Author Heather McCorkle

Thank you so much to everyone who supported the fabulous author Ebony McKenna and entered the contest to win her second novel, Ondine: The Autumn Palace . I was humbled and deeply touched to have so many of you go above and beyond for my friend. Ebony was so touched that she decided to throw in two copies so now there will be three winners! Welcome new followers, I'm very excited to have you with me. I hope you'll stick around even if you didn't win. I do quite a few giveaways and I'm planning a massive one for the release of my novel this August. Now to the winners... Marjie Pride Michelle Fayard  (declined) DarkAngel1988   (Memrie) Cassandra Congratulations everyone! Have fun reading Ondine. I've contacted Marjie and Michelle but Dark Angel , I'll need you to leave me a comment with a way to contact you. Don't worry, to save you from spammers I won't publish the comment! The copies will all be paperback due to a block on foreign ebooks. Sorry erea

Stretch out that clicking finger because Twitter was singing with great tweets last week. There's something in here for everyone! If you're going to the Willamette conference   in Portland Oregon be sure to drop in on Jane Friedman's session: @ JaneFriedman I'll be conducting workshops & offering critiques at Willamette conference in Portland in August: http://bit.ly/iAxZAu For those who've been wondering why some agents take longer to respond in the summer, agent Ginger Clark reveals the truth: @ Ginger_Clark Authors: just an FYI, but from Memorial to Labor Day, most of publishing takes off at 1 pm on Friday. It's called Summer Hours or Fridays. Thinking about quitting your job when you get published? Think again: @ WritersDigest Why I’m Keeping My Day Job - Spend any time around writers, and you’ll hear us joking—well, half-joking—about wantin... http://ow.ly/1dkLN7 Ever wondered if your appearance matters as an author? Then check this out: @

These lovely covers are from books by my friends that are releasing next month. As their release dates loom just around the corner they have been inspiring me more and more. Jessica Subject's  romantic sci-fi tale, Celestial Seduction releases July 1st, Denise Grover Swank's paranormal mystery, Twenty-Eight And A Half Wishes releases July 15th, and Eisley Jacobs's middle grade fantasy, Born To Be A Dragon, Releases July 20th. These ladies have inspired me not only because they are my friends and are fantastic, supportive people, but because they are outstanding writers as well. Their grasp of the writing craft is something I aspire to. During the first three weeks of July on my critique group's blog, the Critique Sisters Corner , we'll be interviewing one of these fabulous ladies each week to chat about their novels. Be sure to stop by CSC starting July 1st for the first interview. The success of my friend's never fails to inspire me and make me smile. Good

Once my novel passed the content review at Abbott it was time to move into editorial review. This is something Abbott does with all novels to evaluate whether or not they need editing of any kind. While it may seem a bit intimidating to some, this is a feature about Abbott that I love. To me it speaks volumes about the quality of novel they want to publish, and how successful they want the author to be. It took a little less than two weeks for my novel to get through editorial review, and I'm thrilled to say it made it with flying colors and even praise. By the time I go on vacation next month on the 9th of July my novel should be moving into the design stage! Again with the nausea, but good nausea. :) When your novel is through editorial review they send it back to you with notes on anything they feel could use improvement. They also give you a sample edit of about three pages and let you know what level of editing they feel your work could use, if any. If you like their edi

Every now and then last week I ducked away from editing and peeked in on Twitter to find a few good tweets for you. Sorry there aren't more but I've been crazy busy. This first one is from Writer's Digest, reminding us why a great hook in a query letter is so important: @ WritersDigest Developing the Hook in a Query Letter - Sometimes you only have seconds for your query to catch interest, and a grea... http://ow.ly/1detOF If you have questions about querying then you have to read this post by agent Vickie Motter: @ HeatherMcCorkle Agent @ VickieMotter dishes out some great #querytips on her blog: http://tinyurl.com/3flmkyc #WritersRoad #writing Going out on submission? Don't miss this new agent featured by Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest: @ WritersDigest New Agent Alert: Meredith Barnes of Lowenstein Associates - Reminder: Newer agents are golden opportunities for new ... http://ow.ly/5izaI If you missed my big giveaway be sure to click on the li

Since it's the beginning of summer and the novel I'm editing takes place at the end of winter, I needed this picture to inspire me! As I'm editing the sequel to Spruce Knoll I'm noticing the depth of the difference in the themes from one novel to the other. Because of the difference in theme I'm realizing that what inspires me for the second novel is quite different from what inspired me during the first novel. The first novel was all about secrets and truths while the second is about choices (and that's the only hint you'll get about book 2!). My main character has to do even more growing up in this one and the decisions she makes will affect a lot more than just her. My muse is requiring darker substance for this one. I finally finished reading Frankenstein: Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz. It was good but a bit dark even for what my muse needs. If you like Dean Koontz or the Frankenstein legend then be sure to check it out. I'll be reading the next in t

