Workspace Wednesday welcomes Laurin Wittig

I am beyond thrilled to have fellow Montlake author Laurin Wittig with me today. Her Scottish historicals are the bomb. Also, she’s just as lovely as her picture leads you to believe. Welcome, Laurin!

 

 

LAURIN WITTIG:  Thanks so much for inviting me to share my lair with your readers, Norah! First off, I have to admit that I’m sharing my current-but-not-for-long office. Both of my children have moved out of the house in the last few months so we’re busy repurposing the upstairs. As soon as I get the new office painted I’ll be moving out of my office of the last 14 years – the formal living room that is smack in the traffic pattern at the bottom of the stairs with kitchen and family room just steps away – to the upstairs guest room that is completely out of the traffic pattern. I know, I know, the kids are gone, but my husband works from home two days a week and never fails to cut through my office on the way to or from the kitchen or the family room. Plus, our dog can open the French doors of my current office but won’t be able to do that upstairs!

 

 

It’s hard to tell in this picture but the walls are a dark forest green. I just love green. My husband and I found my desk – a 1920s library table – at a local antique store years ago. It’s got a perfect foot perch underneath. My ginormous iMac sits in a place of honor and you can see that I use the bottom of the monitor as a handy post-it note place. I’m flanked on either side by matching bookcases (with doors – I hate dusting!). This one holds my craft of writing books, along with copies of my own books and books by my critique partners, awards I’ve gotten for my books, and a lot of little mementoes from friends, conferences, and my children. Underneath is where I hide a lot of my office supplies.

 

 

Here you can see the matching bookcase, just behind my grandmother’s rocking chair. This bookcase holds my research library. See the basket on the right? That’s Anna’s basket. She’s my miniature Eskie and that’s where I pile all the dog toys that mysteriously end up in a ring around my desk chair whenever I sit down to work.

 

 

And here is the corner opposite my desk. The bulletin board used to be for plotting, but now it’s where I pin up still more memorabilia, notes from friends and my publisher, and conference stuff. I wish you could see it more closely – one of my prize uber-nerdy things is on that board: a “May the force be with you” button that I got at the second showing of the original Star Wars movie back in 1977. I know, I’m a serious nerd and proud of it!

The picture above is a drawing by my good friend and awesome artist Elizabeth Holcombe. It’s of Symon MacLachlan, hero of The Devil of Kilmartin, my first book. As you can see, I’m a bit of a clutter-bug, and I love to have a lot of trinkets that remind me of people and events that have been important to me.

And now for the moment of truth: I use this office for the business side of being a writer. I do research, my bookkeeping, pay my bills, check my email/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, update my website, write blog posts, etc. etc. etc. in this office. But I rarely write here.

This is my real writing office:

 

 

I use an awesome program, Scrivener, that lets me keep all my plot notes, scene notes, research notes, and manuscript in one place so I have almost everything I need to write my current book right there on my laptop. I take my laptop/office to a local coffee shop every morning, Monday through Friday, where I meet two other writers to work. It’s the only way I can keep myself focused long enough to actually get my books written.

So that’s my office(s)! The book on the laptop is the sequel to my new book that releases on August 6th, Highlander Betrayed. Leave a comment here and I’ll randomly choose two commenters to receive an advance reader copy of Highlander Betrayed. And I’m going to copy my fellow Montlake author, Tracy Brogan, and offer another advance reader copy to someone over on my Facebook page – just mention that Norah sent you! I’ll choose the winners on Monday since my laptop and I are out of town until then.

 

Hidden deep in the rugged Scottish Highlands lies the Highland Targe, an ancient relic guarded for centuries by clan MacAlpin. It is said the Targe can shield the heart of the Highlands from invaders and now, as part of his plan to crush the Scottish rebellion, the English king wants the Targe for himself . . . .

Rowan MacGregor, orphaned niece to the chief of the MacAlpins and the rock her family depends upon, is worried. With the dwindling health of her aunt, the Guardian of the Targe, the protections that have kept the clan safe and prosperous are fading, and the new Guardian, one of her cousins, has yet to be chosen. Rowan wants nothing more than to see the clan protected again, but when it seems that will never happen, she despairs—even when a handsome and charming stranger comes to her aid.

Nicholas fitz Hugh is not what he seems. Half-English, half-Scottish, he turned his back on his Scottish heritage early in his life, giving his loyalty to England instead. Now he is a talented and cunning spy charged with finding and stealing the Highland Targe for his king.

But when Nicholas finds himself falling for the bonny Rowan and wanting to protect the family she holds so dear, he is forced to choose between his king’s will and his own: Will he betray his king and his mission? Or will he turn his back on the woman he has come to love?

 

Thanks, Norah, for letting me share my office here!

Bio: Laurin Wittig is an award-winning, bestselling author of enchanting Scottish medieval romances that bring together strong warriors, smart women, and a land that tests those men and women again and again until they ultimately find their happy ever after. Romantic Times says, “She’s well on her way to becoming one of the genre’s finest storytellers.”

Laurin’s next book, Highlander Betrayed, book one of her Guardians of the Targe trilogy, will be released on August 6th and is available for preorder now.

You can find Laurin on-line at her web site LaurinWittig.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (links on her web site!).

