Colleen Houck


“I took hold of that scourge -filled ship and crushed it between my limbs, hurtling it into the second sun, the red one that gave me strength. But I was too late." Terraformer

Colleen's blog


  • The Tiger’s Dream Audiobook!

    November 17, 2018


    Hi Everybody,

    I’m so excited to announce that the Tiger’s Dream audiobook is almost here! The official release date is November 29, 2018. To celebrate, I’ve coordinated with Tantor to do a Thanksgiving giveaway. There’s also a CD cover reveal, an interview with the narrator, Neil Shah, and a sneak peek listen in store. Are you ready?


    The Narrator

    Tiger’s Dream is a particularly important book for me. I wasn’t able to write it for a long time and when I did, it was a passion project. Writing in Kishan’s voice wasn’t something I was totally confident I could do and yet, when I began, I felt like he was sitting right next to me telling his story. The words just flowed out. This should be obvious to anyone who hefts the book. must check here spiritofthesea it provides more audio books like this one.

    When it came time to select a narrator, a woman was suggested at first so that the voice would match the other books in the series. It didn’t feel right to me and I asked for a man’s voice. Preferably, I wanted him to be Indian. They recruited the talented Neil Shah and once I heard him voicing a tiger on his website sample, I knew he was the right person for the job. To know more visit grid-nigeria .

    Then, how cool was it to find out that Neil is an Oregonian like myself? I got to meet him at the Powell’s book signing for The Lantern’s Ember, and he read a bit of Tiger’s Dream for me and my family live. It gave me chills. I can’t wait for you guys to hear this one. It’s like Kishan has come to life.


    About Neil

    Neil Shah is an Award winning audiobook narrator, voice-over artist, and classically-trained actor, who records from his home studio in Portland, Oregon.

    As a narrator, he has recorded numerous fiction and non-fiction audiobooks, including I Am an Executioner: Love Stories by Rajesh Parameswaran (Audie nomination), The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais (Soundcommentary.com Editor’s pick 2013), and Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey In the Congo by Anjan Sundaram (Audiofile Earphones Award).  He is often called upon to record books of Indian & Middle Eastern themes and characters.  Although, since he was born and raised in the United States, he also records titles with American themes and characters, from coming-of-age stories to apocalyptic thrillers.

    As a voice over artist, he has recorded spots for ESPN and Health Alliance for Austin Musician (HAAM) and continues to look for opportunities to bring his talents and skills to commercial, animation, and gaming voiceover projects.

    As an actor, he holds a Master of Fine Arts from the acclaimed University of San Diego/Old Globe Actor Training Program.  He has performed many classical and contemporary plays spanning Off-Broadway (Second Stage, Jean Cocteau Repertory) and regional stages (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Burning Coal, Old Globe).  TV & Film: he has appeared on Law & Order and in numerous independent films.


    The Interview

    Colleen: How many books have you narrated?

    Neil: A little over a hundred. I think I’m on my 105th or so now.

    Colleen: How did you get into narrating audiobooks?

    Neil: I’m a classically trained actor and performed a lot of theater in NY and regionally. I was asked to audition for an audiobook and slowly started getting more and more. I lived in LA for a bit and worked with a lot of great folks when I was there. Finally, my wife and decided to move to Oregon (her home state) and I built a home booth. That’s when things really took off.  Actually, on the drive from LA to Portland during the move, I was offered my first book from Tantor.

    Colleen: What is your dream role to play as an actor?

    Neil: Good question. There are so many. One of the reasons I love audiobooks – I get to play tons of characters. I’ll go back to my first love of Shakespeare – I’d love to play Hotspur in Henry IV, Part 1. Also, playing King Lear would be amazing…I have a few years to go before that one!   One of my dream roles was Othello, which I got to play once.

    Colleen: How do you decide on the specific voice and tone to do for each character?

