17 July 2008

sharing the MUSE SALON

Okay...everyone has been after me for pictures since I announced that my new office was finally finished, and since Rob just helped me get the new doors up (thank the puppy for me NEEDING new doors) and the art hung, here she is...

The entire space is about 8'x12' or so. As you can see, I have heavy folding doors to close the room off from the rest of the house.


The entire left wall is covered with bookshelves of course.


If you've ever wondered how I organize myself, the last bookshelf is a half-size. On it, there's the Love-Me Shelf and two shelves of current research material and written scenes/stories. In addition, I have boxes and shelves (elsewhere) of finished drafts and edits.


In front of the bookshelves, I have my reading chair and the hand-woven rug Rob bought me in Bahrain in 1992 or so. I've been waiting all these years to have a place worthy of displaying it!


Above the organization shelves, I have the single window in my office, capped off with a lace curtain and a rose quartz drop (unfortunately still partly-covered in paint tape...snicker). To the right of the window, I have a picture of the muse. The picture is an ink drawing by the wonderful Robert Quill! If you haven't checked out his work, you should.


The right wall starts off with a set of heavy shelves that contain my promo gear and supplies. Draped on it is a Celtic cross shawl that Rob bought me in Scotland in 1996. I've always hung this in my office space.


To the left of that is my half-size file cabinet, and above that...THE ACCOLADE, topped with a second lace curtain. Rob bought the painting for me in 2001, and it has hung in every office since then.


The centerpiece of the room is the computer desk, a huge corner desk that usually houses both my desktop computer and the laptop. As you can see, the laptop is away from the desk, at the moment.


Along the wall behind the right side of the desk, there is a picture of my youngest and her 'twin cousin,' what my sister and I refer to as our 'bookend babies,' one of the three fairies I've attached to the walls, a picture of Rob and I when we were dating, a plaque of the Irish Blessing that I've hung in every house we've owned since 1994 (I bought it when I was pregnant with my oldest), and my two inspirational pieces to keep me motivated.


For anyone who doesn't know, the 'inspirational piece' on the left is a fan letter from 2004 that so touched me, I still have it hanging on the wall. The one on the right is a couple of mentions I got in magazines, my first Romantic Times review, and the printout of Oct 17, 2003 (when Fion's Daughter and Second Son were #1 and #2 rated in erotic at Fictionwise...and Emma Holly's Menage was #3).


Above the left side of the desk (the far wall of the room), I have my animals (have to bring the skunk my youngest keeps trying to steal back down from my bedroom) as well as a couple of my certificates for finaling in awards.


The crowning glory of the room is the leopard painting hanging above the desk. This has a particularly fond place in my heart, at the moment. When Rob took me on vacation for our 20th anniversary this month, he actually bought the painting off the walls of our first hotel room at Adventure Suites, just because I liked it.


And THAT...is the grande tour! Now you know how I work...nice and cozy in my little nook...when I'm not on the edge of the couch with a lap desk.

Brenna

2 comments:

Helen said...

Makes me long for the days when I had my own office. Now I have two kids, and they've taken over the room that used to be mine, all mine. But sharing an office with my husband isn't so bad. He stays on his side, unless he wants to get jumped. Then neither of us gets any work done.

Nice set up, Brenna! Love the artwork. I'd have bought that leopard painting too ;)

BrennaLyons said...

Hi, Helen!

Well, Rob and I are close to you and yours. Our offices are separated by a wall. We can talk through it, if we want to. More often than not, though, he IMs me, while we're both on the computer. That's really weird, since I can hear his IM ping when I answer.

Don't lose hope. I have three kids, and I didn't have my own space for 14 years. Eventually, you'll reclaim space somewhere.

B