Colleen Houck Book Club discussion
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Colleen
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Jul 09, 2014 09:22AM
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I'm happy to chat between now and April 30! We've already got some great questions. Shara, I've always been drawn to people's personalities before their looks. That's not to say I don't appreciate beauty, but it's always in the back of my mind that beauty fades whereas the more ephemeral qualities like wit, humor and kindness can stand the test of time. So for me, in relationships, I don't love someone because they're beautiful; they're beautiful to me BECAUSE I love them.
In writing about Sage and Shane's personal experiences, I did pull from the year I spent working at a group home when I was just out of a college. The teens I worked with had been through terrible trauma, and there's no easy solution or quick fix. But the most important factor in getting through to someone who's been hurt so much is to make sure he or she understands that you are there for them NO MATTER WHAT.Advice is harder, but I guess my advice would be to press on. We are the product of our past but we are not defined by it.
so excited to join the group. Everyone I know told me this group was awesome. Ann what is the best advice you have been given so far in your writing career?
If you can quit, do it. Find an easier hobby. But if you can't, then never, ever give up on your dream.
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who has been your biggest support in you career?
Colleen wrote: "Will we ever see you set a book in Mexico?"My urban fantasy series is partially set in Mexico. It starts in Mexico where the heroine, Corine Solomon, runs a pawn shop. The series goes: Blue Diablo, Hell Fire, Shady Lady, Forbidden Fruit (e-novella), Devil's Punch, Agave Kiss.
Colleen wrote: "Can I ask about Mortal Danger? There's a lot of cool folklore/mythology in that series. Can you tell us how the idea came to you?"Honestly I can't say definitively, but I ran across the idea that humans have long been inventing their own deities in some mythology course in college, so I've been percolating the idea that long - what if we not only invent them, but our belief makes them real? Eventually the idea ripened into the Immortal Game series.
Colleen wrote: "What's next for you in YA?"I still have the final volume of the Immortal Game trilogy to write. Infinite Risk will be out in August of 2016. For 2017,
I'm working on a dark, edgy YA romance right now, tentatively titled Like Never and Always. I'd describe it as "Twin Peaks meets Veronica Mars." It's twisty, disturbing, and desperately romantic.
Fallon wrote: "who has been your biggest support in you career?"In an emotional sense, my husband, Andres, has been my biggest fan since the beginning, and he often believed in me even when I was ready to give up.
Logistically speaking, my assistant, Melissa Jolly, makes it possible for me to focus on writing. She does practically everything else.
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My urban fantasy series is partially set in Mexico. It starts in Mexico where the heroine, Corine Solomon, runs a pawn shop. The series ..."
Love those titles!
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Colleen wrote: "You deal with suicide in Mortal Danger. That's a difficult topic to handle but I think you did an amazing job. Did you have reservations about it? How did it go when you presented it to an editor?"I mention in my author's note that I was definitely in Edie's shoes at one point, so I drew from those memories and experiences. No, I can't say I had reservations, though it was certainly painful to relive that anguish and desperate loneliness. My editor is fantastic and the publisher had no qualms about tackling the issue.
Colleen wrote: "I am a HUGE fan of your Razorland series. Is there any possibility of you returning to that world at some point? Maybe a prequel?"I have jokingly said that if Enclave reaches 1,000 reviews on Amazon, then I will write a companion story for Tegan and Morrow. Right now we're at 710 reviews, so if 290 more reviews ever post, I will definitely keep my promise.
I also intend to write a sequel/companion series to the Razorland novels, YA epic fantasy, with Deuce, Fade, and the crew (The Huntress, Tegan of the Staff, etc) as mythic figures who lived 500 years before. Robin McKinley did something similar, only she wrote the later story first (The Blue Sword) and then wrote the prequel (Hero & the Crown) later. However, this will an epic retelling of Beauty & the Beast, as I plan to make the heroine a Xena, warrior princess type who's fighting her brother to take over as clan leader, and then there's conflict with the Uroch in her region (the hero would be Uroch, a bad-ass snarly beast hero).
This has always been the overarching idea & one reviewer mentioned how she thought it was interesting that we started with what felt like an archetypal dystopian world yet by the end, particularly the epilogue, it had almost an epic fantasy flavor. And I was like, 'YES, you have discerned my master plan.'
I know Terry Brooks set his Shannara series after some mythical apocalypse, but I'm unaware if he ever wrote how it came to pass. In the Razorland series I explain how the world changed, and then 500 years later, I can write about the orcs (Uroch), the gnomes (Gulgur), and how they conflict with humans in the new [fantasy] world.
Colleen wrote: "When are you coming to Oregon again?"I'm not sure. I'm in LA & Denver next week. Then in May I'll be in Dallas for RT. (I'll see you then!)
Then in October I'm in Denver again.