    Neil: Great question! I cast the characters in my mind. I’m very open-minded with the process and allow characters to come to mind when I am prepping the book before getting in the booth.  Really, just like we all do when reading a story. Sometimes a character looks like an actor or celebrity (but with a different voice) or it could be someone I know, like a family member, or some interesting looking person I noticed at the grocery store, or my mailman or something like that.  It’s really fun to see just whose going to pop into my mind!  Once I have a picture of the character, I find the voice.  Oftentimes the voice just naturally comes along.  After I feel confident about the voice, I work on the tone to make sure they are as distinct and unique as possible from the other voices in the story.

    Colleen: Do you and Kishan have anything in common?

    Neil: Yes, we’re both tigers! Kidding of course! I wish. Aside from us being both of Indian descent, I would say we both really feel things. I found myself really being able to identify with him when he was lovesick or when his temper was tested. LOL!  His passion made this story come alive for me and hopefully for listeners.

    Colleen: What qualities make a great narrator? Do you have any tips for aspiring voice actors?

    Neil: Many of the qualities that make a good actor for stage or screen. Three things I make sure to practice are making sure the story is always the most important thing, letting my imagination be free, and work ethic. I know actors who are super talented, but they are not willing to put in the work.  Just like anything, it takes discipline and work to bring a story to life. For narration, it’s a different kind of work.  My imagination is always working from the moment I start prepping through the last word I record, but it’s preparing for the endurance it takes to tell the story from beginning to end that is important too.  It’s different recording than most realize. It’s not as simple as just reading the book out loud. There is a different nature to it.  It takes a lot of sustained and intense concentration while also trying to be relaxed so your imagination can flourish.  As a day goes on, it becomes more of a challenge as your mind and voice starts getting tired.  Also, throughout it all, it’s important to make the story the most important thing.  It’s not about a narrator’s performance.  It’s about the story.  We should be forgotten about — the listener should be sucked into the story.  If a narrator keeps all of these things in mind, the story will be served and fun to tell.

    Colleen: Is there a scene in Tiger’s Dream that was your favorite to narrate?

    Neil: There were so many, but I really enjoyed the scenes when Kishan and Anamika were bickering or teasing one another. It was reminiscent of a romantic comedy. So much was going on underneath the surface that they either resisted or didn’t even realize. Can’t you both see you’re wild about each other!!?

    Colleen: Which character in Tiger’s Dream was the hardest to voice?

    Neil: Kishan, because he was also the narrator. It took a lot of energy to voice him because I wanted the voice to sound powerful, and even growly at times, but also with many other nuances that showed his human side.  Some days, I would get to the end of the day, and my voice would be so ragged, I had to stop before I wanted to. Also, it took a little more concentration to make sure I was consistent. I don’t have an Indian accent in real life, but I had to make sure it didn’t slip away.

    Colleen: This was a long book! What did a typical day of recording look like?

    Neil: It was. I think it was the longest book I have recorded! A typical day would be getting in the booth in the morning, after my voice woke up, and work for a bit.  Then I’d take a break to eat and get back in the booth for a bit more.  After a few hours, lunch. Then back at it until early evening. By that time, my voice and brain would be tired. Then I would do it all over again the next day. After a few days of that, I’d take a break and take care of other things in my life. Sometimes, I’ll just get in the booth in the evening to do a chapter or two. Recording a book, even shorter ones, is like going on a long hike. Don’t worry about how far you’ve got to go or how far you’ve gone. Just one step at a time and enjoy the journey.

    Colleen: What other projects do you have coming up?

