Have you ever wanted to make the world go away for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks? I guess that’s what vacations are for. And I haven’t had one of those in a few years. But I remember one on which my husband and I were on a mission–he wanted the find the best chocolate in the world, and I wanted to find the best apple strudel. We traveled to nine countries in Europe that autumn. He found his favorite chocolate in Belgium; I found my favorite strudel in an Austrian village.

Daydreaming and gardens go together, don’t they?

I haven’t felt much like going out into the world these days–although I’ve had BEELINE TO MURDER book publicity events in October and more coming up in November. For the last couple of days, though, I’ve been in a baking mood and just want to try out new recipes, work in my garden, watch the bees on the cosmos, and hang out daydreaming on my yard swing.

That’s not all bad because creative writers do some of their best thinking while doing mundane tasks or simply hanging out. Maya Angelou observed that every writer finds his or her own secret path to the muse. The renown mystery suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark once explained that she wrote her books after the kids had gone to bed, and she was doing the laundry. E.B. White once noted that delay is natural to a writer. “He’s like a surfer–he bides his time, waits for the perfect wave on which to ride in.” (Paris Review 1969)

So, while I hang out, I can think about which recipes to include in the new novel I’m writing. The more mouth-watering, the better. This novel will be number three in the Henny Penny Farmette series and have tie-ins to an artisan chocolatier and a winery. It should be the most fun yet in terms of the recipes. I mean even if things go somewhat badly, chocolate and wine will always make you feel better. Right?