Suspense author Cheryl Kaye Tardif's new office...and the office boss

 Now that we're settled into our new home, a custom build by Coventry Homes in Edmonton, I've been able to unpack everything and get to the fun stuff--decorating--and my office is finished, for the most part. Now I finally have some pics to show you. If you want to enlarge any photo, just click on it. I apologize that the quality is a bit poor--these were taken without a flash, with my iPhone. :-)

My new office has a huge picture window that faces a quiet street.This gives me a lot of light during the day.

The room is huge, like an oversized bedroom with 2 large closets that have shelves across the entire wall. I have managed to hide all my packing material, book-keeping books, paper and supplies etc in these closets, something my husband didn't think would be possible. It's amazing how much stuff an author needs! I have one bookcase in the room. It holds the paperbacks of my books--the ones I have available for sale. The walls are painted a periwinkle blue, though my photos don't really do the color justice.

One day I'll replace my office furniture with a custom wall of cabinets and built-in desk, but for now, here's what that wall looks like. I will be switching my laptop with the PC as I prefer sitting at the bigger desk while using my laptop. The PC is my backup.

Above the furniture are 3 gorgeous prints by one of my favorite artists, world-renowned artist David Miller. You'll recognize the painting on the left as the one used in the background of the cover for Whale Song. All three prints are personalized with my name and signed by David. One day soon I hope to purchase two of his paintings--My Polynesian Dream and Key to Paradise. I'm also hoping to visit David and his lovely wife Nancy in Florida one day.

On the other side of the window is my "Zen Corner". This is the place where I can de-stress, unwind, think, let my characters "speak" to me and basically meditate. The small waterfall gurgles quietly over pebbles and shells, adding to the ambiance. The "Dare to Dream" saying above the plush armchair is something I've been saying for years. It's my motto, and a very good friend and fellow author had this specially made for my new office. Thank you, Kelly!

I bought the print above the chair from one of my other favorite artists--Aynsley Nisbet. The painting is called "Whale Song". Yes, it's the same name as my novel; that's because she was inspired by my novel to paint it. If you read the new trade paperback edition of Whale Song, you can read her full story. I promise you, it's very inspiring.

I have two other prints by Aynsley, plus a painting that I commissioned her to paint specially for our new home. In this painting, Aynsley painted our family--represented by zodiac signs, with the exceptions of the two dogs in the upper corners. I'm the woman in the upper center and if you look carefully, you'll see a regal lioness within--I'm a Leo. The salmon represents my husband Marc who is Pisces. The boy and girl represent my son and daughter, who were both born in June--Geminis, sign of the twins. The white dog represents our longtime family dog, Royale, a miniature American Eskimo who died a couple of years ago. The other dog is Chai, our Pomeranian princess.

Chai has many nicknames. Chai-Chan is her official name, though I like to tell people her name is really "Venti Chai tea latte with two shots of cinnamon dolce". Yes, she WAS named after my favorite Starbucks drink. lol Chai is never far from me. She follows me everywhere and has to be where I am.

Though she has a bed on the floor, she prefers the armchair.

Chai likes to think of herself as my "Overseer" or "Boss".

She may be right...