Author Heather McCorkle

Today is a double cover reveal, SURPRISE! Cover make-overs really. For those who haven't heard, I have redesigned the cover for,  The Secret of Spruce Knoll , and the cover for Channeler's Choice! Ever since I parted ways with my first publisher I have pined over the loss of that original, lovely cover~as have many of my fans. But, the only way to get it back was to recreate it, which I didn't have the talent for at the time. Finally, after almost two years of experience as a  cover designer , numerous classes, and many covers, I have reached the level of ability needed to recreate that cover and do it justice. What's even better, not only have I re-created it, but I've been able to design it exactly the way I wanted it to look the first time and wasn't able to because I wasn't designing it. So why did I change Channeler's Choice? Because I've seen two other books, one traditionally published and another self-published, with the exact same cover pi...

You've probably noticed independent authors setting the price on at least one of their books as free from time to time. And if you're traditionally published, or not yet published, you may wonder why in the world they would do such a thing. An indie author friend of mine recently discussed using Kindle Select with me and she couldn't understand why someone would set their book to free. It's contradictory, she said. And she's right, in a way. However, there is a method to this madness.   When you download a book from Amazon, B&N or any other online retailer~regardless of whether or not it's free or costs money~that novel goes  up in the sales ranks. With each download, it goes farther up the ranks with the optimum rise occurring when there are many sales in one day (the entire system starts over day by day so if a book sells one a day for a month it won't rise in the ranks nearly as high as it would if it sold thirty in one day of that month. VERY impo...

Today's gift idea is one from a special event that I'm taking part in, an online author signing party. For a limited time, the first two weeks of December,  you'll be able to order signed books from these fabulous authors: Christine Fonseca , Ali Cross , Angela Brown , and myself . As a holiday gift to you, I'm offering my paperbacks very special price, only $9.99 each! That's 20% off! To order them click on the links on the sidebar to the right. --->

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you're all have a wonderful holiday. Some of my fabulous author friends and I are getting together to celebrate our readers by bringing you Black Friday deals this weekend on our eBooks. My paranormal twist on the Mayan end of days tale, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, is going to be .99 cents for Black Friday (continuing through today also!) so if you haven't started reading the series yet, now is the perfect time. It will be .99 cents on both Amazon & B&N , tomorrow only , so be sure to grab your copy! To grab even more fantastic books at outstanding low prices, click on the links of the other participating authors below: Details and a list of participating authors and their books on https://www.facebook.com/events/26270...  or see below: Lacrimosa , by Christine Fonseca is only .99 cents today on Amazon  for Black Friday weekend! This is one of my favorite books that you don't want to miss out on. Check it out: ...

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...

Last week my goal was to start writing a new ending for my third book. My muse finally came out of hiding and I got a great start on it. I'm so excited about how this series is coming together. It's turning out so much better than my original vision for it was. How about you? Did you achieve your writing goals for last week? How are you doing on staying motivated in the new year? On a side note, congratulations to Amy Del Rosso who won a copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll during the Indelibles Book Blogger chat! If you're stopping by Amy leave me a comment with a way to get a hold of you.

The holidays still have me in their grip today so sorry peeps, no creature feature. I promise I’ll be coming back strong with them next month though so be ready for some fantastic shorts. It isn’t Christmas or New Year’s that has me in its clutches today though. Today I celebrate having survived another full year on this lovely planet of ours. I have much to be thankful for and reflect upon this year. One of the greatest of which, is all of you. With that in mind, I’d like to celebrate my birthday by doing a giveaway to thank you for being part of what has made this year so wonderful. I’ll give away a paperback copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll to one commenter (being a follower is not required but I’d love it if you followed). The contest will be open for one week and the winner will be announced on February second. If you’d like extra points you can get three by adding The Secret Of Spruce Knoll , Channeler’s Choice , and In His Eyes (anthology) to your Goodreads to-read list. I...

