Halloween has passed and we’re already into November. Where did the time go? The days are flying by and I’m still not done with either book. The worst of it is, these are only first drafts and they’re two diamonds in the rough. I have a friend who is also a novelist and saw that she released three books over the summer. I contacted her and asked how she managed to accomplish this amazing feat. She told me these books were written a long time ago and she had pulled the manuscripts out of a drawer and reworked them — which takes much less time than writing a whole book from scratch. Kudos to her. Nuts to me.

Food for Thought is very close to completion (first draft) and Recurring isn’t. I’m overthinking it and to make matters even worse, my doctor, who discusses my writing projects with me whenever I see him, gave me a suggestion during a recent check-up. Because Recurring centers on a pharmaceutical company, I paid strict attention — I mean, a doctor should know, right? Especially one who had a pharm rep following him around the office the whole time I was there. Anyway, I kind of liked the new angle and went with it, which further complicates an already intricate plot. The thing is, I’d love to have the book done by the beginning of the new year. I have an agent interested in reading the final draft and need to strike while the iron is hot. Talk about pressure.

Back to Food for Thought — below is something I thought I should share with Colleen Caruso fans. Colleen has been a Twinkies lover since New Math is Murder, but I originally had Drake’s Funny Bones as her go-to snack. When the company stopped making the delicious peanut butter-filled cakes, I had to change her favorite munch because they no longer existed. I’m happy to report that Funny Bones are back!

Yeah, Baby! They’re back! I found these on the shelf in a local Shop Rite and gasped when I saw them. I wanted to tell the world, or at least every shopper in the store. You guessed it, these are my favorite snacks — just the thing to sabotage my diet. Gee, and I was doing so well . . .

Anyway, I was toying with the idea of changing the title of Food for Thought to Another Man’s Poison. I don’t know. I had this book plan laid out in my brain (and in a notebook) for three years and conceived it as Food for Thought, but the new title sounds more intriguing.  The original title of New Math was changed at the request of the publisher (originally titled The Academics of Murder), so it’s no big deal. All titles are working titles anyway. Any thoughts about the change, guys and gals? Let me know.

So it’s back to work on a Sunday night for me because I have no life, I’m a writer.

I hope everybody has a wonderful week.