Elizabeth Marx Shares Her Office Space!

Thanks for stopping by my workplace. Like most indie authors I work from home and I am fortunate to have a very nice study and I’m able to dedicate myself to writing and promoting my books almost full time. I have two girls so there’s always someone who needs to be driven somewhere, but when I am not chauffeuring them around I’m usually here. The best thing about this study is I have two walls of windows and a nice tree line behind my house, so I get daily visitors, squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, deer and occasionally a fox or coyote.

This is what you probably imagine an author’s desk looks like. Neat and organized, a place where an author can strike a match, light and candle, and let the words just burn through their fingertips. It’s tranquil, isn’t it”?

That’s the spiffed up version of my desk, since I knew you were coming to visit with me today. Let me start out by saying I consider myself a neat freak, but where my office is concerned it seems chaos rules the creative process. These are a few shots of what my desk and office usually look like.

I can’t help but think that I need to give you some sort of an explanation for what all that stuff strewn across my desk is. So here’s a labeled diagram for your viewing pleasure.

#1 Laptop—of vital importance, thus its prominent and central location. How else would I get FB friend requests from strange men telling me they’re single or plastic surgeons Tweeting me on Twitter?

#2 Quotationary—I usually put a quote on my Twitter feed so I have a few books that I use for reference. Today’s quote: “Exactness and neatness in moderation is a virtue, but carried to extremes narrows the mind.” Francois Fenelon

#3 Dictionary—Duh, I cna’t sepll fro carp!

#4 Kleenex—I’ve been known to make readers cry and in certain sections of Binding Arbitration I still cry, even though I’ve read it hundreds of time, and know what’s going to happen.

#5 Starbucks—Grande Decaf Nonfat Mocha Light Whip, ‘nough said!

#6 Paperweight—holds my papers down, not because of a light breeze but because my cat Lord Luxor likes to rummage through the piles when he’s not sleeping in a desk drawer!

#7 Pens/Pencils—Black pen, pencil for day planner, red fine point marker for editing, and black fine point Sharpie for autographing swag and such.

#8 Legal Pad—I use legal pads for to do lists, most of my outlines and notes when editing. Under the legal pad is my day planner where I record interviews, meetings, signings, book clubs, advertising and sales numbers. It never leaves my desk, see it’s still there, even when I tidied up for your visit.

#9 Thesaurus—You know that word sitting on the end of your tongue, well it’s in this book, you just have to figure out another word that reminds you of the word on the tip of your tongue and you’re in business. Facepalm!

#10 iPad—Don’t tell anyone but when I get tired of working or stumped I break this bad boy out and shop, usually for shoes. It’s not as if anyone’s monitoring my work time, but I mean can you say Nordstrom semi-annual sale.

#11 iPhone—You never know when some agent or editor or publisher might want to offer me the big bucks, I keep it nearby just in case. But I think they’d email me first wouldn’t they?

#12 Swag—Binding Arbitration bookmarks. If you’d like some, visit my FB author page here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorElizabethMarx  Leave a comment in the bookmark post, leave me a ‘like’ and PM me your address. BTW, my daughters informed me that there is another meaning of swag, which is what I’d call a gangster, you know sideways ball cap, slouchy jeans and ‘Yo’ is his favorite salutation.

#13—A paperback copy of Binding Arbitration. Did you know that Aidan’s number on the Cubs is 13? Did you know there is a name for fear of Friday the 13^th? Did you know that I was born on the 13^th at 13:13, weird right? I have a thing for 13, it’s my lucky number.

#14—WIP a.k.a. work in progress, super secret story, about the House of Imperials and a vampire prince who desires something more than blood to save his house from extinction. Look for Descent of Blood and Ascent of Blood sometime in October.

#15—Proof copy of To Breathe the Breath of Isis which is already out and about an 18^th Dynasty necklace that was so powerful it was disassembled and scattered across the sands of time, but it’s ruthlessly pursuing one woman, over and over again.

#16—Blog Tour. This is a pile of all the reviews, interviews and guest posts for the BA blog tour. A special shout out to Holly and Full Moon Bites Blog Tours for all her hard work.

#17—Candle. Candlelight often inspires me when I’m writing a sultry scene. This one has peacock feathers on it and smells really good too.

#18—Bills. It’s so much easier when bills are electronic, easier to ignore! Just kidding, I hate bills, but I pay them on time!

So that’s my desktop. Here are some other pictures of my office!

Bookcases mostly filled with research & writing books.

I collect watercolor prints of all the places I visit. This is my original that represents Chicago. It inspired me while I wrote Binding Arbitration. It’s hard to see in the photo but the artist put my family’s name in the marquee of the Chicago Theatre.

  

This is Lord Luxor my full blooded Maine Coon. He usually hangs out in the office with me. In the summer in a drawer in the winter he holes up in the knee hole on my feet. He also knows how to fetch, and as I said he loved crinkling paper.

Thanks so much for checking out my writing abode!

Happy reading and reviewing.

Elizabeth Marx

 Title: Binding Arbitration

Author: Elizabeth Marx

Genre: Romance, Family Saga, Contemporary/Chick Lit

Publisher: Self Published

Paperback/Ebook

Pages: 477

Purchase: Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Print) | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Sony eReader | Diesel 

Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother Libby Tucker knows exactly how far she’ll go to save her cancer-stricken son’s life. The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.

Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.

If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.

All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness

 

Windy city writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. In her past incarnation she was an interior designer, not a decorator, a designer, which basically means she has a piece of paper to prove that she knows how to match things, measure things and miraculously make mundane pieces of furniture appear to be masterpieces. Elizabeth says being an interior designer is one part shrink, one part marriage counselor and one part artist, skills eerily similar to those employed in writing. 

Elizabeth grew up in Illinois, but has also lived in Texas and Florida. If she’s not pounding her head against the wall trying to get the words just right, you can find her at a softball field out in the boonies somewhere or sitting in the bleachers by a basketball court. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs.

Elizabeth has traveled extensively, but still says there’s no town like Chi Town.

Find the Author: Website  | Blog | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Twitter 

Email: elizabethmarxbooks@gmail.com