Where I Write - M.S. Spencer

Let’s see: how to condense my life into a single paragraph? Ah, forget it. Here’s my life story (so far):

Although I’ve lived and traveled in five continents, the last 30 years have been spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent.  I hold a BA from Vassar College, a Diploma in Arabic Studies from the American University in Cairo, and Masters in Anthropology and in Library Science from the University of Chicago.  Once I escaped academia (for which my mother never forgave me) I worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.  Today I divide my time among Virginia, Maine and Florida, and write full time. 

I am blessed with two fabulous grown children but only one cat (down from three, plus a dog, a snake and two hamsters).  It’s a quiet household now, but since my study window looks on a park and river there is plenty of wildlife to distract me from my writing.  Here’s a picture of my view:

This is my study:
As you can see, my work place is exceedingly neat. This is because I stuffed all my junk into the drawers before taking the shot. I use a laptop and although I have wi fi, I work only in the study. It has the best view (see above), plus it’s close to the bathroom. Oh, and that way I can separate work from the rest of the house. Which is kind of silly, since I write constantly throughout the day, stopping now and then to eat or walk or find something, anything, else to do.  I love my desk—got it free from a local actors group who’d used it as a prop. It has two leaves that pull out on either side so I can be surrounded on three sides by piles of stuff.

I now have six books published and one on the way. Like many other authors, my first book was written in a series of spiral notebooks. No, wait, I take that back. I wrote my very first novel on my first computer, a Kaypro (anyone remember those?). I hadn’t mastered copying onto a floppy disk yet, so I printed out one copy on those perforated paper sheets in one long, endless stream.  And my husband in a cleaning frenzy…threw…it…out. Serves me right for sticking it in a drawer and forgetting about it. Didn’t do that again.

I’d love to hear from you:

Blog: http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/M.S.SpencerAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/


AUTHOR PAGES:

Secret Cravings Publishing: Secret Cravings Publishing
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/M.S.-Spencer/e/B002ZOEUC8/
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer