Holiday Sale!

The Eternal Starling eBook is on sale for the holidays!

It's only 99 cents for a limited time, so grab a copy while you can!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Happy holidays, everyone!!!

Sandy Hook Auction

Like so many of us, I was horrified at what happened in Connecticut this past Friday.

A good friend and author, Jamie Manning, quickly organized an auction to help benefit Sandy Hook families. I'm really happy to be able to participate and do something to help remember the victims of this tragedy. The auction starts today (Dec 17th) at 9 AM CST, and lasts for 24 hours. You can find information on the auction items, and how to bid, here:

http://authorsforct.blogspot.com/

I'm giving away a signed copy of Eternal Starling, a swag pack, and the auction winner gets to choose a name for one of the characters in the second Emblem of Eternity trilogy book.

There are a lot of fabulous items up for auction and it benefits a wonderful cause, so please bid and help us help the people of Newtown, CT.

Thank you!!!

Wardrobe Malfunctions...and Amazon

In high school, I was part of the band. In 1998, I could give you a pretty awesome flute rendition of "Forever in Blue Jeans". Don't ask me to play now, I haven't picked it up for at least 10 years. This bodes badly for my mom who recently told me she wants me to play it at her funeral. Luckily, she's young, and I have 50 or so years to practice. She didn't tell me a song, so she'll probably get "Forever in Blue Jeans" too.

Anyway, as part of my band adventures, we had to play at concerts. I think high school band concerts are mostly an effort to 1. Convince our parents their $400+ instrument investment was worth it, and 2. Trick us into wearing dress clothes on days we shouldn't have to wear them at all. One cold night in February, I made my way from the band room to the auditorium for a concert. It was February in Utah, so frigid is an understatement. I was wearing my concert black attire which included a skirt. Under the skirt, I was wearing a slip. As I walked across the asphalt to the auditorium with a group of other band members, the sharp breeze nipped at my legs. I pulled my coat around myself and kept walking. After a few minutes, it suddenly got a lot warmer.

Strange, I thought. The wind must have died down.

No. That wasn't it. My curly Carrie Bradshaw-like hair was still whipping my face with solid slaps.

But my legs were so warm. Why would that be?

I had my answer as I started to trip. I looked down, and saw a bit of crumpled fabric on the ground. My slip had fallen straight to the asphalt. Face hot with embarrassment, I checked to make sure my skirt was still up--luckily, it was--then stepped out of the pool of fabric on the ground. I discreetly bent down, picked up the slip, shoved it in the arm of my coat, checked for witnesses, blew out a relieved breath when there weren't any, and I never told a soul. I vowed to do my best to never to have a wardrobe malfunction again.

...Then I got invited to a black tie dinner with my husband. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was the keynote speaker.


In my defense, I've barely remembered to brush my hair because I've been working like mad on revisions. So, I didn't really think about the dinner, or my outfit until the night before the event. There was a moment of panic about what I'd wear, then I remembered a fancy black skirt. Yeah, the skirt was a couple of years old, but it was formal. It would work. I decided I'd pair it with a lacy white shirt and black jacket. I had a teeny, tiny moment where I thought, hmm...I haven't worn that for awhile I hope it fits, but then I had a great idea for the scene I was working on and went right back to that.

The day of the event, I realized I didn't own a pair of panty hose. In the hose aisle of Target, I got this text from my husband: Does black tie mean I actually need a black tie?

See, I wasn't the only one unprepared. Using my vast knowledge of all things etiquette (read: I watch a lot of Hollywood awards shows and the fashion critiques after), I explained that while "black tie" used to mean tuxedo, he could get away with a really nice suit, and while his tie with smiling soccer balls on it was out of the question, the dark purple satin tie he wore to our wedding would work just fine. He still bought a black one on the way home from work just to be safe. 

