Colleen Houck Book Club discussion

Welcome to the group! Stacey will be answering questions on Tuesday, April 29th 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.

This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favorite?

You mention "V" and "Alien" in your book. How do those films most influence your series and/or your writing?

What do you picture your alien looking like?

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I loved the metaphor, "I could feel the cold sense of impending exposure sweeping over my skin as if I'd been hiding beneath a pile of blankets..." Do metaphors come easily as you write or do you consciously add them in?

What made you decide to write in both Zane's and Arianne's perspectives?

Why aliens?

Just got done with the Rules and I really enjoyed it! I was wondering, does Ariane look like Mark's daughter that died? If so, how did that happen?

Amy Steinhilber said, "I can't attend. Have to work. Would love to post a question, "How long were you dedicated to writing and publishing a book before it happened?"

Stacey how long have you been writing books?

Do you plan out your twists and turns ahead of time or as you are writing?

Is there a "Zane" in your life that you know? Somebody who you've based the character on?

Hello Stacey, I love The Ghost and the Goth...I hadn't chance to read your new series yet

Colleen wrote: "This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favorite?"

Just have to say... I knew you liked that part, Colleen!

Colleen wrote: "What made you decide to write in both Zane's and Arianne's perspectives?"

And in follow up to that question, was it difficult to switch back and forth between perspectives?

Was out difficult for you to write a believable bully?

Between this series and the ghost and the goth, which is your personal favorite?

Suki wrote: "Colleen wrote: "This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favorite?"

Just have..." Well Superman IS my favorite superhero. Just saying. ;)

Hello everyone! Are you ready for a chat about books? It's pretty much my favorite subject other than chocolate. Of course chocolate isn't a subject that's up for debate at all.

Colleen wrote: "This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favorite?"

I have to admit, Zane is intended to have a Superman-esque look, but that is really intended to parallel Ariane's attraction to that character. And if I must confess, that was one of the first fictional characters I had a crush on! A little bit of the author sneaking in, I guess. :)

I loved the original Superman movies, especially one and two from the late 70s and early 80s. Loved the Lois Lane and Clark Kent bickering. If you haven't seen them, you need to!

But I also know I was one of the few who LOVED Superman Returns in 2006. So romantic.

Christopher Reeve is my favorite actor for Superman.

Well Superman IS my favorite superhero. Just saying.;) I even read that part to Jared. Just for you. :-)

Stacey wrote: "Colleen wrote: "This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favorite?"

I have to..." Yeah Christopher Reeve is still my favorite though I have to admit that Henry Cavill is pretty darn nice to look at.

Colleen wrote: "You mention "V" and "Alien" in your book. How do those films most influence your series and/or your writing?"

I'm a pop culture nut. I love pop culture. So it finds its way in to all of my books. Especially classic SF shows as I grew up watching those.

V scared the crap out of me as a kid. They had lizard faces underneath their human ones! And there was a scene where Diana, the lead alien, ate the head off a live bird. *shudder*

And Alien, I think, was the first movie I remember seeing with a badass action heroine. Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver.

In terms of this series, I feel like V very much represents the fears most people have about aliens and indeed the fears Ariane has about herself. About being other, about hiding beneath her humanness.

With Alien, I think it's, again, another example where the first interaction between humans and aliens doesn't go so well. :)

But in this series, what I wanted to play with was the idea that maybe the humans were the ones to be afraid of.

That humanity, as a quality, is not limited to those who were born here. And even some of those who were may lack it.

Stacey wrote: "Colleen wrote: "You mention "V" and "Alien" in your book. How do those films most influence your series and/or your writing?"

I'm a pop culture nut. I love pop culture. So it finds its way in to a..." Awesome. I am a die hard "V" fan too. Diana was creepy for sure.

Colleen wrote: "What do you picture your alien looking like?"

As an X-Files fan, I immediately thought of the little gray aliens so frequently depicted on that show. And in fact, if you do the research, the earliest descriptions of aliens by those who claim to have seen them match that look: big dark eyes, gray skin, short, with skinny limbs. And in the 50s, there were several reports from different people who'd had no contact with each other, that said the same thing. (Yes, I love this stuff.)

