My Space

This is my desk. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It has witnessed great and bloody wars as well as the most gentle of touches. It has seen the rise and fall of entire civilizations and wept at the passing of a God. It is at this very desk that I formed the idea for my first book and received my first rejection, but it was also here that I received my first contract. We’ve been through a lot together.

I’d never really noticed before, but as I studied the picture, I realized I have an interesting mix of organization and utter chaos going on in my work area. I guess it only makes sense as that pretty much sums up what my life seems to be these days.

You may notice I have three screens in the picture. The center one is my primary computer and the one I do the bulk of my writing on. The laptop to the right, is my work computer. So, it is where I do all of my engineering work and keep track of all of the ongoing projects for the day job. The laptop on the left is a computer I set up to allow me remote access to the control systems and databases of my leading clients all over the country. If it weren’t for this little baby, I’d have to travel ten times more than I already do.

Behind each of the laptops are book cases where I store reference books organized by relevance and frequency of use from left to right. And yes, the placement of these books often changes from project to project. I have several actual book cases (all but one full to overflowing of course) placed along the walls of my living room. This is where I keep the books I read for pleasure and the remainder of my reference material.

The cubby holes above the screens are stuffed with notes, marked up copies of MSs, pictures and various other scraps of paper I couldn’t bear to part with, but didn’t garner enough significance to be granted a home in the filing cabinet to my right. I go through them about once a quarter and either chuck what turns out to be utterly useless or file the things that I still find interesting at the time.

Other than that, I’m sure it is much the same as any other desk you might run across, but I’m comfortable here and being comfortable helps keep those creative juices flowing.

Cindy's Space

Writing Space #4:

This is my desk. If you'll lool closely, it ALMOST holds my laptop. Actually it does, if there is nothing else in it, which is rare. What you don't see is that it's in the middle of my dining room, so there's no place for a chair, and it has to be folded shut in order for anyone to sit at that end of the table. So I really only put the computer there if I need to print something. Or if company is coming and I shut the computer down and hide it in the desk. But it does hold my stuff, which is handy. And the file cabinet (the thing the printer is sitting on) only sticks out into the archway to the living room a little bit. Also handy.

Writing Space #3
Yep. My bed. I got a little wooden lap desk for Christmas last year, and it holds the computer while I lean against the pillows and type. As my bedroom is on the first floor, it's still handy for grabbing snacks and letting the dog out. She likes it when I work in here, as it is her favorite place to sleep. Yes, by the way, that is a sticker on my computer. it's called a skin, and you can buy them on Dell's website. Also makes it easy to tell which of the identical laptops belongs to Mom.

Writing Space #2
The couch. Sometimes I use the lap desk out here, more often the folding TV tray. I turn on Travel Channel or gameshows sometimes for background noise, otherwise listen to music. The faster the music, the faster I type, if the words are flowing that day. And I can write fine amid the chaos. Last night I had 3 teenage boys (2 are mine) and the dh laughing and screwing around in the kitchen, and I was able to write an entire sex scene. Good thing they don't know what I'm writing. :) Well, they have an idea, but after one accidental glance at the screen a couple years ago, the boys know not to bother. The dh just offers to "test drive" any and all positions.

And finally...
Writing Space #1
The dining room table. Yep. Probably more than half of my writing gets done right here. I swap out one of the kitchen chairs for my "office" chair and talk to the iguana while I write. That's him in the cage you see behind the table. Keep in mind, too that this "office" space is all of about five feet from #1. As is #3. This is not a huge house. And if I am working here, I have to shut everything down and move it out of the way so we can eat.

Well, now you've seen just about my entire house, except for the bathrooms and the boys rooms. (Not fit for human habitation.) Someday, when the kids are gone, I'll have an office. For now, I work with what I've got. It seems to be getting the job done.

Dakota's Space

I love my laptop. Absolutely adore it. With it I can write wherever I want. I can take it to the pub with me to smoke cigarettes and bang out a few pages, I can take it to the park and write outside, or I can go where I write most of my books with it. To my bedroom. On my bed. Ensuring terrible posture and adding to the carpal tunnel issues in my wrist. But it's comfortable to me. I get my best ideas staring across the room at the white board until that familiar click hits.

