Tour: Oracle of Philadelphia by Elizabeth Corrigan (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Happy Easter my friends, I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends - whether you are celebrating or not. : ) Today I would like to give a warm welcome as well as a thank you to, Elizabeth Corrigan, for joining us on this holiday! 

Reading vs. Writing

Among my friends and family, I am known for being especially picky about my reading and viewing habits. On any given occasion, a friend might mention a book or movie that he particularly enjoyed, and I will ask, “But would I like it?” The answer, quite often, is no. I have some friends who automatically view everything with an “Elizabeth-friendly” filter so they can make sure to recommend only things that I’ll like.

It’s not that I have particularly refined tastes. In fact, just the opposite—things that garner literary accolades or Academy Award nominations are often deemed too depressing for my tastes. I don’t like stories about wars or ones based on true stories. I eschew anything that doesn’t have any female characters, and if it doesn’t have a paranormal element, I’ll probably skip it. I joke that I don’t like stories that don’t end “And they all got married and lived happily ever after.” Except I’m not really joking. If it isn’t YA paranormal fantasy or a romantic comedy about zombies or mental illness, I’ll probably save my time and money.

One day as I was ruminating on my possibly too narrow tastes, I got to wondering whether my own book met my exacting standards. To some extent I realized that this was a pointless endeavor, as is any attempt by an author to evaluate her own work. I kept thinking I was like one of those authors who say “I think my new series is very different from my old one!” when readers find the works practically identical. I may think my work is so different from the things I read when, to everyone else, they are practically carbon copies. Nonetheless, I thought the thought exercise worth continuing.

In some ways, my work is guaranteed to appeal to me. It reflects my worldview—the good guys have virtues I respect, and the morals tell everyone they should adhere to my own ethical standards. The book also reflects my sense of humor. Sometimes when I’m rereading a draft, I will come across a joke that I had forgotten, and it will make me laugh out loud, but I have to wonder whether it would have the same effect on someone who didn’t have my exact thought process. In other basic ways, my books reflect my reading preferences. I read urban fantasy, so I write urban fantasy. I couldn’t even imagine writing a mystery or a romance or anything that didn’t at least have some element of the paranormal in it.

On the other hand, some of my personal preferences, like my desire for everything to be happy, stem from the fact that my natural tendencies are to do the opposite. I like reading stories that end well because I tend to think about depressing things. And though my books are far from gritty—one of my editors described it as a “G-rated version of Hell”—I think that there’s a degree of darkness in my work that I wouldn’t want to read about. And as to whether the Earthbound Angels series will end happily, I’m not going to tell you that. Not just because then none of you would buy it but because I haven’t quite decided whether I want the closure of a happy ending or the poetry of a sad one.

There is also the issue of romance.  I have a preference for romance in my books, though I also require that there be a compelling plot to accompany it. I worry that Oracle of Philadelphia, which only has hints of romance, would be a little bit lacking in that department for my taste. But, then, I also appreciate love stories that take the time to grow over the course of several novels, and I like to think that the story of Oracle would draw me in enough that I would wait to watch the characters’ relationships develop.

So, in the end, would I read and enjoy Oracle of Philadelphia? I like to think that I would. But I’m also really picky, so even I wouldn’t, you should give it a try. ;-)

Carrie works at a diner in South Philadelphia, dispensing advice to humans and angels wise enough to seek her counsel. But there are some problems that even the best advice can’t solve.
Her latest supplicant, Sebastian, is unique among those who have sought her aid. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his sister’s life, but his heart remains pure.
Carrie has lived for millennia with the knowledge that her immortality is due to the suffering of others, and she cannot bear to see another good man damned when it is within her power to prevent it.
In order to renegotiate his contract, Carrie must travel into the depths of hell and parley with the demons that control its pathways. As the cost of her journey rises, Carrie must determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to save one good soul.

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About the Author:

Elizabeth has degrees in English and psychology andhas spent several years working as a data analyst in various branches of the healthcare industry. When she’s not hard at work on her next novel, Elizabeth enjoys singing, reading teen vampire novels, and making Sims of her characters. She drinks more Diet Coke than is probably optimal for the human body and is pathologically afraid of bees. She lives in Maryland with two cats and a purple Smart Car. 

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