my writing desk

September 2, 2020 by Tricia Goyer 9 Comments

Writer’s Desk with Jaime Jo Wright

We’re so excited to have Jaime Jo Wright featured on this week’s writer’s desk. Jaime Jo Wright is winner of the Christy, Carol, Daphne du Maurier, and INSPY
Awards. She’s also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of three novellas. Jaime works as a human resources director in Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband and two children. Be sure to stick around until the end of the post for more about her most recent release plus a chance to win a copy!

Do you have a writing routine? When/Where do you write?

My writing routine is less of a routine and more of “do-it-when-I-can”. Working full time and having two children keeps me running at full speed until about 8 pm at night. So, assuming I have any brain cells left, I will usually get a couple of hours in then. Otherwise, I grab fifteen-minute sprints here and there. Sometimes, I’ll write on my phone’s note app. Otherwise, I usually have my computer in my bag with me and slip it out to write when I’m waiting in the line for food pick up, or at the doc office for an appointment.

When are you most productive?

If I could write at my most productive time, it would be between 9 and Noon. The problem is, I also have a day job, so that’s usually NOT the time I’m able to write. When I take a vacation day though, it’s sheer heaven during that time period.

What do you snack on or drink while writing?

I always drink coffee. Rarely, do I ever write without a mug nearby. I’m not much of a snacker when writing. In fact, when I have days specifically dedicated to write, I usually tend to forget to eat.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

As silly as it sounds, I embrace it. It happens. Fighting a lack of words only results in frustration and sometimes our brains simply need a break.

What is your outlining process? Are you a pantser/plotter or something in between?

I don’t really outline. My books play like movies in my mind. So, I will legit watch them over and over and over again until they become so clear and vivid in my mind. There is some plotting involved, to be sure, but I’m not an organized writing where I bullet point or color code.

Best advice for someone who is just starting out.

Write! Just write. I think too often we get caught up in the perfection of it. Wanting to achieve that polished manuscript, versus just letting your imagination run wild. There’s a place for editing, obviously, but until you’re seriously preparing for submission, the important thing is to write.

Quick fire questions:

Favorite current watch – Criminal Minds
Favorite current read – Mexican Gothic
Favorite current song – The Devil is a Liar, by Colton Dixon
Favorite Starbucks order – Venti Sugar Free Caramel Macchiato with ristretto quad shot and almond milk

Enter to win a copy of The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus from Jaime*

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*Due to shipping costs open to US only.

Be sure to catch the video interview with Jaime HERE, and be sure to join Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group so you don’t miss any of our other fun author LIVE chats coming up!

More about The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus:

1928
The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the “Watchman,” she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa’s search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.

Present Day
The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk’s shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot’s history, she’s also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend.

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If you enjoyed this interview, be sure to catch all of our author interviews here!

June 13, 2018 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

Writer Wednesday with Elizabeth Byler Younts

Today on Writer’s Wednesday we welcome Elizabeth Byler Younts, author of The Solace of Water.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of The Solace of Water! Congratulations to Megan Lakner who won a copy of Karen Barnett’s Where the Fire Falls! Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Elizabeth Byler Younts, the author of new book The Solace of Water, shares her writing space on this week’s Writer Wednesday.

My Writing Desk

Elizabeth Byler Younts shares her writing place on today’s Writing Wednesday.

For the first 10 years of my marriage, my husband was active duty Air Force so I had many different writing spaces over the course of those years in our different homes. Sometimes it was on the couch, dining room table, basement, or the smallest bedroom that didn’t need to be used as a bedroom.

Now that my husband is in the Air Force Reserves, we have settled in Central PA and in February we moved to a new house. Hopefully the last move for a long time! We were so excited about the new house for so many reasons…but I think my office is my favorite place in the house! I have never said that about any of my other writing spaces, nor did I ever think I’d say that. My husband is so supportive and as soon as we did our first visit to this house when we walked into the space that is now my office my husband said: This should be your writing studio.

I did not argue!