Tie crisis averted, I grabbed a pair of panty hose, went home, and attempted to get dressed. The key word there is "attempt." First, as I pulled the panty hose up, they ripped. I kid you not. I haven't worn panty hose in a VERY long time, but nylons are not made like they used to be. So, I grabbed some nail polish to try and fix the hose crater on my thigh. With that emergency managed, I slipped on my skirt, zipped it, and watched it fall down. What the...??? I picked it up. It fell again. Thanks to Jillian Michaels' commitment to kill me 5-6 days a week, the skirt I thought would be kept up by my hips, wasn't. My husband stared at me, the skirt, and me again. Then the conversation went like this:

Husband: "That's a problem."
Me: "You think?"
Husband: "Can you pin it to something?"
Me: "Like what?" I asked, frantically throwing things around in the drawer where the safety pins should be, "My bra?" Pause. Deep breath. "And we're out of safety pins."
Husband, in a very helpful tone: "But we have paper clips!"

Yes, nice to meet you, Mr. Bezos. I'm sorry, did a paper clip just fall off my skirt and hit your shoe? Do you sell safety pins on Amazon?

At that point, we were already running late. No time to go shopping for a new dress. And my only other option was my baby blue, 15 year old prom dress. That seemed like an excellent way to make a bold, bad, statement. With some pretty impressive skirt MacGyvering, I was able to keep the skirt up with a belt. I covered the bunches it made with a shirt that went over the skirt, and had a band around the bottom that would help hold the skirt in place. My jacket also helped cover most of the waistline disaster. But, remembering my past band concert slip adventure, I made sure to kept one hand on the skirt all night.

Wardrobe malfunctions aside, the night was definitely inspiring, and I really enjoyed listening to Jeff Bezos. I didn't realize Amazon had started as an online bookstore. The host of the event asked a lot of questions about ebooks and print books. Jeff said Amazon was trying to sell ebooks for years, but no one wanted them because people didn't want to read on a computer. So, Amazon decided, hey, let's make a device people will want to read on, and make it easy for them to publish their books. The Kindle was born, and ebooks and publishing changed forever. He said people read four times as many books in the year after buying a Kindle than in the year before buying a Kindle. He was also asked if he thought ebooks were a threat to physical books. His answer was really interesting. He said he didn't think physical books would ever go away, but he thinks in the future they'll be used differently. He compared it to horses, saying we still like horses, but we don't commute on them. The thing I really took away from the speech was that people change, technology changes, and Amazon succeeds by listening to their customers.

And next time, I'll remember to try my outfit on BEFORE the event.

Vegas, Baby!

Guess where I'll be this weekend???

Las Vegas!!!!!

The Vegas Valley Book Festival to be exact. I'm SO excited to hang out with tons of amazing authors, meet people, and sign books! 

Speaking of signing books, I'll be at the huge author signing from 3:00-5:00 pm on Saturday, November 3rd. If you're in Vegas, stop and see me! I'll have bookmarks and tattoos, and maybe some leftover Halloween candy if it survives the road trip. :)

The festival address is:

Historic Fifth Street School
401 S. Fourth Street 

I hope to see you there!!!

Halloween Scene!

 

Want to know what Evie, Alex and Emil are doing for Halloween???

Check out my scene hosted by The Book Reaper on the Halloween Character Booktacular!

The scene happens after Eternal Starling ends, but before book 2 begins. 

You can also win an Eternal Starling swag pack, so go enter!

Happy haunting!!!

Signing and Sand Dunes!

Whew! I'm finally catching up from being out of town. Idaho Falls was so much fun! 

My signing at the Grand Teton Mall Barnes and Noble was fantastic! I met so many awesome people! (Hi Michelle! *waves* I got your email and will email you soon!). And the store staff was amazing! Huge thanks to Kaaren, Bobbie, Jessica, Rachel, Melissa, Eraleigh, and Chet! (I hope I spelled your names right!) I can't wait to come back and sign there again!

I had TO. DIE. FOR. cupcakes and coffee here. They're opening a store near my house in Utah. It could be trouble. Lots of trouble.

Our hotel was 3 blocks from the falls! Every night was like going to sleep with a sleep machine on the waterfall setting. We ate dinner across the street from the falls at a yummy Mexican restuarant, walked along the water, and Pippin had a grand time investigating all the new smells and meeting other dogs.

Idaho Falls is only about 40 minutes from the St. Anthony sand dunes! One of my, (and Evie's) favorite places in the world! This photo is like Where's Waldo, only it's Where's my Husband. Can you find him? He was waiting for the rest of the people in our entourage to get to him.