So, Ariane is short with a grayish tint to her skin, a very small nose and those very dark eyes. :)

Stacey wrote: "But in this series, what I wanted to play with was the idea that maybe the humans were the ones to be afraid of.

That humanity, as a quality, is not limited to those who were born here. And even some of those who were may lack it. "

I haven't finished reading the book yet (about 2/3 finished) but this is something that I like in the book. Humankind can be scary and not willing to compromise.

Colleen wrote: "When did you know you wanted to be a writer?"

I loved telling stories to entertain people. Unfortunately, it frequently took the form of lying, which got me into a LOT of trouble as a kid. I don't think I thought about writing until middle school or high school. And even then, I had no idea that this was something you could do. That you could just write a book or be an author. :)

I guess I didn't know how it happened. I didn't start seriously trying to become a writer until after I graduated from college. Write a novel was on a list of things I wanted to do, just to see if I could do it! :)

Now that you've written more than one series, do you like one more than another or are they like children, you love them all?

Colleen wrote: "I loved the metaphor, "I could feel the cold sense of impending exposure sweeping over my skin as if I'd been hiding beneath a pile of blankets..." Do metaphors come easily as you write or do you c..."

Thank you!!! :) Most of the time, they just sort of flow onto the page. Sometimes it takes me a bit to identify and clearly state the feeling I'm trying to communicate.

Stacey wrote: "Write a novel was on a list of things I wanted to do, just to see if I could do it! "

It was exactly the same way for me. I didn't really know that was a career option. I just had a New Years goal to write a book.

With all the alien stories already or there, was it difficult to make a unique story on the same subject?

Colleen wrote: "What made you decide to write in both Zane's and Arianne's perspectives?"

Haha! Well, I wrote my first series, The Ghost and The Goth, in alternating POV. And it was HARD to do that. I kept swearing that I'd never do it again. And yet, when I sat down to write The Rules, I felt like something was missing with just Ariane's POV. I knew Zane's side of the story too, and I wanted to tell it.

Now, I think almost every book I've written or am writing is dual POV, to one extent or another. I'm just used to it, and I love the chance to see the situation from more than one angle. I feel like it makes the story deeper or more layered.

It's also ginormous pain in the butt sometimes. :D Trying not to be too repetitive with events when I'm bouncing between POVs. Figuring out whose POV I should be in for a particular scene.

Colleen wrote: "Why aliens?"

I think it goes back to my love for science fiction. Science fiction gives us this amazing ability to view our flaws and quirks at a distance. We can comment on society or themes without being heavy-handed.

I read a great book a long time ago called, I think, The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randle. It's not about aliens at all, but about being different.

I think everyone in high school feels like an alien or that they are alienated in some way from everyone else. I just wanted, on some level, to take that metaphor and make it literal.

Plus, at the time I was developing this idea, back in 2010, there was virtually no science fiction YA. Paranormal was still dominating the shelves. And I wanted to take a different direction.

Stacey wrote: "I felt like something was missing with just Ariane's POV. I knew Zane's side of the story too, and I wanted to tell it."

I haven't been able to make the commitment to writing a book in alternating POV yet. I find I like being in the guy's head once in a while though so I've done short pieces and bonus material that way.

Karli wrote: "Just got done with the Rules and I really enjoyed it! I was wondering, does Ariane look like Mark's daughter that died? If so, how did that happen?"

Hey Karli! Thank you so much! :)

No, Ariane doesn't look like Mark's bio daughter. Ariane, the original, was out of state and dying. Mark took his biological daughter's identifying documents (birth certificate, etc.) to give Ariane, the new, a legal identity, so she could go to school.

I'm being careful here in case there are some who haven't finished reading the book, but if you know the ending, you know how that kind of thing might have been, um, helped along. :)

Having not read any other books of yours yet, are all your books set in the modern day?

