Coffee and Writers

“My name is Amie, and I am a coffee addict.”

And the others say “Hey, Amie.”

And so begins our first meeting on Coffee Drinkers Anonymous. Because let’s face it, some of us can’t do it without our coffee. (Get your mind out of the gutter. I was talking about writing.) With a Starbucks on every corner, it’s no big wonder why.

When I first heard about a ‘coffee shop’ I thought “Pe-shaw!” ( I did. I think things like that. It’s just how I am.) “That’ll never succeed.” Wrong. Who knew that coffee could be so popular? Well, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker to name three. But then, as I started reading the posts from other writers on FB and Twitter. I found out the writers of the world alone drink enough coffee to keep the coffee growers around the world in the “black” for a long, long time.

Don’t get me wrong—I LOVE coffee. (Love, love, love.) My daddy used to pour me a cup when I was little and load it up with sugar and cream. It was part of our Sunday morning breakfast. When my husband heard this, he was appalled. “He gave you coffee at that age?” But hey, my aunt once tried to serve us beer with our breakfast. (It’s good to be a redneck. Though she was Scottish. But that’s neither here nor there.)

Seriously, what’s the difference between coffee and a soft drink? Well, several milligrams of caffeine as perhttp://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database. According to them, a 12 ounce Coke Classic has 35mg of caffeine, whereas an 8 ounce cup of coffee has 108. No wonder we depend on the stuff!

And everyone’s drinking coffee these days.

I know, I know, “If everyone were jumping off a building would you do it as well?” I had a mom, too. But I’ve already admitted that my love of joe goes back a long way (at least ten years!)

So in honor of our love of the sacred coffee urn, I wrote a haiku about coffee.

Ahem…

Golden sun rises

Coffee brews, drip, drip

Pages, pages to write

Okay, okay, so it’s not the best hiaku ever written. It’s still my haiku.

I asked some on my fellow authors why they love coffee so much. Here’s what they had to say. (You’ll be pleased to know that not one of them wrote a haiku.)

I quit drinking coffee only twice in my life, both times during pregnancy and years before I became a writer. I could say I felt fabulous, that I didn’t miss my daily caffeine intake and after suffering a very long, headache-filled week of withdrawal I vowed to never take another sip. That would be a big, fat lie. I missed coffee so bad I used to stand over the pot just to inhale the aroma while it brewed. I would shoot daggers at my husband while he enjoyed his morning cup, wondering if he had any idea how close I was to snatching the mug from his hand and downing the contents. The first drink I asked for after giving birth? Rich, hot coffee with LOTS of cream. I dare not insult real coffee by calling the lukewarm, watered-down brown substance the nurse brought me the same name.

Fast forward eight years and I am happy to say I’m back, firmly ensconced in my caffeine addiction, enjoying both my morning and afternoon cup a’ Joe. To me, coffee and writing share a symbiotic relationship. They belong together, like tequila and sunrise…like sand and castles, or sun and shine. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not messing with the natural order of things. It’s never a good idea, and bad things are bound to happen.

AJ Nuest, author of Jezebel’s Wish (Buy Link  http://tinyurl.com/446f7r3)

www.twitter.com/ajnuest  www.ajnuest.blogspot.com

I do love coffee. I’m picky about what flavors and which flavors I want creamer in and which I prefer without. But, I think my love for coffee started with my parents. Mom used to let me have a half cup every Sunday w/her when I was preteen. Then just before I turned teen they divorced and my dad would let me have a cup with him on Sunday for comfort. It’s my comfort food. When I’m stressed, happy, sad, hot, cold- doesn’t matter. I love my coffee!

Calisa Rhose, author of Home

http://calisarhose.wordpress.com  Facebook: http://on.fb.me/jOn1UT  Twitter: @Calisa_Rhose

I find my coffee breaks are less about the caffeine, and more about taking a few minutes to zone out and think about my story. The whole process of making coffee or tea: getting the cup, water, measuring, etc. is mindless and allows me to process what I’ve just written and where I want to go next. It also gives my hands a little break from typing. I’m on my second cup right now!

Jennifer Ann Coffeen, author of recently released “Lover’s Gamble” and other scandalously fun regency era romances.

www.JenniferAnnCoffeen.com

As a writer, I love coffee for four simple reasons: the smell, the taste, the warmth and the short break it provides. The smell and taste perk me up, keep me alert. The warmth of coffee feels like an inner hug if I’m struggling with part of my book. And, if I need to sit back and think for a minute or two about what comes next (as I often do), leaning back in my chair with a cup of coffee provides that much-needed break to ruminate and do something else.

Joya Fields Author, BENEATH THE SURFACE

www.joyafields.com

Psst…I’ve been having an ongoing love affair with Mr. Coffee for as long as I can remember.

