Colleen Houck Book Club discussion

Welcome to the group! Amy will be answering questions on Saturday, June 28th 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.

My number one question for Amy is, how on earth do you meet so many celebrities and get them to pose with your books? What's your secret?

What kind of steps do you take to write a book? Do you write down tons of notes? Makes charts? Write notes on stickies, and stick them all over the house lol?

I'm wondering the same thing as Erin. Also: do you have any computer programs that you use? Any tablet or smartphone apps? I have Daedalus and it's great but I'm always on the look out for more, every tool counts lol

I was wondering, I know there are certain genres that some authors just don't want to write. Are there any genres that you feel you would never right about? Or are all of them up for grabs?

Also, have you considered revisiting the Revenants world? Perhaps another novella?

Thanks!

I am a HUGE FAN...I absolutely LOVEEE your books I am so EXCITED for the next book in the Tiger series...I hope it's sooooon!!! (:

Amy plum's books, Revenants (Die For Me), were so much fun! I really enjoyed them.

Amy what's your favorite movie and song and food and color and weather and holiday and tv show and book?

Hi Amy,
I'm a HUGE fan of your Revenants series...especially Jules. Any chance of an offshoot series starring him? Loved his novella, but hoping for more Jules!

Did you get to go to Alaska? Maybe for research?

I loved Juneau's dogs. Do you have a pet?

Juneau's name obviously comes from Alaska and Sitka if I remember correctly was one of the names on the film Brother Bear which is also based in the same location. Was that movie any influence on your name choices?

Now that you've written a few different worlds, do you have a favorite?

Where did you get the idea for the Yara and where did that word come from?

Amy! I was wondering which authors inspired you the most to write "After the End" and the "Die For Me" series. I am an aspiring writer and could use great works of literature to help me out. Thanks. :)

Amy- I was wondering where you came up with the ideas for your books?
Amy and Colleen- Also, if you could be a character in any YA book who would it be and why?

There is going to be a sequel right? I wanted more at the end as I need my books to have more resolution. How soon is the next book coming out? I do love your books and look forward to reading them but waiting is hard.

Is living is Paris difficult? I assume you speak french. I would love to visit Paris but am afraid of going to a foreign country and not knowing the language. Did you learn french before you went or learn it there?

Hi Ms. Plum! Im really excited to be able to talk to you, and have a question. How in the world did you come up with the awesome-sauce that is the Revenants series? And how did you manage the final scene with Jean-Baptiste without shedding a tear?

Out of all your books, who is your all time favorite character?

Between Juneau and Kate from your two series, who do you feel is more like you? Who do you feel is the stronger character?

If you could hang out with any author and the characters from their book(s) for a day, who would you choose?

Do you ever write a paragraph in your book and think wow that's a good paragraph? Also do you have fun while you write?

If this is too personal, you don't have to answer, but have you ever cried while writing one of your books because you were so emotionally invested?

Are you as much of a reader as you are a writer?

Is there a topic or genre that you are really interested in writing about that you haven't explored yet?

What are you reading right now?

Any book recommendations? I'm interested to hear your suggestions :-)

I am currently writing a fan fiction about the movie the haunted mansion. It about how mr gracey meets Elizabeth.

The Die for me Series made me want to visit Paris and eat croissants in little cafes and walk by the river. In After the End I sort of wanted to go on a road trip and camp. :) Do you go on road trips there in Paris?

Miles and Juneau obviously come from two different worlds and don't have a lot of patience for each other when they meet. Why did Miles go to find Juneau? What was in it for him? It seemed like he was just being rebellious.

Is the "Yara" like the "Force" from Star Wars? Is it a connections that we all share: animals, plants, humans, Earth. Like a spiritual connection?

Hi Amy! I love all your books, the Die for Me series and After the End! Also, Miles is such a great character, I laughed so many times when I was reading his chapters. Anyway, to the questions:-
1. Do you have a favourite quote from the book?
2. Is there another place in the world that you really want to write a story in? (as Die for Me is in Paris, and After the End starts in Alaska)
3. What sort of characters do you enjoy writing the most?
Thank-you so much for answering our questions!

Hello all! I'm ready to go. Thanks for turning up and leaving all of these great questions! I'll start answering in order that they were asked. And here we go with question #1 of Colleen's!

Colleen wrote: "My number one question for Amy is, how on earth do you meet so many celebrities and get them to pose with your books? What's your secret?"

My secret to posing with celebrities is having the guts to go up to them, hand them my books, and say, "Will you hold that up while we take a picture?" The only person who hesitated was Paul Wesley from Vampire Diaries, who for some reason was worried about the content of the book he was holding up. (UNTIL I DIE) When I reassured him it wasn't porn, he held it up and smiled.

The only person I've been really nervous to meet was Neil Gaiman, and only because I worship him. If I don't worship, I don't fangirl or get worried. So in my old days in the art world, it didn't faze me to put an arm around Kate Hudson, Sean Connery, Winona Ryder, and the likes, whereas with Neil Gaiman I was shaking like a leaf.