    Neil: I am currently working on a book called Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz. Mahfouz was one of the preeminent writers of Egyptian literature so this one was translated from Arabic.  It’s the first book of a trilogy and it’s about an Egyptian family living in post WWI British-occupied Egypt.  After that, I am working on a non-fiction about the river Ganges, the world’s third-largest river, and about the many cultures, places, and eras in history the river has flowed through.  Then, I’ll be doing a novel that takes place in modern day war-torn Syria.  In between it all, every few weeks, I’m asked to record magazine articles for AUDM.com, a publisher of long-form journalism…this is all before the end of the year!  So, definitely keeping busy. One of the things I love about being a narrator is I get to tell so many different kinds of stories! Fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction, history…even children’s books. One month I’m in a world of a goddess and her tiger traveling through time, and the next I’m telling a story about an Egyptian family living in the 1920’s. There’s always a new kind of story to spark my imagination. I feel very fortunate and grateful:)


    The Cover Reveal & Sneak Peek

    I love those answers! Now, are you ready to listen? This is from one of my favorite scenes in the book. Kishan travels through time in an effort to save Kelsey, the girl he still loves, from a horrible death, but he gets an unexpected surprise. On a snowy mountain in Oregon Kishan waits for her to appear only to realize she’s been sitting beside him all along.

    Tantor decided to go with a different cover for the audiobook. I really like seeing new interpretations of my characters. What do you think? As for me, I’d love to have Anamika’s hair.


    The Contest

    Tantor is going to give five lucky winners a copy of the digital audiobook before it’s release! If you want a chance to win yourself a copy early, all you have to do is enter this rafflecopter. Good luck! This holiday I’m thankful to all my readers and listeners who make it possible for me to continue writing books. Have a great holiday season. I hope you are all safe and get to spend time with the people you love.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    If you can’t wait and are ready to preorder your copy today, you can get the audiobook as an MP3-CD, an Audio CD, or you can wait until November 29th to order the digital version.

     

    This entry was posted in Contest, Tiger's Dream.

    18 Responses to The Tiger’s Dream Audiobook!


    1. Pingback: Sunday Post: Book Pre-order Incentives & Giveaways Galore – 11/25/18 – Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



    Categories
    Archive
    Author Bio
    Colleen Houck

    New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

  • YASH Fall 2018!

    October 2, 2018


    Welcome to the 17th YA Scavenger Hunt!

     

     

    Hello! I am Colleen Houck, your hostess for this leg of the hunt.

    About Me

    My favorite artist is James C. Christensen.

    I love See’s lollypops.

    My favorite Marvel hero is THOR.

    The classic movie I watch repeatedly is Gone With the Wind.

    And the 80’s hair band I’d still go see is Bon Jovi!


    You are currently hunting on TEAM GOLD.

    Looking for my exclusive bonus content? You’ll have to keep searching.

    Somewhere on this blog hop, I’ve hidden a sneak peek from my top secret upcoming book! Before you go looking for it, check out the amazing author I’m hosting.

    But, first, a few rules.


    SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE RULES

    DIRECTIONS: Below, you’ll notice that I’ve listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on TEAM GOLD, and then add them up (don’t worry, you can use a calculator!)

    HINT: THE SECRET NUMBER IS HIGHLIGHTED IN GOLD!

    ENTRY FORM: Once you’ve added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

    RULES: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian’s permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

    On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each participating YA author, but you also get a secret number. Add up the numbers, and enter it for a chance to win a major prize–one lucky winner will receive at least one book from each author on my team in the hunt! But play fast. This contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online until noon PST on Sunday, October 7th!

    There are SEVEN contests going on simultaneously as well as a bonus contest and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GOLD TEAM but there is also a RED TEAM,  BLUE TEAM PURPLE TEAM, GREEN TEAM, ORANGE TEAM & PINK TEAM! Check out each team for a chance to win SEVEN different sets of signed books!

    If you’d like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

    Now that all the technical stuff is out of the way, I’ll introduce the author I am hosting on this hunt.


    I am super excited to be hosting…

    SHAILA PATEL

    About SHAILA:

    Shaila Patel, a member of RWA and SCBWI, is a pharmacist by training, a medical office manager by day, and a writer by night. Her debut #ownvoices paranormal romance, SOULMATED, won the 2015 Chanticleer Book Reviews’ Paranormal Awards for Young Adult, the 2017 Author’s Circle Award YA Book of the Year, the RWA’s PRISM award for Best YA and Best First Book, and runner up in YARWA’s ATHENA award for YA Paranormal.