My daughter can run in and out all day, the cat can lay next to me and purr, the dogs can jump on the keys and bark at me to pay attention to them. This is how I work best. I can do the quiet library writing, but I prefer noise and people. It is more relaxing and condusive to good writing than anything else for me.

This is where I wrote Sweet Dreams, Hello, and The Gallery. Where Ethan and Jamie were created. Where Mitch introduced himself to me. It all happened in this messy room with my family around me, complaining that I had been on the computer ALL DAY! All of my research books are here, my files, everything I love to be surrounded by is here. It may be a pathetic excuse for an office...but it's my space and I couldn't be happier here.

XoXoXo
Dakota Rebel

Two Offices

I have two offices depending on my mood and who's at home. This is Office A:

Office A is used all summer long while my other office gets dusty and is only entered when I need to get a reference book. It keeps me in the hub of the family so I can keep my thumb on what my precocious boys are up to. It is also used in the evenings...same reason.

Then there is Office B. It's my dungeon and I'm quite happy there, thank you very much. This is the one place where I can shut out the world and focus on the lives of my characters and whatever they're up to at the moment.

This is a view of my office straight on from the doorway. If you think it looks small...well it is. It's a cubicle that's been set up in my basement (thankfully dry and carpeted).

This is one of my desk surfaces. Truthfully, I worry that the papers overhead will fall on me one of these days...I really should file them in the filing cabinets outside my office. The notebooks lined up in front of the whiteboard are the notebooks I carry with me all the time. When one is full, it gets put there so that I can go back and look at story notes later. This is an old picture. There are about ten more notebooks now.

This is the backwall of my office. That white board peeking up from the bottom is what I use to plot my books using the heros journey. It's saved my life more than once. The two framed pictures on the wall were Christmas presents from my critique partner, Bronwyn. She gives the best gifts.

This is a part of my books shelves. Though it crowds the space just a little, I have two five-shelf bookshelves in the cubical. Both are fairly full. These are just my writing books (my keeper shelf is in another room).

I did a blog recently at the Hot Spot about writer's offices. If you'd like to see more, you can go here.

Home Office

The Home Office. When you're discussing a corporate office the home office is where the head honchos hang out. It's where the big decisions are made. That's true of the writer's office too.

Whether the writer's office is in the bedroom or the dining table or a shed in the back yard, it's truly the home office--the place where things get done.

My office is in the living room area. We don't need a living room. We have visitors possibly twice a year. Maybe. We did need an office space so I could write so there you have it! The couches reside in a spare bedroom and Anny holds forth in the Home Office.

It's a space slapped together with a couple of tables, a couple of really short bookcases, and a comfortable chair. The main components--computer, twenty two inch monitor, keyboard, and printer--and two bright sun lamps are the important things. Aside from the two small bookcases in front of my desk, there are also five large bookcases (stuffed) near at hand just in case I need to look something up.
This is the view from my desk. That black thing on the right is an air purifier. The book underneath it is two feet long and sixteen inches wide (a book about castles with the most gorgeous pictures) and that seems to be the only place I could stash it.

The bookshelves are all double stacked (that means that there are two rows of books for every shelf). And there are a couple more bookcases in the other room. It's a good thing that I gave half of my books away when we moved here--twenty boxes.

Though I'm a newbie (going into my second year), I've been a writer for a very long time. This is my first office. Most of the time I pounded on a typewriter --remember those?--in the bedroom or at the kitchen table with four children and their assorted friends pounding in and out and the television blaring.

Later we bought a Commodore computer with a dot matrix printer but there were still kids--teenagers--still slamming doors and playing their music and reading over my shoulder. And still later we bought a Dell computer, and the children changed to grandchildren but my writing was always done in the midst of family chaos.

