Colleen Houck Book Club discussion

Welcome to the group! Andrea will be answering questions in October 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.

I love, love your steampunk series. I also love your wolves. They are so different. Was it hard moving to an entirely different world?

Any must haves when you write?

How is it different writing adult vs YA?

Colleen wrote: "Welcome to the group! Andrea will be answering questions in October 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 ..."

Thank you so much for inviting me to your chat, Colleen! I adore your books <3 And thank you to readers for your questions, I look forward to answering them.

Colleen wrote: "I love, love your steampunk series. I also love your wolves. They are so different. Was it hard moving to an entirely different world?"

It means so much that you love both series. They are very different, but both from my heart (and brain!) History and fantasy are my twin passions. I grew up in the northwoods of Wisconsin and Minnesota and there my imagination thrived. I've always loved animals and have been especially fascination by wolves since childhood. Writing a fantasy were the 'werewolves' weren't cursed, but considered themselves both fully wolf and fully human reflected my own love of the wilderness and respect for wildlife.

My steampunk series emerged from two things: my love of the maker movement and the ability to break the rules of history. Prior to becoming a full time novelist, I was a professor of history for five years. When you teach history, you're not supposed to deal in counterfactuals - that is, things that didn't actually happen. With The Inventor's Secret I was able to turn history on its head. I love Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, and George Orwell so mad scientists and monsters in an alternate history seemed the perfect way to bring history and fantasy together.

Colleen wrote: "Any must haves when you write?"

I used to always write to music, but health issues in recent years (also the reason I haven't published a book in two years) have heightened my sensitivity to environmental factors. I now need quiet, not silence, but relative stillness around me to write well. I always have tea or coffee and water by my side.

Colleen wrote: "How is it different writing adult vs YA?"

In my adult book it was mostly about experiences and choices. As we age our perspectives alter, our needs and wants shift, and we have however many more years of events and memories that shape our actions. The characters in my adult novel are at a different place in their lives than my YA characters, so the plot and mentalities of adult characters are likewise different.

Andrea wrote: "Prior to becoming a full time novelist, I was a professor of history for five years. ."

I wish I could take a class from you! I love your history! It's my favorite part of your books. Do you still teach at all? You should do history workshops at writing conventions.

Andrea wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Any must haves when you write?"

I used to always write to music, but health issues in recent years (also the reason I haven't published a book in two years) have heightened my sens..."

I need quiet too. This past year we've been building a house so we are in a crappy rental so I ventured out for the first time ever. My favorite spot? A grocery store. Who knew? It's a gorgeous store though with a second floor you can look out over the lovely produce section. It's a good place to look for interesting characters.

What's your favorite bookstore?

If you could visit any historical site you haven't been to yet, where would you go?

Colleen wrote: "Andrea wrote: "Prior to becoming a full time novelist, I was a professor of history for five years. ."

I wish I could take a class from you! I love your history! It's my favorite part of your book..."

Thanks, Colleen! I love teaching and I do miss it. I include history in my school presentations, but your idea of talking about history at writing workshops sounds fantastic. I'll have to figure out a way to do that!

Colleen wrote: "Andrea wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Any must haves when you write?"

I used to always write to music, but health issues in recent years (also the reason I haven't published a book in two years) have hei..."

That's so fun about the grocery store spot. Strangely enough, while I need quiet in my own home, I also like writing in public places. I think the noise somehow fades into the background more easily and the people watching is fantastic. I've gotten some fantastic writing done in airports!

Colleen wrote: "What's your favorite bookstore?"

Oh, that's tough! I'm so fortunate to have spent time in many wonderful bookstores. I have lovely memories of the small book shop in my hometown, Ashland, Wisconsin. Sadly, it has been closed for many years now, but it was called Northword Books and it was in a beautiful brick building. The store always smelled of the old wood that made up the walls and shelves of the store. And there was a cat that would jump onto your shoulder without warning and expect cuddles.
Nightshade's launch was held at the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, MN. I visited this store often as a child and it was such a joy to have events there as an author.
Books of Wonder and McNally Jackson were my go-to stores when I lived in Manhattan - both are fantastic stores.
What I've learned as an author is that each indie bookstore I visit is a treasure - every place has a something unique that sets it a part. Spending time in bookstores always feels like coming home. I feel the same way about libraries!

Colleen wrote: "If you could visit any historical site you haven't been to yet, where would you go?"

Another tough question! I love traveling so there are many, many places I'd like to visit. Last year my family visited Norway, where my father's family emigrated from and I adored learning all that family history. Now I'm hoping to go with my mother to Quebec, as her side of the family is from French Canada. I'd also love to visit Shinto temples throughout Japan and see the Great Wall of China.

Andrea wrote: "Colleen wrote: "And there was a cat that would jump onto your shoulder without warning and expect cuddles. .."

My local indie bookstore has an orange tabby. I love bookstore cats.

What is your favorite movie about wolves? I haven’t read any of your books yet but my best friend is obsessed with your work.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

Out of curiosity why did you choose the name Calla for Nightshade? :) Love the wolf books by the way.

Natalie here!!! Love the series!! What inspired you of the story line for the series and why choose the titles "Nightshade" and "Wolfsbane"? If I remembered correctly, they were used to kill, or at least hurt, werewolves in fiction

I was thinking about those last few questions. Are you a gardener by chance? There is a lot of flower/garden imagery in your books. I use a lot of that myself. I love flower gardens. Horrible at actually growing things but I love them.