 

Thank you so much for that tour, Laurin! And wow, I think I’m going to have to cave and learn Scrivener. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.

Okay, let’s have some comments! How cool would it be to win an advance reading copy of that book?

26 Responses to “Workspace Wednesday welcomes Laurin Wittig”

  • What a very nice office! I like the hardwood floors. 😀 I’m glad I’m not the only one who saves mementos. Looking forward to seeing your new digs. 😀

    Thanks for sharing, Laurin. Keep up the great writing!

    Hugs,
    Suzan

  • Your ofice is very nice, but having read all of your preious books I am much more excited that you have a new book coming out!

  • Lady Barb:

    Thanks for sharing Laurin. Funny I just stared rereading Devil of Kilmartin today but it been so long it’s like reading it for the first time plus this time on my kindle the last time in print around 2004. Major awesomeness thank you so much for sharing this. I have all your books as I want to read all before Highlander Betrayed is released. Seriously all your books have given me so much pleasure over the years! Never stop writing as it is definitely your passion and talent and have loved them all so much!

    Hugs,
    Lady Barb (Barb)

  • Lauren – I loved the post. The gorgeous office and the real office. What would we do without our laptops and that awesome portability and ability to write anywhere. Thanks for sharing!

    Grace

  • Ann Mettert:

    What a neat office. Some day I hope to have my own. Only I want/need way more shelves!!! 🙂

  • Hi Laurin, thanks for sharing your office! Just so you know you’re not alone when it comes to husband intrusion …. Lol

    • Thank you for your efforts.These irionuctstns dont work when using eclipse juno, when creating an android project from existing code the library directory of ActionBarSherlock is not recognised as a project by Juno.

  • Hello, Laurin. Beautiful work place. Green is one of my favorite colors, too, not mention that I’m green with envy re the 1920’s library table. Good luck with your books. I do enjoy stories about Scotland.

  • Jennifer Connelly:

    Thank you for sharing. I personally am very excited to read Highlander Betrayed. It is always nice to have an escape in this crazy world we live in, and historical Scotland seems like no better place to hide. 🙂

  • I love the green! And I agree–I like my mobile office, too. Your cover is amazing, and I can’t wait to dive in between the pages!

  • Lady Barb:

    Laurin thank you so much ffor sharing your office space with us this is wonderful. Funny I started reading The Devil of Kilmartin today…major coincidence…lol. I haven’t read it since 2004, but this time I am reading it on my kindle edition, I am loving all over again well it is how I discovered you all those years ago and feels like the first time. I will follow with Charming and then Daring. My goal Is ti have them all done before Betrayed comes out. I have a 13 day deadline.,,,yikes. Keep writing your wonderful books as it is definitely your passion and gift. Alba Gu Brath….Scotland Forever!

  • Lola:

    After seeing that beautiful work space and desk, I wondered if the coffee shop would get a mention 🙂 Do you find you prefer different spaces for different tasks such as editing or writing a certain type of scene?

    • Lola,

      Mostly I find I have to get out of the house to write (except for love scenes – those I have to write at home when no one else is there!) — I’m highly distractible and somehow meeting other writers away from the household distractions helps me stay focused on the task at hand for a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours everyday. Everything else I do at home. It provides a nice distinction between my creative work and everything else. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Cheryl Bolen:

    Thanks to Norah and to Laurin for sharing the workspace. I love, love to see how others write. Good call on writing away from home. . .

  • […] friend and fellow Montlake Romance author, Norah Wilson, featured me on her Workspace Wednesday blog yesterday. If you’d like to get a peek at my writing space and find out where I really write […]

  • Just so everyone knows, I’m going to choose the winners on Saturday. Norah’s had a few technical issues with her web site and I want to make sure anyone who has left a comment has it show up before I pick the winners. Thanks, too, for all of you stopping by to share my space(s)! 🙂

  • I have a wonderful office, but spend my writing time in my living room with my laptop on my lap! I enjoyed seeing where you work.

    • About an hour later I thought “Holy God, what if EVERYONE I ever eleamid starts posting quotes from my emails on the web?” Yikes….hmmm, wonder if I can go back in time and erase some of the mail sent out at 3:00am?Karen 🙂

    • Wata:

      Hi Miss Mouthy, oh I love the crest, too! It would look great in any office. I love your idea- adindg toile would look gorgeous! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  • Mary Kenney:

    I am glad to see that there is life after Jamestown. You said you were going to write a new book and you did! Congratulations.

  • Maribelle:

    Enjoyed getting to know more about you Laurin. Reading this
    blog almost feels like reading a real book. Haha, i hate dusting too, so i guess that explains why i buy more ebooks than hard or paperback prints.

  • Sooo sorry I didn’t get the winners picked on Saturday as planned. We were traveling home from our annual Maine vacation on Saturday and Sunday and stayed in a place without wi-fi on Saturday. ==:-O I have had the random number generator choose two commenters her for the advanced reading copies of Highlander Betrayed and they are: Suzan Tisdale and Lina Gardiner! And over on my FB page Elaine MacDonald won a copy, too. Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by to see my workspace and another big thanks to Norah for featuring my post last week even though she was freshly back from the RWA conference and no doubt exhausted.

    Best,
    Laurin

  • Wow, this article is good, my younger sister is analyzing these kinds of things, so I am going to
    let know her.

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