Places I Write

Places I Write (Author in Space)

I enjoy seeing—and am sometimes envious of—the lovely spaces my author friends have created for their writing. I've always said that if I win the lottery, I'll decorate my office to look like a starship bridge. Until that day, these are some of the places I write.

Like all authors, I have to fit writing time in between slices of Having a Life. Families, day jobs, obligations, cats, and unexpected events often get priority, as they mostly should. I solve the some of the problem by having multiple locations in which to write.

Basement Office, a.k.a. The Black Hole Under My House

Low ceilings? Check. Ugly 1970’s decor? Ridiculous windows? Check. Inadequate lighting and power? Double check.

That’s my basement office. But it’s also warm and quiet, with room for all the crap I’ve collected since the Jurassic age. My declutter/Mari Kondo/Swedish Death Cleaning project is a work in progress, and usually last on my list of things to do.

Carol’s cluttered basement office, with occasional cats

I love big monitors, and would have three if I had the room. I could probably move things around to accommodate that, but where would I put the cats?

Judgmental cat asks why the author isn't writing.

Coffee Shop

This is the approach to the Loveland Coffee Company in Loveland, CO, where I usually go three or four times a month. If I’m lucky, I snag the comfy chair near the electrical outlet.

The best chair in Loveland Coffee

Is it quiet? No. Does it have cats? No. But it has hot chai tea latte to make up for it. I deliberately trained myself to work with music overhead and conversations all around. That way, I can work more places. I don’t make as much steady progress as when I’m at home, but every paragraph helps when deadlines are looming.

I can work similarly at restaurants, repair shop waiting areas, airport terminals, and libraries. Hotel rooms are especially nice because of two words: Room Service.

Bedroom

For all that I love my basement, it’s sometimes too distracting. All my fun toys are down there, too—graphics programs, crafting tools, etc. So, for a change of scenery, I set up shop in the sun room (which we built for the cats) and in the bedroom.

Visitors to the sun room must pay the petting tax

The author, with observer cat

The cats love the bedroom because they can sprawl nearby or crowd onto my lap, according to their preference. They believe all stories are vastly improved by the inclusion of felines. I admit to having succumbed to their hypnotic suggestions, so about half my books have cats in them.

Such as Pet Trade, which debuted in the Pets in Space 2 anthology, and Cats of War, which debuted in the Pets in Space 3 anthology. Both stories are out as individual releases (Cats of War is on preorder). Come to think of it, my paranormal shifter romances have very big cats in about half of those books, too — an Ice Age lion, a leopard, and a Siberian tiger. Don't tell the cats, but the Ice Age Shifters® series also has dire wolves, Ice Age bears, and mythical creatures as heroes.