Not The "Finally" I Really Want, But Finally!

Zee Avi, aka Kokokaina, is finally releasing a debut CD (May 19th)! Woohoo! She's on the same label as Jack Johnson, which I think is very fitting as her music makes me happy and relaxed. Do yourself a favor and pre-order it. I did!

I'm still waiting to hear from a particular agent on my most recent revision. If I bit my nails they'd be down to nubs right now. If anyone knows of some good relaxation techniques I could sure use them right now!

Cindy Pon's book (The Silver Phoenix) was released last week, and I'm a. jealous, and b. excited for her. Her book launch was a big success. Congrats are in order!

Resurfacing from Revisions

Currently Listening To: The local morning news
Currently Reading: Little Dorrit

I've been working on another revision of my novel. A lot has changed since I first wrote this novel, but I still feel very strongly about my characters, and I hope this new incarnation will be the one that wins people over.

I was promoted at work (woohoo!), but it's led to a lot more responsibility and as such, a lot more of my time. I'm much happier with my job though. For the first time since I quit the bookstore (Barnes and Noble) I don't mind going into work. My boss is very kind and lets me make my own schedule. The coworkers are highly amusing, and I often find myself laughing hysterically.

R. and I are still planning our wedding. We have most everything decided, but we're still working on our menu, and such. We decided to go to Destin, Florida for our honeymoon. It's beautiful and inexpensive (see the photo; I took that a few years ago in Destin).

Whew! Now that I've updated, I need to read everyone else's blogs. I've missed so much!

It's Been So Long

But I'm going to update in just a little bit.

Where I've Been

Photo of my adorable puppy Bowser Digby.

Currently Reading: Another Eva Ibbotsen novel :)
Currently Listening to: Channel 19 Morning News

Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote. I've lost 10 pounds (woohoo), my grandfather passed, and my uncle had a stroke. It's been rough. But I'm dealing with all that has happened in the past year as best I can. My novel has suffered somewhat from my preoccupation but I'm ready to focus my attention on it wholeheartedly.
I love the above dresses for my bridesmaid Stacey (I decided to use different styles for each bridesmaid, so that they could each look fabulous). She's going to look gorgeous.

I purchase Graceling yesterday and I can't wait to give it a try. The publisher created a movie trailer for it that (though cheesy) convinced me I had to read it. The main character has two different colored eyes, which I was disturbed to discover as my mc does as well. Does that make me unoriginal? Below is the amazon.com address where you can find the video.

http://www.amazon.com/Graceling-Kristin-Cashore/dp/015206396X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234791416&sr=8-1

What's Up In The World Of Maggie

Currently Reading: Nothing (sad isn't it?)
Currently Listening to: The Veronicas

I heard from a very reliable source that the revisions on my first chapter were positive and on the right track to bring the book in a slightly different direction. What, you may ask, is the direction I'm going for? Well I've been told that my MC is too introspective. Her internal conversations are making the book a quiet read, instead of the fun, fast story it was meant to be. And as such I'm revising again.

If you read my last entry you'd know that I was reading The Luxe. After getting through about 50 pages I put it down and haven't picked it back up. I'm not sure why exactly. It's not terrible, in fact, from what I read it has great promise. I think I've simply been too busy and the characters didn't grab my interest fast enough.

I've discovered recently that I quite like being an Accountant. It's not dry and boring like one might suppose (most of the time). I enjoy seeing what the company spends money on...it's a window into the world of insanity.

My wedding is now only 9 months away. Gah! I need to plan, plan, plan, starting with going to a trainer tomorrow. My body has to have some serious fine tuning before I walk down the aisle. Especially if I want to fit into one of these dresses:

Encourage Me!

Currently Listening To: Nickel Creek "When You Come Back Down"
Currently Reading: The Luxe

I've started an intensive rewrite of my first chapter, and it's giving me a lot of trouble this time around. I've now been sitting in front of my computer typing for 7 hours, during which I've managed to type 3 pages (at least 3 that I'm satisfied with). It's possibly the most frustrated I've ever been with my novel. I love Imogene (my mc), now if she'd only do something interesting!

I finished Nefertiti yesterday and found it merely readable. My main issue with it was the passage of time. Years go by in a few pages, and I felt cheated. I wanted to know what happened in the years the author breezed over so often. Another little irritant was that Nefertiti seemed to be nothing more than (excuse the coarse wording) a breeding mare. She has six children and as such is always either pregnant, or about to become pregnant...

I'm only two pages into The Luxe, so it's impossible to judge it at this moment, but I'll be sure to post what I think of it.

Back to Revising (A Very Short Post)

Well, as you can clearly see from the title of this post, I am revising my novel once again. I took a good bit of time this week to celebrate the holidays, and now I have to get down to work. The introductory chapter needs to become stellar and impossible to resist. That's the first of many mini goals I have for this revision. I'll keep you posted on how it goes, and how the agent situation is coming along.