Picture this. This house is dark and silent except for the sound of the cat purring at the foot of the bed. Your spouse is already asleep, but you have been, as usual, thinking about the novel you’re working on.

Then, all of a sudden, you are struck by writing brilliance! You have had the idea that will make your book a NYT bestseller instantly.

You scramble for your bedside lamp, and after you grab your pen and paper and write down the idea, you look to your spouse, who is no longer asleep. And now your spouse is angry. They were in the midst of a good dream about some hot celebrity or a car with a large V-8, and you ruined it. Their sleep has been ruined, and as a consequence for your nocturnal scribblings, you are relegated to the couch.

It doesn’t have to be that way. My friend and soon-to-be-published author Keven Manus-Pennings introduced me to the nurse’s pen, also used for navigation and police purposes. Seen here:

That picture turned out to be tiny. Sorry, but what you can’t see is that there is a small light at the tip of the pen that illuminates your writing surface without the need for turning on a lamp. Now, you can write without ticking off your spouse and ending up on the sofa! Pretty darn cool.

Also, remember Kevin’s name. His fantasy novel A Shore Too Far will be out later this summer. And yes, I’ve started reading it, and even though I’m not a fantasy person in general, I really do like it so far and would definitely read more. It’s on my Kindle to-buy list.