This is my writing cottage (also known as my “she shed”) where I spent the last three years writing my book. My husband bought it for me in 2020 after I told him about Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. I was using an extremely literal explanation of Woolf’s book to get what I wanted, but it certainly worked. I probably did not need to try so hard; my husband has always supported my need to write. A few weeks after my request, an empty shed appeared in our yard.
I knew I was going to get serious soon about writing a book, but of course, I first needed the interior to be just right. I renovated it over the next year, in my best attempt to emulate a Victorian-style library while on a budget (cue shimmering gold, deep magenta, and emerald green!). I hung prints of paintings by my favorite artists (Fragonard, Van Gogh, Degas, and Vermeer) and framed prints and poetry by William Blake.
I began my memoir in the winter of 2023. Sometimes, while I typed, my husband napped in the recliner. I wrote a total of four drafts of my manuscript. The first complete draft was more than 140,000 words. I worked with an absolutely brilliant developmental editor (Stuart Horwitz at Book Architecture), and over the next three drafts, was able to eliminate 40,000 words– nearly a third of my initial draft. As I read my first (very long) draft to my husband, he fell asleep once or twice, which provided valuable input for the cutting process!
Today, a normal day in my writing cottage is spent writing query letters as I search for a literary agent, writing essays for various outlets, or writing poetry for my own enjoyment.
First photo: A picture of my writing cottage with the antlers from the 64″ moose I got in 2024 while hunting with my husband. It was so large, its meat will continue to feed my family of four for at least another year.
