Angela Corbett graduated from Westminster College with a double major in communication and sociology. She started working for her hometown newspaper when she was sixteen and won awards for feature, news, and editorial writing. She has also worked as a freelance writer. Angela lives in Utah with her extremely supportive husband, Dan, and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fangirls could rival Justin Bieber’s.

1. Your forthcoming novel, Eternal Starling, offers readers a world of soul mates, suspense, and romance. Do you believe in soul mates? Who are your favourite literary lovers and why?

I absolutely believe in soul mates! There are a lot of different theories surrounding the idea of soul mates and I think they’re all fascinating. There’s something so romantic about the idea! I really like strong female characters, and some of my favorite literary lovers have female characters like that. Yelena and Valek from the Study series, by Maria V, Snyder; Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins; and Katsa and Po from Graceling, by Kristin Cashore.

2. Angela, you’ve studied communication and sociology, and have written in both journalistic and marketing environments. How has your study and non-fiction writing contributed to your career as an author?

There are different sets of rules for every type of writing: journalism, professional, technical, marketing, etc. I learned something from each of these types of writing. I believe any time you’re writing, it improves your skills, regardless of the writing you do. My journalism experience definitely helps when I’m doing interviews or events. My marketing experience played more of a part than I thought it would, especially when I was trying to sell Eternal Starling to a publisher. Writing a query letter is similar to writing advertising copy.

3. On your blog, you’ve generously shared your writing process with aspiring writers. How do you balance your time between writing and your self-generated marketing/publicity? How important is it to devote time to the latter?

I had some wonderful mentors when I started querying Eternal Starling, and wouldn’t be where I am without those people and their advice. I really wanted to pay it forward and put my experiences out there because every author’s path to publication is different. Finding time to write and still have time for marketing and publicity is really a balancing act. I set aside a time every night to spend on the business part of being an author. I also try to make myself available on Twitter, Facebook, and my blog as often as possible.

4. Which of your fictional characters Burns Brightest in your mind, and why?

It’s so hard to choose just one! Eternal Starling is a love story, but the heart of the book is my heroine, Evie Starling. I love her stubbornness, her humor, and the fact that she accepts herself and her flaws. I also love where her story is going. So, I would say the character that burns brightest in Eternal Starling is Evie.

Visit Angela’s blog here!

1. Watch out for his little sister; she’s powerful enough to do stuff, but young enough to still want to do naughty things. Unless you like spending time as a frog, I wouldn’t ping her off.

2. When meeting his parents there’s a chance they don’t want to let you in on the family secret. So even though you know, don’t let on.

3. Ask for a list of special dates for him and his family; if you’ve gone well with the meeting of the family, then perhaps they won’t mind allowing you to attend some of the more celebratory evens on the calendar. Additionally, knowing these special dates will allow you to know when he’ll need to not be called or asked out on a date.

4. Probably best not to go buying your guy a merlin costume for those Halloween parties. Pointy hats do actually hold some symbolism, so even if your heart is in the right spot, be aware and be warned.

5. Wizards usually have an animal familiar. So you might want to find out what his is before you start getting too serious. It would suck to be allergic to his cat, rat, owl, or crow. Even worse would be for your pet to hate or eat his on a visit.

6. He may be a bit of a messy wizard, so be sure to look where you’re about to sit. You wouldn’t want to break his wand.

7. Find out his favourite TV shows and movies. He’s probably got a good sense of humor about the way Hollywood portrays his fellow magic wielders. Try box sets of Sabrina the Teenage witch for those dates when you’re both baby-sitting his little sister. It may also teach her why it isn’t a good idea to turn you into a frog.

8. If you ever see a random and old-looking hard cover book lying around, perhaps open, keep your nose out of it. It could be his book of shadows, which is like a diary, but with slightly more sensitive content.

9. No matter how tempting it may be, never ask him to work any magic that may be classed as being for personal gain. Getting your math teacher sick on the day of a big exam, or fudging results will only end up in tears one way or another.  Better to not tempt fate.

10. His fellow coven members are likely to be a tad on the geeky side. They will most likely have hearts of gold and find it hard to get the girl. So be kind and introduce your friends to them. It’s always better at gatherings between friends if you actually know some of the people who’ll be there.  Happiness is best when it’s shared.

Blessed be!

Hello fellow book addicts. Welcome to my review of Mercy by Rebecca Lim! Before I start my “official” review, I just want to say I finished this book in less than two days. I love Rebecca Lim’s writing style and the story really kept me on the edge of my seat. I heard rumors that it is the beginning of a series; I hope to read and review the rest of them!

