Author Heather McCorkle

This week's top tweets that I caught are all over the board of writing topics, which is kind of where I'm at right now, all over the board. I'm wrapping up the final read through edit of The Secret of Spruce Knoll , am searching for an agent for Trouble With the Dragon Empire , and am writing The First Dragonwatcher  which just tipped over 75,000 words! Whew. This first one is a link for those of you who need help on your synopsis: @ inkyelbows  Excellent synopsis-writing tips from @ Becky_Levine : http://bit.ly/9S7dLK This one is an interview by Chuck Sambuchino of a new agent that is searching for children's books: @ alicepope  Today on the @ SCBWI blog --Agent Interview: Mary Kole @ Kid_Lit   Andrea Brown Literary Agency. http://tinyurl.com/2busdd5 If you haven't heard about the Wylie agency e-book deal with Amazon you have to read this! It's huge news in the publishing industry and affects all authors: @ WeronikaJanczuk Have you heard? Wylie-A...

Jamie Harrington is one of those special writers that I think everyone should be following. She is represented by Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She's one of the most positive people I know. Sometimes when I don't even realize I need encouragement there she is on Twitter sharing something that makes me smile and pushes me to keep going. Her blog is a wealth of knowledge for aspiring writers and anyone who loves books. It was one of her posts  that inspired me to create my character arc sheet. But Jamie's help goes so much farther than that. She is one of the fantastic writers who have come together to bring to life the online FREE writer's conference WriteOnCon . Jamie is also a member of the Bookanistas , a group of great writers who review the books that knock their socks off. Her awesomeness just doesn't stop. You must find out more about this incredible lady! You can find her on Twitter her: https://twitter.com/jamieharrington And be sure to ...

Audry Taylor is a freelance writer and editor who has her finger~or pen rather~on the pulse of the entertainment industry. She is both the Senior Editor and Creative Director of the publishing company Go! Media Entertainment which publishes non-fiction, manga, and graphic novels aimed at the young adult market. We met on Twitter on one of the many great chats for writers that occurs there. Audry's straight forward, unabashed way of tweeting was instantly appealing to me. She isn't the type to hide her opinions or coddle her followers. She tells it like it is and still maintains a level of light-hearted humor. I love that about her! If you want to connect with a writer who will not only be supportive but will give you that extra kick when you need it, look Audry up! You can find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/AudryT And check out her blog here: http://audrytaylor.blogspot.com/

I think I finally met someone who writes more than I do, well okay, maybe just as much. Mercedes Yardley and I met on a Twitter chat. She's funny, supportive to other writers, and has great taste in stories. Mercedes is a wife, mother, and an avid writer. Not only has she written a few novels, but she also writes poetry, short stories, essays, and nonfiction for Shock Totem: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted . As if that wasn't dedicated enough, she's also a member of SFWA  or the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Mercedes is currently shopping her latest novel around. Connect with Mercedes on her blog here: http://abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com/ which is full of her distinictive and well crafted writing. And you can find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mercedesmy As a Twitter follow Mercedes is one of those people who connects with her followers and is supportive of writers and those who love reading.

Harley May is one of the sweetest, funniest people I've met on Twitter. I love it whenever I see her avatar pop up on the site cause I know she's going to either make me smile, laugh, or think really hard. This is one writer who isn't afraid to share her thoughts and opinions, which can be kind of rare in today's world. Over the years Harley has moved around a lot, to the point where she actually attended seven different schools between kindgergarten and her senior year. Much of that time was spent in South Korea so you can imagine the stories and culture this lady has to share! Harley is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, or SCBWI for short. She's currently working on editing a coming of age faery tale. To learn more about Harley check out her website here: http://harleymay.com/    And click here to connect with her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/harleymaywrites

Kristy Baxter is a writer who loves writing (of course),the outdoors, music, oh yeah, and frog wrangling. Yep, you read that right, though you'll have to ask her about that one yourself! I've seen pictures and they're awesome. You'll definitely have to ask her about it! Like myself (and many other writers, maybe it's a writer thing) Kristy has a cat, though hers has a much more unique name than mine, Shakespeare, how awesome is that?! Kristy's intriguing sounding young adult novel, currenlty titled Grim Light , is represented by Marlene Stringer of The Stringer Literary Agency. As the frog wrangling probably cued you in, Kristy is a lot of fun. Follow her on Twitter and you'll see what I mean: https://twitter.com/kristophrenia Check out Kristy's website here to learn more about her and follow her journey to publication: http://kristybaxter.com/

Today I'm featuring someone who is not only a great friend of mine, but a member of my critique group, the Scribe Sisters . Karlene and I met at the 2009 Hawaii Writer's Retreat. The friendship between she and I~along with the other two members of our critique group~developed instantly and we knew we had to keep in touch. We met up the following year at William Bernhardt's writer's workshop and our bond solidified into something we knew would last a lifetime. Since then the four of us have been e-mailing each other nearly everyday and have shared the journey from critiquing our novels, to our synopsis, to our query letters. Karlene is a very special lady. She inspires me to see the bright side of nearly every situation and to find the good in the world around me. Though she is working on a thriller, Karlene writes across the genre board, and even writes some fantastic inspirational material. I've now convinced her that as a wonderful mother and grandmother she wou...

