Great YA book

I just finished reading Veronica Roth's Divergent and Insurgent. At first, the novels reminded me of Hunger Games. But I got so engaged in the story and the characters that I forgot all about the similarities. Tris and Four were amazing characters. The ancillary characters were equally as dynamic. The concept of factions based on attributes was very compelling. I loved the fact that there were people like Tris who broke these molds. I can't wait to read the third book. Does anyone have any recommendations for my next read?

Author Opinions Needed

I received my first two personal notes on rejection letters from agents that I had queried. I feel like it is a small victory. Now the question is how do I use those personal messages? One said that they weren't sure what to do with a self published novel as opposed to one that was yet unpublished. But she praised the story as creative and well written. I thought when I finish my next novel, she would be one of the first agents I would query with a "Hey do you remember me...". The other note was on the novel that I am currently writing. The agent said the story had tons of potential but they felt it needed more work before it is sent out as a query. I agree with that statement wholeheartedly since the novel is not finished. I am going to add this agent to query when it is completed. Any other advice on how to use personal comments to enhance a query letter?

Icing Recipe

I am looking for a good icing recipe to compliment a fudge chocolate cake. Yesterday I made my first Barbie Cake for my 4 year olds birthday party. You moms of little girls will know the cake. It's the one where the cake is the dress and you stick a Barbie head and torso on the top of the dress. The cake recipe that I used was from Southern Living and it was delicious. But I wasn't as sold on the Vanilla Buttercream icing that went with it. It was too sugary for me. Any suggestions of something that might go better? This will definitely be my new go to chocolate cake recipe.

Great new music

I downloaded Skylar Grey's new album. I am amazed at how talented she is. There are very few albums that I can listen to all the way through without fastforwarding to the next song but this is one of those few. I think it's because Skylar is such a great songwriter and when you pair that with her beautiful voice you want to listen to every word. Her voice is haunting in the best way possible. It makes you feel and then sticks with you. The album tells a story from start to finish. There is not a song in there that seems out of place. I have loved Skylar's ballads like Coming Home, but was loving the up tempo ones as well. Can't wait to hear more from this talented artist.