I must confess that I have a serious case of cave envy over the writing space of today’s guest. Fellow women’s fiction debut author, Jamie Raintree has what could well be the perfect writing cave. And I may just have to invite myself to her house for a writing retreat.  🙂  — Orly

My family and I moved into our current house a couple of years ago. In the house before that, I didn’t have a dedicated writing space and my desk ended up right in the middle of my toddlers’ play area, which was in the walkway between the dining room and the backyard. As you can imagine, I hardly ever used it. It was impossible to concentrate no matter how convenient when I could manage to sneak in a few words while the girls played.

When we started to look at new houses, I really wanted a quiet space because as Virginia Woolf says, a woman really does need a room of her own, especially when she’s constantly tripping over stray shoes and breaking up fights over lip gloss. Thankfully, we landed in a home that had a beautiful room that felt like it was made just for me.

One of the people who owned the house before us was a mason and installed beautiful stonework in a few places. This was meant to be an entertainment center for a home theater but as avid readers tend to do, I saw it as the perfect bookshelf.

As is probably obvious, I work best in a clean, uncluttered space, which was why I was so desperate to have a room away from the rest of the commotion. This way, no matter what chaos is going on in the rest of the house, I can block it out and focus on writing. I looked for quite a while to find the perfect white desk and still adore this one even though one of the legs got damaged in the move. (No one is allowed to lean on it!)

In the left bookshelf, you’ll find my very sophisticated filing system for my books. Each bin holds printed manuscripts, notecards, notebooks, critique notes and any other random things I collected while writing each book. Shelby is hiding there in front of my space heater—her favorite spot in the house—necessary because my office is in the basement. One of these days I hope to have a big, sweeping view. In the meantime, I have my giant whiteboard for brainstorming and laying out my plot visually.

Finally, this is where I actually do all my writing. I love my desk for writing blogs, doing social media, and answering email, but when it comes to being creative, I find the juices flow better when I’m reclined and curled up in a cozy blanket with a cup of coffee. I recently found this cute laptop desk so I don’t have to balance it on my knees anymore! Above are posters of a couple of my favorite stories that inspire me.

About Jamie
Jamie Raintree is voracious student of life, which is why she became a writer, where she could put all that acquired information to good use. She is a mother of two, a wife, a businesswoman, a nature-lover, and a wannabe yogi. She also teaches writers about business and productivity. Since the setting is always an important part of her books, she is happy to call the Rocky Mountains of Northern Colorado her home and inspiration.

Her debut, Perfectly Undone, released on October 10, 2017 from Graydon House Books.

Website: http://jamieraintree.com

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Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jamieraintree/