Today's Tuesday shoot out is a writer (of course) and so much more. Nikki Katz is not just a represented writer and mom but also a rocket scientist, yep, for real. She just received an offer of representation for her young adult urban fantasy novel currently titled Shoreline. Nikki has also been a freelance writer for over ten years! With this lady's dedication to the craft I have no doubt we'll soon be celebrating a book deal with her. Nikki and I started following each other after a Twitter chat a while back. She isn't the type to ramble on aimlessly and fill up your Twitter page with miscellaneous stuff and I love that about her. Whenever she does tweet I know it's about something I'm going to have to read. Don't worry, she's far from boring though! Nikki is always quick to share writing advice and experience and share her successes and failures. If you're looking for someone to truly connect with you've got to check her out. You can find ...

For my new followers, Twitter Tuesday is a special feature I do on people I've found through Twitter that are great to follow. Kerrie Flanagan and I met during a Twitter chat in which the subject of writer's conferences came up and we've been following each other since. Kerrie is encouraging and supportive and always tweets great links that are helpful to writers, and she's a very sweet lady. She also made me aware of the Northern Colorado Writer's Conference. Kerrie is not only freelance writer but also the director of that conference. Any writer who has looked knows just how hard it is to find a good, reputable writer's conference that is worth your time and money. This is a conference filled with some of the top agents in the industry, editors and award winning authors, oh yeah, and it's in the beautiful state or Colorado! I haven't been to it yet but it will definitely be on my list of potential conferences to attend next year. To follow Kerrie o...

This week's Twitter Tuesday featured writer is a very special lady, Eisley Jacobs. There is a nice little tip on her website telling how to pronounce it, of which I was very grateful for since I had no idea! She is one of those rare souls that is so pure and inspiring that you're instantly drawn to her. Her tweets and blog posts almost always make me smile and definitely always evoke some kind of emotion. Eisley is a young adult and middle grade fantasy writer. She's currently on the prowl for representation and with her positive outlook, dedication, and faith I have no doubt she'll land an agent very soon. In fact, one is looking at her work now... Eisley's blog is full of great advice and a generous helping of fun. She even reviews the occasional book and I look forward to hearing her honest opinion. This is one writer you don't want to miss connecting with. Be sure to look her up before she's famous! Which will no doubt be very soon. Check out Eisley...

If you aren't following the career of Shannon Delany yet you're missing out. This rising author is not only a fantastic writer but a great lady as well. Shannon goes out of her way to help others and has an incredible, giving nature. There's a fascinating story behind this great lady as well. Shannon wrote a very short version of her upcoming novel and won the grand prize in the first ever cell phone novel contest with it. Not long after that her success attracted the attention of St. Martin's Press and they came offering a publishing contract. I am so glad they did because what I have read of 13 To Life the text novel has me hooked and wanting more, a lot more! I'm not going to get too much into 13 To Life though because Shannon will be my featured debut author for June and will be stopping by for an interview so you'll get to hear all about it then! Until then be sure to follow Shannon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Shannon_Delany And check out her blog...

One of Twitter's many great writing chats served as an introduction for Kelly Sagert and myself. Kelly writes full time and is also an editor who has sold over a thousand pieces of her work to everything from literary journals and websites to magazines and newspapers. She has nine books under her belt and is working on a tenth. She has written material for publications put out by Harvard University and Oxford University Press just to name a few. Since it seems like our writing couldn't be more polar, what drew Kelly and I to follow one another on Twitter? We both share a love of the written word and embrace the writing process. The fact that we don't write anything close to the same style, let alone genre hasn't kept us from sharing that. If you're looking for a great writer to follow who can give you an objective view of the writing process and will enthusiastically share your journey, be sure to check out Kelly Boyer Sagert. You can find Kelly on Twitter her...

Michelle is a fifth grade teacher who loves both writing and reading. She's a very giving soul who is working hard toward her goal of becoming published. She isn't one to fill up your page with tweets on Twitter but she is quick to encourage and join in when you're talking about writing. Her blog is full of great advice for writers and the occasional fun side story into her life. To connect with another writer who will keep you focused on your goals and celebrate your accomplishments with you, be sure to check Michelle out! Check out her blog here:  http://michellephillips.wordpress.com/ You can find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mimickma

For those of you who are new to following Heather's Odyssey Twitter Tuesday isn't just for Twitter user. What's it's really all about is writers connecting with other writers and book lovers. On my Twitter Tuesday posts you'll find not only great people to follow on Twitter, but great blogs and websites as well. On to today's Twitter Tuesday feature. Selena and I came across each other on Twitter through a friend of a friend. She's one of those Twitter people who takes her followers very seriously and chats back and forth with them directly a lot. I love that about her. If you check out her Twitter page you'll see she's not really one to throw out random tweets, but she does talk with those she follows a lot. Selena is the author of several spicy paranormal books. Aside from writing she loves movies, music and enjoys cooking. For someone you can actually connect with rather than just another number on your followers, be sure to check out Selena. ...

