Spent a while this…

Spent a while this morning reading through and posting some responses to the Contest Entry Fees? topic at the SLF forum. (In general, our poor forum is underused, which makes me sad -- I wish more people were using it to just chat. But perhaps that is the fate of most forums these days...hopefully it'll get more use over time.) Interesting mixed responses to the idea -- quite a few people strongly against, some think it's fine, some can't see what the issue is at all. (I admit, I mostly fall into the latter camp -- even when I wouldn't enter such a contest myself, I have no problem with groups running them, especially if it isn't the only thing they do.)

I'm hoping to actually do some writing today on the YA novel -- I ended up not only finishing McKinley's Sunshine yesterday (lovely and well-written, but it's not The Hero and the Crown, and I suspect I'll be forever disappointed with her work as a result, which is totally unfair to her, but what can you do? This one will go over well with Laurell K. Hamilton fans (and possibly Kushiel fans too)), but also reading Hamilton's new Meredith Gentry novel, which really just seemed to be about accumulating more men for Merry to have sex with. Which is fine. I'm very tempted to just go back to the bookstore today and read more, because there's a new Guy Gavriel Kay out in hardback!!! But I will be strong, and wait 'til tomorrow.

Tonight, my sister and a friend are coming for dinner, and we'll be doing some experimental cooking, mostly from Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger cookbook. Some sort of grilled shrimp appetizer (either his pesto shrimp or the Epicurious coconut shrimp with peanut sauce), served with mango martinis. Pho (a vietnamese soup with fresh herbs and chili and rice noodles and really good beef sliced thin). Grilled duck with candied pecans, pear chutney, and sweet potato puree. Vanilla creme brulee. Yum. I might have to spend an extra hour at the gym, though. :-)