    The book she is showcasing is…

     

    ABOUT THE BOOK 

    Empath Liam Whelan is determined to protect Laxshmi “Lucky” Kapadia, the girl he loves, at all costs–even if it means breaking her heart to keep her alive. Heartbroken and plagued by doubts, Lucky meets the ruthless Minister Gagliardi who gives her a mind-blowing explanation for her predicament. Acting as her apparent savior, he provides her with an escape from her hell: run away with him or return to her drab existence and watch Liam move on with her heart in his hands.


    BONUS MATERIAL ALERT!

    Hi everyone! I’m so glad to be a part of YASH again, and I hope you all have a blast during the hunt! In case you don’t know about my Joining of Souls Series, it’s an award-winning, interracial, paranormal romance featuring an Indian-American heroine (like me!) and an Irish hero. The first two books in the series are out, and I’m currently finishing up the third–which is what my exclusive content is about. The link below will take you to a never-before-seen look at Chapter 1 of Losing Lucky. Enjoy!

    Here’s the link to Chapter One of Book Three in the series! To read it, just click below.


    That was awesome, right?!

    You can buy her book HERE!

     Check out more on her Website, Twitter, or Facebook page.


    And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me and many more! Just check out all these books on team GOLD,

     

    To enter, you need to write down my favorite number

    and find all the other numbers on TEAM GOLD. Add them up, and you’ll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!


    Thank you so much for visiting my website! While you’re here don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter bonus contest I am running exclusively during the YA Scavenger Hunt.

    Two lucky winners will receive a copy of The Lantern’s Ember (just in time for Halloween) and a bonus book! Good luck everyone!

    Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win,



    To continue the hunt, check out the next author on the Gold Team A. M. ROSE!

    This entry was posted in YA Scavenger Hunt.

    50 Responses to YASH Fall 2018!


    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



    Categories
    Archive
    Author Bio
    Colleen Houck

    New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

  • The Lantern’s Ember Tour Report

    October 1, 2018


    It was a whirlwind tour month for me. I was kept very busy through October with travel and got to see many of my readers as I promoted The Lantern’s Ember. For those of you who missed seeing me, here’s a recap of what happened.

    I started off at Salt Lake Comic Con, doing four panels and two book signings. My book signings were amazing and I was kept busy the entire hour on each signing day despite the fact that the wonderful sponsoring bookstore ran out of The Lantern’s Ember before my second book signing.

    Somehow, I managed to get through the line both days most likely because I didn’t write my customary sentence that goes in each book. I now have a cheat sheet for those, by the way. There are simply too many books out now for me to remember them all. As you can see from my standard sentences below, I’ve shortened them quite a bit from when I started. I took all my book stamps with me to Utah and included the embossers in Oregon but those embossers are far too heavy to take on tour these days. I do have complete sets of embossers for the entire tiger series and the Egypt series but they only go to local events now. Going forward I’m determined to go with stamps. Here’s what they look like.

    The embossers are identical. The only difference is that there isn’t any ink. It just embosses the pattern instead, using muscle, which I typically need to sign books with anyway. As you can see, there is a symbol that goes with each book. If you’d like to know what I write in each book (and this is only when I have time to do so on tour) here you go.

    TIGER’S CURSE-Bhagyashalin! May you be endowed with luck!

    TIGER’S QUEST-Find your North Star!

    TIGER’S VOYAGE-Blossom like the lotus! (Didn’t really think that one through. I DO occasionally have men come through to get books signed and then I feel dumb writing this so I usually go with the always lame, “Enjoy!”

    TIGER’S DESTINY-Discover your destiny!

    TIGER’S DREAM-May all your dreams come true!

    TIGER’S PROMISE-It all begins with a promise!

    REAWAKENED-Let the sun shine in!

    RECREATED-Reach for the stars!

