The Mystery of a Cup of Coffee

You’ll pardon me this morning, if I’m a bit scattered. My publisher just sent the cover picture for Barbara’s and my second Darcy and Flora Cozy Mystery. So far, I’ve seen two possible covers, one for Grave Shift and this one for The Cemetery Club. Kelsey is a talented artist and is rendering some eye-catching possibilities. It’s so exciting to think that the three Darcy and Flora cozies will be available soon. The third book,  Best Left Buried, will doubtless boast an equally attractive cover.

It seems to me that fall is the perfect time for launching books. It’s a time of seasons changing; there’s a sense of mystery and eagerness in the air, and with cooler days coming on, outdoor activities will slow down and thoughts should turn to indoor pasttimes–like reading.

My first cup of Folgers this morning just wasn’t enough to clear the stars from my eyes or settle my brain into coherent thoughts, so I’m going to the kitchen for a refill. Coffee figures largely in the three Darcy and Flora cozies too. Here are just a few of the times that a good shot of caffeine helped solve a mystery:

The Cemetery Club: I found Mom’s old yellow coffee pot on the counter in the kitchen. By the time she appeared, I was warming my hands around a steaming cup. I poured her a mugful.

I don’t think I can drink this,” she said.  

“You need the caffeine. Something hot will make a new woman out of you.”

Mom sank into a chair. “It’s going to take a whole lot more than coffee to make me feel anything but old and bewildered.”

Grave Shift: Mom poured coffee for all four of us as we sat around her kitchen table. Unaccountably, I felt cold. I pulled the old green crocheted afghan over my shoulders, shivering and trying to warm my fingers on my coffee mug.

Best Left Buried: “I’ve got to have more coffee,” I said. Grant went with me to the coffee pot. We both refilled our cups.

     “Are you going to be all right?” he asked.

     I nodded. “Grant, it is like I’m reliving all the pain these people went through. What a terrible thing to keep secret all these years.”

     Pat, too, brought her empty cup to the coffee pot. “Darcy, is there more to that journal?”

Anyway, coffee certainly does help with solving all the mysteries in these three books. I’m not certain Darcy and Flora could have gotten through their hectic days without it! It is a proven fact that when unsolvable or unbelievable or unsettling events happen, just sitting down with a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and being very still for a few minutes is helpful in solving a problem or realizing there is no solution and living comfortably with that fact. And, by the way, when an author’s books are about to see daylight, coffee is a great way to celebrate!