My writing space is currently in flux. In fact, last night, my husband asked me what we could do to get me back working in my office instead of at the kitchen counter, where I’m typing now. (The answer, mostly, is a space heater. Either that or redo the windows in my office, which at one point used to be a porch and isn’t warm enough for my Florida bones in February.)
But from about April through November, it’s very pleasant in there, partially because we’ve made an effort to fill it with inspiring objects. Here are a few of them:
When I first began writing unicorn stories, I was told that once you go unicorn, you will always be classified that way, not matter where else your career takes you. This has proved true, as friends, family, and fans have made a point to send me unicorn items. LOTS of them. Here are a few:
The pillow lives in the couch in the living room. It’s a present from my parents. The figurine was a gift from my friend, the author Mari Mancusi, who snagged it at Dragon*Con. (I also have: an avenging unicorn playset, a collection of unicorn stuffed animals and beanie babies that have been retrofitted to have fangs/bloody horns, etc. given to me by friends at signings, and a significant unicorn t-shirt collection I keep with the rest of my clothes.)
Another fan once gave me a framed set of prints from the Cloisters tapestries in New York City. These prints will actually form a key plot point in the third unicorn book, if it ever gets written, and they take pride of place in my office:
And then there’s my favorite piece of fan art ever, the drawing my friend, the illustrator Daniel Jennewein did of his character Buffalo in the guise of Alexander the Great, with a killer unicorn. It’s called “Buffalo the Great” and I keep it right above my desk:
I’m also particularly fond of this framed copy of my first ever cover story, a Valentine’s Day profile of romance author Julie Leto I wrote for my local newspaper in 2002. It was my first “pro credit” as they say, and it happened ten years ago today:
These are the things that surround me when I write (when the weather’s nice enough, anyway. Right now, what’s surrounding me is my fridge, my crockpot, and the cereal box I haven’t put away yet). They’re here to remind me what I’ve done, and what I do, and that it’s totally worth it to push through the tough days and do it again.
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I love that your parents got you the pillow. My inspiration come from the books I read. I wonder what kind of fan gifts you will get one FDSTS is out officially out in the wild.