My guest today is Historical Romance author Tessa Dare. Her bold debut is a trilogy released July, August, and September.As with all writers juggling their passion of writing with and busy home life; for Tessa, finding quiet time to meet her deadlines isn’t an easy thing to do. If you can’t write at home in your own office what do you do?
Tessa tells us how she handles the juggling act of author, wife, and mother:
I have a very small house. I have two very young children. I have a very big dog, and a very talkative husband.
For me, writing at home is nearly impossible.
People are always asking me, “Gee, how do you find time to write with two young kids in the house?” And my answer is always, “Uh…I don’t.” Even if they’re not home, I never get much writing done in my house. There’s always some household task to distract me—like that ever-growing laundry heap that seems to be a sock away from gaining sentience and taking over the world. In order to write, I have to leave the housework behind and the darelings at preschool or with my wonderful husband—and then go far, far away.
Or at least, to the nearest place with comfortable tables and coffee. Starbucks, Paneras, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Borders, Corner Bakery, McDonalds…all my books have been cobbled together during visits to these establishments. It’s a wonder I don’t gain twenty pounds with each manuscript! I’m a painfully slow writer. A good writing day for me looks like this: 3 hours at a café, 1 large coffee, something indulgent and chocolate, and 1200-1500 words to show for myself at the end.
When I get behind on a manuscript and really need to focus, I wander even farther afield. I use Priceline to get a bargain rate on a nice hotel, and I leave the kids with Mr. Dare for the weekend so I can write, write, write in solitude. My two accommodation musts? An in-room coffeemaker and no free Wi-Fi.
It’s funny how I can look at my books now and remember where and when I wrote the key scenes. “Awww, I remember writing this scene while I ate that awesome caramel-chocolate bar in the lobby of the community center.”
What lengths will I go to next? My critique partner, the soon-to-debut Courtney Milan (www.courtneymilan), once spent a week in Costa Rica in order to work on a manuscript. I’ve got a book due on October 1st, and a tropical getaway is sounding pretty good right now….
How about you?
Are you able to concentrate on writing (or studying, or other work) at home? If so, please tell me how. Really, I beg you. Please.
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Tessa Dare is a part-time librarian, full-time mommy and swing-shift writer living in Southern California.
Tessa lived a rather nomadic childhood in the Midwest. As a girl, she discovered that no matter how many times she moved, two kinds of friends traveled with her: the friends in books, and the friends in her head. She still converses with both sets daily.
Tessa writes fresh and flirty historical romance, a blog, and the stray magazine article. To the chagrin of her family, Tessa does not write grocery lists, Christmas cards, or timely checks to utility companies. She shares a tiny bungalow with her husband, their two children, a dog, and many dust bunnies.
Tessa enjoys a good book, a good laugh, and a good long walk in the woods, a good movie, a good meal, a glass of good wine, and the company of good people.
Tessa's Website: http://tessadare.com/
Coming August 25, 2009:
Desperate to escape a loveless marriage and society’s constraints, pampered heiress Sophia Hathaway jilts her groom, packs up her paints and sketchbook, and assumes a new identity, posing as a governess to secure passage on the Aphrodite. She wants a life of her own: unsheltered, unconventional, uninhibited. But it’s one thing to sketch all her wildest, most wanton fantasies, and quite another to face the dangerously handsome libertine who would steal both her virtue and her gold.
To any well-bred lady, Benedict “Gray” Grayson is trouble in snug-fitting boots. A conscienceless scoundrel who sails the seas for pleasure and profit, Gray lives for conquest—until Sophia’s perception and artistry stir his heart. Suddenly, he’ll brave sharks, fire, storm, and sea just to keep her at his side. She’s beautiful, refined, and ripe for seduction. Could this counterfeit governess be a rogue’s redemption? Or will the runaway heiress’s secrets destroy their only chance at love.
