This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
I’m so excited to write this post as I have a brand new writing room! Since becoming a full-time author in 2010 I’ve stared at a magnolia wall at the dressing table in my bedroom but no more! We’ve recently converted our spare room into my own personal office and I absolutely love it.
One of the things I like best is having my own dedicated space. When you’re living with two messy daughters and an equally messy husband it’s always a battle to find some space that inspires and that’s why I was stuck in the bedroom, on my dressing table, squeezing the laptop in between facial wipes and cotton buds. But now I have a whole room all to myself. No one is allowed in to this sanctuary, it’s all mine! (I’m laughing like a Disney Pixar evil villain right now.)
The second great thing about my home office is the view. I’m really lucky to live in a very beautiful part of South Wiltshire called the Woodford Valley. Although I don’t reside in one of the exclusive mansions, my garden does back onto Sting’s land. Yes, Sting, the famous singer/songwriter/practiser of tantric ‘exercise’. I get a delicious outlook of my garden and the fields beyond, currently inhabited by cows. It really is like an episode of Escape to the Country and even if I’m writing about beaches or snow in New York, the serenity of Wiltshire always gets the creative juices flowing.
A new addition to the room is the desk. Unfortunately, in the summer, my beloved great aunt, Hazel passed away. She was such a big influence in my life, a huge part of my family and the most fiercely independent and strong-minded woman I’ve ever known. I visited her house just last week to check on things and there was the perfect desk – what she had used as a sewing table. It fits like it was made to be there and having something of Hazel’s here with me every day means the world. I like to think she’s looking down with pride as I write my next book.
In terms of nick nacks it’s photos of my children, a pen pot, diaries and a cup of tea (usually gone cold). I do have what Mr Big (my husband) refers to as ‘the shrine’ just outside the room. It’s got all the paperback copies of my books on it, my 2012 Festival of Romance award, a lovely romantic statue Mr Big bought me and the symbol of Corfu presented to me by the Rokas family in recognition of my support of their hotel in my summer book, Truly Madly Greekly. All of these are very special to me!
So that’s it! That’s where the magic takes place! Who knows what this room will inspire next?