    REUNITED-Shoot for the moon!

    REIGNITED-Ignite your imagination!

    THE LANTERN’S EMBER-Stir the embers!

    This cheat sheet might also help those of you who do have these sentences, but can’t read my writing. =)


    Salt Lake Comic Con is always awesome. I took all three of my sisters, a niece, a nephew, and my mom. We took pictures with Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek), who looks a lot like my brother Mel, by the way…

    David Tennant (AKA Doctor Who), LOOOOVEEEE him! Allons-y!

    And Tom Welling from Smallville. My mom and one of my sisters flew home to Portland early and saw him waiting for his bags. He was on the same plane. Turns out his girlfriend lives in southern Oregon.

    My nephew was photographed for the local newspaper because he made a sweet costume. He was totally sweating to death but sacrifices must be made for Cosplay. He’s the silver one-eyed rabbit thing. He says it’s from something called Five Nights at Freddy’s. Never heard of it. He’s the second from the left.

    It was awesome just walking around and seeing all the costumes, including those worn by my readers. I dressed down at the con just because my days were pretty full and unlike my nephew, I didn’t want to be engulfed in sweat, but you’ll see my costume for The Lantern’s Ember at my other events.

    I so want to wear these Hocus Pocus costumes with my sisters someday. These ladies were perfect! The redhead even had the buck teeth and the boooooook!

    We kept trying to show my mom this guy but she was never looking when he passed by. She’s a huge fan of Sean Connery. If you don’t know this costume you need to watch Indiana Jones.

    This whole family dressing up as the Toy Story characters was so cool! We shared a lunch table.

    Here are some of my readers waiting in line to get their books signed.


    After the con was over, I kept only one sister with me though I would have kept them all since they are all extremely helpful, and put the rest of them on a plane back to their families. Shara, the blonde sister, did all my hair and makeup at my two bookstore events and even coached my makeup via Skype for my local stuff, which is an amazing feat, but she also helped stamp all the books, took pictures, organized me and the lines, checked us in to our hotels, got us food, and everything else. I couldn’t ask for a better assistant on tour.

    If I can, I like to do giveaways at my book signings. It’s hard to do if I’m on an extended tour since I can’t pack too much. In this case, I was able to ship some fun things to the bookstore ahead of time. I like finding decks of playing cards that go with the theme. I found lots of steampunk, zombie, skull, and monster playing cards. Then the bags usually include fun things that match either the color or theme of the book. For The Lantern’s Ember, it was orange and purple and Halloween, so lots of candy, orange and purple nail polish, some makeup, I always throw in either a copy of Tiger’s Promise or Reignited or an audiobook. Then whatever else I find as I shop. In the back, you’ll see some Reawakened purses I had made out of library editions.


    I bought some orange extensions for my hair to go with the Halloween theme. It looked really cute from the back but I think I look better with my hair down for pictures. During the Reunited tour, I wore super long hair extensions straight down my back with purple highlights to match the cover and almost passed out during the Q & A. Between the hair and the dress I was super hot! Note to self: Drink water before a signing!

     

    A few Salt Lake Comic Con’s ago, I found this lady at a booth called Kyla’s Keepsakes selling comic book bustles and ended up buying three of them. She made me a custom light up bustle and hat to go with my Halloween book. The hat has netting, feathers, pumpkins, and a black cat. I also wore firefly earrings I bought on Etsy. I love the pumpkin colored shirt mostly because the sleeves are awesome. It was too clingy for my taste though, especially when topped with a corset so I added a Halloween scarf when I got back to Oregon. The skirt is a pirate type with buckles, then I wore my steampunk ankle boots. I’ll show you a better picture of the bustle below.

     

     

    So the bustle actually has three layers. It’s black on the bottom layer, then the white with pumpkins and bats that matches the hat, then the top is a black and orange pumpkin lace topped with chains with various charms like cauldrons and broomsticks. Beneath that lace layer are two strings of hidden Halloween lights and a battery pack so the whole bustle lights up. It got tricky that first night since it became detached somehow during my flight and I didn’t check everything. After the first night, it worked much better.

