Colleen Houck Book Club discussion

Welcome to the group! Stephanie 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.

Hi Stephanie, We have talked lots of times on Twitter and Instagram. (@love2dazzle). I am a huge fan of Caraval. I even collector it in different languages. It has its own special shelving unit. My question for you is: Out of all your covers which is your favorite?

Hi Stephanie! I am a huge fan! I love Caraval so much! Legend is my life! And so is Julian! I love both these characters so much! And the sisters are so amazing too! What inspired you to create a story about illusions and magic? And how on earth are you such a good romance author? I get jitters from reading your romance scenes!

Hello! I absolutely love Caraval. I have read at least 10 times already. My question is did you know how the story would end when you began writing, and if so, what changed?

Hi Stephanie! I finished the Caraval series recently and it's so amazing! I would like to ask you how do you come out with the "twists" in the plot, for example, there's a part in the book when suddenly you realise this person/ thing is ___ So did you come up with it in the process, (and suddenly thought of it) or it was planned at the start? (sorry if it's kind of confusing) And also, where did the idea of the Fates come from?

How did you get started writing?

Which of your characters do you relate to the best?

I love the way you write the sisters in Caraval. Do you have siblings?

Colleen wrote: "Welcome to the group! Stephanie 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..."

Thanks again for having me, Colleen! I'm so excited to chat with everyone this month. :)

Ali Kiki wrote: "Hi Stephanie, We have talked lots of times on Twitter and Instagram. (@love2dazzle). I am a huge fan of Caraval. I even collector it in different languages. It has its own special shelving unit. My..."

Hi Ali,
I'm sorry to be answering this question so late! I have lots of favorite covers. For the US, the cover of Legendary is my favorite! For the UK, I'm really partial to the fairyloot deluxe editions. I love what FairyLoot did with the Legendary cover, it's actually what I'd hoped my UK publisher would do with their secret covers, so I'm a little obsessed with that cover. I also really love the Taiwan editions of Caraval and Legendary--in fact, I made those covers into posters and they are up on my office wall. :)

Dina wrote: "Hello! I absolutely love Caraval. I have read at least 10 times already. My question is did you know how the story would end when you began writing, and if so, what changed?"

Hi Dina,

Thank you so much! I love that you have read Caraval so many times. :)

When I first sat down to write Caraval I didn't know how it would end. I wanted to be surprised by where the book went, so I wrote down 3 very different endings--one for if it was all a game, one for if everything that happened was real, and one for if it was partly a game and partly real. It wasn't until I got close to the end that I chose which route I wanted to take. :)

athenanimeow wrote: "Hi Stephanie! I finished the Caraval series recently and it's so amazing! I would like to ask you how do you come out with the "twists" in the plot, for example, there's a part in the book when sud..."

Those are great questions! For the twists, a lot of them came to me as I wrote. When I wrote Caraval I didn't have much of an outline--just an idea of what I wanted the book to feel like, and where it could possibly go, so I had a lot of freedom as I wrote to come up with new twists and turns, which I would add whenever the story started to feel predictable to me.

For the Fates, it all started when I asked the question, what would happen if someone picked up a magical deck of cards and fell in love with the Jack of Hearts? From there, I created Jacks, who was originally the Jack of Hearts (and he had a best friend named Deuce), but then I turned him into the Prince of Hearts, and changed his deck of cards to a deck of Fates because I thought the idea of bringing a deck of magical immortal beings to life seemed more excited than a deck of numbered cards. ;)

Colleen wrote: "Which of your characters do you relate to the best?"

I'm definitely a Scarlett. I actually created her, because I wanted to write a character who's biggest struggle was fear, because when I was younger fear ruled me more than anything. I'm also an older, overprotective sister, and I like to follow the rules--sometimes to a fault, just like Scarlett. :)

Trishla wrote: "Hi Stephanie! I am a huge fan! I love Caraval so much! Legend is my life! And so is Julian! I love both these characters so much! And the sisters are so amazing too! What inspired you to create a s..."