I'm honored to be participating in Saba's~from Of Thoughts and Words~New Author Blog Hop. I'm to provide details about my book and links where it can be found, and as the special edition from Compass Press has just released, the timing couldn't be better. Here is a bit about my YA urban fantasy, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll : Following the death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with an aunt she’s never met. Little does Eren know, the entire population are channelers—magical people who immigrated there when they were driven out of their homelands. Channelers are tied to the fate of the world, and as it slowly dies, they are going extinct—and they alone have the power to save the earth. Soon, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad though. As Eren and Aiden’s relationship develops, so too does a mystery in Spruce Knoll. The tow...

Before we get to Teaser Tuesday, I need to announce the winner of Kristie Cook's Soul Saver swag pack from her Genesis tour giveaway! And the winner is: Anonymous: christina.irelan@gmil.com (I'm not sure if that's your complete email address so be sure to leave a comment so Kristie can get a hold of you). Congratulations to Christina! Now for Teaser Tuesday. Today's teaser is from The Secret Of Spruce Knoll page 14: Eren's knee hurt and her elbow stung, but she forgot about them both in an instant. Above her hovered the most amazing hazel eyes framed by a shock of tousled brown hair streaked through with black highlights. It was a boy, and he was lying on top of her. She fought a flush of embarrassment and lost. Okay your turn! Leave me a teaser from your work in progress, or from what your reading if you would like!

I reached my editing goals for book 2 last week! I'm so close to finishing that I'm getting that surge of energy that always comes to me at this stage, love it! The editing on this one hasn't always been this smooth so I'm thrilled that it is finally flowing and coming together. Those of you who follow my author page on Facebook have read the hints that I have a big announcement coming and I'm finally ready to announce it. This holiday season I'll be releasing a special edition of The Secret of Spruce Knoll through Compass Press in both paperback and eBook. It will have a prologue that wasn't in the Abbott Press version, a lovely new cover (designed by myself at CP Design ), a new lower price, and something special. I'm not breaking from Abbott Press, in fact, it's the only place you'll still be able to get a hardback copy (of the original version) of The Secret of Spruce Knoll. The something special; a percentage of the proceeds from each sa...

It's teaser Tuesday week! Which means it's time for me to share another bit of my work. This teaser is from Chapter 2 of The Secret of Spruce Knoll : Sanctuary existed on a back deck that overlooked a massive expanse of aspens. Her aunt had called it the Mayan forest and described it as a place belonging solely to her people. Eren didn't really care who it belonged to, only that it smelled refreshing and sweet and that it meant she wouldn't be bothered by anyone. Your turn! I'd love to hear a teaser from your work, be it published or a work in progress. Or if you don't feel like sharing your work, you can leave us a sentence or two from whatever you're reading.

Last week I was inspired by friends, coffee, and good books. My critique sisters are having me over on Monday October 3rd to visit and have a belated post-release party for The Secret of Spruce Knoll. But it isn't only their generous spirits that have been inspiring me lately, it is all of yours. I'm touched by each of you who has purchased my book, said kind things about it, put it on your to-read list, or who has just dropped by here and followed. Thank you all so much. *wipes away tear.* My visit with my critique sisters in Seattle Washington will also be my first unofficial author appearance. I'd like to invite all of you who will be in the area to join us at Tully's Coffee in Seattle Washington (the one on Western Ave. Click on the store name for a map) to chat, have coffee, or even get your copy of The Secret of Spruce Knoll signed between 5:00pm and 6:00pm. I'll be armed with fun swag and hope to see many of you there as I'd love to meet you in person....

One of my author friends, Trisha Wolfe and Omnific publishing is hosting an Author Blog Bounce where readers and authors get the chance to meet new authors. It sounded like so much fun I just had to take part in it. *waves to new peeps visiting* To learn about me click here and to learn about my debut YA urban fantasy The Secret of Spruce Knoll, click here . Don't forget to leave me a comment though because I'd love to meet you all! In other news: Yesterday my good friend Tina Moss had me over for an author interview on her blog . We talked about everything from my debut novel to writing tips. I hope you'll stop by. Today my good friend Lisa Gail Green was brave enough to have the antagonist from The Secret of Spruce Knoll, Luke Moldovan, over for an interview. He's deliciously shudder worthy so I hope you'll drop by to learn more about him. If you don't already follow these ladies I highly recommend them. Not only are they both a blast, they are wonde...

