R. Asked Me!!!!

I'm engaged!!!! Woohoo!!! R. proposed to me on top of the Carew Tower yesterday afternoon. The Carew Tower is the tallest building in Cincinnati, and the view is spectacular. He got down on one knee and asked me, with a gorgeous ring in his hand! It's fabulous! After we left the Tower we walked up a block to Palamino and had an elegant lunch. And then I made him take me to Barnes and Noble so I could buy my wedding planner. Hehe.

Me Me :)

Cindy tagged me for a Me Me a few days ago, so now I'm going to play ;). Here we go:

1. What are your nicknames?

Answer: Mags, Mag, Maggles, Margo, Margie, Maggie Jeanne Jelly Bean, the list just goes on and on. For some reason people love to give me nicknames.

2. What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?

Answer: I was 12 years old, and I bought Ever After on DVD. Man I loved that movie!

3. What is your favorite scent?

Answer: Pumpkin Pie

4. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to?

Answer: Right now I'd have to say Destin, Florida. Yes I know I go there almost every year, but seriously it's paradise. The white sandy beaches, clear turquoise water, and delicious salt breezes always get to me.

5. Do you trust easily?

Answer: No. I don't think I do. Or rather, I trust, but when someone betrays that trust, it's difficult to get it back.

6. Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?

Answer: Oh goodness. I speak before I think, but think before I act. The former often gets me in trouble.

7. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?

Answer: Recently, just work. But those issues seem to have been resolved, so life is good!

8. Do you have a good body image?

Answer: Um, maybe?

9. What is your favorite fruit?

Answer: Strawberries!

10. What websites do you visit daily?

Answer: Hotmail, Gmail, AbsoluteWrite, BuyCincy, Cindy's Blog ;)

11. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?

Answer: Chocolate soy milk, Dexter, Revising, and Email.

12. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Answer: She's sweet, beautiful, nice, always willing to cheer me up :), positive, and tons of fun!

13. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?

Answer: "Where I Stood", by Missy Higgins. If you don't love that song, you need your ears checked!

14. What's your favorite item of clothing?

Answer: My pink pajama pants from Gap! They are sooo comfy.

15. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?

Answer: Yup.

16. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?

Answer: I'd make sure the owner was nowhere to be found then take a trip to the book store.

17. What items could you not go without during the day?

Answer: My laptop, my toothbrush, and a book.

18. What should you be doing right now?

Revising!

Oh, The Joy Of Reading!

If you have the time READ THIS BOOK!!! I was very engrossed in this novel. Anna is a Russian Countess forced to flee her home country during the revolution. She ends up in England, and takes a position as a lowly maid in the home of an Earl. She quickly falls in love with him, as well as her surroundings. But the Earl is already engaged to a wealthy, beautiful, and evil woman. The characters are well drawn, and the plot is comfortably paced (not too fast, not too slow). Oh and did I mention the compelling romance?

Well because I loved A Countess Below Stairs so much I immediately went out and purchased A Company of Swans. That was a very smart decision. It was just as good if not better. Harriet is a repressed young girl in turn of the century England. She runs from her cold father and aunt to join a company of dancers who are traveling to the Amazon to perform. She meets the man of her dreams, but doesn't know that her father has sent someone to bring her back, whether she wants to or not. Both of these novels were significantly more entertaining than Sovay. I can't wait to read the rest of Eva's novels!!!

There was a huge power outage here in Cincinnati while I was on vacation, so unfortunately I was unable to finish my novel. But I will finish it within the next month!

Drum Roll Please...

And my new agent is...Jennifer Laughran. Happy times :D

A Book Review (While I'm Waiting)

Currently Reading: A Countess Below Stairs
Currently Watching: "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 2"

I'm still waiting to hear from the agency. I've learned through the grapevine that the agents are currently reading our stuff, and that they'll get back to us next week. So I've had another weekend of trying not to think about it.



I finished Sovay. It was very readable, and entertaining but there were a few things about it that bothered me. Sovay had 5 potential love interests (who all thought she was gorgeous and wanted her), and it wasn't clear who she was interested in until the last 50 pages. Another thing that bothered me is that in the middle of this very non-gothic novel is a section of about 80 pages that drip with gothic horror. I absolutely love gothic novels, but in this book the descriptions just felt ridiculous. It seemed like I'd picked up The Mysteries of Udolpho again. That's just my opinion. You might feel differently. It really is worth reading though. I think the last 100 pages were wonderful.

I'll let you know what I think about A Countess Below Stairs when I finish it.

I finally got my region free dvd player!!!! Hurray!!! British DVDs here I come!

I'm on vacation this week and I think I might finish my revisions this week! I have to say that even after all these revisions I still love my characters. That's probably a good thing ;) . Keep me in your prayers!

The Waiting Game

Michelle sent out another email saying that the agency would be in touch next week. So this weekend I've been trying not to think about it too much. R. was very sweet and bought me a few books that I was drooling over yesterday. They are both YA. I started Sovay and it's pretty good. I've never read anything by Celia Rees, but I'm impressed.

R. and I rented True Blood (just the first episode) from Blockbuster yesterday. It was very entertaining, but there was a vampire/human sex scene that was...well let's just say disturbing. Just warning you.

My vacation from work is coming up on Saturday (woohoo!) and I plan to spend some solid days doing nothing but writing. I'm not going out of town but R. and I are planning to go to the zoo, a musical version of Jane Austen's Emma, and the Renaissance Festival. It sounds like a great time to me!

If you don't mind, please remember to keep me in your prayers!

P.S. I gave up on The Mysteries of Udolpho. I found myself exceedingly bored.

CHANGE IS A GOOD THING (she tells herself)

Michelle Andelman (my agent) has left the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She will not longer be representing clients. The rest of the agents from ABLA will be taking on her clients. The fact that I still have an agent is something I am VERY, VERY GRATEFUL for. Now I just have to wait and find out who my new agent will be. I'm hopeful, excited, and just a bit scared (the new agent may not like my novel as much as Michelle did). Please keep me in your prayers!