Quest For Coffee Part One
Hey,
folks. Thanks for dropping by. You know, time flies when you’re having fun, and
this week has certainly affirmed the saying. There has been a gratifying flurry
of activity in the form of “like’s” on my Red Wolf Novels Facebook page, and
I’ve been sending out a slew of books from giveaways on Julie's Book Reviews and A Page Away,
and another five-star review appeared on Amazon for The Dragon of Doughton Park.
Also, I’ve been writing!
Ooooh, have I been writing. I’m nearly done with
part one of Red Wolf Rising, and I’m delighted with what my characters have
gotten themselves into so far. I think you will, too.
But… I’ve got a problem.
A biiiiiiiig problem.
My favorite coffee shop closed down a few weeks
ago, victim of the mass-closings across the country by Caribou Coffee. Now, I
could go on a justifiable rant about the greed of multinational corporations
and heartless corporate fat cats, but I won’t. I could blog on and on about the
devastating economic impact on the real, hard-working, friendly folks whose
livelihood depended on these stores and the uncaring attitude of the
corporation for those wonderful people and their customers alike, but that’s
not what this is about. This is about me.
It's all about me.
What am I going to do? I didn’t even drink
coffee three years ago when I set up an appointment to interview a friend of
mine who worked at a Starbucks. One of the characters in my Red Wolf series
(Danielle in The Draculata Nest) was
a barista, and I needed some background material. During the interview, I
sampled the product. Not bad.
I visited other coffee shops around town and
sampled their wares. I got hooked. And one day I stumbled upon a Caribou Coffee
right up the street from my apartment. I found my drink of choice, a medium
white chocolate mocha with soy, and I found my home away from home. I got to
know the baristas. I started bringing my laptop with me when I came in.
I wrote the bulk of the second two-thirds of The Draculata Nest sitting in the light
open space of that coffee shop, watching the customers come and go and
listening to a pleasant mix of musical genres on their sound system. (Those of
you who’ve read The Draculata Nest
might notice the baristas mentioned in the dedication.) I wrote most of the
sequel there, too. I started on the third book.
And then one day, on my way out of town for a
road trip to do research for Red Wolf
Rising, I stopped by for a drink to go and there was a sign announcing the
shop would close the next day. I asked Summer, the manager/barista, why. She
shrugged. I asked her what she was going to do, and her eyes misted over as she
shrugged again.
Customers were in line behind me so I resisted
the urge to leap over the counter and give her a hug. Later that evening I used
the wifi in my hotel room to google Caribou, and I found out what was going on.
But I was out of town for the store-closing party they had. I never even got to
say goodbye.
That coffee shop was a huge part of my life for
nearly three years. How do I find closure? Where can I find good cup o’ joe?
Worse, will I ever be able to write again? My Quest for Coffee continues… in my next post.
Oh, and of course I need to include the usual, shameless promotion of my books. Four and five-star reviews are piling up for both of them. eBooks are only $2.99, and you can purchase one by clicking on one of the links below the cover image of your choice.
The Draculata Nest -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Click on the link to order:
ebook for Kindleebook for Nook ebook for Kobo in Paperback
in Charlotte Smashwords
ebook for Kindle
The Dragon of Doughton Park ----------------------------------------------------------
Click on the link to order:
ebook for Kindleebook for Nook ebook for Kobo in Paperback
in Charlotte Smashwords
ebook for Kindle
Hi, John. I'm sorry to hear about this. I don't really frequent any coffee shops, typically just drinking my coffee here at home or at work. What I do feel, however, is the fact that you had some place familiar and welcome and now it's gone, and that sucks! I hope you find another place real soon...
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we writers tend to write better when our souls are wounded. Perhaps there's a bestseller in it somewhere? That might ease your pain, huh? :)
Take care.
-Jimmy