I am so grateful! Our house is a Yankee Barn House and is built with reclaimed barn beams. It’s three stories and the 2^nd and 3^rd are open to the rest of the house, besides the bedrooms. My office is the 3^rd story loft. I have a view of the whole property through the window (it was night time when I took the photo) and the other direction I can see through to the other side of the house out to the backyard.

For my 40^th birthday, my husband bought me my first new desk. I’d only ever had garage sale desks before now and while I was always grateful that I had a desk at all, it was an absolute blessing to have a new desk for my big 4-0!

So, this is my space. This is where I create and scrutinize every word and where much coffee gets consumed. Sometimes I sit in the comfy chair and doze if I need a break for a few but I recently spent weeks up here only leaving when absolutely necessary leading up to my recent deadline. The room is not walled off, so I can still hear my children if they need me and that also is a wonderful feature of the loft space.

So, while I still have some things stacked against the wall to be handled since our move a few months ago, I am so excited that this is where I get to write my stories for all of you!

The Solace of Water was released on June 5^th and I hope you take a moment to check it out!

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More about The Solace of Water

The Solace of Water new from Elizabeth Byler Younts

‘The Solace of Water is a gripping coming-of-age historical fiction story that will stick with readers for some time after the final word is read. Hauntingly beautiful prose is bountiful in this tightly woven tale . . . The characters demonstrate the impact secrets, guilt and unforgiveness can have on a person in this emotive gem.’ (RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, TOP PICK)

In a time of grief and heartache, an unlikely friendship provides strength and solace.

After leaving her son’s grave behind in Montgomery, Alabama, Delilah Evans has little faith that moving to her husband’s hometown in Pennsylvania will bring a fresh start. Enveloped by grief and doubt, the last thing Delilah imagines is becoming friends with her reclusive Amish neighbor, Emma Mullet—yet the secrets that keep Emma isolated from her own community bond her to Delilah in delicate and unexpected ways.

Delilah’s eldest daughter, Sparrow, bears the brunt of her mother’s pain, never allowed for a moment to forget she is responsible for her brother’s death. When tensions at home become unbearable for her, she seeks peace at Emma’s house and becomes the daughter Emma has always wanted. Sparrow, however, is hiding secrets of her own—secrets that could devastate them all.

With the white, black, and Amish communities of Sinking Creek at their most divided, there seems to be little hope for reconciliation. But long-buried hurts have their way of surfacing, and Delilah and Emma find themselves facing their own self-deceptions. Together they must learn how to face the future through the healing power of forgiveness.

Eminently relevant to the beauty and struggle in America today, The Solace of Water offers a glimpse into the turbulent 1950s and reminds us that friendship rises above religion, race, and custom—and has the power to transform a broken heart.

Purchase a copy of The Solace of Water
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | CBD | ElizabethBylerYount.com

Elizabeth Byler Younts author of new book The Solace of Water

Elizabeth Byler Younts gained a worldwide audience through her first book Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl and is a RITA nominated writer. She is also the author of The Promise of Sunrise series. She has consulted on Amish lifestyle and the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect two award-winning television shows. Elizabeth lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two daughters, and a cockapoo named Fable.

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August 7, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 15 Comments

My Writing Desk | Cindy Thomson

This is a collection I picked up on a beach in Sligo, Ireland. I keep them in a bowl on my desk to inspire me when I write about Ireland. I can still smell the sea!

This old typewriter belonged to my grandfather. He used to write letters to my father when my father was in WWII. Below are some genealogy resources. Family history inspires my writing as I seek to tell the stories that were left behind for us. (And yes, that is a similar typewriter in the wall hanging next to it!)

This is how you get to my office, “the place your story begins.”

This is my writing desk. I also have a laptop I travel around the house with, especially when it’s nice outside. But most of my work gets done here. I’m blessed to have a dedicated office space. It’s the only second-story room in the house, and it feels like a tree house! I like my big desk. My husband made it for himself long ago out of an oak door. He keeps asking me if I want a new desk, but I like this one! The quilt on my chair is my father’s prayer quilt. He passed away almost three years ago. My church had made it for him several years previously when he was ill. The knots on it were tied as someone prayed for him. He used to cover up with it often. He really liked it. It’s another item that inspires me (and sometimes comforts me).

