Should I Write a Cookbook?

My mind is wild place most of the time. I'm thinking about fifty things at once. That's not always a good thing, especially when I need to be concentrating on one project.

I'm currently in the midst of editing and revising my novel, Christy's Cursed Legacy. Without giving away too much of the plot, I feel good about telling you that there is a curse with which Christy struggles. I'm not familiar with such things, so I conducted research when I originally wrote the rough draft and included what I had found.

Now that I reread it, I hate it. The curse I used isn't from Ozark Mountain folklore. Since my book is set in the Missouri Ozark Mountains, I want to be authentic. Therefore, I spent a good portion of last weekend reading books from 1932 and 1947, which discussed such things. I thought I had a good handle on an appropriate curse and had already rewritten much of that plot point when I happened across a documentary referring to the author of my two sources.

Apparently, the people he interviewed admitted to holding back information because he was an outsider. They told him enough to pique his interest and satisfy his curiosity, but not the whole story. I can definitely see that. So, I ordered three new books by an author who is a native to the area and discusses Ozark Mountain folklore and magic.

Throughout this process, I kept thinking about writing a cookbook. I have two complete rough drafts and three nearly complete rough drafts of books ranging from cozy mysteries to steamy romances that I need to finish and get to an editor. I should be focusing on finishing those projects and working toward publication.

Instead, I'm obsessing about what family recipes I would include if I wrote a cookbook. I find myself contemplating what sort of cover I would use and how many pages would be a good number. I've been wondering about who would take the photos or if I should do that myself.

My main problem is not a lack of ideas, but rather it is a lack of time to bring my ideas to fruition. I have been contemplating taking some vacation time to isolate myself and write. If I live to be 100 years old, I won't be able to write a book for every book idea floating around in my head.

Should I write a cookbook, though? I'm just a simple country cook with no formal training. What do you think?

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