My Writing Space - Julie Miller

I'm continuing my series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces.

Julie Miller & I at RWA

As we go into this Thanksgiving weekend, I am grateful to have USA Today bestselling author Julie Miller sharing her writing space. Julie is an uber-talented writer and just a fantastic person in general. She has been such a blessing and encouragement to me as I've navigated the Harlequin Intrigue publishing waters with my first novel, and since her latest release, YULETIDE PROTECTOR, is her 50th (!!) book I've appreciated her guidance and support. When I first got "the call" that Harlequin wanted to publish my book, I told my editor that Julie was one of my favorite Intrigue authors. Don't I have good taste?

Julie and I met at the Harlequin party at the Romance Writer's of America. Let's just say shenanigans ensued, and leave it at that. Hehehe. Julie's such a Rock Star.

Intrigue authors - shenanigans!!

Because I love her so much I won't even tease her for having a monitor that looks suspiciously like it has a CD-ROM drive on it. :-)

Without further ado, From the Desk of Julie Miller:

1) Describe your writing space for us. Is there anything unique about it? Pretty normal place for a creative mind. Probably not organized enough for those who need structure, but I know where everything is. This room of the house is strictly "my" room.  Hubby has a Star Trek room decorated exactly how he wants with his precious things; my office is where I have my collection of collections: family pix and heirlooms, Pepsi items, Beauty & the Beast, antique/collectible toys, Beanie Babies, dolls, Mary Englebreit, Monet prints, etc. This is also where I have my shelves of keeper books, as well as reference books.  The official dog bed is in my office, too, and Maggie often naps right beside me as I work. Of course, any bed, pillow, sofa, spot on the rug is her bed, too, but she likes to stay close.

2) Is there anything else unique about your space? My dad built my writing desk.  He was a US Marine, a teacher, a master carpenter and the best dad a girl could ask for.  He built furniture for my brothers and me, as well as each of his grandchildren.  Besides being well-built and designed to my tastes, the desk is a wonderful memory of my dad.  He was always one of my biggest fans.

3) What do you like most about your writing space? I'm surrounded by things I love that

have special meaning to me. So it's a place where I love to go.

4) How long have you used this writing space? The extra bedroom was one of the reasons we picked this house. It's the smallest bedroom in the house, but has a big window for lots of light, and makes a perfect office for me. So, it has been my writing space since we moved in.

5) Any books or tools you have around your writing space that you can’t live without. Thesaurus. Dictionary. Baby name book. Sticky notes. Calendar. Wrist brace. Pepsi or cup of green tea, depending on the temperature.

6) Any organizational or writing space tip, tool, method, hint or amazing revelation you’d like to share.  Have a good chair, and make sure your monitor/laptop/keyboard/whatever you write on is positioned correctly (arms should be at 90 degree angle, for example) so that you don't run into back/neck/leg/wrist/eye/finger issues.  If you write a lot, you need to take care of your body's needs, or you won't be able to write for very long.

Julie Miller can be found at: www.juliemiller.org

Her newest Harlequin Intrigue YULETIDE PROTECTOR is on sale now.

Here's the cover blurb for Yuletide Protector:

HIS STAR WITNESS RECEIVES THREATS INSTEAD OF CHRISTMAS CARDS IN USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR JULIE MILLER'S MINISERIES THE PRECINCT: TASK FORCE

As the lone surviving victim who can put her attacker away in prison, heiress Bailey Austin becomes the key to the D.A.'s case against a notorious criminal. As lead detective, Spencer Montgomery must prep her for trial. But he becomes her personal protector when she starts receiving terrifying "gifts" meant to scare her away from testifying.

Spencer is a cop on the fast track to making captain one day, if he can keep his emotions in check. But as the stalker's threats escalate, he can't deny that Bailey has thawed his icy heart. Her courage touches him in ways no other woman has, and reminds him that she's more important to him than any investigation.

My Writing Space - Cindy Myers

I'm continuing my series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces. 

This week I'm delighted to have the writing space of Cindy (or Cindi -- depending on what she's writing) Myers. Cindy and I met at the Romance Writers of America conference last July, and had lunch together with our editor. Although Cindy is an accomplished author (a USA Today bestselling one!) having written dozens of books for Harlequin, Cindy is branching out into Harlequin Intrigues in 2014 for the first time. 

She's a lovely lady and a hugely talented author and I appreciate her sharing about her writing space from her home in Colorado.