And speaking of our entourage...here they are:

My grandpa, husband, and sister in my grandpa and grandma's dune buggy.

My husband (on the yellow Suzuki), and my Dad (on the silver Raptor).

My brother and sister. With their vision problems, the wide open sand is one of the only places they can drive their ATV.

 

And me! I haven't been to St. Anthony for so long! It was SO good to get back on a four-wheeler again!

And last but not least, this is one of my favorite spots at St. Anthony! In Eternal Starling, Evie and Alex have a pretty important chat at the sand dunes. This is the exact spot I was thinking of when I wrote that scene.

So, that was my trip in a nutshell! I've had some requests to do an Eternal Starling get-together at the sand dunes sometime. Maybe when the last book in the trilogy is released? It sounds like fun to me! What do you all think? 

Are you in Idaho???

If you live near Idaho Falls, I'm signing books at the Grand Teton Mall Barnes and Noble this Saturday, August 18th!

Here's the address:
2300 East 17th Street Suite #1101
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

I'll be there from 1:00-4:00.

If you want more info, here's the event link!

Summer YA Scavenger Hunt!!!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive TWENTY-SEVEN signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM--but there is also a red team for a chance to win a whole different set of twenty-five signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by August 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I'm hosting Victoria Strauss on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Victoria Strauss is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, including the Stone fantasy duology (The Arm of the Stone and The Garden of the Stone) and Passion Blue, a YA historical. She's also co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that provides information and warnings about the many scams and schemes that threaten writers. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she writes, gardens, and spends way too much time online.

Find out more information by checking out Victoria's website or find more about the Victoria's book here!

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

When seventeen-year-old Giulia, the orphaned, illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman, learns she’s to be packed off to a life behind convent walls, she begs an astrologer-sorcerer for a talisman that will secure what she’s certain is her heart’s desire: true love and a place where she belongs. But does she really know the compass of her heart? The convent of Santa Marta is full of surprises, including a workshop of nuns who are creating paintings of astonishing beauty using a luminous blue mixed from a secret formula: Passion Blue. As Giulia’s own artistic self is awakened she’s torn: should she follow the young man who promises to help her escape? Or stay and satisfy her growing desire to paint? This richly imagined novel of a girl’s daring journey towards self-discovery transports readers into the fascinating world of Renaissance Italy, where love and faith and art inspire passion – of many different hues.

I'm swooning over the gorgeous cover!!!

The Scavenger Hunt is over, so Victoria's deleted scene is no longer available, but make sure to put Passion Blue on your to-buy list, and watch for it to come out in November!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! Click here!

Tweet #YASH

Don't forget that the Eternal Starling eBook is on sale for the Hunt! You can also enter to win an Eternal Starling swag pack including a signed bookmark, signed bookplate, tattoo, and a bookmark and pin with original artwork of Alex Night by talented artist, James Vallesteros! Enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Event!

If you're in the Salt Lake City area next Friday, July 20th, don't forget to stop by the West Jordan Barnes and Noble between 7:00-9:00! I'll be there signing books with my friends, Lani Woodland (author of Intrinsical and Indelible) and Amber Argyle (author of Witch Song).

Here's the event info from the Barnes and Noble website.

I'll be giving out bookmarks, tattoos, and signing books!

Come see us!

New York, New York!

I already did my BEA in Pics post, but I had so many pictures from New York that I decided to do another one with some of the touristy things my mom and I did. Read about our adventures below!

This was the first time my mom had ever been to a big city, and she was convinced we were going to get arrested/mugged/murdered every day. The first time my mom believed we were going to be arrested was when we got caught in a sea of Obama protesters. Unbeknownst to us, the President was having a fundraiser at the Amsterdam theater, next to Madame Tussaud's where we were picking up tour tickets. The streets were filled with protesters, most of whom were wearing black or white. My mom plowed through them in her bright pink shirt as fast as she could, worried the police, who were trying to coordinate the protest, would mistake her for a protester too. You can probably see her on the CNN coverage. It will be like playing Where's Waldo, only you'll have to find the woman in pink.

