Author Heather McCorkle

Last week my goal was to finish the first draft of my short story for the Winter Wonders anthology, and I did! *happy dance* No, I will not insert a video, trust me, you don't want to see it. I haven't revealed what this one is about yet so you're in for a bit of an inside scoop today. This short is an epic fantasy type of short complete with elves and dragons. Oh yeah. I'm going back to my roots baby, and it feels GOOD! Why the switch, you may wonder? Well, next year my very first epic fantasy novel is releasing from Compass Press! And the short story is about one of the main characters in my epic fantasy novel. So it's kind of a sneak peek. I'm just full of great announcements today. Hey, what can I say, it's one of those days. How about you? Did you meet your writing goals last week? What are they for this week?

My goal last week was to finish a new chapter that I'm working on for my editing project, and I did! Yay! *throws confetti* On the downside, I realized I needed to write another new chapter. *sigh* Oh well. The celebration was fun while it lasted. These chapters will make it stronger overall so I'm happy to be writing them. My #writegoal (remember to use this hashtag on Twitter if you'd like to check in with me and others for support on your goals) for next week is to finish the second new chapter. Did you make your goals for last week? What are your goals for this coming week? On a side note, due to having two posts go up on Monday, I fear that my shout out for author Kristie Cook's fabulous cause (supporting a hotline for domestic abuse victims) may have gone under the radar for many. So I hope you'll check out this great cause at this link and enter to win the signed books I'm giving away to help support the cause. Enter here: a Rafflecopter givea...

Before we get to my tour I'm dying to tell you how my Wednesday writing goals fared over the writer's retreat in Hawaii. I got through all but the last forty pages of my novel. Wow, just wow! I can hardly believe that I accomplished that much. I owe a lot of the credit to my retreat buddies, Kathy McCullough and Karen Strong . Thank you ladies! How have you been doing on your writing goals?  Now on to the To Ride A Puca release tour celebration. Today I'm over at author Tina Moss's blog . Tina is one of the most wonderful, supportive people I know so I hope you'll stop by to meet her and say hi. This week I’m giving away a signed hardback of LACRIMOSA by Christine Fonseca . This book is unique among angel stories and once you read it, you will never look at angels and demons the same again. It is one of my favorite books, trust me you’ll love it! The contest will be open until June 10th, the winner to be announced on the 11th. To Ride A Puca is a vail...

Many of you may recall that my debut novel, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll has a special mission: Spruce Knoll for Endangered Species. For those who don't know, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll (in every format) will go toward my favorite charity that helps save endangered species. I've set a campaign goal of $10,000 for the charity, which I hope to reach by 12-12-2012. And, if I do reach it, I'll be able to continue to donate a portion of the proceeds to the charity for another year. Why this cause, why now? Because I want to leave a better, healthier Earth for future generations. Part of a healthy Earth is a healthy eco-system which includes animals. I want our children's children to be able to study gorillas or tigers in the wild. Sadly, those creatures~and so many more~are less than a decade away from extinction in the wild. Extinction.  For my reader's sake I'm thrilled that Compass Press has dropped the pr...

I've changed the title of my Wednesday posts so the focus is no longer just on writing, but encompasses reading as well. It felt like I wasn't giving reading the attention it deserves. After all, it's vital for us writers to read.  #WriteGoal: Complete the stage of editing that I was in on my current work in progress, and I achieved it! *throws confetti* However, that leads right into the next stage of the editing project. *sigh* Such is writing, oh well.  #ReadGoal I finished reading Tears of the Broken by A.M. Hudson and I really liked it. It is a very different type of book from those I normally read and the change was refreshing. There wasn't the usual action-packed chapters that I'm used to which keep you on your toes. But that's okay, there was something equally as wonderful. There was a sweet romance that simmered throughout the entire book, deepening like a good cup of tea as it went along. Though it's a YA paranormal, it reads like a contempo...

Last week my writing (#writegoal for my Twitter peeps) was easy; take a much needed break since my edits were complete. Easy, yeah right. I failed. I totally didn't achieve my goal of a break. I edited another project, wrote bits on a new chapter for a project, and worked on a cover. *sigh* I'm going to try again this week. We'll see how that goes. I've decided to add to Wednesday's post, reading goals. Partially because for an author I think it's just as important as writing, and partially because that way I feel like I met at least one goal. ;) So, last week's reading goal was to start reading a fabulous new author, and I did! I began reading Tears of the Broken , a YA paranormal by Aussie author A.M. Hudson and it's great so far! How about you, did you achieve your writing goals last week? How about your reading goals?

You know that great feeling you get when you're only a few chapters away from finishing a round of editing? I've got that feeling! *happy dance* Good thing this isn't a vlog, you SO don't want to see my happy dance. I didn't just make my goals last week, I blew past them! When I finish this round I'll be revisiting a special project for a few weeks, then I'll be free for two months to work on my new book. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to return to it. I love working on the channeler series but there's nothing quite like writing fresh words. Did you make your writing goals for last week? What are your new goals? Do you love writing a new book or are your best times spent with your manuscript during editing?

Well I didn't reach page 189 on my editing because I found myself writing yet another new chapter! That makes four new chapters total, and in random places throughout my manuscript. *sigh* I can't complain though, it is deepening both the characters and the plot and making the entire novel better overall. That alone is worth the extra time it is taking me. I have until January when I plan to send it off to my editor so there is no rush, which is always a good way to revise. Rushing never leads to anything good! My new goal for the week is to get this final new chapter done (oh please let it be the last new one!) and reach 200 pages on editing by next Wednesday. It's a lofty goal I know, but I have a lot of ground to make up. And with the Tour Of Secrets ending today I should have a bit of free time on my hands. Speaking of which, today is the last day to enter the massive giveaway for the Tour Of Secrets. Drop in on the last stop of the tour at the fantastic Readergirls ...

I've discovered that if I have writing goals and give voice to them, knowing my friends will help hold me accountable, then I end up getting a lot more writing done. Twitter is wonderful for short bursts of writing inspiration and accountability. We have #1k1hr (one thousand words in one hour) where one of us will tweet that and see if anyone else is game. If others are able to join in then we all use the #1k1hr hashtag and check back in at the end of the hour to see how much we accomplished. There is also #wordwar which is like a sprint to see how much we can get done in whatever timeframe we all agree upon. But there isn't always someone on Twitter that is up for a writing goal or challenge, and I know there are many of you who don't use twitter. So, I've decided to start a new reoccurring post called Wednesday #WriteGoal (sorry about the hashtag for my non-Twitter friends, but this way my Twitter friends can join in too). I won't do it every week because th...