Stacey wrote: "Plus, at the time I was developing this idea, back in 2010, there was virtually no science fiction YA. Paranormal was still dominating the shelves. And I wanted to take a different direction."

I've found YA to be extremely open as far as genre opportunities. Do you have any other genres you want to dabble in? Historical? Contemporary? Western? ;)

Colleen wrote: "Amy Steinhilber said, "I can't attend. Have to work. Would love to post a question, "How long were you dedicated to writing and publishing a book before it happened?""

My first book was published by a small press in 2004. I think I'd been writing steadily and querying for about 5 years by that point. But it took me three more books and four more years to get an agent and a contract with a larger, traditional house. So, in total, about 10 years. :) Sheer stubbornness by that point. I knew what I wanted and I just kept trying.

Stacey wrote: "I'm being careful here in case there are some who haven't finished reading the book, but if you know the ending, you know how that kind of thing might have been, um, helped along. :) "

THANK YOU for not spoiling it. :D

Christine wrote: "Stacey how long have you been writing books?"

I've been writing books for about fourteen years now, give or take. Not all of them were published, though! :D And I'm a much faster writer than I used to be. My first book took me two years to write. My second took me three months to write and then two years to edit. Eeek!

Colleen wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Colleen wrote: "This is a very important Superman themed series of questions. Is your hero based on Superman? Is Superman your favorite superhero? Which Superman actor is your favori..."

Watching Henry Cavill in that scene where he rescues Amy Adam seriously made me gasp. he was just so darn beautiful. I loved the casting in that movie. HATED the movie. But that's another story. :)

Colleen wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Colleen wrote: "You mention "V" and "Alien" in your book. How do those films most influence your series and/or your writing?"

I'm a pop culture nut. I love pop culture. So it finds ..."

I had nightmares about Diana! :D And remember when Robin is like, "I want to see it!" Because she's afraid but determined to see her alien baby in the incubator. Again, nightmares. Not sure I understood exactly what was going on at the time. I was maybe 8? But i knew I loved it!

Stacey wrote: "Watching Henry Cavill in that scene where he rescues Amy Adam seriously made me gasp. he was just so darn beautiful." Yeah. He's pretty dreamy.

So since you like Sci-Fi would you perhaps, maybe, be a Trekkie?

Suki wrote: "Stacey wrote: "But in this series, what I wanted to play with was the idea that maybe the humans were the ones to be afraid of.

That humanity, as a quality, is not limited to those who were born h..."

Thanks, Suki! Yeah, I was tired of the idea that the aliens were always the bad guys. We, humans, do some pretty awful things to each other on a fairly regular basis. And put something like power or money up for grabs, and it just gets worse.

Colleen wrote: "Now that you've written more than one series, do you like one more than another or are they like children, you love them all?"

Oh, dear. I love them both. :) That being said, like children, I "got along" better with one series. Simply because it came more naturally, I think. The other one forced me to dive deeper into emotions, which was harder.

Stacey wrote:"The other one forced me to dive deeper into emotions, which was harder."

Which is which? ;)

Colleen wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Write a novel was on a list of things I wanted to do, just to see if I could do it! "

It was exactly the same way for me. I didn't really know that was a career option. I just had a..."

yep, i was actually taking a personal development course for a corporation I was working for at the time. The teacher asked us to write a list of things we wanted to accomplish over the next 20 years. We all dutifully wrote our lists, putting all kinds of big dreams on there.

Then he asked us how much time/effort we were devoting to reaching those goals TODAY. Because nothing happens overnight.

And I realized, huh, if I want to write a novel, I guess I better get started trying. :)

Karli wrote: "With all the alien stories already or there, was it difficult to make a unique story on the same subject?"

You know, at the time when I was first developing the story, there weren't so many alien stories, so I think that helped. :) But it is interesting to note now that I think readers feel more comfortable with the guy being the alien versus the girl. Or, certainly there are more stories with that angle. Perhaps because it's easier then to identify with the female human protagonist? Not sure.