Take a peek at @CindysWriting’s office space and see where the writing happens!

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In the upper left corner you can see just a bit of my bulletin board. There are some photos there from the photo shoot for Grace’s Pictures. In the upper right corner you can see part of my bookcase and my copy of Grace’s Pictures. Tyndale sent me a special holder for the book, and it resides with a small Statue of Liberty figurine I got when I visited Ellis Island. It’s copper-colored as the immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th century would have seen it, before it weathered to green as it is today.

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Cindy Thomson is a writer and an avid genealogy enthusiast. Her love of history and her Scots-Irish heritage have inspired much of her writing, including her Ellis Island series with Tyndale House. Cindy is also the author of Brigid of Ireland and Celtic Wisdom: Treasures from Ireland. She combined her love of history and baseball to co-author the biography Three Finger: The Mordecai Brown Story, which was a finalist for the Society for American Baseball Research’s Larry Ritter Book Award. In addition to books, Cindy has written on a regular basis for numerous online and print publications and is a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. She is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Historical Novel Society. Cindy and her husband have three grown sons and live in central Ohio. Get to know Cindy at her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Pinterest.

Cindy is giving away a copy of her book Grace’s Pictures! Enter below. Only those in the U.S. are eligible to win.

The winners of last week’s giveaway with Cynthia Ruchti are Judith Fritz and Stacey Zink! Please email your mailing addresses to my assistant, Caitlin : caitlin{at}litfusegroup{dot}com to claim your books.

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Wondering what’s up next for me? My book The One Year of Amish Peace releases soon. You can pre-order it here!

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July 31, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 128 Comments

My Writing Desk | Cynthia Ruchti

For years, my office was one of two main offices of The Heartbeat of the Home radio ministry. Little by little I’m weeding through the ten lateral file drawers full of information plus an upright four-drawer file cabinet. The ministry retired at the end of 2012, so my writing business is slowly overtaking those cabinets. Many of the ideas gathered during those 33 years of ministry are working their way into fiction and nonfiction projects, so thinning the files is progressing at about the same pace as thinning my thighs.

My desk looks out onto the front screen porch—white wicker furniture and all— with a view of the woods and the dawn. On the wall above the side of my desk are reminders of current or past projects—a small wooden canoe that inspired me while writing They Almost Always Come Home; a framed photo of Door County cherries hanging from a tree branch, draped in an icy glaze for A Door County Christmas; a photo of the woolen mill on Cedar Creek in Cedarburg, WI, for Cedar Creek Seasons; a calendar page of bright blue morning glories to remind me to pray for When the Morning Glory Blooms, Scrabble letters lined up to spell RAGGED HOPE, the title of my nonfiction July 2013 release—Ragged Hope: Surviving the Fallout of Other People’s Choices. (A copy of When the Morning Glory Blooms or a copy of Ragged Hope will go to two of Tricia’s blog followers who comment on this post!)

My faux leather office chair has seen better days and needs a pillow prop here and there. But other than the enormous photocopier/printer that dominates a quarter of the room, it’s a cozy spot to write, when I’m not in one of my other favorite office spaces.

For a change of pace and more light, I write in the family room, perched in a leather rocking chair a friend donated to the cause, with a wheeled slant-top TV tray-sized table for my laptop. There, I look out onto more woods and the path the deer usually take when they’re looking for food.

In the warm weather, which in northern Wisconsin is gruesomely short, I haul my supplies and laptop and a nice long electrical cord out to the screen house on the deck just off the kitchen. It’s such a peaceful place to write. Don’t the birds and flowers and wildlife and breezes and wind chimes distract me? Why, n-no. N-no. Not at all.

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Cynthia Ruchti has more than three decades of radio broadcast experience with “Heartbeat of the Home” radio and currently serves as Professional Relations Liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers. Find Cynthia on the web at www.cynthiaruchti.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

Speaking of Cynthia’s new book, Ragged Hope is currently on a blog tour! Check out the reviews HERE. Cynthia is hosting a $200 Visa cash card giveaway and author chat party to celebrate the release, and you’re invited to participate! Enter the giveaway HERE and RSVP to the author chat party tomorrow night HERE.

