I'm not larking around while I'm here in Savannah GA avoiding winter in Minnesota. I'm actually working hard, harder than I have in many years. I'm two chapters away from finishing my book. Details to follow this summer. Publishers don't like you to divulge too much too soon.

Everyday I open the laptop and try to make 1000 coherent words. Most days I get to 800 before my brain gives out. Some days I exceed the goal. I keep chipping away. I tell myself it's like 50 feature articles. it's like 60 columns. No matter how I try to break it down, the final count looms large in my mind and haunts my sleep.

My little rental is tucked in the bowels of an old historical building and feels like something of a sensory-deprivation chamber. So most of this word-making happens at the coffee shop on Bull Street right off of Chippewa Square. The corner building is decorated in a "Friends-ian" style. Lots of broken-in wing chairs and a few sofas. If I'm lucky I get this old blue loveseat where my mojo seems to reside. I spread out my notes and perch my cup of tea nearby and I'm off to the word races.

As I write two students from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) discuss the video game they are creating. They are all beards and man-buns, noserings and necklaces, but these guys are so far over my head as they plot this class project.

If you seek distraction there's a revolving fashion show that never disappoints. There's the girl with blue and white hair and Mad Hatter attire. Her top hat is pinned with brooches and clocks and she leans on a jeweled staff. Her friend wears lots of red brocade and spider-webby leggings. However their chatter is nowhere near as sophisticated as their look.

There's the guy who has diet coke and chocolate cake with his old school book every single day. Coffee shop culture, where everyone is glued to the screens, talking about their day, their drama. There's always a "loud-talker", a clutch of girls sketching and texting. We all sit alone but together.

At home I need perfect silence but for some reason the buzz in the background here helps the words flow like a river until it puddles around 4pm. I see how JK Rowling did it. Here it's cozy, the light is right, you can count on someone to watch your stuff without worry when you need the bathroom. What better office could you hope for? I must remember to give a shout to this blue sofa and the baristas in the "Acknowledgements" section of my book.