Venessa Kimball
The Office of
My Dreams
The locale of where I write over the years has changed as frequently as the Texas weather. The spectrum of where I write is colorful and has made me a stronger ink slinger in the process.
I started my journey as an author penning her first book in 2011. I was a practicing Realtor at the time. I’d schlep my notebook, outline, and client files between the office and home. Finding time wherever I could to write, while working full-time. That meant writing in the breakroom in between clients, utilizing every moment of my day before heading home to transform into the mommy of two young children and an infant. Late nights were required in those days to finish my first pen to paper, then published novel. I don’t miss those late nights at all, but I’m thankful I went through them. I look back at them as growing pains.
Fast forward to 2013. We transplanted to Amarillo, Texas for a short stent. I was able to write full-time and I had a home office. Well, it was a corner in the kitchen, but it was a flat surface dedicated to my computer and my outlines. Yes, I was the fixture in the kitchen writing my second and third novel in between serving up breakfasts, snacks, lunches, and dinners to my then tiny three kids. I would find myself editing in front of the fireplace in the cold, panhandle of Texas months with my kiddos snuggled in next to me watching SpongeBob Square Pants. Those are great memories, even if it was challenging to my craft.
In 2016, we returned to Austin, Texas. Moving back home was wonderful. It was also a time of multiple activities for my growing children. Cheer, Football, Lacrosse, Choir, and many other interests made me a traveling author and a chauffeur. It can be tight quarters, parked in a parking lot with a laptop balanced between you and the steering wheel, but I made do.
Here I am now in 2021, I have the office of my dreams. Bookshelves and numerous pullout drawers for all of my author goods. A long, large desk for my computer. Plenty of space for my writer’s notebook and current work in progress outline and notes. Yes, I still have days I have to take the youngest to events or activities that have me pulling out the laptop and balancing it between me and the steering wheel while he practices lacrosse, but the majority of the time I’m able to enjoy the space cut out for me at home.
I can look back over the years at the evolution of where I found myself writing in each season of my life and feel pride for both myself, being resilient, and for my characters not relenting until I brought them to life, no matter where I wrote.
Truth be told, I may not always have a nice big desk to write at. I may need to adapt again. But having run the gamut of adapting to my surroundings, and evolving along with it, I know it will never be a barrier to my craft of storytelling.
Venessa is an International Bestselling Author. She writes romance, paranormal, sci-fi, and thriller novels and loves to twist and blend genres. When she's not writing, she's spending time with her family.