When a friend of mine needs help my only question is how high they want me to leap. When that friend is one of my favorite authors who is in danger of not getting their next book published because of low sales then I am willing to leap to the stars to do what it takes. You may be wondering, if they are one of my favorite authors, and obviously such a great writer, then why are their sales low? It could be many things, lack of marketing, exposure,  published in a foreign country. Even traditional publishing does not guarantee sales anymore. My friend, Ebony McKenna needs our help. If the sales of her first two novels don't rise then her publisher won't be publishing the third novel in her series and that would be a terrible travesty because her books are outstanding. To help get the word out about her awesome books I'm giving away the second book in her series here on Heather's Odyssey and my Critique Sisters are giving away the first book in her series on the Critiq

Twitter was much more lively this week, which means lots of great tweets for you! This first one is about the millionaire success of self-published author Amanda Hocking. Her story is part of what inspired me to take the plunge: @ KappaDeltaWrite   Excellent interview with @ amanda_hocking   on her journey to becoming an indie writing trailblazer.       http://bit.ly/jMq7HS Writer's Digest is celebrating hitting a momentous number of posts on their GLA blog with a giveaway! @ WritersDigest   To celebrate 1500 posts on the GLA, there's a double book giveaway. Just comment for chance to win both     http://ow.ly/5aC0Y An agent offers up a helpful query tip: @ RivetingRosie   #qu erytip :  please include your email after your sig in a query letter. Even if it appears at the top. Makes requesting a lot easier Get those query letters ready, agent Gina Panettieri announces a new agent at her agency:  @ ginapanettieri   Our new Associate Agent, Rachae

My steampunk novel has been put on hold so that I can go back and work on editing the sequel to The Secret Of Spruce Knoll. I miss my steampunk novel and think of it often but it is a ton of fun being back with my Spruce Knoll characters. I hadn't realized how much I missed them and I had forgotten how much I loved telling their story. Reliving the joy of writing that series is a gift that I must thank all of you for. When the time comes I hope you love it as much as I do! This picture reminded me so much of my main characters that it inspired me the moment I saw it. During the editing process of this sequel though I realized something. I hate the title, I mean flat out  hate  it. It must change, no it will change! Some books are easier to title than others but this is not one of those books. For some reason the right title is eluding me. I've explored both the underlying themes of the novel and the exterior ones, the character arcs and the story line, and still I am at a loss

The agents and editors have been scarce with the tweets lately. I think it may be in part due to the excitement left over from BEA. But I did manage to catch a few for you! This first one is golden advice from agent Rachelle Gardne r :  @ RachelleGardner   Writing credentials and platform don't sell your novel, your WRITING does. Important truth in fiction!   #pubtip  Worried about the stigma of self-publishing holding you back from getting an agent? Agent Mandy Hubbard shines light on the subject: @ MandyHubbard   epubbing pre-agent probably wont make a big impact either way, unless its a v. successful book . #askagent Agent Deirdre Knight reminds us that Twitter isn't just for promotion: @ DeidreKnight   Here's a   #pubtip .  Pls don't use Twitter just to endlessly self-promote without any genuine interaction. That's basically a   #tweettip   too  If you write Sci-Fi/Fantasy then you don't want to miss this: @ WritersDigest   Agent @ LucienneDiver   Tea

Last week you were my inspiration, each and every one of you. Announcing my decision to go indie despite the interest of small traditional publishers, was a very scary moment for me. I knew there would be people who wouldn't be happy about it and I knew some would even stop following me, commenting on my blog, and in essence would turn their backs on me. I figured it was inevitable because there are still some people out there who are seriously opposed to self-publishing. I know because I was one of them at one time. But you all showed me how amazing our writing/reading community truly is. The outpouring of support astounded me and brought me to tears more than once. Of course there were a few who didn't respond and haven't spoken to me since, but they were very few. Your voices of support drowned them out and for that I cannot thank you enough. You've inspired me and made me think that I can do this. I don’t feel alone and that is a wonderful gift that you'

I've been lucky enough to have followed along the journey of this month's featured debut author for a long time now. It is my good friend Myra McEntire and in only a few days you'll be able to buy her paranormal young adult ,   Hourglass ! This isn't your typical YA paranormal, check this out: For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. See what I mean! Aren't you just dying to know more? Then please join me in welcoming Myra McEntire to Heather's Odyssey!    It feels like I've been waiting forever to hold   Hourglass in my hands.    What inspire you to write this particular novel? Myra: The day I finished HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS I knew I had to tr