From the Desk of Cindy Myers:

This photo is of one of my writing space. It's my office, where the magic sometimes happens. I resisted the urge to neaten it up. What you can't see are the boxes and stacks of books everywhere around me, the exercise bike I don't ride nearly enough, and the dog bed where my "assistants" -- Katie and Winston -- hang out.

This is an armoir desk that folds up into a neat-looking armoir -- but it's never folded -- too much junk on it. Things I like -- besides photos of family and friends -- I tack up inspirational sayings and pictures. My Rita flag from when I was nominated for a Rita in 2009, for The Right Mr. Wrong. The stuffed Mammoth mascot for the Colorado Mammoth indoor lacrosse team. My ever-present cup of tea (today it's chocolate mint, but I also like green chai, coconut chai, and English breakfast.)

This is the official writing space, but it's in the back of the house and it's cold, so a lot of times in the winter I write in the living room, on the sofa in front of the fire. And in the summer I like to write on the front porch. I once wrote a whole book in our RV parked in the back yard, because the internet doesn't reach out there and I was desperate to make my deadline. (Hey, whatever it takes.)

I live in the country and my house is nice and quiet, so I can write anywhere that's comfortable -- but when I really want to feel like a writer -- or I need to do bookwork, or consult from the wall of research books also not shown in this photo -- this is where I work, my official office. 

http://www.cindimyers.com/

Cindy has two books available now: The Mountain Between Us and Secret Santa.

My Writing Space - Jane Hunt

I'm continuing my series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces. 

My guest for this week is Jane Hunt, whom I've never met in person -- perhaps due to us living on different continents, but had the pleasure of getting to know during Harlequin's 2012 SYTYCW contest. (I still cringe when I think of my insanity with that contest -- seriously, I think Harlequin revamped the entire competition after hearing about the things I'd done last year.) Neither Jane nor I were finalists that writing contest, but both of us went on to successfully publish 2014. (You can ignore the hint of "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" in my tone).

Jane's first novel THE DRAGON LEGACY ("a sensual paranormal romance" -- sounds yummy!) will be released in January 2014 through Crimson Frost Books.

From the Desk of Jane Hunt:
Hi Janie thanks for inviting me to talk about my writing work space today.

I have an office on the second floor of our three storey house. In the summer I love to write in the garden or in the summerhouse. It has been known for me to write in bed if it's cold and rainy outside. I have shared the office since I started writing full time a year ago. I gained exclusive use of this work space in August when my husband moved into the garden office. I have roof top views of the surrounding countryside but ideally I would love to overlook hills and lakes. Well I can dream.  

My work space has a modern desk, bookcases and lots of ornaments. I share the space with my dogs Jazz and Oby they are wonderful company when I am writing for long periods of time. My favourite office possession is my Laptop a Christmas present from my children last year. Something I couldn't live without. I also adore my collection of ornaments given to me by my mother. I particularly love the desk and typewriter teapot and the secret garden. My keep calm plaque from my daughter always makes me smile.  

My desk although functional is the part of my office I like least. I would prefer an antique ladies writing desk. I came close to having one for my 30th wedding anniversary in August this year but we used the money to adopt Oby our latest dog from a rescue centre.

More about Jane Hunt:

My website is Jane Hunt Writer

First Steps is my blog.

Twitter: @ jolliffe03

Facebook pages: Jane Hunt Writer and The Dragon Legacy

Google+ Jane Hunt

Pinterest

My Writing Space - B.J. Daniels

I'm continuing my series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces. 

This week I am thrilled to have USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels talking about her writing space. B.J. has published over 60 novels and is the poster child for bestsellers in Intrigue. But moreover, I find B.J. (Barb) to be a fabulous person. She and I met when I attended the Romance Writers of America conference this past July. She happened to be talking with me at a moment when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed -- and like I couldn't possibly belong -- at the Harlequin author party (surrounded by people like her who had written dozen and dozens of bestselling books, compared to my measly just-barely one). She put her arm around me and said, "You're one of us now." Her other advice included "Just write your books one at a time."

The clincher for the "Barb is a Fabulous Person Award" came when I asked her if she would be willing to talk about her writing space a few weeks ago. I wasn't even sure she would remember me, but she did. And she said -- twice -- she'd be "honored" to be a part of the My Writing Space segment. Graciousness of that type says a lot about a person.

But believe me, the honor is all mine.

 

My Writing Space - From the desk of B.J. Daniels:

We moved about seven years ago to a small town in north central Montana. The house we bought was a two-story stone structure with four large bedrooms. I quickly realized when my husband began remodeling that I didn’t have a writing room.