If someone told you, you could live anywhere in the world (all expenses paid) for the next year but you couldn't leave that city or country during that time frame, where would you move to?

Were the characters from the Nightshade series or any of your other series inspired by someone in particular or do you use your imagination? When I write usually a trait from my characters comes from someone I knew from the past.

Ashley wrote: "What is your favorite movie about wolves? I haven’t read any of your books yet but my best friend is obsessed with your work."

My favorite movies about wolves are nature documentaries. I loved watching National Geographic, Nature, and Wild Kingdom more than cartoons as a child. Thanks for your question and tell your friend hi!

Melissa wrote: "What is your favorite thing about writing?"

My favorite thing about writing is getting to know the characters. When I start a new book I know a little bit about each character, but its only through writing that I discover who they really are: what they love, what they fear, what their hopes are. Figuring all of that out is the most important part of my books coming together.

Cali wrote: "Out of curiosity why did you choose the name Calla for Nightshade? :) Love the wolf books by the way."

I knew immediately what Calla looked like, white blonde hair, golden eyes. I also knew that her mother wanted her to be someone she wasn't, so it made sense that she would been given a very feminine name that also relates to her appearance. I also adore calla lilies. I think they're extraordinarily beautiful.

Natalie wrote: "Natalie here!!! Love the series!! What inspired you of the story line for the series and why choose the titles "Nightshade" and "Wolfsbane"? If I remembered correctly, they were used to kill, or at..."

Hi Natalie!

You're absolutely right, Nightshade and Wolfsbane are both toxic and historically have been used to make deadly poisons. I chose the titles because I love learning lore about plants. One of the reasons I wrote Nightshade was because I didn't like traditional werewolves. Having grown up in the woods of Northern Wisconsin, I've always loved real wolves and I wanted to write a story that showed how incredible and intelligent wolves are. I wanted becoming a wolf to be a gift not a curse and I didn't want my wolves to be encumbered by things that would get in the way of their ability to be warriors (e.g. losing their clothes, long transformation).

Colleen wrote: "I was thinking about those last few questions. Are you a gardener by chance? There is a lot of flower/garden imagery in your books. I use a lot of that myself. I love flower gardens. Horrible at ac..."

I am a gardener! I caught the gardening bug from my mother and my grandmothers. I currently live in a condo, so my gardening is limited to pots on my balcony, but I hope to have a true garden full of herbs, vegetables, and flowers someday!

Ali Kiki wrote: "If someone told you, you could live anywhere in the world (all expenses paid) for the next year but you couldn't leave that city or country during that time frame, where would you move to?"

Ooh, that's tough! And I sure wish someone would make that offer! Since it's all expenses paid, I think I have to say Paris. I've been lucky enough to visit a few times and it's a city I'd love to spend a year or more in.

Cali wrote: "Were the characters from the Nightshade series or any of your other series inspired by someone in particular or do you use your imagination? When I write usually a trait from my characters comes fr..."

My characters aren't based on people I know with the exception of Ansel, Calla's younger brother, in Nightshade. It wasn't intentional, but as I wrote the book it was obvious that Ansel is my little brother. My brother and I are very close so I think I projected him onto the younger brother character that Calla loved so much.

Thanks for answering my question, Andrea!! Were there any works (well-known like Shakespeare and modern authors) that inspired you for the series? Personality of characters, the setting, the theme, etc.? Like I was inspired by Colleen Houck's first series (with the setting in India) and my youngest sister's favorite fairy tale to put together some concept art and character designs for my art portfolio.

Natalie wrote: "Thanks for answering my question, Andrea!! Were there any works (well-known like Shakespeare and modern authors) that inspired you for the series? Personality of characters, the setting, the theme,..."

Hi Natalie! Prior to becoming a full-time author I was a professor of history. Much of my research focused on the history of witchcraft in early modern Britain and North America. That history played a big role in the creation of Nightshade. The competing philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes (also from the early modern era) set up the underlying moral questions of the novel. I definitely was inspired by the bantering couples of Shakespeare's comedies. My favorite books growing up were fantasies like The Lord of the Rings, the Dark is Rising, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Chronicles of Prydain. I feel like those books influence everything I write.

Coincidently, I picked up the first of the Tiger's Curse series and Nightshade at the same time right before a vacation trip. I was obsessed with anything to do with shapeshifters and just wanted to fill my every waking moment reading about people that could transform into animals. I loved Nightshade because it felt so realistic to me. The pack dynamics were intriguing, the fact that Calla looked like an actual wolf after transforming was refreshing from typical werewolf lore, I loved the way you drew in other creatures/magical beings, and it was modern. What influenced your world-building and what was your favorite part about the process? And just a silly question, but if Nightshade became a movie, what actors would you love to see as your characters?

Andrea wrote: "Cali wrote: "Out of curiosity why did you choose the name Calla for Nightshade? :) Love the wolf books by the way."

I knew immediately what Calla looked like, white blonde hair, golden eyes. I als..."

Thanks for answering my questions. I love calla lilies too. :)

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question Andrea and my friend was very excited that you said hi!

Thanks for joining the chat with Andrea Cremer! Our winner this month is Cali! Don't forget to join the chat next month for another chance to win!