Margaret Stohl is one of the dynamic co-authors of the YA paranormal Beautiful Creatures . I started following her on Twitter shortly after I featured her co-author on my Twitter Tuesday post a few months ago. Margaret isn't a frequent Tweeter (sorry for the reference non-Twitter users) but she has a way of drawing you in and making you listen when she talks, or tweets rather. Though this is Margaret's debut novel she has a long history with writing. Among her repertoire are screenplays and video games, yep, video games. Not one to be taken too lightly though, she has an MA in English from Stanford and taught Intro to Film as a TA at Yale, and Romantic Poetry as a TA at Stanford. All that education hasn't gone to her head though. Quite the contrary. Margaret is a down to earth writer who isn't afraid to enlist the help of her daughters when it comes to her writing. She is also one of the most supportive and encouraging people I've met on Twitter. To learn more a...

Alissa Grosso and I met while participating in a chat on Twitter. She isn't a frequent tweeter (person who posts on Twitter) but when she does it's something to take note of, usually a great link, tip, or bit of fun information. Shortly after following her on Twitter I checked out her blog. I love checking in and catching up with her on what she's reading and sharing what I'm reading. I'm almost always guaranteed at least one good laugh from her weekly posts. What more would you expect from a fan of Douglas Adamas?! Look for Alissa's debut novel, The Balderdash Semesters in 2011. I'll keep you posted as she reveals more about the book and we get closer to the release date! You can find Alissa on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/alissagrosso And check out her blog here: http://alissagrosso.com/

Natalie and I met on Twitter and as soon as I got a look at her book blog, Mindful Musings, I knew I had to follow it. This lady has fabulous taste! Though she reads everything Natalie loves fantasy/paranormal and young adult books. Her book reviews are fantastic and any time I'm looking for something to read I know I can stop by her blog and get a great recommendation that I'm going to love. I can't even name all the books I've picked up based off something I read on her blog! She regularly features authors and highlights other book bloggers as well. Check her out on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mindfulmusings And check out her book blog here: http://themindfulmusingsbookblog.blogspot.com/

Anne Riley is an up and coming author from Birmingham Alabama who is represented by Alanna Ramirez of Trident Media Group. I came across Anne on Twitter (are you starting to see why it's my go to site?!) and we've been chatting away ever since. As a woman who lists Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling among her favorite authors, clearly we have much in common! Her tweets are funny, sometimes heart warming, and always entertaining. She isn't one of those folks who will fill up your Twitter page with rambling tweets about nothing. Whenever I see her avatar I know the tweet is going to be something helpful or funny. Anne is a huge supporter of aspiring authors and often does what she calls Pre-Famous Author Interviews on her blog. How can you not love that? She goes a step farther and regularly posts spotlights on literary agents. Just this week she spotlighted her own agent, Alanna, who was kind enough to stop by the blog and answer all kinds of questions for Anne's followe...

Portia Sisco is a writer hard at work on her book. She believes in getting it just right before leaping into the querying process and I applaud her for that. There's sometimes a big temptation for a writer to start looking for an agent as soon as they finish that first draft, or in worse cases, before. But not Portia. She has a great understanding of the way things work in the literary world and a need to get things right. As a fellow perfectionist, I love that about her. I came across her on Twitter then shortly after I discovered her blog. She isn't a frequent tweeter (one who posts on Twitter) but when she does tweet something you know it's going to be good. I can always count on her for helpful links for writers or sometimes just things that make me smile. Portia is also a lady with a passion for a good ghost story. Her blog is chalked full of great writing tidbits and the occasional sidetrack into the paranormal. Be sure to check her out! You can find her on Twitter ...

While looking for different chats for writers on Twitter I came across something called scribechat. It sounded perfect since it welcomed writers from all genres and I love to get as many different perspectives I can when it comes to a chat. The host (and I later found out, creator) of the chat was writer Lia Keyes. Lia is represented by Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I was welcomed with open arms into the chat and soon after began following Lia. She is a dedicated writer who is sweet and helpful. Her tweets are always full of excellent links and encouraging tidbits. Aside from hosting scribechat every Thursday at 6:00pm PST, Lia also runs the Scribblerati, a social network for writers and illustrators. You can find Lia on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/LiaKeyes Learn more about scribechat here: http://scribechat.com/ Check out Lia's site here: http://www.liakeyes.com/ And learn more about the Scribblerati at: http://liakeyes.ning.com/