Erin wrote: "What kind of steps do you take to write a book? Do you write down tons of notes? Makes charts? Write notes on stickies, and stick them all over the house lol?"

Hi Erin! I actually don't write a ton of notes. I'm what's called a "pantser" instead of a "plotter" - fly by the seat of my pants. So I will write down a bit, but most of it is in my head. And I don't think about what's happening next until I sit down to write it. However, to keep everything straight in my mind (mainly calendars and character's vital stats) I do use bulletin boards where I stick up cards with notes. I'm trying to learn to use Scivener, which takes care of all of that, but it's taking me a while.

Kelsey wrote: "I'm wondering the same thing as Erin. Also: do you have any computer programs that you use? Any tablet or smartphone apps? I have Daedalus and it's great but I'm always on the look out for more, ev..."

Hi Kelsey! Beth Revis and some other friends had been raving about Scrivener, so I finally began using it. It is AMAZING for keeping organized, but is pretty complicated to learn. I'm determined to use it for my next book, and have everything set up for when I start. Otherwise, it's random scraps of paper that end up not making any sense.

Cassie C wrote: "I was wondering, I know there are certain genres that some authors just don't want to write. Are there any genres that you feel you would never right about? Or are all of them up for grabs?

Also, have you considered revisiting the Revenants world? Perhaps another novella?"

Hi Cassi,
I actually get bored quickly, so am enjoying doing a bit of genre hopping. The DIE FOR ME series was romance (although I categorize the books as Book 1: romance; Book 2: mystery; Book 3: action/adventure). The AFTER THE END series is action/adventure with a bit of magic thrown in. And the books that I'm pitching right now are horror.

I'm not sure if I could do a full-blown fantasy, in the Game of Thrones style, because I have a hard time keeping up with large numbers of characters.

And I've talked to Harper about doing some more novellas for the DIE FOR ME series. It is always a possibility!

Jeremy wrote: "Do you outline your novels before writing them?"

Hi Jeremy, Nope, I'm a pantser. :) I have a general idea of what is happening, but do the world building and plotting as I go along in the first draft. Then I go back and fix everything and develop it in second draft. But I suck at outlining, so avoid that as much as possible.

Amy wrote: " I'm trying to learn to use Scivener, which takes care of all of that, but it's taking me a while. "

Me too. I have a hard time giving up Word.

Jeanette wrote: "Amy plum's books, Revenants (Die For Me), were so much fun! I really enjoyed them."

Thanks so much, Jeanette! Sending you a hug from Paris!

Christine wrote: "Amy what's your favorite movie and song and food and color and weather and holiday and tv show and book?"

Hi Christine,
Favorite movie: Bladerunner
Favorite song: this is ever changing. Maybe this (Sufjan Stevens, The Dress Looks Nice on You): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkX_...

Color: blue
Weather: snowy but sunny (New York style)
Holiday: adventure...wandering around in ruins
TV show: Game of Thrones, Sherlock, Dr. Who
Book: Mark Helprin, Winter's Tale

Who was your favorite character to write? And which was the hardest to work with?

Emily S. wrote: "Hi Amy,
I'm a HUGE fan of your Revenants series...especially Jules. Any chance of an offshoot series starring him? Loved his novella, but hoping for more Jules!"

Hi Emily - thanks so much! A lot of people have asked for that, but will it happen? I'm not sure. I have a hard time concentrating on one thing for too long, but who knows...if I can work him into a different setting, then maybe I will!

Colleen wrote: "Did you get to go to Alaska? Maybe for research?"

Hi Colleen! (And thank you for having me here!) Alaska is the ONLY STATE IN THE U.S. that I haven't been to. It's very embarrassing.

Colleen wrote: "I loved Juneau's dogs. Do you have a pet?"

I had a dog, Ella, who died in March at age 14. She was my pet-child, before I had kids and I will always miss her!

Amy wrote: "Favorite song: this is ever changing. Maybe this (Sufjan Stevens, The Dress Looks Nice on You): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkX_...

TV show: Game of Thrones, Sherlock, Dr. Who."

The song is pretty! I really need to try Dr. Who. Too chicken to try Game of Thrones.

I am such a fan of your writing. The strong female leads are fantastic, I feel like I'm reading people rather than characters. You really gave me the inspiration I needed to put my own work out there.

Was it frightening to let other people see your work when you first started to contact agents?

Colleen wrote: "Juneau's name obviously comes from Alaska and Sitka if I remember correctly was one of the names on the film Brother Bear which is also based in the same location. Was that movie any influence on y..."

I saw Brother Bear when it came out, but didn't remember the names. :) All of the children of the clan are named after towns in Alaska, so I basically just looked at a map to name them.

Colleen wrote: "Now that you've written a few different worlds, do you have a favorite?"

I live in Paris in the world of the revenants (convinced that they are actually living all around me), so I have to say...that is my favorite one!