People will say she is really just a tool shed, Lord. But You and I know differently. She has been my place to run to, my safe space, my ‘she shed’ a decade before there was even such a term. She’s much more than just my office. So I named her because naming her means she is seen. She’s my Writing Chalet.

When we moved into this house fifteen years ago, there were four small bedrooms: one for Paul and me, one for each of our sons, and one that would become Paul’s office. I need total silence when I write so somehow we’d have to find a place for me to work too. The house was perfect except for that one small problem.

So we bought it.

After we moved in, I noticed that the tool shed which sat on the front of the property, made of rustic planks with no flooring or insulation, had two windows that looked out onto the lovely front yard which the previous owners had filled with flowers and fruit trees and a pond. And the shed was cute. It looked like a miniature Swiss chalet with little wooden animals running across the front: a fox, a squirrel, a bunny, and a few birds in flight.

Right then, I began to dream of my new office, which I immediately dubbed my Writing Chalet.

It just so happened that Paul’s parents, affectionately known as Mamaw and Papaw, were coming for a visit. Papaw was the ultimate handyman with Paul a very able partner. And so they took my dream and made it come true. They laid flooring and put in insulation. Our sons pitched in to help with the project. Even our beloved mutt Beau was in on the job.

Soon after, I painted the walls a pale green and plastered them with photos. I installed old shelves and an ancient filing cabinet and a chest of drawers from Paul’s days in Brazil and the desk Paul had made for me years earlier.

And she became my beloved Writing Chalet. I delighted in walking the 35 steps from the front door of our home down to her front door with my laptop and a cup of tea. No phone, no food (well, maybe a square of dark chocolate tucked in my pocket), nothing but my desk, my laptop, my books and my photos as friends.

No matter how lovely I made her, she was at her core a tool shed, and my daily guests were daddy long legs and ants and other bugs that were, well, at times annoying. Still, I’d invaded the Chalet’s space, and she had welcomed me in, so I put up with these other friends the best I could. In winter I brought in a space heater to keep me warm. In the summer we installed a ceiling fan. The internet could be sketchy, but it usually worked.

My Writing Chalet became my sacred spot. She heard my tears of disappointment when I received a rejection and my prayers of praise when the writing was going well. She knew my joy when reading heartfelt letters from my fans.

She. Was. Perfect.

But fast forward fifteen years, and she desperately needed a redo. So last week, I dreamed of a new set up for her insides, and I dumped all my stuff in the front yard for four sun-filled days and nights. I scrubbed away dirt and swept away hidden spider webs. I repainted the walls and ceiling a clean, fresh white and stained the wooden shelves that Paul built.

As I write this post, I am sitting in my newly repainted, redesigned, and redecorated Writing Chalet. It’s been a ten day project, and I feel giddy with joy at my Chalet’s new look. Paul peeked in yesterday and said, “You’ve made it yours, now. You’ve finally expressed yourself in your way. Before you kind of just added stuff in and made do. But now, it looks like you.”

I am beyond delighted with the result.

I’ll be posting photos on Facebook and Instagram each day this week of The Writing Chalet Redo and next Tuesday I’ll take you on a tour via Facebook Live. Also, starting on Saturday, I’ll be running a 24-hour Giveaway for my novel The Swan House. This novel portrays systemic racism and one young woman’s awakening to white privilege.

So be on the lookout for photos and then please join in for the Giveaway. I know many of you, my faithful readers, have read The Swan House so if you win a copy, perhaps you could pass it along to someone else who needs encouragement for such a time as this.

I’m waving to you from my Writing Chalet with a heart filled with gratitude for the stories the Lord has allowed me to pen inside. And she, my Chalet, sends a bonjour too. She can’t wait to show you her new look!

ELIZABETH MUSSER writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Find more about Elizabeth’s novels at www.elizabethmusser.com and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and her blog. +