Last night my husband and I watched Once. I can’t remember where I heard them, but I heard some very good things (maybe some Oscar buzz…) and so I checked it out from the library.

And while it deviated completely from our normal fare, I really enjoyed it (and I think my husband did too–he was sort of vague on his opinion). Most particularly I liked her: Marketa Irglova. She seemed so different from your run-of-the-mill heroine. She was spunky and in your face, and she didn’t let her male counterpart get away with anything he shouldn’t be. I also loved the part where she was dragging her Hoover vaccuum along the Dublin streets like a little dog on a leash. Hilarious!

I suppose it should be considered a musical, even though I didn’t think of it as one while I was watching. The music just seemed to be in all the places that it should be. But all in all, it was a quick (86 minutes!), fun, very entertaining film. I recommend it.

Barrie invited me to join in a fun 4th of July-inspired recipe exchange. I decided to share my MIL’s recipe for macaroni salad. I don’t know where she got the recipe, but I’ve gotten a lot of rave reviews. And it makes a big old bowl, marinating itself as the days go by…

Marinated Mostaccioli *
(As evidenced by the name of the recipe, it calls for mostaccioli, but as I think that noodle is a little unwieldy, I use penne–just as good)

1 16 oz. pkg mostaccioli (penne), cooked and drained

Cook the following together:
1 1/2 c. cider vinegar
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarse pepper
1 tsp. garlic or garlic salt
2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

Chop:
1 medium red onion
1 medium cucumber
1/2 gr. (or colorful) pepper

Mix noodles, vegetables, and marinade. MUST stand overnight.

Enjoy!

Now, head over to Barrie’s to see what other yummy recipes have been shared!
Happy 4th!

It astounds me that in this, the twenty-first century, there are still those hold-out folks who don’t have a website. For this post, you can assume that I’m referring particularly to the elusive, contact-by-snail-mail-only literary agencies. I can’t quite understand the lack of an online presence. Even if an agency is not accepting online queries (a whole other topic…), doesn’t it seem like a savvy business decision to have website to introduce yourself, to specify submission requirements, to spotlight author clients, to provide contact information?? Certainly there are other ways for a curious person to obtain all this information, but they’re not nearly as efficient, nor as likely to be as up-to-the-minute accurate as an agency’s own website.

And I’ve got to admit, I like to see a photo of the agent I’m querying. Some agency websites keep things very mysterious and never show anyone’s face, and I don’t really get this either. I think it’s easier to make a connection if you’ve seen a picture, but maybe that’s just me. This may be crazy, but I view agent compatibility in kind of the same way that I view book compatibility. If a book cover ‘talks’ to me and the book’s gotten good reviews, or I’ve heard about it, then I go for it. Similarly, if the agent looks to be someone with whom I could get along or with whom I might have a good rapport, and I’m familar with her clients or have heard good things, (and of course, if she’s looking to represent the type of book I’m trying to sell), I figure why not go for it. But without that photo, I’m going in blind. I’ve even been known to use Google Images to try to pinpoint what an agent might look like. Some of them keep a veerrry low profile, and that, my friends, is extraordinarily frustrating.

And so goes my agent hunt…