Where I Work

Today, Medeia Sharif’s debut novel Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. is released—congratulations! I’ll be ordering my copy soon.

I thought I’d take a break from analyzing books and such for a tour of the room where I write. I hesitate to call it my office because it’s a multipurpose room where the majority of our houseplants languish for water, fertilizer, or to be put out of their misery. It’s also the home of 2007’s I’ve Lost My Mind Project—the fantabulous Bear House—and a third of my kid’s books (yes just a third.)



Here’s the desk where the main action happens:



Note all the books piled in the chair. Most of those are non-fiction about all things nineteenth century. I really need to find a bookshelf for them.

Here’s my other desk swamped with a mess of kid’s art, edited drafts of my work, scribbled lists of literary agents and who knows all. Ugh, double-ugh, I’m hating the thought of going through all this. And so it sits.



Here’s my grandmother’s couch (recovered in the nineties--love that floral print). Just looking at it makes me want to take (another) nap.



Hanging above the couch is this here stained glass. The blues are so yummy; they make me want to jump in a sun-dappled swimming pool.



And last, but not least, some close-ups of a few of my paintings I did half a lifetime ago in college. Neither Monet nor Thomas Kincade need worry about these babies taking over their chatchkes market, but I still love them. Feel free to laugh or scream as appropriate. I just hope I'm a better writer than painter.







What’s your writing spot like?