Then we moved here with no children or grandchildren. Ahhhh! After thirty years of writing, I finally have an office. And some days it's too quiet in the Home Office.

anny

Kama Sutra Lovers

Blurb:

Elyria—land of the matchmaker arranged tri-marriage. Noting the heated desires Hart, Arik, and Giosetta kept hidden, their matchmaker decided to give them a nudge toward tying the knot. Kama Sutra cards with erotic suggestions started turning up in surprising places. Never slow to take a hint, Arik and Hart quickly arranged a hot naughty encounter for Giosetta that opened their own eyes to all the sexy possibilities in a loving threesome. Two men, one woman, and a life so hot it rates five fans.

That’s the way it was supposed to be. But somebody is trying to kill them so they’re on the run, forced to fit their honeymoon in stolen moments while fighting off the Assassin’s Guild, carnivorous spiders and piecing together the puzzle of why their tri-marriage is under attack. Only by solving the mystery will they finally find their happily ever after.

Excerpt:

With sudden determination, she pulled the pale yellow sundress over her head, shimmying until the folds fell into place. Her tight nipples poked at the material, obvious and excited. She paused for a moment to look around her room one last time. She didn’t plan to be a virgin when she returned. Her eyes lit on the bedside table with her secret stash of “just-in-case” condoms. Then she shook her head. No. She was willing to bet her trust money that her men were well prepared.

Slipping her sandals on, she sashayed out the door like a woman on a mission. She was going cock hunting and she planned to bag more than one.

The journey to the carriage house was both too long and too short. As she descended the wide curving stairs, trod the broad hallway gallery leading to the patio and crossed the beautifully manicured garden she had too much time to worry about whether they would reject her and too little time to consider what her options were in that case. The only conclusion she reached was that she wasn’t going to leave until she accomplished her primary mission. They would fuck her separately, together, standing on their heads—she didn’t care, but it was going to happen. Then she would deal with the aftermath.

When she reached Hart’s door, she took a deep steadying breath. Then another. You can do this, Giosetta. It’s what you’ve wanted for years. No chickening out now.

With a nod, she opened the door and entered the dark foyer. Three steps inside a brawny arm circled her, tugging her back against a wide bare chest at the same time as a broad palm covered her eyes. “Naughty, naughty girl. Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” Arik growled in her ear. “Tchk. I think we’re going to have to spank you to teach you better manners.”

Giosetta whimpered and pressed her hips against the hard body at her back. His rigid cock poked between her legs as she instinctively widened her stance. Then Hart was standing in front of her, binding soft cloth over her eyes as Arik’s hand slid down to cup her breast. Hart’s hand cupped her other breast, tugging and toying with the nipple. His damp skin brushed her lips and his musky scent filled her with anticipation. His body crowded closer as Arik released her, capturing her wrists in his strong hands.

“Take her dress off,” Hart commanded gruffly before covering her mouth with his.

Giosetta had never been kissed like Hart kissed her. His soft, firm lips explored her with a thoroughness that was shocking. His tongue tasted, sipped, sucked, licked until there was no part untested. In the back of her mind she was vaguely aware that Arik had removed her dress by the simple expedient of ripping it down the back and peeling it off. Standing nude and blindfolded in the dark hallway, she discovered the erotic joys of body to body contact with two naked aroused men.

Clearly rejection wasn’t going to be a problem. What other delights they had in store for her remained to be seen. She trembled with anticipation as Arik slid his hands between her body and Hart’s. One hand slipped down over her mound and cupped her pussy. A thumb massaged her clit while he fisted Hart’s cock with his other hand.

Hart groaned and thrust forward in Arik’s strong grip. Then he raised his head and Giosetta could hear them kissing, pressing against her as their heads met over her shoulder. The tip of a thick finger slicked through the fluid slowly trickling from her pussy before gently entering that first inch inside her.

Bombarded by too many sensations, she rubbed her face against Hart’s chest before some age-old urge prompted her to bite him.

“Fuck! Do that again, Setta!” A deep growl rumbled in Hart’s chest as Giosetta licked and sucked his satiny skin before biting down again.

“Living room,” Arik commanded curtly. “Now.”

