Author Heather McCorkle

In need of a great read? Here are two adult novels that I highly recommend for you fans of dystopian and paranormal. They both captivated me for their own reasons. The first is MUD: The Third War Chronicles by E.J. Wenstrom. It is a dystopian of a very different, very delectable, flavor. Trapped by his Maker’s command to protect a mysterious box, Adem is forced to kill anyone who tries to steal it. When a young boy chances upon Adem’s temple, he resists temptation, intriguing the golem. As the boy and his sister convince Adem to leave the refuge of his temple, the group lands in a web of trouble. Now Adem will do whatever necessary to keep his new young charges safe, even if it means risking all to get rid of the box. Their saving grace comes in the form of an angel who offers to set Adem free of the box’s magic by granting his greatest desire—making him human. But first, Adem must bring back the angel’s long-dead human love from the Underworld. In doing so, he will risk breakin...

As an author, I understand the importance of reviews more than I ever did before. They effect reader's decision to buy, which directly effects the success of the book and the author. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly difficult for authors, especially indie authors, to obtain reviews for their books. Many reviewers charge for this service, and even more only review books through organized tours where the organizer is paid by the author or publisher. I do not judge either of these practices. With so many books on the market, and more and more of them indie, it can be hard for reviewers to wade through them. In the spirit of helping authors, I make a point to review any book that I enjoy. Most of my reviews are place on the Indie Elite blog, but I thought I'd start giving an excerpt from the reviews here as well. This month I've got to shout out about The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton. I downloaded this eBook from B&N when it was free and I have not been pa...

Today I'm excited to welcome one of my favorite authors, Kristie Cook, over to celebrate the release of her new adult paranormal novel, The Space Between. This book blew me away. You're going to love it! And, you're going to love Kristie. She's offering a $5 Amazon or B&N gift card to one person who reads this post and tells Kristie she dropped by my blog! To enter all you have to do is click on one of the options below on the Rafflecopter. And, Kristie is doing a MAJOR giveaway on her own site of a $200 gift card so be sure to drop by her site after you've read this and entered here.  I hope you'll join me in welcoming Kristie.  Kristie: Thank you, Heather, so much for participating in the release tour of The Space Between ! And thank you, too, for being a beta reader! You asked me about my unique take on soul mates in this book and how I came up with it. I always giggle when people ask me about inspiration for my ideas, because the answer’s neve...

First for those who are dying to know the winners of my Channeler's Cause giveaway, here they are: a Rafflecopter giveaway Congratulations Angela and Saba! And thank you all for participating in my giveaway. If anyone would like swag just let me know and I'd be happy to send some along as a thank you. My muse this last week was fed by new music (old actually, Black Betty , Rolling in the Deep , Queen of England ~you can see the kind of mood I've been in. ;) and by Transcend by Christine Fonseca , which I just finished reading an advanced copy of. OMG, you peeps are going to love it. It is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, seriously. I'm so beyond lucky to have gotten a sneak peak at this one. And it will be out in just a few months! As for writing, yet another new chapter has demanded that I write it. *sigh* But I must acquiesce to my muse's demands because he is always right. Still, I fear my editor may want to have me flogged if I don...

One of my inspirations last week was my good friend (and fabulous author) Laura Pauling who is revealing the cover of her upcoming book due out May 7th called A Spy Like Me. Why would that inspire me? Well, for one because she's a fantastic author and I'm dying to read this novel. But reason #2 is that I designed the cover! To check it out click on over to YA Confidential , then come back to let me know what you think! Today for the Channeler's Choice tour Fane is interviewed over at author Lisa Nowak's blog. You won't want to miss that! And author Trisha Wolfe is giving me a shout out. Thanks ladies! Two winners have already grabbed books from the Channeler's Choice 'on the side' tour giveaways from lovely authors and bloggers who are giving away books to help me celebrate. So be sure you're checking out the tour stops! Last week my inspiration was this the fabulous Christine Fonseca's writing. If you haven't read Christine's fict...

Happy Valentine's day everyone! As you know, today is the release of the  In His Eyes , the anthology in which you can find a story from Fane's point of view. If you're in search of the perfect Valentine's Day gift , look no further, because the Indelibles are about to point you in the direction of some dreamy books.  Whether you gift a collection of e-books or wrap one special paperback up in pretty paper with a single red rose on top, you're bound to score BIG POINTS on Valentine's Day with these novels. BOUND by C. K. Bryant CLOCKWISE by Elle Strauss CROSS MY HEART by Katie Klein DESTINED by Jessie Harrell EXILED by RaShelle Workman GLIMPSE by Stacey Wallace Benefiel HOW TO DATE AN ALIEN by Magan Vernon THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle TANGLED TIDES by Karen Amanda Hooper THE VEIL by Cory Putnam Oakes WATCHED by Cindy Hogan and... IN HIS EYE S, an ...

