colleen! I absolutely adore the Tiger's Curse books and the Reawakened books! I can't wait for the third Reawakened book! I was just wondering though if you are going to continue writing other books in a series that revolve around mythology? They are fascinating! I have learned so much about the mythology of India and Egypt just from your books!
When, in 2018, will Tiger's Dream be released? Summer, Fall, Winter? When will we know its pub day?
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It depends on deadlines but most working days I put in anywhere from 2-5 hours in writing.
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Yes! Love mermaids.
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I have loved mythology since middle school. I have an idea for a Greek mythology trilogy and I really want to do something with Hawaiian too.
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We think we're releasing it spring 2018.
Colleen wrote: "Rita wrote: "When, in 2018, will Tiger's Dream be released? Summer, Fall, Winter? When will we know its pub day?"We think we're releasing it spring 2018."
So happy to hear this!
Can you tell us more about your secret project/book you mentioned on your blog? Pretty please ;-)
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As soon as my publisher approves it, I will. Very excited about this one!
Thank you for the invite to your group. You are a new author to me and am super excited ❤️
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Yes and no. That's a bit of a complicated thing for me. I always wanted both men to have an equal chance. I believe she could have been happy with either one.
Will you be doing a book tour around the US anytime soon? Would love to see you in Nashville!
Have you ever thought about making a book regarding the Mexican myths? Like, aztecs, mayans, etc?
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Nothing new recently. Thanks for checking in though.
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I'll keep Nashville in mind. You can always write to my publisher and make a formal request.
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Ren is like my dream guy. His poetry writing came from my husband. His looks came from Superman. ;)
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I've never toured in Virginia. Sounds fun! You can always contact my publisher and formally ask for me to come to your area.
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That would be fun to research and explore!
I love your book very much and they are worlds of their own and I love them. I was wondering I know you did book series about India and Egypt and they were amazing in themselves I was wondering if you would do anything about Greek,Roman or Japanese Folklore? That would be an amazing series to read.
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I would love to explore more about those mythologies. =) Thank you for your kind words.
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Nope. Dream is the next one down the pike. After that is a top secret project I'm hoping to announce during the fall YASH.
Hi, Colleen Houck! My name is Molly and i'm 14.
I'm a huge fan of your series Tiger's Curse!!!😋
It's one of my favorite series. :D
I was told to ask an author if they could judge our writing contest in February and you were the first person that came to mind.
The contest is done virtually through goodreads in the group
The Story Tellers
The group isn't big. 3-4 people submit stories, so it wouldn't be a big contest, but it would still mean the world to us if you could judge.
All of the participants are kids.
Happy Holidays!
-The Moderators of The Story Tellers
Hi!I'm Shana, an aspring author (middle grade & YA) and big fan of the Tigers Curse series, and Reawakened!
I was wondering how you came up with the initial ideas for your stories? And how did you execute them as you did (without getting plots confused and jumbled, or feeling rushed).
I'm terrible for underwriting (low word counts) and losing confidence! Thank you for your time and for your stories! x
Hello! My name is Janina and I'm from Germany. I just noticed about two weeks ago or so that there's going to be a new sequel. I... guess everyone here can imagine what kind of jump I made and what kind of bright smile I wore for the rest of the day. It actually saved my day!I started reading "tiger's curse" by no purpose, I didn't even know that there were going to be more than one book. I just read it and at the end I was shocked. The book was so good. I loved it - I still love it! - and it changed my world. And than it ended that way. I had to wait for the next one to get out... it was the same with the third book and the forth, "tiger's destiny", I just couldn't stand it anymore and read it in English. The time, the love, the tears and the laughter I shared within these books... it changed my world. This series was like the actual change from childish books to young adult. I read it every now and than since than and my favorite animal is - of course - a tiger. A white tiger!
Well... actually I didn't really want to write that much when all I had to do was ask a question. But I just needed to... and I hope I get a chance to win even tough I'm the 518th one...
My questions are:
- Have you been to India? And, if yes, have you been there before you wrote the story? Where exactly have you been (I mean, India is big, like, really big!)?
- In the first book (I guess it is in the first one, it may also be in the second one...) you wrote that "Dhiren" means "strong one" in which Indian language is that. Because, there are like hundred of them...
- Why did you chose a Chinese Martial Art for Kelsey to learn and not an Indian one?
- How did you get the idea of writing about India? And about Durga?
- In fact, where did you get the idea of writing a story with cursed princes at all?
I wish you all a good night for now... or a good afternoon, wherever you may be right now. And good luck for all the others!
Hi Everyone, I'm Ellen. I just joined this group this week. I look forward to reading and discussing with the members. I see there is a scheduled books to read for the upcoming months. Where do you recommend we get the books? I checked on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Just want to double check in case the group discusses and refer to specific pages. Please advise. Thanks, Ellen.
