Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Announcements!

I just came out of my revision cave and have things to tell you about!

First, an announcement!

The book launch party for Eternal Starling will be held at The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City on December 7, 2011! I'll be speaking and signing books, plus there will be prizes and yummy treats! I know it's 4 months away, but I've dreamed of having a book launch party there since I stumbled into the store my freshman year of college, so I'm VERY excited. Keep it on your calendar and I hope to see you there!

Second, the YA Scavenger Hunt is coming up next week on August 1st! There are so many fabulous authors participating that you won't want to miss out on any of them! Don't forget to check back and read my blog to see exclusive material from the incredible author I'm hosting. Seriously, people, this author is amazing and so is her bonus material!!! If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you can read more about it here. There are awesome prizes associated with the Scavenger Hunt too, so it's definitely something you don't want to miss!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

YA Scavenger Hunt!

Do you want an exclusive look at bonus material by some of your favorite YA authors? If so, mark your calendar for the YA Scavenger Hunt being held August 1st!

Fabulous authors are participating including: Josephine Angelini, Andrea Cremer, Kady Cross, Heather Davis, Bree Despain, Clare Dunkle, Marley Gibson, Abbi Glines, Colleen Houck, Tara Hudson, Elana Johnson, Alexandra Monir, Lisa Nowak, Gregg Olsen, Amy Plum, Beth Revis, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Inara Scott, Sophie Jordan, Lani Woodland and many more! I'll be revealing something special about Eternal Starling as part of the Scavenger Hunt too. :)

You can start the scavenger hunt here on August 1st. I will post another author's bonus material and at the bottom of the post, there will be a link to another author's blog/website. You get to go from site to site, hunting for all the cool exclusive material.

Some authors are also having contests and giveaways as part of the Scavenger Hunt, so you don't want to miss this event! I'll be giving away an exciting prize too, so check back on August 1st!

Your special all access pass is good for one day only. All the bonus material heads back into the vault on Aug 2nd, so circle the date and join us as we celebrate what's new in YA fiction!

Thanks to Colleen Houck for coming up with this fantastic idea and organizing it!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

I'm Speaking!

Hi everyone!

I'll be speaking at the Riverton, Utah, library on Wednesday July 6th at 7:00 with awesome YA author, Lani Woodland!

There will be a raffle to win Intrinsical, the first book in Lani's Yara Silva Trilogy. Lani will have a sneak peek of Indelible, her upcoming sequel to Intrinsical, and I have some super awesome Eternal Starling bookmarks I'll be handing out.

Stop by if you have time! We'd love to see you!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Eternal Starling Release Date!

I just got editorial notes back on Eternal Starling! I'm really excited! I love the mythology of this book and series so much, and I can't wait for people to be able to read it!

So...I have a couple of book updates.

Eternal Starling has a release date!!! It will be available to buy on December 6, 2011!

*happy dance*

The book is also now available for pre-order on barnesandnoble.com! If you're interested, here's the link: Eternal Starling

Thanks to everyone for all of your support and encouragement with Eternal Starling!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What Books Changed Your Life?

Reading was a big part of my childhood. Every night before we went to sleep, my mom or dad read to us and I got to escape into a new world. Sometimes we went to Middle Earth, other times to a Little House On the Prairie, but each night it was something new, and made me imagine from a young age all the places I could go and things I could do.

One of my youngest memories (I was probably about 3-4 years old) is sitting on the living room couch, holding a brightly colored children's book, The Hobbit. Despite the fact that the book/record set came with a plethora of books, The Hobbit was the one I couldn't get enough of. The book came with a record that allowed me to listen and follow the words as I read. I remember jumping up and down on the couch, ecstatic when I recognized the word "and." I started trying to find other words, then I'd go through my mom and dad's newspaper, not understanding what I was seeing, but pretending I could read. Every once in awhile, a word I knew from The Hobbit, would jump out on the page. Granted, since I wasn't reading the Middle Earth Times, there weren't a lot of similarities between The Hobbit and the newspaper, but words like: and, the, but, and or were easy enough to find. I couldn't stop dreaming about one day when I'd be able to read the newspaper all by myself and know every word. Reading has always been important to me, but there are some books that have truly changed my life. Here are some of them...