Colleen wrote: "I love the poetry in Mortal Danger. Were you always a poet? Who is your favorite poet or what type do you like the most?"Lord, this is embarrassing, but I was totally an emo death girl poet. I wrote terrible disturbing poems by the ream. At one point I had over 200 and they were dreadful. I burned them because my mother was threatening to have them published.
I have saved a few of the less horrendous ones and I've been using those as Kian's original work in the Immortal Game series.
My all-time favorite poet is Sara Teasdale. She's criminally underrated and if I'd pursued academia instead of a career in fiction, I would have written my thesis about her.
Frex:
I would live in your love as the sea-grasses live in the sea,
Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.
Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933)
I rest my case.
Do you plan on writing another NA contemporary romance series like the 2b trilogy? I'm a huge fan of all three books, As Long As You Love Me is my favorite from the three, and I'd love to read something similar by you. :)
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Borne up by each wave as it passes, drawn down by each wave that recedes;
I would empty my soul of the dreams that have gathered in me,
I would beat with your heart as it beats, I would follow your soul as it leads.
Sara Teasdale (1884 – 1933)"
Love it!
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Veronika wrote: "Do you plan on writing another NA contemporary romance series like the 2b trilogy? I'm a huge fan of all three books, As Long As You Love Me is my favorite from the three, and I'd love to read some..."I haven't ruled it out. I would like to write stories for Diana, Avery, and Michael, which would be another set, I guess. I'd also like to write stories for Kia, Dana, Evan, and Ji Hoo. So that'd be like seven books; I just need time.
Colleen wrote: "I really like the idea of a post-it note girl leaving little positive comments on people's lockers. I use post-its all the time when writing. You too?"Yeah, I use post-its a lot. :) But the idea for using them to cheer people up comes from my daughter, who actually does that at her school.
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Actually I was watching videos on YouTube and I saw an original song/music video that Alex Brouwer (the artist I collaborated with) had done, inspired by the Hunger Games. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKyrA...And I was like, HOLY SHIT, he looks like Shane & this song is haunting. So I messaged him and asked if he'd be interested in working on a project with me. Since he's a college student and indie musician, he was open to the opportunity. It was a great experience and the result is the two AMAZING songs as companion media to The Queen of Bright & Shiny Things.
The videos are here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ZTr...
And here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzfj3...
You can actually BUY the songs here & he gets all the money. https://wearemediocre.bandcamp.com/
My hair has been all kinds of colors. I suppose dyeing it pink was the weirdest and most drastic, but colors like that are incredibly time-consuming to maintain. In the end, I'm too lazy for uber fashionable hair. So I have the same haircut I had when I was 11, longish with bangs and it's still brown.
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That is such a cool idea. I always learn so much from you!
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What were your childhood favorite books? Do any authors inspire your works? I wish I'd have the courage to do the pink hair but I doubt I ever will. The most I can imagine is highlights or ombre.
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Colleen wrote: "So you've written apocalyptic and contemporary and paranormal and probably more I don't know of yet. Do you have a genre you like to sink your teeth into more than others? Do you like to read one m..."At this point I've written all the subgenres that I'd like to try, though I would like to return to epic fantasy at some point. I tend to read as I write, which is according to my mood. But the common thread is, I want a romantic arc of some kind, whatever the overall genre. Plus I prefer a happy ending. I hate investing all my time and emotions, only to have the characters I root for die in the end.
Colleen wrote: "If given the opportunity, would you ever be a celebrity on Dancing with the Stars and, if so, who would you pick for your partner?"Lord no.
Veronika wrote: "What were your childhood favorite books? Do any authors inspire your works? I wish I'd have the courage to do the pink hair but I doubt I ever will. The most I can imagine is highlights or ombre."I loved Madeleine L'Engle and Judy Blume growing up. I also devoured Harlequin romance novels and I loved books by Anne McAffrey and Terry Brooks.
I wouldn't say I'm inspired by other authors, but I often admire other people's talent and wish my own measured up. Sometimes that admiration leaves me in a bitter funk and I can't write for feeling inadequate and other times it fires me up, making me want to try harder even if I can't match someone else's skill or eloquence.
Colleen wrote: "Do you get freckles in the sun like your character? I just burn. No tanning for me."I do tan if I'm careful.
Colleen wrote: "I love the drama of having the best friend change his mind and try to date the heroine after he had ever chance in the world and blew it. Who was your first crush? Can you tell?"Heh, he was my arch enemy in grade school. He picked on me SO MUCH and I tormented him right back. Which makes me wonder if he liked me too.
Colleen wrote: "You put so much romantic tension into just a gesture or a brief touch. I love it! It's one of your strengths. The feels are always so strong in your books."Wow, thank you. *digs toe in dirt*
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I like HEA endings as well. Same for me about a romantic arc. If there's no romance it's a hard sell for me. Harry Potter is an exception.
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