Jill Ramsower
My Oasis..and Chocolate
During my first two years publishing, I did a good amount of writing on the go, waiting for kids to finish school or activities. I would take a printout of the outline for my current chapter with me everywhere and write in the margins.
Most of the time that meant writing in my car, which didn’t accommodate my laptop unless I camped out in the back seat. I’ve written in the stands of our high school soccer stadium, in a back office of my daughter’s gymnastics’ gym, and in the pediatrician’s waiting room.
My oldest now has his drivers license, which has been a tremendous help reducing my chauffeur duties. I still find myself working at the lake, on airplanes, and pretty much anywhere I’m required to be during the writing phase of a book. When the words are flowing and there’s a deadline to be met, I write anywhere and everywhere I have the chance.
If I don’t have any other demands on my time, I write in my home office. I was lucky enough to build my dream house a few years back, and one of my top priorities was designing the perfect office. Lavender walls, built-in bookshelves, and a large window overlooking the front yard were just some of my must-haves.
My office is my happy place—a space all to myself…mostly. Even if my kids manage to leave me in peace, I rarely get a break from the fur babies. I often write with our kitty, Batman, curled up between me and the keyboard. When I close the door to keep everyone out, the kitties cry and scratch at it until I let them in. Complete isolation is a hopeless cause in my house.
Because of the likelihood of distractions, I often write with my Bose noise-cancelling headphones on—no music unless it’s wordless. Lyrics distract me, so I usually write in silence but will listen to mood playlists between writing sessions. One of the most challenging aspects of writing is maintaining concentration. In a world of covid, quarantine, cultural unrest, and political upheaval, the damaging effects of stress on creativity have been an enormous struggle. I’ve found that my greatest tools in harnessing my writing has been limiting social media and ensuring my writing space remains an oasis from outside stressors. That and chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better.
Within a year of self-publishing her first book, Jill Ramsower quit her job as an attorney and dedicated her days to churning out romantic adventures. She likes to think of her books as contemporary romance with a touch of fantasy--at its core, her writing is about the connection between two people. Sometimes that connection involves a little magic...
With Jill's books, you can count on confident heroines, plenty of steamy tension, and deliciously assertive leading men. There are no guarantees in life, but with her books, you know everything will work out in the end. However, a perfect ending would not be nearly as satisfying without a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Jill loves to add plenty of adversity in her stories, creating unforgettably dynamic characters and sneaky plot twists you will never see coming.