Today for the Spruce Knoll for Endangered Species tour I'm over at my good friend Saba's blog talking about the polar bear, one of my favorite creatures! I hope you'll drop in. And now for my author friend Lisa Nowak's fabulous new release. If you need a gift for a guy this season, look no further! Getting Sideways: Book 2 in the Full Throttle Series Getting shipped off to live with his uncle Race was the best thing that ever happened to fifteen-year-old Cody. Then a wreck at the speedway nearly ruined everything. Cody’s making every effort to get his life back on track—writing for the school paper, searching for the perfect girlfriend, and counting the days until he gets his drivers’ license—but there’s no escaping the nightmares that haunt him. A chance to build his own car seems like the perfect distraction. Until Cody realizes he’ll have to live up to Race’s legendary status. But that’s the least of his worries, considering he doesn’t have his dad’s permissi...

Teaser Tuesday is postponed to celebrate the book birthday of my friend Shelli (S.R.) Johannes's Untraceable . This is one book you don't want to miss, trust me (and I LOVE this cover)! Here's a bit about it to show you why: 16 year old Grace was reared in the wilderness. Her first pet was a bear named Simon. Her first potty, an oak tree. And, her first swing, a forest vine. Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her everything he knew about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival. When Grace's dad goes missing on a routine patrol, unlike everyone in her sleepy mountain town, she refuses to believe he’s dead. After finding a Cheetos bag and stolen government file, Grace is convinced she’s one step closer to proving all the non-believers wrong. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for t...

This beautiful snowy view out my window with the bald eagle kept me going and inspired me despite the fact that I felt like I was stuck in an eternally burning pit with demons snapping at my heals (formatting will do that to you). It was a rough week to put it lightly. But all is well, and I’m back on track. Whew! For anyone who has every had one of those days (weeks, months, years), I’m raising a glass of wine to you tonight during the #WritersRoad chat on Writing Helping Hands. I hope you’ll join us. It’s a half hour chat followed by a half hour word war (writing sprint). Click here to join us at 6pm PT. These last few weeks I’ve been reading Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan. I had trouble in the beginning. The writing just didn’t pull me in and the striking (and numerous) similarities between this and a friend of mine’s book ( Across The Universe by Beth Revis, which I loved by the way) were too hard to ignore. The deeper I got into the book though, the more I realized how different...

Teaser Tuesday is postponed until next week so I can join in the launch party celebration for Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn. This book is just as fantastic as its cover. Check out my review of it on the Indie Elite blog. It's a dystopian YA novel of a different (and fantastic) new flavor. To celebrate I'm joining several bloggers in sharing a story about keeping open minds. I've always been one to keep an open mind, from birth my mom says. My eyes see the world differently I've been told. To me there is no separation of the races, sexes, lifestyles, or even beliefs. As long as it's legal and doesn't harm anyone, I've never had a problem with diversity in any form. I seem to crave it, in fact, as to me, it spices up life. And I do love my life spicy. Living this way has introduced me to amazing people and has allowed me to grow as a person. I am a black belt twice over, I was a reserve police officer, am a Sergeant in a correctional facility, have been...

Today I'm celebrating the release of Genesis with author Kristie Cook. This novella is a companion to Kristie's popular paranormal novels, Promise and Purpose. Here is a bit about Genesis: A father who reveals his truth. Twins who take different paths—one light, one dark. Angels who have plans for them both And Demons who do as well. So the Earthly battle for souls ignites… A tale that is over 2,000 years old, this is the story of the Amadis beginnings. Please welcome Kristie to tell us a bit more about Genesis: Kristie: It’s a bit different from the other Soul Savers books. Although the fantasy world I created is the same, the real world is not. After all, it takes place over 2,000 years ago, around 200 B.C. So it required a lot of research to understand life in Greece during that era. For each stop along the release tour, I’m sharing something I learned and how it ties into the story. Today we explore marriage customs. Most wedding ceremonies took place ...

For my Twitter Tuesday fans, sorry but I'm throwing a new re-occurring post into the mix. No worries, you'll still get your Twitter Tuesday updates, it will just be every other week now instead of every week. There were weeks I was struggling to find tweets for you and I also decided that I wanted to add in a little something for the readers among my followers. But I'd love for my writer friends to participate too. I'll put a teaser of either my novel or something I'm working on, then I'd love your comments and links within your comments to your own posts on your teasers! Here we go. This teaser is from my debut novel The Secret of Spruce Knoll:      Eyes on the road ahead of her, she crossed the bridge without slowing~and was blindsided. The second she hit the blacktop on the other side of the bridge, a figure stepped into her path. Whatever it was must have been downwind and moving very fast; otherwise, she would have noticed it. She and the figure tum...

Last week I worked on another new chapter that's going into Channeler novel #2. I'm kind of surprised by how much new material I'm putting in to this one, but in a good way. The inspiration that's coming to me will make the novel richer and the characters deeper so I'm happy. Already I love the story more! It didn't hurt that I got to look to this chilly picture for inspiration while the temperatures have been in the eighties and nineties here. In this chapter Eren learns a tough lesson and faces and even tougher truth. I ju st finished reading Gone by Michael Grant and loved it. It's not a novel for everyone as it is very dark, but that made it right up my alley. In fact, I haven't read enough dark stuff lately so I devoured this book. They weren't kidding when they compared it to 'if Stephen King had written Lord of The Flies.' Now I'm getting my adult paranormal fix by reading Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swan ...

