For author Colleen Houck, discovering and learning about Greek mythology in the sixth grade led her to a lifelong fascination with mythology — a fascination that has fueled her writing career.
From her Tiger’s Curse series, which is based on Indian mythology, to her latest release, “Reawakened” (Delacorte Press, $17.99, ages 14 and up), Houck has gained a large fan base.
“I’ve always loved different kinds of mythology,” Houck said in an interview. “So Egypt just felt like a natural, fun and interesting way to go. There are so many things that we don’t know still, so it makes for wonderful fiction.”
"Reawakened" follows 17-year-old Lilliana, a wealthy New York teen who unexpectedly finds herself bound to a mummy prince-reincarnate, Amon. But Amon shouldn’t be in a New York museum Egyptian exhibit; he needs to be in Egypt. The mummy prince rises once every thousand years to ensure the prosperity of Egypt and keep the world safe from the evil forces of the god Seth. Lilliana and Amon must journey back to Egypt in time for Amon to perform the ritual he was tasked to do before a terrible evil is unleashed.
“I had been concerned about doing another mythology-based book next because I knew people were going to compare this mythology with the Tiger’s mythology,” said Houck, who is currently in the middle of writing the fifth book in the Tiger’s Curse series. “I kind of wanted to head into science fiction next, to show that I could do other stuff, but this is what (the publisher) chose. This is the project they really wanted, so I was excited to research it all."
Of the many themes in the 400 pages of “Reawakened,” the biggest for the planned trilogy is the number three. The story features three mummies, three pyramids, three villains and other various details either subtly or prominently grouped in threes. “Reawakened” became what Houck described as a “mishmash” of myths.
“I researched different myths that have to do with the number three,” Houck said. “I think people are going to be surprised when we get to the third book and find what the whole thing is based on. People think this will just be Egypt and the Egyptian gods, when actually I kind of do the same thing that I do with the Tiger’s, where I bridge different cultures together.”
In the end, Houck noted the main theme in “Reawakened” is not from Egyptian mythology at all. Through her research, Houck discovered how the number three resonates in different cultures and what it means, then took a variety of pieces to create the trilogy.
But despite where the end of the trilogy lies, Houck did hours of research on Egyptian myths, which can be complicated, especially when trying to write a story. Because Houck made many gods and goddesses characters in the “Reawakened” trilogy, it was important for her to understand the complexity of the various deities, invent a pantheon and understand how the mortal realm and afterlife worked.
“It was a whole lot of trying to understand,” Houck said. “Basically, I’m rewriting mythology and trying to make it into one complete story. That was really daunting for me, and most of that comes in book two.”
Working with mythology is difficult for reasons other than research. Houck noted that while authors of the currently popular fairy tale retellings are allowed all sorts of creative license with well-known children’s stories, the use of mythology and history can be heavily criticized and evaluated for accuracy.
“There is a lot of pressure,” Houck said. “I’ve always tried to be as accurate as I possibly can be, but at the same time, you’re telling a story that is purely fiction. You want to tell a compelling story, so you pick and choose the details that are most compelling to you. I am sure if my book was picked up by Egyptology experts, they’d say, ‘This lady doesn’t know what she’s doing.’ But you know, at the end of the day, it’s a work of fiction and you do the best you can.”
Houck said her main focus is being respectful to a culture and its histories while creating a product that is both entertaining and informative and that makes people want to learn about the myths themselves.
Near the end of “Reawakened,” it’s hard for readers to miss the emotion in the final scenes.
“My daddy passed away while I was writing this book,” Houck said. “So I got to the ending of this book and there was a lot of emotion for me. I think some of that translated into the story … it’s especially poignant because in Egyptian mythology you talk a lot about death and the afterlife, and I was able to put a lot of my feelings and grieving into the series.”
Houck, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mentioned that some of the themes are not necessarily mythology-based but rather a bit of her own twist on how she views the universe.
“It is so interesting to me for the afterlife and what comes next,” Houck said. “How these gods and goddesses manage the creation of the universe and the cosmos … and overseeing it."
"Reawakened" has no swearing, violence or sexual content.
If you go ...
What: Colleen Houck book signing
When: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.
Where: Viridian Events Center, 8030 S. 1825 West, West Jordan
Web: kingsenglish.com, colleenhouck.com
Hikari Loftus is a graduate of the University of Utah. She blogs at FoldedPagesDistillery.blogspot.com.