Times Square! My mom was a bit overwhelmed by all the people. She lives in Wyoming. There are only 400,000 people in her whole state. She was certain there were at least that many people just in Times Square.

 The Naked Cowboy was outside our hotel. I was very excited to introduce my mom to him. She tried to run away. She thought she'd get arrested for looking at him.

The Doughnut Plant has the best doughnuts in New York, so we had to try them! I had the chocolate blackout, my mom had pistachio glaze, and we shared the tres leches.

Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3! 

We stopped by the Museum of Modern Art to see Starry Night by Van Gogh. Luckily, Alex let the museum borrow it again after his date with Evie in Eternal Starling. :)

The Dakota building where John Lennon lived, and was later murdered.

The view of Central Park from the top of Rockefeller Center.

The New York skyline at night.

Wicked! This was the second time I've seen it. The first time was when it opened in London in 2006 with the original Broadway cast. Idina Menzel will always be Elphaba to me. We also saw the Lion King, and Phantom of the Opera. I loved them all, but the costumes and puppetry in the Lion King were amazing. I've never seen anything like it.

Inside the Empire State building, waiting to go up the elevators.

Me at the Empire State building. It was about 60 degrees, but the view was still incredible!

BEA in Pictures!

I just got back from my first trip to BEA in New York! I had so much fun! I met a lot of fabulous authors and bloggers, and I even got to do an Eternal Starling signing! Read on to see my picture/video book of BEA!

On Wednesday, I vlogged with my good friend and fellow Pendrell author, Lani Woodland!

Breakfast with awesome authors!
Jeri Smith-Ready, Mike Mullin, Sera Phyn, Lani Woodland, Melanie Marks, Jennifer Armentrout, and me.

The end of my signing at BEA! I was so excited people stood in line and I got to meet everyone!

Dinner with friends.
Lani Woodland, Yara Santos, Trini Contreras, Marie Romero, Sera Phyn, Me, my mom, and Jamie Manning.

At Serendipity 3.
Lani Woodland and Trini Contreras.

Outside Serendipity 3. (Thanks to Yara for this pic!)
Yvonne Woon, Kristi Cook, Yara Santos, Lani Woodland and me!

BEA!!!

BookExpo America is almost here!!!

I'm SO excited to spend a few days surrounded by people who love books as much as I do! I'm also excited because I'll finally get to meet some of my online friends in person! So, if you're at BEA, I want to see you!

Here's my schedule for BEA.

Wednesday, June 6th, 3:00 PM

I'll be answering questions live in the Pendrell Publishing Booth (Booth 2054) with friend and author Lani Woodland! You can tweet questions to @Pendrellpublish. People who send questions will be entered to win signed copies of all of Pendrell's titles, including Eternal Starling!

Thursday, June 7th, 2:00-3:00 PM

I'm signing Eternal Starling in the Pendrell Booth (Booth 2054). Books will also be on sale for $15 for BEA, so come and get your signed copy!

Pendrell also has other events and contests going on, so be sure to look at the Pendrell schedule here.

Also, if you're looking for me and can't find me, tweet me at @AngCorbett! I'll have my phone, and I'll tweet you back! I can't wait to hear from you, and hopefully meet some of you too!

Update about my sister

I just want to say thank you to everyone for their concerns about my sister, Natasha. My family and I were overwhelmed by the support, thoughts, prayers, and love from all over the world. The positive energy made a huge difference! It really helped Natasha keep her spirits up. We read the comments on my blog post, Twitter, and Facebook page to her. It meant the world to her that so many people, including people she's never met, cared about her getting her eyesight back.

I want to update you and let you know Natasha is doing a lot better! She's no longer completely blind and she has started to regain some of her vision--enough that she can get around on her own again. She's back home now, spending some quality time with her cat, Belle. :) Her doctors were completely shocked at her recovery. They weren't sure if she would ever recover, and they definitely didn't expect her to be at this point for several months, if at all.

I know the support and love of everyone made a difference, and really contributed to her recovery. We know her sight will continue to improve and she's doing well. My family and I want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!

Hugs to you all!!!

My First Foreign Rights Sale!

I'm so excited to announce that the Romanian foreign rights for Eternal Starling have sold to LEDA, an imprint of Corint Publishers Group!!!

