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.

The Holiday Haul

As Promised

An update!

First things first...I am no longer a client of ABLA. Jennifer and I separated amicably, and I'm still confident in my novel.
So I'm currently in the market for an agent :)

I got The Tudors in the mail a few days ago, but I haven't touched it yet. I actually took the time recently to watch the first season of Veronica Mars. I loved it. Kristin Bell is adorable, and her character is surprisingly likable. She has quite a few memorable quips. Throughout the first season she is trying to solve the murder of her best friend Lily and there are a number of twists and turns (including possible incest). The identity of the murderer was a bit of a shock to me. Maybe I'm just blind when it comes to mysteries. Anyway I'd really reccomend the show. It was highly entertaining. I think if you liked the first two seasons of Buffy you'd like Veronica Mars. I can't wait to see the second season...The Tudors may have to wait a while longer.

I've worked a bit on my second novel, adding more backstory to my two main characters. But as you can tell from my word count meter it's slow going.

On February 2nd I will begin covering the Accountant's position at my job. He's leaving for 4 to 6 months for spinal surgery. I'm both nervous and excited, mostly nervous though. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I need all I can get just about now.

Coming Soon...

An update!

A Thanksgiving Birthday

Currently Reading: Into The Wilderness by Sara Donati

Currently Listening To: Harry Connick Jr.

This year my birthday fell on Thanksgiving day. I'm officially 24 years old. (How frightening!) My parents, R. and I traveled to Chicago to celebrate with my sister and her husband. It was absoluetly lovely! We stayed at the Hyatt Regency on Wacker, right next to Michigan Avenue. We reserved a couple of the basic rooms but when we got there they upgraded us to a suite at no extra charge. Apparently they'd over booked the other rooms. R. and I had a magnificent view of the lake and Navy Pier.

After we arrived R. and I took a romantic evening walk down Michigan. The christmas lights were up, and street musicians were playing holiday tunes. We stopped at the Ghirardelli ice cream shop, and I got a peppermint bark sundae. Delicious! I couldn't even finish half of it though, it was way too big. The next day was Thanksgiving, so we spent the day at my sister's in Roger's Park. She lives in a delightful gray stone, only about 2 blocks from the lake.

I received some cash for my birthday and as such I've just treated myself to The Tudors Season One. I've never seen it and I'm really looking forward to it. Amazon.com has it for only $19.99! Not bad, eh?

Still no word from Jennifer yet.

A Long Over-Due Update

Let's just take a minute and sigh in relief. I finished my revisions!!! Okay now that that's over it's time for extreme anxiety. My novel was emailed to my agent two days ago and the familiar panic is creeping up on me. Everytime I've sent my novel to my agent (Michelle before, now Jennifer) I start to think that it's absolute crap. From the very second I press "send" my nerves shudder and protest. So now I must wait to see what Jennifer thinks...


In the meantime I saw Twilight this weekend. I have to say that I loved it. There's just something wonderful about seeing one of your favorite books played out. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the actors chosen to play the other vampires. The only exception to that was the guy that played Jasper. He was nothing like what I'd imagined. But it didn't bother me too much.


I think just about every teen author is horrifically jealous of Stephenie Meyer right now. I know I sure am. And strangely that jealousy has absolutely nothing to do with the fame or the money. It's about writing a novel that people fall in love with; writing characters that people fall in love with.


And so I'm jealous.


I read Midwife of the Blue Ridge recently. It's by Christine Blevins, a fellow AWer, and it was very fun. I marveled at her handle of dialects. Definitely not my strong point. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys American History.

I'm currently reading Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. I've had my eye on it for a while and finally decided to purcahse it. It grabbed me instantly. I'm always impressed when a novel does that. It's so hard for an author to accomplish it. It takes place in upstate NY, 1792. An English spinster leaves her home to join her father on his homestead, where she believes she will be a teacher. When she arrives she realizes that her father actually means to marry her off to save himself from his debts. She's refused so far. And of course there is an unsuitable man that has caught her attention. In a strange way the novel is a continuation of The Last of the Mohicans. Hawkeye is the father of her love interest.

So in addition to reading I've started to work again on my second novel. It takes place in the Pre-Civil War Ohio Valley. Can you tell that I absolutely love historical novels? I'm not very far into it at all, but I'm quickly falling in love with my main characters.

So here's keeping my fingers crossed that Jennifer likes my revisions (feel free to pray for me, if you're of the praying kind)!

Abientot!

Lost in Austen = Lost in Love

Tonight I am fervently happy to be the owner of a region free dvd player. After a day of school and writing, I came home to watch ITV's production of Lost in Austen. Absolutely everything about this mini-series is delightful. Humor, drama, and romance are all jam packed in this story. Jemima Rooper is fantastic as the improper Amanda Price. She's so busy trying to keep the novel on track that she mixes up everything! I was so engrossed in the story that none of the changes to the classic novel bothered me! The ending is beautiful, witty, and dare I say, perfect?! If you have a region free player buy this from Amazon.co.uk! If you don't then get one so you can watch it!

I did vote today, but I'd like to stay neutral on politics I'll not broach the topic anymore than that.

I've written around 2500 words so far for the month. It's a slow start, but I'm pleased with what I've done. I still haven't started reading another book. I'm going to stand by my pledge to finish my revisions first.

Peace.