Colleen Houck Book Club discussion
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Defiance
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Colleen
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Dear C.J. What's your favorite movie and holiday and drink and food and color and tv show and book and weather season and song?
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Was it difficult to get started in your writing and what advice could you give to an aspiring author? I've just finished my fourth time editing my first novel and now I'm working on a query letter, but it's almost overwhelming.
When you start writing a new book or series, where do you find the inspiration for your characters? Are any ever based (even a little bit) on people you know? Do you dream them up from scratch? Do you ever use names of friends and family members?
So do you relate to Rachel? Do the characters, protagonist or antagonist, relate to people, feelings, or activities in your life? What advice would you give to a writer who is trying to get published and has problems with remaking the storyline too much because they always dislike it after every time they remake it (aka me):D I absolutely love your books, I love your characters and the passion they put into your stories. Perhaps my favorite thing about them though is how clean they are. SO many books in our day are just so horribly written and are just full of garbage, so I just really appreciate when an author goes against that and keeps their books clean. Thanks for your effort in creating this series and for the inspiration that they give me to create my own! Keep on writing because I WILL read what you write. Thanks a million :D
-Lexi
-Lexi
How did you come up with the idea for your books and if you had to pick actors/actresses to play your characters in a movie who would you pick and why?
Hi my names Tawney! Big fan. So what do you do when you aren't writing?
When you have writer's block, is there anything you do that helps bring the creativity back?
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Why did you pick citrus and midnight jasmine as Rachel's scent?
Is the Cursed One more a mechanical creation than mythical being? I guess I'm hoping for a preview to its backstory.
I love the fact you wrote about a male-dominated society,But made such a young strong female character like Rachel. It was a breath of fresh air, to read a book where the female is so strong. ........ And I was wondering to, will we ever get a back story on the cursed one?
Who's you're favorite superhero? Marvel or DC? I LOVED Defiance,so wonderful. Thanks:)
Hey, C.J.! What book would you say changed your writing most? There are influences and life experiences that do this, but was there ever a book that you feel changed you as an author or writer, and your writing, irrevocably? Thanks!
Besides juggling the usual family, writing, school activities for said kids, writing, date time with hubby, writing, etc what is the hardest thing about writing and how do you keep yourself motivated when writing?
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Colleen wrote: "Hello everyone! Excited to hear C.J.'s answers. I have a lot of burning questions about the series!"I'm ready with answers! I'll start working my way through the questions, but if you have more, go ahead and leave them for me. :)
Courtney wrote: "Hey, C.J.! What book would you say changed your writing most? There are influences and life experiences that do this, but was there ever a book that you feel changed you as an author or writer, and..."The first book that changed me as a writer was THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. I read it when I was nine, and it opened my eyes to the tremendous possibilities of a writer's imagination. From then on, every story I wrote took place in a fantasy world.
Susan wrote: "Besides juggling the usual family, writing, school activities for said kids, writing, date time with hubby, writing, etc what is the hardest thing about writing and how do you keep yourself motivat..."The hardest thing besides making writing time happen with 5 kids (two of whom are currently having an argument over a shoe right next to me so ... yeah. The glamorous life, I live it.) is when my characters won't talk to me or when I realize that I've got a problem with the plot or world and have to walk away for a bit to let it play out in my mind until I find out where I went wrong. It's frustrating to get stalled for days on a single scene, but it's important to take the time to get it right.
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That's one of my favorite series too.
Ruth wrote: "Who's you're favorite superhero? Marvel or DC? I LOVED Defiance,so wonderful. Thanks:)"Okay, there are two answers to this. The first is BATMAN. Always Batman. I love how wounded and tortured he is, and how close he is to becoming the villain. He is the flip side of the Joker's coin, and shares much in common with the villains he fights. It's his choices that make him a superhero. No super power (unless you count Alfred and you totally should) to make him extraordinary. He's an ordinary man who chose to use his pain to make a difference for good.
The other part of the answer (and I know this sounds contradictory) but MARVEL. As a body of work, I'm a Marvel girl, despite the fact that BATMAN is MINE.
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I didn't realize you had five kids. How do you get anything done?
Erin wrote: "I love the fact you wrote about a male-dominated society,But made such a young strong female character like Rachel. It was a breath of fresh air, to read a book where the female is so strong. ........"Thank you! I'm glad Rachel resonated with you. We get more back story on the Cursed One in both Deception and (especially) Deliverance, but we only get what the characters who were alive when the Cursed One first surfaced know.