Here's the official Publishers Marketplace announcement!

I want to send a HUGE thank you to Krisz from walking-on-letters.blogspot.com. She's done so much to let people know about Eternal Starling! She made fan art with quotes from the book; started an Emblem of Eternity Tumblr page; and posted several blog posts about the book and campaign! She even recently had the help of Emy and Rose, two awesome Romanian bloggers, to translate the prologue and first chapter from English to Romanian! I appreciate her passion for Eternal Starling, and all that she's done to help bring the book to Romania! You can read Krisz's blog post about the sale here!

I also want to say thank you to all the bloggers and people in Romania who supported the campaign! So many bloggers posted about the campaign and asked me to do interviews. I've been overwhelmed with all the kind emails I've received, and everyone I've worked with in Romania has been so nice!

I can't say thank you enough! And I can't wait for Eternal Starling to be published in Romania!!!

♥ ♥ ♥

Come See Me on Saturday!

If you're looking for something to do Saturday, May 5th, and you're in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area, I have an event for you!

I'm speaking and signing books at The King's English at 7:00! I'll be there with Lani Woodland, author of the Yara Silva Trilogy; and Dan Haring, author of Oldsoul.

Come see me!!!

Making Impossible Happen

If you read the acknowledgments of Eternal Starling, you might have seen a sentence that reads, "To my brother, Colten, and sister, Natasha, thank you for your optimism, and for teaching me long ago that absolutely nothing is impossible." I haven't really talked about this in the past, but I'm hoping my friends can help make the impossible happen again. 

Colten and Natasha were both born with a very rare syndrome called Peters Anomaly Plus syndrome. There are a lot of problems that come with Peter's Anomaly Plus, including: speech impediments; hearing problems; dwarfism; and the biggest issue, they were born blind.

In this news story from 1985, Ed Yeates from KSL News, and Colten and Natasha's doctor, Alan Crandall, explain Peters Plus much better than I can.

Colten was born after me, and was one of the first people in the world to be diagnosed with Peters Anomaly Plus. Doctors had no idea how to treat him, so they told my parents to put him in a hospital and wait for him to die. They said he'd never have normal brain function, never see, never be able to ride a bike, or go to school, and there was nothing that could be done. My parents wouldn't accept that. They searched all over the world for a doctor willing to treat Colten, and finally found one in Salt Lake City, UT, only 90 miles from our house--a miracle in and of itself.

Their doctor said he thought he could give Colten eyesight, but the surgeries Colten would need hadn't been done before, and they didn't know if it would work, especially on a baby. After several surgeries, they were able to save one of Colten's eyes. The doctors thought Colten's problem was the result of a chromosome translocation. They did genetic testing and said there was no way my parents would have another child with Peters Anomaly Plus. Then Natasha was born, and she had Peters Anomaly too. Because of the research they'd already done on Colten, they were able to save both of Natasha's eyes. Together, they've had over 85 surgeries. They did learn to ride a bike, they both graduated from high school, and then they graduated from college. It wasn't an easy road, but they've never given up, and their positive outlook on life always amazes me. They've done the impossible over and over again.

Though Colten and Natasha's vision has never been perfect, they've both been able to see...until a few weeks ago. Natasha's eye pressure went too high and she had to have emergency surgery. The recovery from the surgery didn't go as expected, and she had a reaction to the medication she was taking. She is now completely blind. Her doctors are hopeful that she'll get her vision back, but the next month is critical.

The fact is, we don't know what will happen right now. I refuse to believe that after everything Natasha has been through, that she's going to lose her sight now. When they were young, my mom and dad's community rallied around them. I think that support was part of the reason Colten and Natasha have done so well. So, I'm asking for my community to help too. I truly believe in the power of positive energy and thought, so if you have any to spare, please send it Natasha's way.

Thank you!!!

*Hugs*
Ang

Where, Oh Where Will I Be...

Whew!!! I just got back from a trip where I was having a lot of fun with my best friend, and doing a little research for Eternal Starling book 2! :) The trip helped with some details I needed to figure out, and I think it's all going to work. *evil laugh* :)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Intrinsical and Witch Song giveaway on my blog! If you entered to win Eternal Starling on Lani and Amber's blogs, thanks for that too!