Cynthia is also giving away a copy of When the Morning Glory Blooms or Ragged Hope to TWO readers who comment on this post! The winners will be announced a week from today.

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July 24, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 138 Comments

My Writing Desk | Debra Clopton and Margaret Brownley

Debra: I’m glad to be here on Tricia’s blog and invite you into my cozy office! Okay, I will confess, these pictures are not of my office today—they are of my office a couple of months ago. Today I just finished two back-to-back deadlines so my office is a national disaster area!!! I’ll clean before I start my next book—so next week it will look like these pictures again and the endless loop of clean to disaster will continue.

As you can tell I love yellow, reds and sunshine. My desk is large and when I’m working there is hardly a clear spot on it! I only use a laptop because I move around constantly but even still, my desk is my main hub with all the research material there for easy access. When weather permits I love to write outside. My husband travels with his work and I go when I can so I work on the plane and in the car’s passenger seat a lot! Some of my best lines have been written on a plane, which is the case for my latest release, A Bride for All Seasons. That book idea and first paragraphs were written flying somewhere over the USA. Behind my desk is a cabinet with a photo of my boys as toddlers, my Bible, and writing supplies. On the wall is a wooden cross that was hand-carved by a wonderful friend from church. A stone wall hanging with 1 John 4:19 “We love because God first loved us.” Above everything is the sign that reads, “I love you to the moon and back,” a gift from my granddaughter whom I also love to the moon and back. On the bulletin boards I have more important “stuff.” Family photos first and then notes and reminders, also a note from a reader. I can’t put them all up, but they are each special to me and I keep them all in the red boxes above in the attic area in this photo. They encourage me and remind me who I’m writing my books to.

Photo two shows my nifty table which folds out larger for when I’m editing and need to see my manuscript in chapters. On the table are some of my awards. Booksellers Best, A Golden Quill Award, an Inspirational Readers Choice Award—which is the pretty silver heart trinket box and is the first award I ever won with my first book, it holds other award pins. In the container behind it are my three Carol Award Finalist pins and my most precious awards of all—special cards from my family over the years along with a picture of Bogie, our beloved family pet when my sons were growing up. There are also a couple of toys that have special meaning from when my sons were smaller.

And finally my recumbent bike with the slanted desk for my computer. This helps me to accomplish work and exercise at the same time. And then in the opposite corner my crammed full bookcase sits beside my comfy chair. Lots of books are written in that chair—and more to come!

Thanks for stopping in—until next time live, laugh and seek God with all your hearts!

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Margaret: Before I give you a tour of my office I must warn you; I consider a neat and orderly office proof of a sick mind. Those of us with CDS (chronic disorganization syndrome) know that nothing attracts the muse quicker than a storm of papers, books, candy wrappers, and Post-its.

Monet helps too, which is why my room is painted Monet purple. The family complained about hearing me on the computer in the middle of the night, so my husband sound-proofed my room with cork. The thing I love most is my balance ball chair, which allows me to sit for hours without fatigue or muscle pain and lets me believe I’m exercising.

On the walls are charts, maps, notes, deadline reminders, and The Writer’s Prayer. I find the prayer to be the most useful. I keep a daily word count on my calendar. Some of my favorite Disney characters keep me company (though someone walked off with Woody). What you don’t see are ALL the bookshelves that make up my research library. Also hidden is the window overlooking the pool, the vertical files and my chocolate stash.

Guess how many books in my library and the person coming closest without going over will win a copy of A Bride for All Seasons. Leave your guess in the comment section below. Don’t forget, you’re only seeing half the library. Good luck! *The winner will be announced Monday, July 29.

*UPDATE* The winner is Martha! The correct answer is 1,213, and Martha guessed 1,205. Congrats, Martha! Tricia’s assistant will be in touch to get your mailing address.

Debra Clopton is an award winning author of sweet, heartfelt, western romance that face life with a smile. With over 2 million books in print, Debra has her first book coming as a movie starring LeAnn Rimes. Margaret Brownley is a NEW YORK TIMES best-selling author and has penned more than twenty-five historical and contemporary novels. Find out more about them here.