Thank you so much! This comment just gave me the hugest smile. I'm so glad you enjoy the romance in my books--I love reading romance and I love writing romance. When I write a romance in a book, I try not to plot it out at all. I hate reading books when I feel as if the romance is forced, so I rather than choose my love interests ahead of time, as I write I try to pay attention to who my main character has the most chemistry with, and then I just keep putting those characters into more and more scenes. :)

Colleen wrote: "I love the way you write the sisters in Caraval. Do you have siblings?"

Thank you, Colleen! I do have siblings. I have an older brother and a younger sister, and we are all very close. People are always asking me if my younger sister is Tella, and she's not at all. But I definitely shared my own feelings about sisterly bonds and love as I wrote Scarlett's relationship with Tella. :)

Trudy wrote: "What age did you first know that you wanted to write books?"

I think it was probably around the 3rd or 4th grade that I decided I wanted to be an author. I've always loved writing and reading. But it did take me a while to build up the courage and actually attempt to become published.

When I was younger, the resources that there are now for writers weren't easily accessible. For a very long time, I was really intimated by the idea of publishing. Thankfully, once I started writing for publication, I discovered that there is an amazing community of kidlit writers--and I don't know that I would be published if I hadn't' become a part of that community. :)

Thanks for your reply! Also are you planning on writing any books soon? :)

Hi Stephanie! My name is Summer, we met at BookCon during the author breakfast and I just want to thank you for making that morning such a memorable experience! Any clues as to what you might be writing next?? 😉

Speaking of BookCon, do you have a favorite book conference you like to attend? What do you like as an author vs what a reader would enjoy?

What's your favorite book to movie? Book to tv show?

athenanimeow wrote: "Thanks for your reply! Also are you planning on writing any books soon? :)"

Yes! I'm working on a new project right now. I can't share anything about it at the moment, but I can say I'm having so much for with it and I'm totally obsessed with this new story. :)

Summer wrote: "Hi Stephanie! My name is Summer, we met at BookCon during the author breakfast and I just want to thank you for making that morning such a memorable experience! Any clues as to what you might be wr..."

Hi Summer! I'm so glad you had such a great experience at BookCon--that is always one of my favorite events! And I wish I could give clues about what I'm writing next. Sadly, I'm not allowed to officially share anything yet, but I have been sharing about my writing process as I work on it, over on Instagram. :)

Colleen wrote: "Speaking of BookCon, do you have a favorite book conference you like to attend? What do you like as an author vs what a reader would enjoy?"

This is such a great question! I don't know that I have a favorite. Before I was published, I went to a lot of signings and conferences (which is actually how I met a lot of my publishing friends) and I always loved just being there with other people who were passionate about books and writing. That feeling hasn't changed. I'm always so happy at festivals, because I know everyone there shares my love for books.

If I had to choose, I would say it's a toss up between YALLFest, because the panels are always so fun, and I love walking down the streets of Charleston and just running into readers. I also love the North Texas Teen Book Festival because there are soooooo many teen readers there. I've been twice, and I love doing the signings there because it's so great to connect with actual teen readers. :)

Colleen wrote: "What's your favorite book to movie? Book to tv show?"

Probably Harry Potter. I love the movie adaptations for those books. I also really love the movie Stardust--though I confess I haven't ever read the book--and I love Austenland--but I also never read the book for that one. :)

Which book in the Caraval series is your favourite?

Which book do you wish would get the movie treatment?

What is your most anticipated read that comes out this year?

Stephanie wrote: "athenanimeow wrote: "Thanks for your reply! Also are you planning on writing any books soon? :)"

Yes! I'm working on a new project right now. I can't share anything about it at the moment, but I c..."

Sounds exciting! Can't wait!

Stephanie wrote: "Colleen wrote: "What's your favorite book to movie? Book to tv show?"

Probably Harry Potter. I love the movie adaptations for those books. I also really love the movie Stardust--though I confess I..."

That's funny! I love Stardust and I laugh my head off in Austenland and, like you, haven't read them yet. Austenland is my go-to girl's night out movie.

Thanks so much to Stephanie for the lovely chat this month! Our chat winner is Summer! Congrats. Don't forget to join the chat next month. Hope your October was excellent and happy November everyone!