Ummmmm. . . I don't believe you that portraits aren't your strong side -- but then -- when you consider the bar that your landscapes have put on your work, I guess it would be pretty hard to measure anything up to that bar :) But for the record, I'd say your "not strong side" is better than most people's "strong side"! I like how you can see the texture in her skin. And I like the high contrast.
I like the overall composition of this photo. I am interested in the details of your processing, and wonder if you can fix what is going on with her black shirt.
A belated congrats from me as well! Lovely portrait. Great smile. Like the "old postcard" look, but would love to see how this looks with more traditional processing as well.