Colleen’s Comments (group member since Apr 03, 2014)

Colleen’s comments from the Ask Colleen Houck - Friday, May 2nd! group.

Cassie C wrote: "My question is what is the fifth Tiger book going to be about? Also, how much research do you do before writing your books? It always seems to me like you are one of the few authors that takes their research seriously to write the best book possible, but I was wondering how much you like to take from your research and how much you like to make your own?"
Book five is top secret ;) I do at least a week's worth of research before I begin and then I research as I go too. Several hours a week sometimes. I consider research a place to get ideas, not to be accurate except when I'm describing something real like India. Then I try to be as accurate as possible. If you visited any of the temples or cities I describe they are all there down to the statues.

Beth wrote: "Hi, my name is Bethany and I love reading your tiger's curse saga books. Will there be more of the tiger's curse saga books coming out in the US? Or is the first four books going to be it?"

There will be another book called Tiger's Dream. It doesn't have a pub date yet.

Gabrielle wrote: "Hoold on, I just read a post. There's another installment to the series?!!! I did not know this. Is it truth. Let it be TRUTH!!! I want to see little Ren! Hahaaa!!!"
It's true and yes, you'll get to see a little bit of Ren ;)

Gabrielle wrote: "Omg I'm excited. I loooove this series. Is this prequel going to be about Yesubai and Kishan and Ren? I haven't read the other posts so I dont know if you've been asked this yet, but I've gotta kno..."
Exactly.

Charmaine wrote: "I wanted to ask a question about the book cover for Tiger's Promise. Believing that to be Yesubai on the cover...why is the image upside?"

This is symbolic. Read the blog post about the cover art to learn more about it.http://colleenhouck.com/blog/2014/04/...

Meenu wrote: "I just hope Ren and Kelsey's relationship will remain untouched because it's literally perfect the way it is. Also, how on earth did you come up with this amazing story???? I'm just dying to know what was your inspiration. Hope you have a nice day!! "
I'm glad you like the little nicknames. It's tricky to do that when I don't know the language. Luckily I had my editor from India, Sudha's help. When I told her I wanted to know the word for peach so Ren could call Kelsey a his peach, she said, "Indian men don't call women peaches." I did it anyway. The inspiration was originally Beauty and the Beast, then I found the story of Durga riding a tiger into battle and the rest is history. =)

Kacy wrote: "Hi, I'm Kacy Steiger. I absolutely love your novels and I'm on pins and needles waiting for any new work. I was wondering what this new novel is about and how your Egyptian novel is coming along?!?..."

The Egyptian novel is coming along fine. Book one is in copy edits. Book two is being written now. Promise is the story of Yesubai, how she met Ren and Kishan, and what really happened between her and her father.

Sandra wrote: "Hi, my name is Sandra. I am totally obsessed with your books! I've read the series over 3 times and i still can't get enough. I was so excited when i heard there was going to be another novella. I ..."
Thank you! The book will not be sold in Barnes and Noble stores. Only online.

Lindsay wrote: "I'm Lindsay. I HATE Romance books, but with this series I was aching with the feels of Ren and Kelsey's relationship. How on earth did you come up with the idea of hot Indian princes turning into t..."
Aw you hate romance? Well, to each his own. Fortunately for you my brothers feel the same way and every time the romance got too steamy, they whine about adding a fight scene or a motorcycle race. =) The tiger came first. I chose a Beauty and the Beast theme and I knew I didn't want a vampire or a werewolf, so I settled on an animal. Bears were stinky. Birds couldn't fight very well. Then I thought of a tiger. The rest came from that.

Hannah wrote: "Hi, I'm Hannah. I read all of the Tiger's Curse books after a recommendation from a friend. I loved them so much! Your work is beautiful and this is one of my absolute favorite stories. Will the pr..."
Thank you so much! Kelsey is not a part of Tiger's Promise.

Liz wrote: "How did you come up with all the ideas?! I cannot wait for Tiger's Dream and Tiger's Promise to come out! I know they will be amazing just like the rest of the series! I am currently on my eighth time reading the whole series in two years, and I am catching details I never noticed before! Thank you for giving such an amazing series!! "
Thank you! Laying in details is one of my specialties ;) The main ideas come after researching. Usually I research for a week, take tons of notes and then type them all in a blank document. Other ideas come along the way. Sometimes I just write down a term like "Sand" and then figure out how sand can become a theme. Lotus flowers was one of the main recurring ideas in the tiger series and they are important in Promise as well.

Hannah wrote: "Hi, my names Hannah and I just LOVE the Tiger's Curse series! It's very interesting and well thought out! My questions are, What inspired you to start writing this series? How long did it take to w..."
Thanks! Tiger's Promise took about a month to write and the bonus material included took an extra week or so. I was inspired to write it after the scene in Tiger's Quest when Kishan "sees" Yesubai clearly for the first time with the help of Odin's ravens. That's when I began really thinking about her and what kind of a person she was.

Lucy wrote: "Ohmygods I love these books so much and although I'm not quite sure what Tigers Dream will be about I'm ridiculously excited for it!! Oh and I'm Lucy..."
I'm excited for it too. Hi, Lucy. ;)

Ally wrote: "how did you create such beautiful and inspiring characters? Also, is this prequel simply a history of Ren and Kishan or is there some other purpose, something that has yet to be revealed?"
Aw thank you! I think in creating my heroes I wanted someone I could admire. I've always been a Superman fan, old school Superman, anyway. Kinda leaning toward Captain America now. I've always love the guys who are gentlemen and noble and sacrifice themselves for others. The prequel actually isn't a history of Ren or Kishan at all. It's the story of Yesubai. It's told in first person except for the prologue. There are always twists and surprises in my stories and this one is no exception.

Brianna wrote: "Hi, I'm Bri! Yesubai's story, although it sounds interesting, will have a sad ending to it. I'm interested to know why you decided to write her story? I'm hoping that I'm wrong and that somehow, sh..."
Yesubai's story is a sad one and it remains sad. But, knowing how it will end doesn't mean there isn't a lot to discover. I think you'll learn a lot about her.

Mariana wrote: "Hey, it's Mariana. Super big fan, read all the books. You inspired me to become an author. :) What I really want to know is that, will Tiger's Promise give insight on Kelsey's past too, or only Ren..."

Thank you =) Kelsey is not a part of Tiger's Promise.

Beecee ;) wrote: "all i need is writing advice -_- lol :)"

Wow. There's too many things I could say and none of them would be helpful enough. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to read. Read every day. Take notes while you do. Keep a notebook by your bed and write down any ideas that pop into your head.

Megan wrote: "What can we expect from the new prequel! What was your favorite part in writing it? And can you give us anything on tigers dream!?"

No spoilers for Tiger's Dream, the prequel is all in Yesubai's perspective except for the prologue. It will give you new insights into the characters especially Yesubai. My favorite part of writing it was exploring India during that time period and getting to see Mr. Kadam again. ;)

Beecee ;) wrote: "hey all! im beecee;) i know original aye :P im in love with tigers and this series is amazing <3"

=) I'm in love with the tigers too. Can you tell?

Catherine wrote: "I am a huge fan! I love this series...and am a little impatient for book 5 to come out...although I will sad to see it end :("

Thank you! Me too. =)