    Also, I figured out after that first night that the bustle goes on before the corset, otherwise the ties start slipping down and peeking out underneath. I was a bit of a hot mess, costume-wise, in Orem. It was a great crowd though with lots of questions and many longtime friends in attendance.

     

     

     

     

     

    In addition to my sister, her eldest daughter, my niece, Becca, who I named Kelsey’s foster sister after, was able to take a break from her freshman year at Brigham Young University. She came to help me at the signing and spend some time with her mom. She gave up two full-ride scholarships at Arizona Universities to attend BYU where she’s majoring in Computer Engineering. She’s a bit like Kelsey actually. She loves baking, and when we asked her what we could get her before we left the city, she said she needed oven mitts and toothpicks to test her cakes. Smart and a baker? I’d be shocked if she didn’t have a line of guys signing up with her for tutoring this semester.

     


    Back in Oregon, I had two more events, one at Powell’s and one at The Book Bin in Salem. Both were fantastic! At Powell’s my mom, hubby, and sister dressed up along with me. The hubby wore a steampunk hat and a headless horseman T-shirt but didn’t dress as dapper as my vampire, Dev. He thought the sunglasses were making him mysterious.

     

     

    A fun surprise waited for me at Powell’s. I got to meet Neil Shah, the actor who is narrating the audiobook of Tiger’s Dream! He read the opening scene in Kishan’s voice for me, the one where Kishan is hunting the deer as a tiger.

    Even though he was feeling under the weather and couldn’t stay long that night, I can tell you, you’re all going to want a copy of the audiobook just so you can hear Kishan’s voice. Neil’s amazing and what’s even better is that he lives in Portland and promised to come to another signing someday and do a reading for you guys! If you want to hear a short sample, check out another tiger book he narrated on his website.

     

    We had a great Q & A session where I answered questions about everything from, “What’s going on with the movie?” The answer is, “Not too much right now, though it’s still very much possible,” to “What are you writing now?” The answer to that one is, “Nothing at the moment. I just turned in a sci-fi book to my agent. He’s currently shopping it around.” I didn’t give a lot of hints about that one except to say that the heroine is named Astra and the hero is Jax, short for Jaxson. That it starts off on a spaceship and ends up on a planet populated by giant trees. And that if I really, really wanted to, I could use that book to connect all the books I’ve ever written…If I really wanted to. =)

     

     

    A few of my favorite moments on the tour were when a mom and her adult daughters were visiting with me and the mom told me her favorite book was Tiger’s Promise because, without Yesubai’s gift, nothing else could have happened. Her insights into Tiger’s Dream and Tiger’s Promise were amazing. I could have talked with her about the story for hours.

     

     

     

    Another fan told me about her journey to the Tiger’s Dream party in Salem where her car broke down and she had to take a taxi, but the driver only took her as far as Eugene. So she took another taxi and had to do the same thing going home. I was surprised that she sacrificed so much to come but she said she’d do it again and had a great time.

     

     

    I saw a few of my old self-published versions of Tiger’s Curse and Quest on the tour which means someone’s been carrying those books around for the better part of ten years or so now. There were a lot of first editions and entire sets brought to the table. I’m so grateful for all the support and love I feel when connecting with my readers.

     

     

     

    Thank you so much to everyone who came out to see me and to all of you who weren’t able to come to the launch parties but celebrated in your own way and picked up a copy of The Lantern’s Ember. I hope you love this Halloween story as much as I do and that it puts you in a Halloween mood! If that doesn’t do the trick, then may I suggest watching Hocus Pocus!

    Happy Halloween Everybody!

    Colleen

     

     

    This entry was posted in The Lantern's Ember.

    7 Responses to The Lantern’s Ember Tour Report


    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



    Categories
    Archive
    Author Bio
    Colleen Houck

    New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.