“We’ll have to buy you a building.”

What?

BJ Daniel's office as it looked when it was built in 1915

He had one in mind. It was a tiny structure along the main drag that had once been the telephone office. Built out of concrete like a bunker, it had large glass block windows with lots of light and two levels with a bathroom. I moved my furniture in and went to work.

Now, after seven years, my husband is going to remodel my office. I can’t wait. I have all kinds of cool plans for what I would like it to be. We’ll see. :-)

Since I have nine-foot ceilings, I’m thinking cool drop lights, bamboo floors, a small kitchen in the back and another bathroom. The other bathroom is on the second level. I want lots of bookshelves and bright colors.

One of BJ's quilts

I love my space even as it is because it’s very quiet and sunny and all mine. I write in one area and quilt in another. Yes, I can see my sewing machine and projects from my desk, but I don’t sew until I have written my ten pages a day.

Whenever there is a parade, it goes right past the front window of my office. Since being a telephone office, this building has been everything from a church to a flower shop. I love that it was built in 1915 and you can still see the word TELEPHONE in the front, though only barely.

My desk, while large, gets completely covered by the end of a book. So my ritual is to clean off my desk before I start another book. My desk calendar is usually covered with writing. I scribble everything on there including character names, appointments, birthdays and notes to myself. I keep the calendars because I often have to go back and find something important that I wrote down. :-)

I have no organization, which you’ve probably already figured out. But it works for me. I used to file papers on the floor. I don’t do that anymore now that I have plenty of space to stack them somewhere else. :-)

I love my space because I can escape the house. The office is about four blocks away from the house – just far enough since we get a lot of company.

Info About B.J. Daniels 

USA Today Bestselling author B.J. Daniels was born in Texas but moved with her family to Montana at the age of five. Her first home was a cabin in the Gallatin Canyon and later a lake house on Hebgen Lake outside of West Yellowstone.

Most of her books are set in Montana, a place she loves. She lives now in a unique part of the state with her husband and three Springer Spaniels.

When she isn't writing, she loves to play tennis, boat, camp, quilt and snowboard. There is nothing she enjoys more than curling up with a good book.

You can find her current release FORSAKEN at her website: http://bjdaniels.com/

My Writing Space - Jamie Wesley

I'm continuing my series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces. 

This week I have my online buddy and someone else who, like me, has her debut novel releasing in 2014: Jamie Wesley

From Jamie: 

This is my writing space. The desk is pretty sparse because until a few weeks ago my writing space was my couch (or a nearby branch of the city library). I didn’t have a desk chair, so I didn’t use the desk.

Yes, that’s a remote on the desk. That’s because my writing space is in my living room. There’s a TV in the background. I do have and use my office, but I like being in the living room. 

I rely heavily on three books when plotting a book. I just started a new book, so they were on my desk before I took the photos. :-)  45 Master Characters and Heroes & Heroines are great for developing my characters. I have a general sense of who the characters are before I open the craft books, but the books help flesh the characters out for me. Save the Cat is great for plotting. The structure the author advocates is simple, but highly effective.

 

Organization and writing tips: This is more for me than anyone else, but turn off the TV! Silence freaks me out, so I listen to music while writing (or have a football/baseball game playing in the background).

And because my attention span leaves something to be desired, I write in 10 minute sprints while writing the first draft. I’m not a fast typist, but I can usually get 200-300 words in 10 minutes. I take a 2-3 minute break and go again. After five 10-minute sprints in an hour, I usually have 1200-1500 words. *fist pump*

Bio: Jamie Wesley has been reading romance novels since she was about 12 when her mother left a romance novel, which a friend had given her, on the nightstand. Jamie read it instead, and the rest is history. Her first book, Tell Me Something Good, will be published by Entangled Indulgence in 2014. She can be found on Twitter @Jamie_Wesley or at www.jamiewesley.com.

My Writing Space - Barb Han

Last week I began a new series about something that interests me personally: writing spaces. I love to hear about that creative nook writers make for themselves in order to encourage the word-smithing genius. Therefore I've asked some of my author friends to share a picture and description of their personal writing spaces.

My new back-saving chair

Before we get to the Writing Space of the day -- the brilliant and beautiful Barb Han, I'd like to show you something new from my personal space...

Ta-da! After last week's post about my terrible chair (I was using a metal folding one at the time), hubby decided a proper chair was in order, so we got one. It has lumbar support and everything. Quite awesome! He also set up a fabulous monitor which is set at an angle that requires me to look out, rather than down. Much better on my neck. Plus, it somehow magically connects to my laptop across the room. Yay! 