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419917011

www.annycook.com

Guest Author Aithne Jarretta

The Grip crew would like to welcome author Aithne Jarretta to the blog.

Author Responsibility ~

First rule… Make sure you get enough ‘i’s in responsibility. All kidding aside now, I’d love to touch upon something just a bit different regarding Author Responsibility.
When I began writing, I sat at my lovely writing table with its beautiful scenery just beyond the window and punched these keys for endless hours.

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES, my debut novel grew and evolved into an epic love story.
I grew… as an individual writer and on a personal physical level. *sigh* I’ll deal with that tomorrow (Scarlett O’Hara syndrome).

Wrong. I didn’t deal with it. With awesome tunnel vision I took on the tasks of learning about book promotion, making my own book trailers and editing in a pdf format. (pdf = realms of frustration. Dakota’s three Tuesdays would have seemed an easy fix. Lol)

In the middle of all this wonderful growing experience I forgot something.

My health.

What does this have to do with Writer Responsibility? When our health hits rock bottom, there are no stories to write.

Then the world is down a Bard.

So, I learned that spending countless hours in front of the computer screen is detrimental to our immune system. The rules had to change.

So rule number one became… Get outside and enjoy the sunshine (While thinking about novel characters. Let them exercise with you.) It’s our responsibility to make sure the world has plenty of healthy Bards. We all have characters to develop and stories to share.

Take care of yourselves and your characters will follow. Because we all know we’re just a bit crazy (fun!) and those voices speak to us more precisely when we have a clear, healthy mind and body.

Since today’s topic was about Responsibility, I’d like to say that the heroine in CONCENTRIC CIRCLES found herself in a whole new life experience when she made a mystical discovery while shopping with her grieving friend Barb.

Shayla Brinawell embarks upon a journey of self discovery and magic. New responsibilities emerge and change her life perspectives in a pirouette of fast paced changes.

Sky Purington, Paranormal Romance Author has this to say about CONCENTRIC CIRCLES:
"I was utterly captivated with Ms. Jarretta’s unparalleled world-building skills and imaginative plot. Fast-paced and wonderfully intriguing, Concentric Circles is saturated with sensuality, humor and magic. Delve into a world ripe with gripping characters, self-sacrifice and true love. Thoroughly engaging, a page-turner until the end!"

Here’s a small Magical Moment from CONCENTRIC CIRCLES for your reading enjoyment.

The rest of the Gaderian went by in a haze, Shayla’s mind preoccupied with the idea of buying a knife in Cleveland, Ohio that would bring her here tonight. Just another hint from the White Lady? Thoughts spun on a spiral of mystery as her fingers moved over the cool handle in her palm, pulling her mind back to the sleepy little shop, Circle’s Threshold into Ancient Journeys.

The glass case shimmered before her vision. There it was, lying on blood-red velvet. The sensual idea of having such a treasure pulled her like a persistent beacon toward home. “How much?” she asked, passing a hand over the glass case with longing. Connell, the man behind the counter, winked and passed the knife’s alluring power to her.

Everything after that blurred into memory’s oblivion.

If you’d like to read more of CONCENTRIC CIRCLES (first chapter, Circle’s Threshold: Hawthorn & Heart) then please follow the link below and discover a FREE READ.pdf for your enjoyment. http://aithnejarretta.com/FR/FREE_READS.pdf

Don’t be surprised when you also discover two short stories there. KISSING SANTA is a holiday short about family, hearth and heroes. THE MATCHMAKER was featured at LSAR in July and won 2nd place in their FREE READS contest.

I’d like to take a moment to thank Cindy and the other blog staff here at Oh Get a Grip! for this opportunity to tell you about my soon to be released paranormal romance novel, CONCENTRIC CIRCLES. Watch for updates at my character MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/black_bryan_chilkwell

Aithne Jarretta
http://www.aithnejarretta.com
Feed Your Romantic Spirit ~ Indulge in the Magic!

CONCENTRIC CIRCLES ~ A spellbinding tale that will keep you enthralled...PNR Reviews
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