The Hobbit-Even though I was only reading a children's picture book version, this is the book that made me fall in love with other worlds and want to spend all of my time reading.

The Fairy Rebel-My school librarian, Mrs. Asay, gave me this book when I was in first grade. I wanted to stay with the blue haired fairies forever. Then I realized that even if I couldn't stay there, I could write my own stories that readers might want to live in as much as I wanted to live with the fairies. This was the book that made me believe I could be an author and craft worlds of my own.

Gone With the Wind-I admit, I LOVE a good love triangle...and Gone With the Wind has one of the best. Okay, so most people think Scarlett should be with Rhett. He does seem a better match when it comes to Scarlett's wit and stubborness, but he also tries to reign her in for a good part of the book, and I don't like that. Ashley is the man Scarlett's always wanted and pines for, but he's not good at taking charge and not strong enough to counter Scarlett's strong personality--until one important scene. Maybe it's because I'm putting it in the context of when it was written, but the first time I read it, I put the book down, took some deep breaths and read it a few more times. Then I officially planted myself in the Team Ashley camp for a good long while. However, the amazing thing about Gone With the Wind (for me at least) is that it's a book where I change teams depending on when I read it. Sometimes I want Scarlett with Ashley, other times I want her with Rhett, and a lot of times I think she's far better off on her own. This book, and the Ashley/Scarlett scene especially, taught me how to write romance.

Their Eyes Were Watching God- *Happy sigh* Their Eyes Were Watching God reads like poetry. It taught me how to write different types of love and the prose is so stunning it will stay with me for the rest of my life. I even used this book to answer one of the essay questions on my high school AP English test. The lyrical writing is so beautiful that I keep quotes from the book on my wall. My favorite is: "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide, for others, the sail on forever on the horizon, never changing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by time." The quote always reminds me to never turn away from dreams.

So, now I want to know, what books changed your life???

Monday, April 25, 2011

Eternal Starling on Goodreads!

Eternal Starling is now listed on Goodreads.com!!!

If you have a Goodreads account and want to add it to your to-read shelf, here's the link!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11160341-eternal-starling

And here's my author page!

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3015664.Angela_Corbett

Thanks so much to everyone for being so supportive of my books!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Books You Love...or Hate

While searching through my streaming Netflix options the other day, I found a new Masterpiece Theater version of Wuthering Heights, one of my favorite books. I immediately put it in my queue and settled in to watch Heathcliff and Catherine behave badly. The movie reminded me how much I love the book and I got out my highlighted, margin written, dog eared copy to read my favorite scenes.

In doing so, I was reminded that even though I LOVE Wuthering Heights, my BFF, Amazing Ashley, HATES it. As long time blog readers know, Amazing Ashley is an English Lit. professor. Our tastes in books run parallel 99% of the time. Wuthering Heights is the one book we disagree on. Ashley is not a fan of how awful the characters are to each other, and despises the fact that most people misinterpret the book as a great love story.

I, on the other hand, think it's absolutely a love story--one laced with a potent combination of jealousy, revenge, and hatred. Catherine and Heathcliff's actions are deplorable. They are so horrible to each other and the people around them that they can't be anything but soul mates. They are the only two people who truly understand each other. I also love the characterization and dialogue, as well as the strong emotions the characters and story provoke. There are some scenes between Heathcliff and Catherine that are so heated, you don't know whether anger, love, lust, or a combination of all three is driving the scene.

I applaud any book that makes people question what they believe, and Wuthering Heights crossed lines that both invigorated and infuriated people. Emily Brontë wrote one novel before she died. Wuthering Heights was originally published under the male pen name, Ellis Bell. It caused an uproar in England for it's immoral themes and became even more scandalous when people found out it was actually written by a woman who was the daughter of a vicar. In fact, the first time I read it, I remember thinking repeatedly: Holy 1800s! How did Brontë get away with that? Yes, it was shocking at the time, and to an extent, it's even shocking now. Yet, Wuthering Heights still remains one of the most popular books of all time and it's never been out of print.

My Wuthering Heights disagreement with Amazing Ashley made me wonder about books that have been divisive in other people's lives. So, here's my question: What books do you love/hate that friends, family, or the general public disagree with you on?