So, I have two signings coming up that I want to let you know about! 

Signing #1 Hastings in Logan, Utah
Friday April 20th, 5:00 PM 
50 East 400 North Logan, UT


The staff at Hastings has been great, and I'm excited to do another signing in Logan! I'm signing with Amber Argyle and Shadow Stephens, so stop and see me!

Signing #2 The King's English in Salt Lake City, UT 
Saturday May 5th 7:00 PM
1511 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT

I'm so excited I get to sign at one of my favorite bookstores again! I also had my Eternal Starling launch party there, and it's a fabulous store!

I'm signing with Lani Woodland (author of Intrinsical and Indelible), and Dan Haring (author of Oldsoul). We'll be speaking a bit, answering questions, and then signing until you get sick of us, or the store closes. :) So stop by and say hello!

Eternal Starling Deleted Scene

The YA Scavenger Hunt is over! A list of winners is posted here! It was so much fun to be part of the Hunt again, and I hope you all had the chance to learn about new authors and their books!

In case you didn't get the chance to read the Eternal Starling deleted scene on the Scavenger Hunt, I've posted it below. Happy reading! :)

In an early draft of Eternal Starling, Evie’s ex-boyfriend, Loser Luke, was a central character. As I started revising, I realized my plan for Loser Luke wouldn’t work, and I got rid of him. This was the scene where Luke shows up in Gunnison. The scene happens while Evie, Alex, Jasmine, and Zach are at dinner in chapter 4.

 

I was in the middle of telling everyone about how the horn on my car had started honking on its own the other day when I heard a male voice say, “Evie?”

I recognized the voice and hoped it was a figment of my imagination. The look on Jasmine’s face assured me it wasn’t. Crap. I slowly turned my head. Alex read my expression and seemed puzzled as he glanced toward the voice.

            “Luke?” I said with a mixture of surprise and disdain. My war with Luke Woods over his cheating had lasted three months and had already gained legend status in White Sulphur Springs. I hadn’t seen him since the high school graduation party when I dumped a glass of Sprite on his head after he told me he still thought I looked like a marshmallow, but I had a pretty face and he’d hook-up with me anyway.

            Luke got up and came over to our table. He put his arms around my shoulders in a kind of half-hug from behind. I cringed at his touch. Alex bristled next to me as he watched Luke with a slight sneer.

            “I didn’t think I’d run into you tonight,” Luke said.

            “Well you’re the last person I expected to see,” I answered, using the opportunity to wiggle out of his grasp and turn around so I could talk to him more easily. “What are you doing here?”

            “I came down to look at some apartments. School starts soon and I didn’t want to end up with a crappy place to live.”

            I shook my head as his words sank in. “Wait, you’re moving to Gunnison?”

            Luke smiled. “Yep. Remember? I applied to Western State when you decided it was the college you wanted to go to.”

            My eyes widened. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago. I didn’t think you’d end up here!”           He shrugged. “I liked it the best.”

            I gave him a fake half-smile. “Great. That’s just great.”

            “What are you guys up to tonight?” Luke asked. He looked around the table noticing the ratio of girls to guys. His eyes fell on Alex, who was smiling, but the muscles at his jaw were working hard. I could tell Alex wasn’t happy, but he was still stubbornly confident. A flicker of anger appeared in Luke’s eyes. I was sure he was jealous, who wouldn’t be after assessing Alex.

            “We’re just eating dinner,” Jasmine said, trying to intervene.

            “How is it?” Luke asked, his eyes never leaving Alex’s. Alex returned the same cold stare.

            I jumped in. “Probably about the same as the food you’re eating.” I thought maybe if I was talking, Luke would shift his attention to me and the stare-off between the two guys would end.

            Alex decided to use this moment to make his dominance known and reached toward me, putting his arm around my shoulders. Luke stepped back. I wasn’t comfortable with either of them trying to claim me. This wasn’t the jungle; there was no need to mark their territory, but you wouldn’t know it by the way the two of them were acting.

            “Do you know what your schedule’s going to be like?” Luke asked me.