Since I know many of you are dying to know who won the Tour of Secrets contest I figure I better start with that. Thank you so much to everyone who participated and entered. There were a massive amount of entries with points all contestants earned together totaling over 200. I want to reward you all for spreading the word about my novel so please, everyone, feel free to leave me your address in a comment (don't worry I won't publish it) and I'll be happy send you signed bookmarks, postcards, and stickers, cause I love you that much. :) On to the winners. . .  The first place prize of a $50 gift certificate to B&N, swag bag, and signed copy of The Secret of Spruce Knoll goes to: Kristie Cook! The second place prize of a signed copy of the Secret of Spruce Knoll and swag bag including: Spoiled by Jessica Cocks and Heather Morgan, Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Youn...

Today's post is a two parter. Tonight I'll be over at the fabulous YA Bound blog doing a live chat all about the Tour Of Secrets. That means you can ask about myself, my writing, my novels, just about anything! And there will be a swag bag with a signed copy of The Secret of Spruce Knoll given away to one chatter during the chat so don't miss it! It starts tonight at 6pm PT. You don't need an account of any kind, you can just sign in using your name, nice and easy. Click here to join in. And now for Twitter Tuesday! This first one is from Chuck Sambuchino about pitching to new agents: ChuckSambuchino  My first post as a Writer Unboxed contributor: Should You Pitch (and Sign With) a New Agent? The Pros and Cons: bit.ly/qP9Efu Don't miss agent Sara Megibow's chat on Thursday! SaraMegibow In honor of my son going back to school (finally, right?) - I'll run an #askagent here on Facebook on Thursday.... fb.me/1eNxpS5J7 Author Melissa Garrett spreads t...

Though this is a rooftop in Rome, not Colorado, it inspired me for last week's new chapter that is going in my revision of Book 2. It shared enough of the elements and inspired the right mood for me. In this chapter my character comes face to face with one of her greatest fears. This chapter flowed onto the pages as fast as my pencil could write. I love it when that happens! Yesterday I finished reading Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes by Denise Grover Swank and today I'm singing it's praises all over the internet with glowing reviews. This is a must read, and that's something I don't say very often. I laughed, I cried, I laughed so hard I cried. If you enjoy compelling characters, a good mystery, romance, and a touch of paranormal then you have to read this. It is one of the best books I have read so far this year, seriously. I'm already buying copies as gifts! Next up is Born To Be A Dragon by Eisley Jacobs, the first middle grade novel I've read in a ...

Today I'm visiting Australia~well virtually at least~to stop by my good writer friend Amie Kaufman's blog . Amie writes sci-fi, fantasy, and is represented by Tracey Adams. On top of that she's incredibly sweet and supportive, and has a killer blog. Today she asks me to a reveal a secret about something I did that I wish I hadn't. Hope to see you there!

Today's stop on the Tour Of Secrets is at my writer bud Erica Chapman's blog . She is a sweet and supportive lady that I'm happy to call a friend. And she asked a fun secret about my main character that you won't want to miss! I hope you'll stop by her blog to find out what it is and say hi!

If you've been around the blogosphere you may have heard about writer Rachael Harrie's Writers' Platform Building Campaign. If not then you're in for a treat that involves not only a great opportunity to build your platform, but a fabulous lady. The Campaign is all about bringing writers together across the blogosphere to get to know and support one another. This is Rachael's third year conducting the campaign and bringing writers together to fight back the stigma that writing is a lonely profession. In my book that kind of makes her a bit of a hero. Don't be mistaken, this isn't just about building a platform and promoting one's self. This is about meeting like minded people, bonding, and building lasting friendships to help shield us and prepare us to take on the industry. Writers from all over are coming together in Rachael's campaign to meet and support one another. There are genre groups, regional groups, there will be contests, and writing ...

Today I'm over at my friend Michelle's blog for the Tour Of Secrets, giving up a writing secret. Michelle is a 5th grade teacher from Omaha Nebraska (go Cornhuskers!). She is super supportive and a lot of fun. You can usually find the two of us chatting it up on Twitter. I hope you'll stop by to learn my secret, get extra points for the giveaway by commenting, and to meet Michelle!