Mercy really kept me on the edge of my seat from the start to the finish! Imagine if you have no family, no friends, no home, and, as soon as you get used to something, you’re ripped away and forced to start all over again! No one actually wants that (well, I don’t! I love my life how it is right now), but Mercy didn’t have a choice; she’s a soul without a body. She doesn’t remember how old she is, or anything too far into the past.

But Mercy does remember a few things: her height, her hair and eye color, and some different facial features. Mercy jumps from one human girl body to another, never really sure how long she’ll be borrowing it for, or when she’ll be going to the next. It can happen anytime, and anywhere. She can’t leave by choice, no matter how badly she wants to. Mercy only has a vague recollection of who she’s inhabited recently, but knows nothing about her current body. This time inhabiting a body named Carmen, who is on her way to singing camp (with an exceptional voice), Mercy stays with a family that has been through quite a lot recently.

Two years ago, their daughter, Lauren, was kidnapped and never found. Not only has Ryan (their son) lost his twin sister, but in a way, his parents too. While Ryan still believes his sister is somewhere out there alive, his parents have accepted that Lauren is dead and will never come back.  But Ryan doesn’t want to even think about that, and continues searching, but now with Carmen’s help (not knowing it’s Mercy).

Throughout their hunt, Mercy even uses some supernatural powers to help Ryan find out information about his missing sister. By just touching someone, Mercy can sense what things might be nagging at their soul. Unsure of how long she’ll be in Carmen’s body, Mercy’s in a rush to find or find out what happened to Lauren, especially after hearing news about another girl being kidnapped.

I already gave you guys a lot of spoilers, and I don’t want to ruin the story, but two things I can say: it was AMAZING and it left me wanting to read more! I really enjoyed Mercy and can’t wait to read more from Rebecca Lim! Thank you again for stopping by, and checking out my review! Have you read this book? Comment below and let me know what your thoughts are! 😀

Mercy—Rebecca Lim

Published 17 May 2011 by Disney Hyperion

Hardback, 288 pages

ISBN:13: 9781423145172·

ISBN: 1423145178

Six Days To Go Until Angel Arias is out!

Get Your Widget Here and let’s countdown together!

And just to whet your appetite, here are some early reviews.

Book Probe says: “I really want this world that Marianne de Pierres has conjured in the Night Creatures series to be known and shared by all. I hope soon that all of you – whether your American, British, Canadian, Indian, French, German, or even an inhabitant of the North Pole – get to experience this world as us Aussies have been lucky to be captivated in, and for some, twice already.” Full Review

She Who Is Known as Jess says: “The simmering darkness will claw its way into your mind … ADVICE: Lunge for Your Copy.” Full Review

Alpha Reader says: “Marianne de Pierres’s ‘Night Creatures’ is a wholly unique YA series – it’s paranormal, steampunk sci-fi dystopia and completely remarkable. ‘Angel Arias’ is more epic brilliance from a traditionally sci-fi author who has taken Australian YA by storm! I can’t wait to read the third and final instalment.” Full Review

Occasionally it is good to see someone doing something different with an established medium, seeing things from a different perspective, retelling in a different direction, or just focusing on an element that is usually ignored.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped manages this with surprising agility.

While most zombie media focuses purely on the survival side of the theme, Madeleine Roux approaches the story from a different angle and hits up the human interaction side of the whole outbreak process. She also tells the story in a way that separates it from its fellows in much the same way that an axe separates a zombie from its head.

AHiT started life as a serialised story in blog form, inviting others to supply their own snippets of imagination to the story. The audience was kept on the edge of its seat waiting for the next update. The novelisation tells the complete story with the inclusion of the comments that helped the tale progress, and it’s easy to see that, without the assistance of the supporters and their many comments, certain elements would not have come to fruition.

Story wise the plot is the usual survival tale, with narrow escapes, vicious fights with the undead, friends becoming zombies and scrounging supplies to survive another day. There is enough gore and shifts in the plot to keep you interested even if you are just in it for the action.

What really hooked me, though, was the character development. The protagonist – Allison – is emotionally stripped to the bone and put in situations far too dire for most of us to comprehend but, due to the unique perspective, you get this great firsthand view of how desperate situations change us. She is pushed into uncomfortable relationships, forced to act in ways that previously would have been against her nature and generally tortured by the author in a way that I find most entertaining.

This is a novel that hangs perilously close to the Young Adult / Adult borderline. It is often violent, frequently filled with abusive language and includes quite a few sexual references. But then it is a zombie novel so it wasn’t likely to be a PG affair in any case.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped: A Zombie Novel – Madeleine Roux

Published January 18, 2011, by St Martin’s Griffin

Paperback, 352 pages