But on to this week's real post: Barb Han's Writing Space

Where the magic happens for author Barb Han

From Barb:
My space is in the front of the house. It's a library/office, so it's filled with books (what could be better?). My desk is tucked in a bay window, so I have floor-to-ceiling windows behind me. I absolutely love it.

In my old house, I used an upstairs bedroom. It worked okay, but I felt so away from everything. When we moved a year ago, a proper work space for me was high on our list of must-haves. And I wanted something close to the heart of the house where I spend most of my time. 

There's no door, so my family feels free to drift in and out. I keep a guitar, saxophone and piano on one side of the room. I love when the kids drop in and play while I'm working. Or, if I need a break, I'll play.
 
I asked Barb for any writing tools/tips:
The best writing tool I have on my desk (other than my computer) is Story by Robert McKee. Best book on craft ever! It's my absolute bible for good storytelling. 

Barb & I at RWA this Summer

I appreciate Barb being my first guinea pig willing participant for the My Writing Space series. She is a fellow Harlequin Intrigue author (her first Intrigue release Rancher Rescue will be available February 2014) but has other novels (Caught in the Crosshair and Gone) available now. Check out her website: www.barbhan.com for more info.
 

My Writing Space

This is the first in a new series called My Writing Space.

(You can find all the posts by clicking on the My Writing Space link in the "Popular Calamity Jane Series" box to the right)

I’m hoping it will become a collection of pictures/descriptions of the places (desks, offices, coffee houses, airports, coffins, whatever) where different writers get work done. Where the magic occurs.

Where the sobbing and banging of the head against the wall happen too.

Spatial organization – oh, let’s face it: ANY type of personal organization – is appealing to me. I believe heavily in efficiency and love to hear about new tools or ways people have found to organize their time, space, lives. Writing or any other part. Yeah, it’s a little geeky. But hey, I’m a geek, no big secret there.

So I have some writer friends lined up to participate in upcoming weeks; to share about their writing spaces, tools, habits and anything else that may apply. Both my published and unpublished writing peeps, because they’re all awesome.

I’m going to try to see if I can get Nora Roberts to send me a picture of her writing space – but since she probably has a restraining order out against me from the whole RWA incident, that probably won’t happen.  Alas…

But this week, to kick it off, I thought I would start with my personal writing space.

First, let’s be clear, if I was Nora Roberts, and had sold 400 million (no kidding) copies of my books and had my own personal stalker, this would be my writing space/cabin:

Because, right? Seriously awesome.  Plus the walls come up if you need to get rid of your stalker. Helpful feature.

I didn’t have a real writing space at all until this summer. Before then, I wrote wherever: at the kitchen table, at Starbucks, but mostly on my couch with a little plastic TV tray holding my laptop. But once my back and neck started giving me problems from multiple hours of slumped-over “grandma sitting” as my hubby called it, we decided to get me a desk.

After consulting Craig’s List, this is what we came up with – a sweet, little writing desk.

We decided to put it downstairs in the corner of our living room. Our thinking was: I would be sort of out of the way, but not so far gone that our four kids would burn down the house. Plus, putting it there enabled me to meet my pathological need to have the wall at my back in order to get anything done. (Maybe my next series should be: “All the Ways Janie is Crazy”)

I also have a bulletin board and whiteboard (both which can be slid behind my entertainment center that is right next to my desk), a lamp, and a couple of motivational posters, which basically say this (but not as pretty):

My writing space is definitely still a work in process. I know I still need:

1) A better chair. The folding one I have now is terrible (it's not the one in the picture).

2) Some sort of electrical zapping device that shocks me if I start looking at Facebook or Pinterest or any other social media when I should be writing

3) A conveyer belt that will take my coffee mug over to the kitchen and refill it.

I guess nothing’s perfect. But here’s the AWESOME thing I’ve found about having a dedicated writing space:  When I sit down at my desk to write, my brain gets all serious.

Because writing is the only thing I do when I’m at this desk, there’s a kind of muscle memory that happens when I sit down here. Everything just sort of clicks on.  A dedicated writing space hasn’t solved every writing issue I have, but it has certainly been a start. And I'm glad I have it.

You know, just until Nora Roberts and I go in on our writing cabin together.

I look forward to hearing about and sharing the writing space of other authors. Next week will be fellow debut Harlequin Intrigue author, and my buddy, Barb Han. If you’re a writer and got a space (great or otherwise) you're willing to share, let me know and I’ll get you scheduled on here too.