Sunday, August 28, 2011

Giveaway Winners and Book Widget

Thanks for all your comments on the Eternal Starling book cover! I'm really excited you guys like it so much!

You were great to help me get the word out about Eternal Starling and the cover! Because I had such a great response (both here and on Twitter and Facebook), and the fact that I just got the magnets in the mail and love them, I've decided I need two winners!

The winners are:

Safari Poet and
BellsColella


I'll email you both to get your address so I can send your magnet, bookmarks, and photo. :)

In other news, my A-MAZ-ING software genius husband made me a countdown widget for Eternal Starling! I'm a little biased, but I think he's pretty incredible. If you want the widget, copy and paste this link and embed it on your website or blog.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.angelacorbett.com/escountdown.js"></script>

He's also making some other exciting things for me too, so I'll let you know as soon as they're done! Thanks again for helping me spread the word about Eternal Starling!!!


Monday, August 22, 2011

Eternal Starling Cover Giveaway

The Eternal Starling cover is here!!!!!!!!!


Final Cover


Promotional Cover


I hope you like it as much as I do!!!!

In honor of the Eternal Starling cover reveal, I'm having a giveaway!

The rules are super simple. Just comment below and tell me what you think about the cover! You'll get extra love if you share this blog post link or the book cover on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites. :)

The prize is a signed bookmark, a magnet with a photo of the Eternal Starling cover, and a picture of my favorite, gorgeous location in Eternal Starling. The location is also where a very important scene happens, so the photo is a bit of a hint about the book. :)

The winner will be randomly chosen and the contest is open until Sunday, August 28th. The giveaway is open internationally, so comment away!!!


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Eternal Starling Cover Reveal!!!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Today is the Eternal Starling cover reveal!!!

I'm so excited and I LOVE the cover! I hope you love it too!

Krista, a wonderful blogger (Cubicleblindess.blogspot.com), is helping me out with the reveal. She's giving some signed bookmarks away as part of the reveal, so go check out the cover, leave a comment, and maybe get a bookmark! Also, stop back here Monday because I'll be doing a cover-related giveaway too!

LinkClick here to go to Krista's blog and see the cover!

Feel free to share the cover and link on Twitter, Facebook, etc. :)



Saturday, August 13, 2011

Road Trip!

Last week I spent a couple of days in lovely 80 degree weather surrounded by trees, mountains, lakes, and learned that standing at the top of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and looking down at the 1/2 mile drop is enough to make what are normally perfectly good knees go weak with terror.

Gunnison, Colorado, is the setting for Eternal Starling. When I started writing the book over three years ago, I knew I wanted the setting to be a real place. I needed a small mountain town with a small college. So, I did what a lot of authors do: I Googled. After combing through search results, I did a happy dance when I discovered Gunnison was the perfect fit for my vision of Eternal Starling.

I wanted to make sure I was being as true to the town and school as possible, so I did a lot of research as I wrote. I looked at pictures and maps of the town; researched Gunnison history, the surrounding recreation areas and mountains; and spent a lot of time on the Western State College website taking virtual tours and trying to make sure Evie's college experience was authentic.

I've been to Colorado many times, but last week was my first trip to Gunnison. The online research I did was great, but it was really nice to spend time driving around Gunnison, meeting people who live there, going to the stores, and visiting the Western State College campus. I was happy that my research paid off while writing the book, and there's not much that needs to be changed before Eternal Starling goes to print. However, there were a few things I took creative license with in order to make the story work, and people familiar with the area will notice those things. :)

I took some pictures while I visited, so you can experience a little bit of Gunnison too. Here are the photos, and some info. about how they relate to Eternal Starling.


The Western State College W near the college campus where Evie goes to school.


The main College Center building at Western State. A few important scenes in the book happen here.


Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison. Evie does a lot of hiking in areas near the reservoir.


Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. People actually climb this monster! Evie gets lost hiking here in the first chapter of the book.





Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Eternal Starling Sneak Peek!

The YA Scavenger Hunt was SO much fun! I hope you got the chance to read the bonus material from all the authors participating! Since the Scavenger Hunt only lasted one day, I've decided to re-post the Eternal Starling bonus material. For those of you who didn't have time to take part in the Scavenger Hunt, you can check it out here!

Read on for the Eternal Starling summary and your sneak peek at a scene from Eternal Starling. :)

Eternal Starling Summary
A love so strong, even eternity can’t separate them.

Evie Starling has lived a relatively uneventful life hanging out with friends, gossiping about boys, and driving her 1966 Mustang. All of that changes when she moves to Gunnison, Colorado, to start college and meets two mysterious men.

For centuries, Alex Night and Emil Stone have yearned for Evie—but they each have their own reasons for wanting to be with her. When both men claim to be her soul mate and tell her about an unbelievable past, Evie learns that she’s not the person she thought she was. Soon, Evie finds herself in the middle of an age-old battle between the Amaranthine Society—the soul protectors, and the Daevos Resistance—the soul destroyers. With a past she doesn’t understand, and a future rife with danger, Evie has to decide who she can trust. But Alex and Emil aren’t the only ones who want Evie, and her soul is about to become the rope in an eternal tug-of-war.



Sneak Peek of Eternal Starling, by Angela Corbett

Suddenly, I felt like I was falling into a dream. I watched as a girl not much older than me brushed chestnut colored ringlets off her face with a gloved hand. She was beautiful in a long scarlet ball gown with a deep lacy neck, and skirt that opened slightly in the front showing a ruffled petticoat underneath. A male figure stood about ten feet in front of her. They were outside, shrouded by darkness and trees. Though I could see the girl clearly, the male figure was too far away to make out any details—but I could hear him.

“This is your choice?” he asked, contempt obvious in his tone.

The girl nodded in response, the slight movement emitting a palpable sadness.

“Why him?” he asked. “Why now?”

“I can’t help what I feel,” the girl said. “I’m in love with him.”

“No,” he said through his teeth. He paused, then stalked to a tree and punched his fist against the trunk. “You’re in love with what he wants you to see, not who he is.” He exhaled in disbelief and shook his head. “I’ve done everything I can up to this point, and now you tell me you’re in love with him? Stabbing me in the heart would be no less painful.”

The girl moved toward him, her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry,” she said, coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He tilted his head toward the spot her hand was resting and then without warning, he reached around her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her with him into the darkness. She gasped before he leaned down and kissed her, hard at first, like he was trying to prove a point, then becoming gentler until he pulled back from her lips and rested his head against her forehead. In a husky voice, he asked, “Do you still think you love him?”

She didn’t move.

“Do you?”

She didn’t look at him as she gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He dropped her from his embrace and stepped away, turning his back toward her. Minutes ticked by and the muscles in his shoulders tensed. He shifted his head to the side, his profile barely visible, and said, “He will disappoint you.” He stood for a few seconds more before he started walking away from her.

She ran her fingers lightly over her lips and looked up, eyes wide as she watched him leave. “Wait!” she yelled. “Where are you going?”

He stopped and pivoted on his heel, his legs apart and arms crossed over his chest. His face was shrouded by his shoulder length hair as he stared at her. Then he answered her question, “To prove which of us truly loves you more.”

© 2011 by Angela Corbett