ConnieKnightWorkspaceMy office has two desks, each lined up against the other on the opposite wall. One desk holds a computer; it’s flanked by large file cabinets. The other one holds stacks of paper for research and writing. Above it is a magazine rack; there is a tall bookcase on each side. Their shelves are full of mystery novels and Texas history. A comfortable chair rolls back and forth from one desk to the other. I write at one desk and type at the other—not at the same time.

Most of my apartment serves as an office. When I walk to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, I think about what I’m working on. Something may generate as I walk back to the desk. The dining room is an office, too. A long table serves as a space to spread stacks of chapters and to consider reorganizing them. The living room holds bookcases on one wall with general literature going back to college. In the small second bedroom, more bookcases have shelves filled with more mysteries and books of music, gardening, religion, and taking care of your cats.

The master bedroom doesn’t have a bookcase, or a TV, or an exercise machine. It’s crammed with antique furniture and, at night, my two cats. If I can’t sleep, I go back to the office, gear up the computer, and open Hotmail or Solitaire. Writing flows through my mind while I play Solitaire, while I relax, win a game or two, and jot down another idea for tomorrow.

Connie Knight grew up in San Antonio, Texas with many childhood visits to her family in the DeWitt County area. Her writing history includes work as a journalist and magazine editor. She now lives in Houston with her family and visits her cousins in the country. Chances Choices Changes Death follows Cemetery Whites in the Caroline Hargrove Hamilton Mystery series.