I’m writing the (first draft of) this post longhand at a café table next to a fountain. I’m sipping a cappuccino (triple shot, nonfat, with a healthy cap of cinnamon powder) digging the white noise of the spouting water and musing about how cool it is that today this is my office.

One of the best perquisites of writing for a living is the portable office.

I’ve gotten to the point where I can write almost anywhere… as long as I have my laptop or pen and paper and a temperate climate (subtext: 75 degrees or lower, thank you very much.  I’m an agreeable employee, but my muse goes on strike at the first bead of perspiration).

I’ve written in airports; in the car on road trips as my husband drove ( one of my favorite “office days.”  Funny though, he wasn’t keen on the idea of driving me around on a daily basis while I wrote… can you believe it? Not even after I tossed out the words team player… ). I’ve written at the mall as my daughter and her friends shopped; during youth orchestra rehearsals; on school field trip busses; during horseback riding lessons and ballet classes. I’ve actually finished more than one book at the beach (yes, in a bathing suit, ten yards from the surf – casual office days).

I must confess: this bonus didn’t come built into the job; it evolved out of necessity as I tried to maximize my productivity without sacrificing too much family time (though all bets are off when I’m on deadline). After I realized I could be productive working outside of my writing cave a funny thing happened…it dawned on me I needn’t be tied to my conventional office chair at my cumbersome desktop computer… that sometimes, even when necessity didn’t dictate, a change of venue was refreshing and quite pleasing to the old temperamental muse.  

On another note, a quick reminder: don’t forget that beginning Monday (June 14), we’re kicking off our contest to win a free Sony E-Reader. All you have to do to win is comment on the blogs you read here every day. Each time you comment you’re entered. A winner will be randomly picked from all those who comment between Monday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 30. So the more you comment, the more chances you have to win! Keep visiting and keep commenting.

You can start warming up by telling us where’s the most interesting place your job has taken you, or if you’re a writer, where’s your favorite place to set up your portable office?

Be sure to check out Nancy Robards Thompson’s Silhouette Special Edition, Accidental Father. RT Book Reviews gives it 4 ½ stars and says: “…This heartwarming story with strong, genuine characters and a strong plot to match is definitely hard to put down.” Available July 2010.