Author Interview with debut author, Colleen Houck

I'm really excited to have Colleen on our site today, as Tiger's Curse has been on my book radar for a couple years now. I've been looking forward to reading it since some friends of mine read it shortly after Colleen first self published it in 2009, and raved about how awesome the book is. Now I can follow in their raving about this wonderful debut book.

Here's a little bit about Tiger's Curse, the first in a 3 book series-

By Colleen Houck

Published by Sterling Publishing

Released on January 11th, 2011

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she'd be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world.

But that's exactly what happened.

Face-to-face with dark forces, spell-binding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

In three words, how would you describe Tiger's Curse?

Magical, Sweet, Adventurous

We were really drawn to the premises of Tiger's Curse. What inspired you to set the story in India?

I wanted to do a changeling book and settled on a white tiger. After researching white tigers I was led to India and the rich mythology associated with it.

What is something you most admire about your characters, Kelsey and Ren?

Kelsey is brave. I was never a risk taker like her and I admire that about her. She also has the courage to do what she believes is right even if it causes her pain.

Ren is a poet at heart—sensitive, thoughtful, and kind. He sacrifices himself for others and makes everyone around him feel like they belong and are important.

We're looking forward to reading Tiger's Quest and Tiger's Voyage. When you first wrote Tiger's Curse, did you write it knowing it would always be part of a series?

Yes. From day one I knew I wanted to write a series. I love the anticipation of getting my hands on the next book but I wanted the reader to really feel like the story had a purpose, that it was headed somewhere. I didn’t want a meandering series that wandered back and forth without direction. I wanted mine to be fast and furious and feel like an ultimate thrill ride. When the ride is over I want the reader to laugh, cry, and run to the end of the line to hop on the roller coaster again. I’m very happy that my publisher feels the same way. That’s why we are releasing the first three books in the same year. Hopefully, the impact will powerful, memorable, and worthy of our tiger mascots.

What element of your story (romance, adventure, lore) did you enjoy writing the most and why?

I’m a sucker for romance and those are my favorite parts to read over and over. Visually, I love the action scenes. I’m a special effects geek so I can picture them in my head. To see them come to life on the big screen would be over-the-top awesome. The parts that are the most fun to write, however, are the fights. I really loved the show Moonlighting which ran back when Bruce Willis still had hair. He and Maddie Hayes, which is where I got Kelsey’s last name by the way, had the best romantic tension fights. I wanted to put that into my books, not only because I think it keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, but because it’s really, really fun. I enjoy the fast back and forth dialogue. Smart and witty verbal jousting is exciting to invent.

If there was one piece of advice you could share with an author who's just starting to write, what would it be?

I believe writing can never be a bad thing. If you have a desire to write you should. My grandfather wrote cowboy books. He never got published and he died before I was born so those books are the only way most of his grandchildren ever got to know what he was like. Always seek out traditional publishing first, but if you’ve exhausted your options, then there is nothing wrong with self-publishing. When I was self-published, I was perfectly content and happy just sharing my material with others. Whether I have ten fans or ten thousand, writing makes me happy. If writing is something that makes you happy too, then by all means, write!

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Thank you Colleen for joining us today! Tomorrow I'll be posting my review for Tiger's Curse.

If you'd like to learn more about Colleen and her series, please visit her site here- http://www.tigerscursebook.com/

You can read a preview of the book here

http://www.tigerscursebook.com/images/TigersCurse_ColleenHouck_Ch1-7.pdf

You can watch Tiger's Curse trailer here-

Tiger's Curse, by Colleen Houck from Sterling Publishing on Vimeo.