My darling, Mr. Coffee is smooth and sinfully alluring in the early morning, tempting me to indulge. In the evenings, Mr. Coffee is comforting and sweet. Mr. Coffee can be oh so naughty when he lures me into the coffee house for a quick tryst over scones.

And don’t get me started on Mr. Coffee’s rich aroma that spreads through my senses like a caress. Oh yeah, mmm…I see a long fulfilling future for us yet.

Karen Nutt, author of time travel, magic, and otherworldly tales where hero and heroines find true love. Eli: Warriors for the Light (Book 1) and Lucca: Warriors for the Light (Book 2), The Devil’s Wolf featured in A Historical Collection, and Storm Riders.

http://www.kmnbooks.com    http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com

Coffee and I have the kind of love affair you dream of when you’re a girl reading your first Harlequin.

We’ve been together for so long now, I can’t remember our first meeting. I do know I miss it terribly when we’re apart.

I need coffee on my desk near my keyboard any time I sit down to the keyboard. It inspires me. Sometimes, the walk to the kitchen to heat coffee up provides just enough distance from the manuscript for an idea to pop up. It calms me down. That same walk keeps me from throwing the keyboard at the computer when I’m stuck. Come to think of it, that frequent walk is sometimes the only break I get from BIC. You see, coffee even helps that writer spread. Coffee is my nectar, my comfort, it gives me that burst of energy when I need it, warms my hands in the winter when rapid typing turns them to icicles. I love the taste, the smell and the idea of it. Yup, it’s love.

Lynne Roberts, romance author. Sugar and Spice, sometimes naughty is nice.

CREATIVE LICENSE

www.store.samhainpublishing.com

Rolynn Anderson, is a writer of suspense, spiked with romance…LAST RESORT, her debut novel,  releases June 11th!  She’s from Seattle and was hooked on Starbucks before the ‘company’ was a gleam in the eyes of the three start-up guys before they sold to Howard Shultz.  In fact, she taught junior high school with one of the founders, Zev Siegel.  She writes for three to four hours every day with Starbucks coffee coursing through her veins, then she celebrates her fruitfulness by drinking a venti latte with her DH (Usually at a Starbucks).  Every barista in the vicinity of Arroyo Grande, CA, knows her drink!

Rolynn Anderson, author of Last Resort The Wild Rose Press:

http://tinyurl.com/5skmxcn andAmazon: http://tinyurl.com/3cq6d7b

 http://www.rolynnanderson.com

As a writer, I rely on coffee to perk me up (hehehe!) when I’m low on energy–and ideas.

How do I love coffee? Let me count the ways:

You know how some people collect teapots? In my house, we collect espresso machines. Seriously. Two on my kitchen counter (one just to make lattes), one in the garage (going to DH’s office eventually) and a back up in the basement, just in case one goes down. When I open my kitchen cabinet, a stack of boxes espresso pods threatens to fall out. From no-test to extremely super-charged, the stockpiling keeps me from worrying about my next shot. Did you know you could rub steak with espresso? Yum. Take one medium rare grilled steak with a glass of iced coffee. Ahhhhh. Now get back to work!

PS: I did a story for an online Barista magazine years ago. It was one of my first acceptances. See, coffee loves me back!

Sharon Buchbinder, author of Desire and Deception & InnDecent Proposal

www.sharonbuchbinder.com

www.sharonbuchbinder.com/blog

Fireworks for the mind–surprising and sizzling!

My name is Vonnie Davis; I write romance and I AM a coffee addict.

I was never much of a coffee drinker until I met my husband 9 years ago. He’s a writer, too; he’s also a coffee addict–the pusher. Now I can’t write without a cup of freshly ground java at my side. The aroma entices my work ethic, the warmth of the brew soothes my rabid muse and the caffeine jumpstarts the imagination.  When my characters wake me up in the middle of the night, and I stumble out of bed to power-up my laptop, coffee powers up my mind. My name is Vonnie Davis; I write romance and I AM a coffee addict.

Vonnie Davis, author of  STORM’S INTERLUDE available  July 15th.

 http://www.vintagevonnie.blogspot.com

 http://www.vonniedavis.com

And back to me! You had to know there was some kind of contest involved. Leave a comment and be entered into the drawing for a pound ofJava Dave’s coffee–locally roasted here in Tulsa, OK.

And vote for your favorite coffee lover. The winner/author gets a matching pound. Keep that caffeine flowing! Cheers!

  All photos from FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~~”Coffee” (with laptop) by luigi diamanti, “Coffee Beans in the Glass” by huttakit, “Coffee” (with heart shaped stream) from surachai, and “Coffee Cup” from digitalart.

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