Eeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I was woken up in the very best way possible: my ARCs arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here they are (7 out of the 8, anyway - the 8th had gone on an exciting trip with Patrick and MrD :) ) with my writing tiara and the Jane Austen action figure who stood on my desk the whole time I was drafting the novel:


Here's the title page:



MrD wants his own copy:


This is as close as he's allowed to come right now:


And Maya expresses her appreciation as the literary dog of the house:



Right now I'm listening to the happiest music I know, which is Franz Lehar's Die Lüstige Witwe (The Merry Widow), silly and exuberant and joyful. I've danced all over the house with my ARCs. I am feeling just so incredibly happy. :)

One copy is for me to keep; one copy goes to my mom and dad; one copy goes to the Tenners; and the other five are being set aside to use in online giveaway competitions over the next several months. I'm trying to be really, really strong and not start giving them away until January, since the book won't be published until the end of April...but I am feeling a huge urge to give something away, so keep an eye on this space over the next month! I might time it to coincide with Simon & Schuster's Blogfest. Hmm....

Now I have to go back to ogling and cuddling my ARCs like a madwoman! :)