Best properties on the market

1. Burien, Wash. True-crime writer Ann Rule is selling her “dream home,” a two-building complex on Puget Sound. Above is a two-bedroom guest or writing cottage; at right is the main residence, which also has two bedrooms and features unobstructed waterfront views and vaulted ceilings. The homes are reached by private tram from a five-car parking lot. $999,750. Matt Parker, Windermere Real Estate/South Inc., (206) 226-8323

2. Mount Desert, Maine This four-bedroom home is owned by award-winning novelist Roxana Robinson. The five-acre property overlooks Somes Sound near Northeast Harbor and includes native plantings, old-growth pines, and a walled meditation garden. The house has a writer’s tower, a granite fireplace, and English-library-style built-in bookshelves. A guest apartment sits above the garage. $5,600,000. Story Litchfield, LandVest/Christie’s International Real Estate, (207) 276-3840

3. Los Angeles Author Gore Vidal owns this 1920s Mediterranean-style five-bedroom home. The half-acre property includes a separate guesthouse, private gardens, and a large pool. The main residence features decorative ironwork and extensive built-in bookshelves. $3,495,000. Delphine Mann and Kathy Marshall, Coldwell Banker/Beverly Hills North, (310) 777-6200

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4. River Falls, Wis. Novelist and radio-show host Garrison Keillor had the writer’s studio above built as part of an 11.5-acre retreat he created on the St. Croix River. The property includes a guesthouse, saunas, and a clay tennis court. The main residence (left) features log-cabin-style interior walls, soaring ceilings, reclaimed-wood floors, and a wood-burning stove. $995,000. Joyce Peterson, Coldwell Baker Burnet, (651) 269-8571

5. St. Louis This five-bedrom 1912 house was the childhood home of Beat novelist William S. Burroughs. Its architectural highlights include mahogany paneling, leaded windows, three fireplaces, and a clay-tile roof. $524,900. Vicki Armor, Dielmann Sotheby’s International Realty, (314) 725-0009

6. Brooklyn, N.Y. This five-story 1839 town house is where Truman Capote lived when he wrote his most famous books. The house has 11 bedrooms, a double parlor, a grand spiral staircase, 11 fireplaces, and a 40-foot-wide columned rear porch. $14,995,000. Karen and Alan Heyman, Sotheby’s International Realty, (212)-810-4990

Steal of the week

7. Niskayuna, N.Y. This century-old Tudor-style house is the home of poet Donald Faulkner, director of the acclaimed New York State Writers Institute in Albany. The home features a first-floor master suite with a cathedral ceiling. $319,000. Bonnie Sindel, Coldwell Banker Prime Properties, (518) 221-8232