Splinter, Sterling Publishing’s young-adult imprint, will launch with a three-part fantasy series by Colleen Houck.

Breaking the tradition of publishing one book per year, the Tiger Saga will be available in its entirety by the end of 2011. Splinter will release Tiger’s Curse on January 11th, Tiger’s Quest on June 11th, and Tiger’s Voyage on November 11th. The books will be published in both hardcover and eBook formats.

Houck wrote Tiger Saga while waiting for vampire novelist Stephenie Meyer to complete her Twilight Saga. Houck explained on her website: “I was a bit overdramatic, but I was in despair. I felt like I’d just broken up with my boyfriend and I desperately needed to park my car outside his house to see what he was doing. Then, like the little red hen, I decided that if nobody was going to write another series like that, I’d do it myself.”

Houck used the Beauty & the Beast fairy tale as a foundation for her story. The series revolves around Dhiren and Kishan, two Indian princes cursed to live as tigers for eternity. Three centuries later, 18-year-old Kelsey meets a beautiful white tiger that changes her life forever.

Cliff Neilson designed the cover. He has previously worked on the Cassandra Clare series and Star Trek art.