Author Heather McCorkle

One of the first things the industry advises debut authors to do is join a group of authors. Having co-moderated the Writer's Road chat and brought writers together for years, I couldn't agree with this more. After all, it takes a tribe to make a book successful just as it takes a village to raise a child, so to speak. As soon as I knew I was going to sign a pub deal, I started looking for a great group. Authors are very welcoming and supportive by nature so I thought it would be easy. Unfortunately, I was really wrong. While there are a LOT of groups out there for young adult and middle grade authors, groups for those who write for adults are very, very hard to find. When I had pretty much given up hope, one found me. And not just any group, but a fantastic group. From contemporary, to fantasy, to historical, and thrillers, this group has it all. This fabulous group includes authors published by small houses and the Big 5. I love their diversity, their enthusiasm, and supp...

It never grows old, that feeling of overwhelming relief and accomplishment that comes with finishing a manuscript. This week I wrote the last words on novel number ten and the rush is still just as powerful. I will be celebrating this weekend because regardless of what happens with it, I have grown so much as a writer just with the writing of it. Woo hoo! How about you writers out there? Do you feel the rush each time? And at what point in the process from creation, to writing, to editing, to polishing, does it hit you?

After a long journey, my civil war novel has finally found a home~again! After signing with  Samhain publishing , who unfortunately closed their doors shortly there-after, I had my doubts that this historical novel about a nurse in the civil war and the soldier she saves would find another home. But it happened! Lyrical press , a division of Kensington (a publisher whose books I have loved for a very long time), signed this novel and... 

I always figured the winners of contests are usually notified before the losers. So, as I watched the tweets for the Chicago North RWA chapter's Fire & Ice contest, I cheered along the others and prepared to offer congratulations to the winners. You can't imagine my complete and utter shock when I read this tweet: Winner of 2016 Fire & Ice contest FF&P category: Once Bitten by Heather McCorkle. Congratulations!!! #CNSF16 — Chicago-North RWA (@ChicagoNorthRWA) May 22, 2016 I'm so honored, and so grateful to the judges of the Chicago North chapter. The other contestants were so talented, which is part of why this came as such a huge shock. That, combined with the history of never winning contests, left me floored! This great news comes after a rather difficult year in which the publisher I signed my debut with closed (meaning it wouldn't be published),  I lost two family members, the beloved head of the agency who represents me passed away, and I had ...

I've never really been one for entering contests where my writing is concerned. I don't win so it isn't fun for me. But, when a fabulous editor I really respect told me they like their clients to enter contests and put themselves out there, it inspired me. I decided to get over my hangups, get back on the metaphorical horse, and give it a try. Besides, there was that career changing time I entered a contest at a conference and met my fabulous agent through it. So I decided to saddle up this year and really get out there and ride. I started with the Chicago North's chapter of Romance Writer's of America's Fire & Ice contest . And was totally blown away when...

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...

Lately my muse has been an elusive, sullen creature that simply would not speak to me no matter how hard I pushed, goaded, or bribed it. All the ideas I had for novels didn't appeal to me. My characters refused to talk to me. Writers, you think it's bad when the voices in your head won't shut up? Wait for the deafening silence that falls when they finally do. I refused to think of it as writer's block. I had never had writer's block. I don't get it. So I thought. I told myself I needed to research more, outline better, force the creative muscle to work. My muse laughed at my attempts while drinking Rum Runners on a Caribbean beach far, far out of my reach. Then came a shiny new idea. But it wasn't what I was supposed to be writing. It made me stop and evaluate the turn of my career, and where that turn had taken me so far. More importantly, it made me look at where I wanted my career to go. And I realized I had taken a wrong turn. Don't get me wrong,...