Movies often portray authors as writing in cozy libraries with fireplaces and Irish setters curled up at their feet.  Often their editor or agent comes to their house to discuss the latest book or to urge them to finish a manuscript.  Is this what your writing life is like?  It not, what's a typical writing day for you?

B.J. Daniels:   A friend of mine said he liked to believe I wrote my books wearing a negligee and a boa drinking champagne next to a crackling fire. He didn't want to hear about what my life was really like. Or that I get up each morning, read the paper, eat breakfast and hike down to my office (3 blocks away) and work until noon, go home for lunch with my husband and often go back until at least four. "It's like a real job," I told him. "That is how books get written." All the romance is on the page. While I love what I do, it is hard work, takes a lot of Coke Zero and determination to stay in that chair in front of that computer.  And the boat would get in the way!

Delores Fossen: Writing life, huh? Well, it's not glamorous even though I love my job. I have a writing schedule that I make out weeks in advance--that includes scheduling time off. If I'm struggling with a plot, and the schedule says it's a writing day, then I sit with my laptop until I've worked things out. This year I have six Intrigues on the schedule, so that means I had a lot of time at the computer and not just for the writing but also for the polishing sessions, copy edits and final galleys/authors alterations. Still, it was a blast because I truly enjoy writing.

Mallory Kane:  Hah! My writing day begins about 7:00 am. I feed the cats, make the coffee and head out to the sun room where I sit on a couch and write my daily quota. I aim for 6 pages a day. If I write more, great! Sometimes I can't even get five pages, much less six. I usually write until around 11am or 12N, unless I'm under a killer deadline. But I'm not a hugely disciplined person. I tend to get distracted by shiny objects -- sometimes even dull objects, and definitely by TV. Not mine, I don't have a TV in the sunroom, but the 'big' TV is in the living room and I can hear it while I work. Therefore I've bought noise-cancelling headphones. We're moving soon and in the new house my writing room will be a long way from the media room. Yay!

Sylvie Kurtz:  Movies do make a writer's life sound glamorous, but real life is nothing like that--at least for most writers. I've seen my editor a handful of times at conferences. Same with the various agents. I have built a fire in the Franklin stove on some cold winter day and written on my laptop in the living room, but mostly I write in my office where my computer has a nice, big screen and a full-size keyboard and all my reference books within easy grasp. A typical day starts with getting my husband off to work, some sort of exercise (because if I don't do that first, I never get around to it), then writing and/or the business of writing. I treat the writing as I would any other job. The upside is that I do have the flexibility of rearranging my schedule as I like should something crop up, whether that something be a doctor's appointment or an opportunity to play. The downside is that this job offers absolutely no security. Still, I wouldn't have trade this job for any other.

Dana Marton: Well, there's a fireplace downstairs, but I write in the corner of the bedroom. I actually have an office, but the bedroom window gets the most sun, and that's a must have for me, especially during the winter. The dog, well, she's out in the garden digging up all my plants while I write. As far as libraries go, we do have a public library down the road, but usually I'm too busy writing to make it over there. Now, about editors... If there are any who want to come to my house to talk me into a fabulous new contract, just email me and I'll send my home address ASAP! :-)

Julie Miller:   Well, I'd like to say writing is a glamorous life, but to be honest--it's a lot of hard work. Writing is solitary work, which I tend to like, but requires self-discipline and time management skills that don't come naturally to me. So when the words aren't flowing, it can be a struggle. But I do my best to facilitate getting those pages done by understanding it's my main job, not a hobby. It's how I pay for my son's college, after all, and I can't pay bills by hobnobbing with celebs and eating bon-bons all day. Typically, I write during the hours when I once taught school full-time--from say, 7-8 a.m. to 3-4 p.m., Monday-Friday, although I'll come back to my computer after dinner and on weekends when I'm getting close to deadline (just like I put in extra hours directing plays, coaching speech teams, writing lesson plans, etc. for teaching). I walk the dog, eat a bite of breakfast, turn on my computer and sit down and write--sometimes, I'll write in my jammies until noon if it's a good morning. (Don't worry, I throw clothes on over my p.j.'s to walk the dog. Don't want the neighbors to think I'm too eccentric. <g>) I find if writing isn't pretty much the first thing I do every day, then I won't get much writing done. Even on days when I teach or have other commitments, or have promo work/art fact sheets/galleys to proof/etc., if I write first thing for a few minutes/half hour and get the story percolating in my head, then I can come back and sit down any time later in the day or that evening and dive right into work. But, if the computer isn't on and the story isn't in my head, then I won't accomplish much on my book--I'll get my house cleaned, my laundry done, community projects handled, etc.--but my page count will suffer. Give me my Pepsi, my dog and comfy clothes, then sequester myself in my home office, and I'll get the book done!

Angi Morgan:  I wish my writing life included the word "cozy" anything. I have a dedicated office space--without a door. My dog wasn't an Irish Setter, Logan was a Black Lab/Golden Retriever mix who grew up parked under my feet, under my desk. He passed away on April 1st. I miss him constantly hitting my keyboard drawer out from under my fingers so I'd give him a good scratch. I met my editor face-to-face way back in 2001, and I'll meet my agent in person this October. But we do chat about the direction of my books. There's not enough room in this newsletter to describe a typical writing day here. With the delivery date of .38 Caliber Cover-Up less than a month away, let's just say my days are completely filled with thinking about writing, planning to write, and actually getting words on the page...then revising those words.