Have you participated? Are you in with me this year? NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is, at once, frustrating, thrilling, exhausting, fun, stimulating, engaging and a few more descriptors I’m sure all of you who’ve done it could add. When, every day, for 30 days in November (and if the truth be told at least a couple of weeks before that) you are absorbed in creating that novel you’ve been dreaming of and putting off but then the little things, like feeding the family, can feel onerous and invasive, as well as, disruptive and . . . well, you get the idea. This is my 11th year of beginning the race toward 50,000 words in 30 days. That is an average of 1,667 words each day, or roughly seven pages. Some years I make it, and some years I don’t get to that goal. Occasionally, I’ve even written more than 50K words. Woohoo! Even when I don’t get to 50K, however, I still have more words done on my nascent novel than I had on October 31st. That’s a big win, no matter what. I pamper myself a little bit during this month. Ordinarily, I drink my coffee strong and black. During NaNoWriMo, however, I indulge in flavored coffee creamer. This year it’s Sweet Italian Cream and Caramel Macchiato. Yum! I am a meal planner by nature, but that becomes even more important during NaNoWriMo. One roast chicken can provide four or more nights of dinners—roast chicken and noodles, chicken enchiladas, chicken tetrazzini, and chicken noodle soup from the scraps of the carcass boiled down in my slow cooker for 24 hours. Plan ahead. Cook ahead. Combine leftovers for a new look. That’s my M.O. Speaking of which, I have combined my two major interests, mysteries and cooking, to create a series of six culinary mysteries. The mystery I’m working on for NaNoWriMo this year is Tequila Mockingbird. At the back are recipes which use alcohol as a major ingredient. I have a recipes tab where I will include recipes from the various culinary mysteries each month. Check out the titles of my mysteries and other books under the Books tab. I also have a newsletter with writing news as well as the recipe of the month. Back to my month of writing madly. I am making a special dessert that will last us four meals. I put it as the first recipe this month. It is rich and decadent and not a diet food! In the freezer, I have stored a number of one-layer, six-inch cakes that will be dessert for two nights each. They are coconut, pineapple upside down, and carrot cakes. DH does like his sweets! As you can tell, I don’t do diet during National Novel Writing Month, because I am too busy writing my bestseller!