Inkwell Guest: Jami Gray and A Writer’s Dream

I’m happy to welcome back fellow author Jami Gray. She visited the Inkwell once before.  She’s going to talk about her dream office. I think I can agree with her about her dream office. I would love something like that, too. 🙂 Stick around and post a comment to say hi and tell her what you’re dream office (or room) would be.

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A Writer’s Dream

I have a dream. It includes a beautiful book lined office where a thin 32 inch screen perches on a beautiful cherry wood desk. A white board filled with an intriguing complex story line graces a pristine white board nestled next to an impeccably kept filing cabinet where character sketches, world building details and future plots are all in their spots waiting to be used. The only sounds you can hear in this oasis is whatever music my muse and I have agreed on that day. No telephones, no cell phones, no other distraction would dare to intrude into this writer’s paradise. That’s my dream.

Here’s my reality—we turned an extra bedroom into an office and I have to share it. My roommate happens to be my techy geek husband who has more electronics than Nasa. There are no book lined walls (those are in my bedroom and downstairs), and I have two desks. One used to be our oak kitchen table when my knight in slightly muddy armor and I were first married (many, many moons ago) and the other use to be a lab table at a local university.

Why two desks? Because as much as I would love to say otherwise, my writing doesn’t quite keep away the pesky bill collectors or satisfy the healthcare gods so I have a job-that-pays-the-bills. Since I’ve been blessed with the ability to telecommute for over ten years, I need two desks. One to remind me of the cubicle world I came from and the other to hold my two laptops I use for writing. Yes, I know, another set of two. But the big laptop stays home and the smaller one is so much easier to carry around when I need to escape the loony bin.

The office has next door neighbors—the Prankster Duo. My two boys are just inches away and sometimes even the walls and locked door can’t seem to keep them out. The other day I gathered the men of the household and said, “I am going to write in the office. Pretend I’m not here, okay?” They all agreed and then suddenly suffered from severe memory loss. I had sat down, put on the headphones to drown out the battle cries I knew were going to erupt within the next few minutes, opened my latest work in progress, only to jump out of my chair when my youngest came up and hug tackled me. When they do sweet stuff like that you can’t yell, it’s just not…mom like. I took out one earbud and raise a brow in question.

“Hey mom, did you know that I just got (insert some gamer speak about armor and weaponry here)?”

“Umm, really? That’s great sweetpea, but see this, “ motioning to softly glowing screen in front of me, “I’m writing, remember?”

A quick peck on the check and he’s gone. I try to get back into the groove, only to have the door swish open and the hellhound trot in with his stuffed duck, Pate. He wants to play. I remind him, this is mommy’s alone time and throw Pate out the door and shut it behind him. Back in front of the screen, music playing, I’m back…until the phone rings.

This is my reality. This is why I have to pick up the smaller laptop and drive to the nearest Starbucks and stay there for hours on end. Otherwise it’s a never ending round of interruptions.

Most people dream of winning the lottery so they can travel the world. I dream of winning the lottery so I can have my own office. And not having to split my time between writing and a job would be nice too.

During the school year, it’s a bit better. The knight is out slaying dragons, the Duo is out raising havoc under someone else’s watch and the hellhound mimics a fur rug. I can get all my adult responsibilities of my job-that-pays-the-bills done and if I have some spots of time, I use it. Writing a paragraph here or there, sketching out the next chapter, or tweaking the last scene. But even so, I still have to make sure I set aside that one day a week where I get up and leave.

It took me years to get over the guilt of bailing on my hubby and kids for a whole day, but now I find it’s essential. Not just to my writing but to my sanity. I realize that where others may use that time to read a book, workout, shop, or hang out with friends, I use it for my alternate personality—the writer.

So for now, until we score that big pot of lottery gold and I get my dream office, I will hold my dream close and defend my two desks and duo laptops from the scourge of interruptions, carving words out one inch at a time!

About Jami

Growing up on the Arizona-Mexico border, Jami Gray was adopted at the age of 14 and suddenly became the fifth eldest of 37 children. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and three minors-History, English, and Theater. Shortly after marrying her techie-geek hubby (who moonlighted as her best friend in high school) she completed a Masters in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix Oregon.

Now, years later, she’s back in the Southwest where she’s outnumbered in her own home by two Star Wars obsessed boys, one Star Wars obsessed husband, and an overly-friendly, 105-pound male lab. Writing is what saves her sanity.

Shadow’s Edge: Book 1 of the Kyn Kronicles is out now and Shadow’s Soul: Book 2 of the Kyn Kronicles hits shelves Summer 2012.

You can find me at:

Buy Link: www.BlackOpalBooks.com
Website: www.JamiGray.com
Blogs: www.7EvilDwarves.wordpress.com or www.JamiGray.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JamiGrayAuthor

Book 1: Shadow’s Edge

Everyone fears what hunts in the shadows—especially the monsters…

It takes a monster to hunt one, and for Raine McCord, forged in the maelstrom of magic and science, she’s the one for the job. In a world where the supernatural live in a shadowy existence with the mundane, a series of disappearances and deaths threatens the secrecy of her kind and indicates someone knows the monsters are alive and kicking. Partnering up with the sexy and tantalizing Gavin Durand proves to be a challenge as dangerous as the prey she hunts.

When the trail points back to the foundation which warped Raine’s magic as a child, her torturous past raises its ugly head. Gavin and Raine sift through a maze of lies, murder and betrayal to discover not only each other, but the emerging threat to them and the entire magical community.

Book 2: Shadow’s Soul

Some nightmares are born of love…

Raine McCord has no problem taking down the monsters of the world, it’s one of the reasons she’s so good at her job. So playing bodyguard to Cheveyo, head Magi of the Northwest, as he consults with the Southwest Kyn should be an easy assignment. Unfortunately, simple task turns into a nightmare when Cheveyo is kidnapped and Raine is left for dead by one of the Kyn’s most feared beings, a Soul Stealer.

The Stealer’s attack leaves lasting wounds, undermining Raine’s confidence as a warrior and damaging her unruly magic. Her ability to heal her mind and spirit hinges on the one man who can touch her soul, Gavin Durand. Compelled to face the emotions raging between them, they must embrace not only their stormy relationship but their evolving magic to escape the twisted threads of murder and betrayal to find Cheveyo.

As Raine and Gavin come together and begin to unravel the complex web of secrets and hidden vendettas haunting the Southwest Kyn, they discover unsettling new truths that threaten their very existence.