Hi!! Love your books and can't wait to read Tiger's Dream!! I still get the chills about it when you mentioned in the video of some bones that Ren and Kishan will findFor your book trailers, was After Effects used to make them?
I'm taking Motion Graphics, learning to use After Effects, and I can see how one image can change to another. Especially the trailers for the Reawakened series
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My name is Molly and i'm 14.
I'm a huge fan of your series Tiger's Curse!!!😋
It's one of my favorite series. :D
I was told to ask an author if they could judge our writing con..."
Looks like I missed this one. I probably wouldn't have had the time anyway since I am busy with the Tiger's Dream launch.
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I'm Shana, an aspring author (middle grade & YA) and big fan of the Tigers Curse series, and Reawakened!
I was wondering how you came up with the initial ideas for your stories? And how did yo..."
Every author struggles from time to time. In fact, I'm really pushing hard to get through the book I'm writing now. One thing that helps me is to watch movies in the genre you're writing. So for Tiger's Curse it was Bollywood and Indiana Jones. The mummy for Reawakened. Keep a notebook nearby while you do it and just write down ideas, words, phrases, impressions and then sort through them when you're writing later. Good luck!
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- In the first book (I guess it is in the first one, it may also be in the second one...) you wrote that "Dhiren" means "strong one" in which Indian language is that. Because, there are like hundred of them...
- Why did you chose a Chinese Martial Art for Kelsey to learn and not an Indian one?
- How did you get the idea of writing about India? And about Durga?
- In fact, where did you get the idea of writing a story with cursed princes at all?."
I have never been to India though I certainly plan to go someday. I'd love to see all the big cities but I'd probably focus on Mumbai.
With Ren's name I focused mostly on Sanskrit. I did this for most of my translations and then asked my editor from India to double check.
As far as I know Indian martial arts are extremely rare in the US. I've certainly never seen a studio in Salem, but rest assured, Mr. Kadam focused on a good one. Don't forget that Ren and Kishan aren't 100% Indian either. They are well versed in many martial arts.
India came because of the white tiger and Durga actually didn't cross my mind until Tiger's Quest or so.
My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast so that's where the curse came into play. Then all I needed was a beast. =)
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Reading the book is not a requirement so we haven't really chosen a certain version of a book. Feel free to pick the one easiest for you and then ask the author whatever questions you like. Welcome to the group!
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For your book trailers, was ..."
I'm glad you like the trailers! Crush Creative has done all my trailers except for Reunited. Film-14 did that one.
If there was 1 thing you could change about the characters or the story, what would it be and why??
Colleen wrote: "Janina wrote: "Have you been to India? And, if yes, have you been there before you wrote the story? Where exactly have you been (I mean, India is big, like, really big!)?- In the first book (I gue..."
Thank you for answering me so fast! I'm so happy you did!
I'm going to India this summer. Only for a few weeks but I'm just so very happy about that! It's going to be in the south but for a few hours I'm gonna see Delhi as well. I'm super excited. It's been my dream since I read "tiger's curse" and now I'm going to see Ren's and Kishan's home...
Well, even I heard of Sanskrit so I guess that was close by. I was just asking because I asked a friend of mine and he really had no clue of the meaning of Ren's name ;')
Do you know what "Kishan" means?
Yes, Indian martial arts are rare, but there are a few ones. Probably not in the area Ren and Kishan grew up, though. Mr. Kadam........
That Durga wasn't really planned, I would have never assumed that! In the end everything fitted so great together as if planned from the very first sentence. - Speaking of that sentence - did you start to type just there or did you start somewhere in the middle and then wrote the story around it?
Of course! I could have guessed that. No, I couldn't have. But it makes sense either way! I really love "Beauty and the Beast", first of all for the fact of Belle spending so much time reading!
Thank you again for answering me! I'm so very happy and smiling! Thank you!!! ;-)
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I'd feature more Nilima. I just love her and I don't showcase her or her sacrifices for her family enough.
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- In the f..."
Kishan's name came from the babynames website. I searched under names from India and I think Kishan literally means black. Have fun on your trip! I'm so jealous. =)
Colleen wrote: "Laeona wrote: "Hi Colleen!!!!!!! I have read all the Tiger's Curse books!!!!!!!!!!!! And I love them so much!!! Its the books that got me addicted to reading!! My question is how did you come up wi..."Hello! I really liked the names you came up with for everyone! I don't mean to disrespect in any manner, but I believe Kishan is the name of Lord Krishna, a devoted god in the Hindu religion. I know this because I am Hindu myself. It's a beautiful name and I am really glad you chose it!
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Really? That is perfect! I only had access to what it said on babynames.com ;) I guess my instincts were correct.
Colleen Houck Book Club
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I just noticed the similarities between the two: a woman kidnapped by a villain. Two brothers searched for her. The villain wishes to take the woman as his and would kill her if she refuses