It’s a question often asked on author interviews: if you could write anywhere in the world, where would you be right now?

For me the answer is simple. I’d be in my “office cabin”, my “she shed” as it were, with the window looking out toward the chicken coop and the horse pasture, where I can hear the roosters crow. Sometimes they even crow at the same time, and I call that a “cock off”. It probably seems odd to people that I didn’t pick a beach somewhere or a mountain retreat. However, the truth is, many things make travel difficult for me, and my dream would even be to share my beautiful Ozark home with other writers through offering writer retreats.

Alas, I can’t currently work in my office cabin because I can’t afford to add to the utility bill by heating/cooling it. I haven’t worked in my cabin since 2017 with any regularity. When we first moved down here, after we insulated it and ran electricity, and I painted it and hung the ceiling fan, I could be found out there pretty much during the hours you’d think one would work a full time job. Then, mom got sick, and I had to go to a full time job. When she had her fall, I needed to be in the house — I literally couldn’t leave her — and so I set up shop in the front bedroom as an inside office, which I use to this day. It has a huge bay window looking into the woods and I often see deer, squirrels, or birds.

Part of the reason why we moved here was the beauty of the land, and that means my ideal writing location is right here. A staycation. Besides? The kitties appreciate it when they can “help” me with my writing.