Where the Magic Happens

People don’t usually think of writers and superheroes as having a lot in common, but one thing we do share is The Lair.  Bruce Wayne becomes the high-tech defender of Gotham by transforming in his Batcave, and when things get to be too much for Clark Kent/Superman, he heads to his Fortress of Solitude.

It’s probably not the best place to write – I don’t think you could plug in a laptop there, and forget about WiFi – but it’s pretty awesome nonetheless.

And since I am always interested in seeing where the magic happens for creative people, I asked my Indie Ignites cohort to share where they produce their masterworks.  I was relieved to find out that I’m not the only one who still hasn’t quite made it to a desk for work.  I have a perfectly fine desk – actually it’s our old dining room table – 

But in reality I work here, on my bed, usually with a cat or two for inspiration

Today's muse is Peanut, posing by Fleetwood the Mac (I am a child of the seventies with a crap sense of humor).  Peanut does not appear in Snark and Circumstance, but another cat does. Maybe she’s trying to get into the sequel.

Nazarea Andrews, author of Edge of the Falls, was the first to admit that she doesn’t use a desk.  She creates her fantasy realms here 

and not in an office because her kids prefer it that way. As you can see, she has a muse as well, although of the canine variety.

Rachel Bateman uses an office to write books like 99 Days of Laney MacGuire when she can but sometimes her own “clingy” child prefers that she write on this couch:

But she also has a writing space nestled away in llama-covered mountains somewhere:

Others make use of actual desks.

JC Emery creates novels like Marital Bitch here at this desk that “looks like a Barbie threw up all over it”:

Note the stuffed bear, a gift from Bear books on her first publication, and the “Novelist at Work” warning notice.

Adrianne James wrote her most recent release, Overexposed, at her local library—specifically at her spot at the local library.  Woe to he who takes this space!

And she does her best to discourage anyone from this by taking away the other chairs. Now that’s securing your writing space and time! Virginia Woolf would be proud. A room of one's own doesn't have to belong to you, after all.

She also writes at the Starbucks at her local Barnes and Noble

I would not recommend trying to take away the iced caramel macchiato, either.  (Don’t you love that Adrianne gives writers such a high public profile?)

Next on our “desk” tour, Jonas and Hattie from Pity Isn’t an Option were born right here, at Jessica Brooks’ desk.

 It’s a small office, she says, but built just for her and features the birds she loves.  (I want the owl clock myself).

Finally, Lisa M. Basso, author of A Shimmer of Angels, describes her space as “Not quite tidy, not quite messy.  Kind of like myself.”

If this is her idea of messy, much as I would like to have her over, she must never, ever, ever come to my house. At least not without a few weeks’ warning to give me a head start on the dusting and tidying.

So there you have it. Whole worlds have been created in these humble spaces.  Why don’t you leave us a comment and tell us where YOU like to write?  Or read?  Maybe we’ll make my next post about favorite reading spaces.  Which means I need to scrub my bathtub . . .