This lovely (okay, I admit, my opinion of lovely may be a bit skewed), colorful painting is a depiction of a famous tale that inspired me last week. As you may have noticed from the striking button on my left sidebar, I'm working on a piece for Fantastic Fables on Dark Faerie Tales. I don't want to give much away as it is going to be a surprise, but I can say this painting inspired me. I can also say that it is a tale involving one of my main characters of my soon to be released novel, a special short story on them the readers of Dark Faerie Tales will get to glimpse first. And I'm soooo excited about it! I’m now reading GONE by Michael Grant. OMG (yes I did just use that acronym, but really, it's that exciting) why has no one told me how excellent this book is yet? Admittedly, I'm not that far into it, but I'm really loving it so far! Everyone over the age of 14 disappears in a sleepy little town and the kids left have to figure out why, and cope with ...

Normally lockers are the last thing that would inspire me. They make me twitchy because they remind me of high school. But since I had to write a chapter that took place in a high school hallway, this picture was the perfect inspiration for me. And the twitchy part didn't hurt either since this chapter is a tense one. This will be the third new chapter I'm adding to this novel, which may sort of seem like it's counterproductive to editing. But, I've found that if I let a manuscript sit then go back to it, it gives me a wider perspective and reveals the holes that need to be filled. I finished reading Possession by Elana Johnson. If you're interested, you can check out my review on Goodreads . Now I'm reading Nightspell by Leah Cypess (one of my favorite authors of all time) and I'm loving it. It's a creepy ghost story of a very different sort. I'm super thrilled that each night this week I'll be sitting on a deck overlooking the ocean, ...

Today's Friday Creature Feature has been postponed to celebrate the release of Jessica E. Subject's novella, Celestial Seduction . Jessica has been a good friend of mine who has shared my often tumultuous journey through the world of publishing and has helped keep me sane through it all. When she signed on with Decadent Publishing I knew good things would soon follow and the first of them is her sci-fi romance for adults, Celestial Seduction. Here is a portion of the blurb: At the end of his obligated commitment to the Space Service, Frey Berger decides to stay on Earth to further experience human emotions rather than return to Ginnun where his intended has already mated with another. Looking for real love and someone to accept him for what he is, Frey enlists in Madame Evangeline’s popular dating service. Although he does not understand the concept of a one-night stand, he hopes to find his perfect mate. If he fails, he risks being alone on Earth for the rest of his life. Al...

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...

I hope you all had a great Memorial day weekend and enjoyed tons of excellent barbequing, visits with family, and reflecting on all that others sacrifice for us. With the mushy stuff out of the way, let's get to your links! This first one is a flash fiction contest from agent Sarah LaPolla: @ sarahlapolla   For other flash fiction contest needs... I'm judging @ womenonwriting ' s Spring 2011 contest! Details here : http://bit.ly/1rk1uz   For those who were under a rock and didn't know, last week was BEA (Book Expo America), the biggest book expo on our lovely continent. Writer's Digest brings us this list of trends from the Expo that writers need to stay on top of: @ WritersDigest   3 Publishing Trends Writers Must Stay On Top Of - This week marks the publishing industry's largest trade show, Book...   http://ow.ly/1cPue5   Agent  Jennifer Laughran  throws down for her client (and makes me glad my checks won't be coming from a 'traditional' publis...

What do flowers have to do with my work in progress you might be wondering? Well, nothing actually but they have everything to do with my muse. Since it's May the flowers blooming everywhere are inspiring me! And who knows, a few might even work their way into my work in progress. I've finished outlining my new novel (yay!) and this week I'm going to start writing it. It's a young adult steampunk, title to be announced. This one is very different from anything I've written and I'm pretty excited about it. The read feeding my muse is Paul Of Dune  by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I'm a huge fan of the Dune novels, both by this pair and the originals by Frank Herbert. They're not for everyone but if you can handle multiple POV, rich descriptions, and deep intrigue, then they are awesome. Several of my friends' novels will be coming out in the next few months and I'm super excited for them. Look forward to a bunch of fantastic author featur...

Now that the conference is behind me and I've joined the query wars with To Ride A Puca , I am turning my attention to my next novel. This is the exciting time that I like to think of as pre-dawn when the light is just breaking over the horizon and I'm starting to catch the first glimpse of what my new manuscript will be like. And I've got to tell you, I'm loving what I see. Excitement is already starting to build as I'm working on character development and the beginnings of an outline. The outlining and character development stage does give me a lot of time to read though, which I love! I just finished The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell. Oh wow people, RUN out (or click on the title) and get this book quick! It is part historical, part paranormal/magical realism, and all awesome. Saundra makes me strive to write better and reminds me of why I love to read. The Vespertine is beautifully written and that is putting it mildly. Now I'm reading From Dark Places ...