Tales From The Coffee Shop

I think by this point we all know that Stephenie Meyer, author of the bestselling series Twilight , traveled to Forks, Washington and wrote the book in a café there. While I understood why she would want to go there for research purposes, I never really understood the appeal of writing somewhere other than your own home. I had always written at my desk in my dining room or in a notebook on my lap in bed with no problems. And then I discovered my local coffee shop. While my debut manuscript wasn't born in this shop, it came to life here. And I've often wondered why it took this little, cozy place to make that happen. The answer isn't quite what you might think. While the coffee shop plays a role (and more than just a small one), it has more to do with an internal awakening that happens here in the mornings. I forget sometimes that the only reason I found this little shop was because I had quit my toxic job and was trying to find something that was just for me. A place to giv...

Creative burnout, delayed book releases, and finding my way back to writing I've experienced harsh winters before. Some were cold enough that I questioned whether I would make it through them. But here I am again, writing about another winter—one that wasn’t as brutal as some of the ones in the past, but harsh enough that I found myself wrapped in a blanket, quietly hoping the sun would return soon. And as if on cue, it has. The sun has been shining again. There have been a couple of cloudy days here and there over the last week, but that’s okay. Both metaphorically and physically speaking.  That’s why they call them the seasons of life. Sometimes they line up almost perfectly with the seasons outside our windows. This last winter of life was one of those times.  If you follow me on social media, you probably saw me make the gut-wrenching decision to push back the release of Comatose . In fact, the book was supposed to release yesterday. Now, there isn’t an exact date. Al...