Cora Reilly
All the
Necessities
I know most people think writers have beautiful offices with a majestic desk providing a view over a splendid garden, and walls lined with shelves full of books. And while I have shelves with way too many books, they aren’t in my workspace. They are in our no-go room so to speak, and no, that isn’t like the red room of pain. It’s simply the room where we hide all the stuff that we should get rid of but can’t because we’re hoarders. Originally, it was meant as my office but that didn’t work out too well.
Now you probably wonder where I write. It’s simple, really. I sit down on our sofa in the living room, stretch out my feet and get writing with my laptop on my LAP. Yes, as easy as that. After grabbing my coffee, I head to my favorite spot and get going. I usually get up very early in the morning. Sometimes as early as 4am, if my husband has the early shift, because I’m the most productive at that time.
I often carry my laptop around with me in the apartment because there’s always something to do, like proof-listen to audiobooks or reply to comments. My husband and I love to cook together but sometimes I have to work while we do that, so I take my laptop into the kitchen with me. My husband is used to this by now. Luckily, he’s a very understanding man and doesn’t mind me staring blankly at the screen for minutes while I try to figure something out.
Sometimes I like to sit at our dining room table to work, especially when I feel like I need to act like a grown-up and sit upright. As you can see, wine’s my second favorite co-worker.
You can see my favorite co-worker lounging with me on the sofa (I had to bribe her with treats because she thought it was fishy that we tried to stage photos!) and she’s always with me. She’s a very spoiled Bearded Collie named Pepper (after Iron Man’s love interest! Ha!). She’s good for distraction as well, when I need to clear my head. I often figure out plots while I take her on a walk in the forest, listening to my playlists.
Playlists. They are very important for me. I have one for every book and I listen to them constantly, which is why I’m pretty much always wearing my headphones—much to my husband’s chagrin. Sometimes he talks to me for minutes before he realizes I didn’t listen to a word he said. That’s the life as a writer’s husband…
In case you’re wondering if the photos show my usual work attire…of course not. Authors need to use any chance they get to dress up because usually our profession is very solitary and doesn’t give us many opportunities to put on makeup. That’s why a photoshoot, even if it’s just with your not-very-talented-but-trying-very-hard husband-photographer, is the perfect opportunity to go all out with your favorite ankle-boots and silk blouse…
Authors are masters at creating illusions, so why not do it for a photoshoot as well?
Of course, my imagination obeys me better than my husband, but that’s a story for another day…
Cora Reilly is the author of the Born in Blood Mafia Series, The Camorra Chronicles and many other books, most of them featuring dangerously sexy bad boys. Before she found her passion in romance books, she was a traditionally published author of young adult literature.
Cora lives in Germany with a cute but crazy Bearded Collie, as well as the cute but crazy man at her side. When she doesn't spend her days dreaming up sexy books, she plans her next travel adventure or cooks too spicy dishes from all over the world.
Despite her law degree, Cora prefers to talk books to laws any day.