            “Pretty much.”

            “Maybe we’ll have some classes together,” Luke said, winking at me. Alex immediately moved his hand lower on my back, snaking his arm around my waist.

            If we did have classes together, I would change my schedule. “Yeah, maybe,” I answered, still watching the silent struggle going on between Alex and Luke, and still just as bothered by it.

            “Well,” Luke said, finally taking the hint that he wasn’t welcome at our table, “I’ll talk to you later, Evie. Have a good night.” I nodded, and Luke walked back to his table, glancing over his shoulder at Alex and me.

            Once Luke was out of earshot, Jas said, “Well, that was awkward.”

            “Yeah,” I agreed, “it was.”

            Alex seemed to be analyzing the three of us and our expressions, then he grabbed the check the waiter had left and went up to the counter to pay for our food. Zach started to follow him but Alex told him not to worry about it, he was buying everyone’s dinner.

            As soon as Alex was out of earshot, Zach was the first to speak. “I thought they were going to kill each other.”

            “It wouldn’t have been much of a fight,” I scoffed. “Have you seen Alex’s arms?”

            “Luke is still looking at you, he’s been watching you since he got back to his table,” Jasmine said.

            I shrugged and sipped some of my water. “I’m not the one who cheated. Luke’s just mad that I found someone better than him.”

            “Does Alex know about him?” Jas asked.

            “No,” I winced. “We haven’t really gotten into dating history specifics yet.”

            “Well, you’ll have to now,” Zach said, laughing.

            “Thanks.”

            “You’re welcome,” he said. “It’ll be a fun ride home for you.”

***

We pulled up to a stoplight and Alex turned to me as he rolled his tongue over the inside of his cheek. “So. Was he an old friend?” he asked.

            I hedged for the second time tonight. “You could say that.”

            “What would you say about him?”

            “His name is Luke and he’s an idiot.” I smiled unconvincingly.

            “He seemed especially interested in you,” Alex pointed out.

            I sighed. I didn’t want to get into this, but saw no way around it. “We . . . used to date.”

            “That was obvious,” he frowned. “You could have at least introduced me as your boyfriend.” Alex sounded hurt.

            “Sorry,” I said, feeling bad I’d already hurt his feelings. I really needed some sort of girlfriend handbook. “We just decided we’re in an official relationship four hours ago. I wasn’t thinking about it.”

            He seemed to accept my answer, though he wasn’t happy. “How long did you date?”

            “Not long, a few months. Then I broke things off.”

            “Why?”

            “We had a difference of opinion involving a cheerleader. What’s with the interrogation?”

            Alex sighed and seemed to relax a bit. “Sorry, I’m just on edge. The guy seemed pretty intense about you.”

            I raised my eyebrows and gave a short laugh. “Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

            The corners of his mouth twitched. “Point taken.”

            “What was with all the alpha-male, this-is-my-woman crap you were pulling?”

            Alex shrugged. “I just thought the kid should know you weren’t interested.”

            “The ‘kid’ is only three years younger than you, and I could have told him I wasn’t interested without all the posturing.”

            “Yes, but you didn’t.” Alex’s voice was reproachful. I felt guilty, but I was pretty new to all this serious relationship stuff, like having to consider how something would affect another person. Real relationships are kind of a pain.

Spring YA Scavenger Hunt!!!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! I'm Angela Corbett, author of Eternal Starling. If you're looking for the exclusive Eternal Starling deleted scene, it's on one of the Team Yellow blogs, so keep hunting!

This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive TWENTY signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter all three! I am a part of the YELLOW TEAM--but there is also a red team and a blue team. You can enter all three contests--which has a total prize bucket of SIXTY signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

Scavenger Hunt Puzzle

Directions: Hidden within my post is a single letter that is YELLOW. Make a note of that letter! It's a part of a scrambled phrase. When you go to all the author sites of the yellow team, you'll have all the letters you need to enter the contest. 

Entry Form: Once you piece together all the clues to the hunt, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the completed phrase will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by noon, PST, April 1, 2012. Entries sent without the correct puzzle code or without contact information will not be considered.

If you get stuck while going through the hunt, click on this link.

Ready to Start the Hunt?