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I do like his tortured backstory, but I'm a Superman girl all the way. Can't top the blue eyes and the curled lock of hair. Also he can fly and take you on romantic flights to various places. Much rather do that than have a guy playing with his gadgets and toys in the bat basement. ;)
Monet wrote: "Is the Cursed One more a mechanical creation than mythical being? I guess I'm hoping for a preview to its backstory."The Cursed One is a Leviathon-like wingless dragon who is virtually indestructible. I had to choose between scientifically created weapon or mythical beast trapped beneath layers of rock and living happily below the earth's surface, and mythical creature felt both more organic and less conspiracy-ish and also easier to manage because I don't even KNOW what kind of science it would take to create that. Scientific sorcery maybe. :)
Colleen wrote: "C.J. wrote: "The first is BATMAN. Always Batman. I love how wounded and tortured he is, and how close he is to becoming the villain."I do like his tortured backstory, but I'm a Superman girl all ..."
Ha! I despise Superman because he bores me. Give me a tortured almost-bad-boy with HOT cars any day.
C.J. wrote: "Colleen wrote: "C.J. wrote: "The first is BATMAN. Always Batman. I love how wounded and tortured he is, and how close he is to becoming the villain."I do like his tortured backstory, but I'm a Su..."
I guess this means we have zero conflict. You fly off into the sunset with Superman, and I'll be chilling here in the bat cave. ;p
Colleen wrote: "C.J. wrote: "The hardest thing besides making writing time happen with 5 kids..."I didn't realize you had five kids. How do you get anything done?"
I have become adept at working while being used as a jungle gym. And when deadlines are making me panicky, I leave for the book store as often as my hubby's schedule allows.
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Valerie wrote: "Hi, CJ, fascinating story. What was your inspiration for the male-dominated society - especially the ritual of the Claiming? I fear I would have perished in such a dreadful place for uncontrollable..."Yes, the patriarchal structure of Baalboden is upsetting, isn't it? I chose to write it that way because that is the reality for so many girls across the globe. Pakistan, India, Iran, Africa ... you see nations where girls are denied education, where they are married off as children in a business transaction, where they cannot own property, divorce their husbands, or stand up to abusers without terrible punishment. I wanted to show that that sort of society STILL EXISTS. We're privileged in large part in America, but that doesn't mean the same is true for our sisters across the globe. I wanted to show what happened when one man made the choice to educate and empower his daughter and how she changed everything.
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The Cursed One is a Leviathon-like wingless dragon who is virtua..."
Ah I like the way you described it as a Leviathan.
Katy wrote: "Why did you pick citrus and midnight jasmine as Rachel's scent?"I felt like it captured her personality best. Citrus is bright, bold, unmistakable, and unapologetic. Midnight Jasmine is sweet, but only when there's almost no one around to realize it.
Colleen wrote: "As far as Marvel vs DC. I have a weakness for the DC heroes. I grew up with them and they were all just cooler I thought. I do love Iron Man and Thor but now that Thor is going Thorina which is jus..."But Marvel has Loki so your argument is invalid. ;D
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That is awesome =)
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I felt like it captured her personality best. Citrus is bright, bold, unmistakable, and unapologetic. Midnight Jasmine..."
Do you kind of give scents to all your characters? I do for the most part to the point where I could almost recognize my hero's cologne.
Shara wrote: "Do you think you could write an action book without romance or a romance book without action?"Yes to the action w/o overt romance. I have an adult series I'm working on that is action-packed but as of now, there's no romance. And I have a middle grade with friendship only because obviously. But I don't think I could write romance without any action. I tend to think of plots that are high stakes, epic action plots so ...
Shara wrote: "Is there a must have snack next to you while you write?"Nope! When I'm writing at the local book store's coffee shop, I'll often have a Chai latte or a lemon bar, but I can write no matter what food is or isn't available to me.
Shara wrote: "Do you have a playlist you listen to while you write? Does it change for each book if you do?"I do! Playlists are super important to my writing process. I create a different one for every book because it acts as a sort of short cut for bringing me instantly back into the world of the story. It really helps to be able to instantly be transported back into the story when I'm working on a scene while my teens are texting me about all the things they need me to pick up for them and my 4 year old is watching Frozen on the tv in front of me while my 2 year old climbs on me and demands a snack.
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See I'm kindof a control freak. Need my guy to be pretty much perfect. ;)
Colleen wrote: "C.J. wrote: "Katy wrote: "Why did you pick citrus and midnight jasmine as Rachel's scent?"I felt like it captured her personality best. Citrus is bright, bold, unmistakable, and unapologetic. Mid..."
I do for my heroes and heroines! I tried to avoid it in my latest book just to break the pattern but ... then it became necessary to the plot so oh well, lol.
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Deal.
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