Guest Post: Peer Into Eve Marie Mont's Alternate Writing Space
I've got a real treat for you today. Eve Marie Mont, author of Free to a Good Home -- a new novel in stores today (July 6) and is available in paperback and Kindle versions -- will share with us a peek into her alternate writing space.
Here's a synopsis of her book, which the author sent along:
Noelle Ryan works as a veterinary technician at a New England animal shelter, helping pets find the perfect homes. If only it were as easy to find the same thing for herself. After discovering that she can’t have children—and watching her marriage fall apart after a shocking revelation by her husband—Noelle feels as forlorn and abandoned as the strays she rescues.
She can’t seem to get over her ex, Jay. Unfortunately, all Jay wants from her is a whopper of a favor: serving as a caretaker for his elderly mother, who still blames Noelle for the breakup. While Jay heads off to Atlanta to live the life of a bachelor, Noelle is left with only her Great Dane, Zeke, to comfort her. But when a carefree musician named Jasper gives her a second chance at life—and at love—Noelle comes to realize that home is truly where the heart is.
Please check out the contest on Eve’s website for a chance to win a book club package of eight signed copies and a Skype call-in. Also, if you’d like to read a sneak preview, click here.
OK, without further ado, let's check out her alternate writing space; shall we?
Thank you so much to Serena for inviting me to guest post on Savvy Verse and Wit. I was reading all the wonderful posts Serena has compiled featuring authors and their writing spaces, complete with photos of finely appointed offices with antique desks and fireplaces or cozy screened-in porches with Adirondack chairs. Then I looked at the space where I do most of my writing and thought, “I can’t possibly send Serena a photo of a plaid loveseat in front of an air conditioner!” But literally, that is what my writing space looks like. Don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely features to my living room as well -- the soothing lemony yellow color my husband painted it, the sun that bathes the room in late afternoon, my favorite Picasso print that hangs across from me. But it’s not a space worthy of showcasing on a blog!
So I’ll tell you a little about my alternate writing space, or more accurately, my alternate thinking space: my backyard. I don’t get much actual writing done out here because the setting is far too distracting, but I take my trusty canine companion, Maggie, and we sit by the creek in the dappled sunshine and watch the goldfinches play and the ducklings swim. The breeze rustles through the trees above, and my favorite blue heron sometimes stops by to feed on the minnows. I finally get some time away from my laptop and get back to the basics: me, a pad of paper and a pencil, and some focused daydreaming time. Maggie sits by my feet chewing on sticks, while I fill my notebook with ideas and characters and settings.
This is not to say that my writing life is all lazy afternoons by a picturesque creek with waves of inspiration washing over me. I teach high school English full-time, so much of my year is devoted to planning lessons and grading papers, and I often get very little writing -- or thinking, for that matter -- done at all. Another reality is that this very same creek floods nearly every time it rains, often knocking down our fence and creating a lot of headache for me and my husband. But when summer arrives and the weather is fine, this is my “go-to” writing and thinking space. When I think of all the enjoyment and inspiration to be found in my own backyard, I know I’m lucky to live where I do—plaid loveseat and ugly air conditioner included.
What is the place that inspires you most? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a free copy of Free to a Good Home. Deadline for the U.S./Canada giveaway is July 15, 2010, at 11:59 PM
EST. Good Luck!
About the author:
Eve Marie Mont lives with her husband, Ken, and her shelter dog, Maggie, in suburban Philadelphia, where she teaches high school English and creative writing. Free to a Good Home is her first novel. She is currently revising her second novel, a YA book inspired by Jane Eyre.