Has a year gone by already? Is it really going to be November 1st the day after tomorrow? Yes, and that means I've signed up to participate in another year of the frenzied National Novel Writing Month. Beginning November 1st, just after midnight Monday night, I will start drafting the next novel in the Mallard River Bend Murder series. This will be number three in the series. Dead in the Water at Mallard River Bend, A Campground Murder Mystery.

I'm excited and a bit melancholy at the same time. Just eleven short days after I finished last year's NaNo draft, I lost my husband to Kidney failure. It's been a hard year for me, and even though I'm looking forward to writing this draft, I'm may not be moving through it as fast as I usually do. My campground aficionado will not be here to cheer me on and answer endless question on campground equipment, cars, boats, etc. My easy-answer-man is out of range. That means more research.

I'm usually much further along in my pre-writing preparations by now. But I'm okay. I've got enough research and profiling done to at least get started writing. Dead in the Water is going to be a Father's Day Fiasco at Spit and Dolly's campground. Lots of things will be happening, including a couple of murders.

Wish me good writing days ahead. I'll be busy for the next thirty days pounding keys, staying up late, and sleeping late. This year I've added a pink sequined cap to my writing tokens. I'll disappear into my writing cave with Glorian, my writing cave-dragon, wearing my flashy pink cap while I let go of my mind and create another make-believe world of mayhem and disaster.

For those moments that I am in the real world, I'll still be building inventory for Christmas on my Etsy Shop site. Watch the sidebar for new items coming up. This will be a test to me to see if I can keep up crafting inventory for my shop and spend the necessary hours at the computer to reach my goal of 50,000 plus words by the end of November.