Colleen Houck Book Club discussion

Welcome to the group! Sarah will be answering questions in May in this thread only. In the meantime if you have a question for the author or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so in this thread.

What was your inspiration behind Assassin's Heart series?

What is your favorite assassin series?

Hello! This series looks good! Which character did you have trouble writing?

Did you do a lot of research or reenactments for the fight scenes and such?

How did you get started writing?

What kind of books do you like to read?

Any must haves while you work?

Milena wrote: "What was your inspiration behind Assassin's Heart series?"

Hi Milena!

There were a couple of things that inspired the Assassin's Heart series. The first was that I had read a book that made me angry. I was angry because in this book, the main character had no one in her life except for a single friend. That was it. And in this book that single friend got murdered. And the main character was sad for, like a paragraph or a page, but you see, she didn't stay sad because there was this new boy and he was so dreamy...

So I was angry. Because I know that no matter how pretty the boy is, it doesn't erase the very real grief of losing everyone and everything. So I wanted to write a book where a character loses everyone and that grief not only stays with her for the entire book, but permanently changes her.

The second thing was another book I read that made me angry (heh. Clearly there's a pattern here) where the main character's love interest genuinely frightened her. He wasn't charming, he wasn't nice or good, he just scared her. And yet she was still attracted to him. And I was angry because I, as a woman, have never once felt attracted to a man or a boy who has frightened me.

So I also wanted to write a book where the love interest was just a nice, good person (even though he's an assassin.)

And then of course I was just curious about what it would take for a society to get to a point where they not only tolerated, but welcomed, murder. Throw in some literal gods, and there you have it!

And for THIEF'S CUNNING I wanted to explore women. ASSASSIN'S HEART has a lot of men and boys in it, so I wanted THIEF'S CUNNING to be a book about women and mothers and daughters.

Ashley wrote: "What is your favorite assassin series?"

Oh there are so many great assassin stories out there! I particularly love THE NIGHT ANGEL trilogy by Brent Weeks, which is an adult fantasy series. It's really, really good. And of course Robin Hobb's ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE series is spectacular. I'm a HUGE Robin Hobb fan. I love all her books.

Ashley wrote: "Hello! This series looks good! Which character did you have trouble writing?"

Oh the main character, Lea for sure. I actually had to take a year long break when writing this book because I felt like she, as a character, was fighting me so much. I kept changing it between 1st and 3rd person to see if that would make a difference but nothing worked except just taking some time away from it.

But once I came back, the book just took off!

Ashley wrote: "Did you do a lot of research or reenactments for the fight scenes and such?"

Hi Ashley!

Not too much, actually. I tend to just go with my gut when writing action scenes. I do have to usually do some weapon research, though, to make sure I'm calling the parts of the sword or knife the right names. But as for the actual fight scenes, I just try to picture them in my head as I'm writing them out.

Colleen wrote: "How did you get started writing?"

I started writing when I was 14, the summer before my freshman year of high school. And I got started by writing fanfiction. Now, this was back in the pre-internet days, so I had no idea other people also wrote fanfiction, and I'm so jealous of the fanfiction availability and communities present today.

Rofiman wrote: "What is your favorite?"

Hah! Looks like there's a missing word. I'll just say my favorite pie is pecan. Followed closely by pumpkin.

PIE 4EVAH!

Colleen wrote: "What kind of books do you like to read?"

Oh everything! Especially in YA, I'll read it all. I especially love contemporary YA. I think it's because I have no desire to write it. I also read adult fantasy and sci-fi, horror, and a lot of non-fiction. Especially science and medical non-fiction. Right now I'm reading a book on plagues. Good times.

Colleen wrote: "Any must haves while you work?"

Water for sure. I chug water like crazy when drinking. And I like to have a playlist for each book I write, and while it's not a "must have" it's a "greatly prefer" to have my playlist going. And if I have my druthers I prefer to write in my office, on my desktop as opposed to a laptop.

I'll have to look into the Night Angel Trilogy.

Sarah wrote: "Milena wrote: "What was your inspiration behind Assassin's Heart series?"

Hi Milena!

There were a couple of things that inspired the Assassin's Heart series. The first was that I had read a book ..."

This is so interesting! I love that you decided to write the book you wanted to read!

Ashley wrote: "I'll have to look into the Night Angel Trilogy."

Yay!!! They're super good. I hope you like them!

Milena wrote: "That is so interesting! I love that you decided to write the book you wanted to read!"

It's definitely the best reason to write a book, I think!

So what's coming up next for you? Are you going to stay in the Assassin's Heart world?

How long did it take you from the time you began writing to getting published?

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

Congrats to Ashley who is the chat winner! Don't forget to join me next month when my featured author will be Nicole Castroman!