Colombian coffee, Earl Grey tea, or Jameson whiskey?
I’m not one who feels compelled to go to Starbucks for my sugary fix of a dipsy-doodle-whatever latte. First, I hate Starbucks—anything there tastes like I imagine burnt cow pucks might taste (all the sugar is to hide that taste). Second, I make great coffee, thank you—pure Colombian, flavorful, mellow, and satisfying. And third, I need my coffee to start my writing day, but I’m not going to dress up to appear at Starbucks along with bleary eyed addicts who shouldn’t even be driving because they’re half-asleep; and I won’t go there in my PJs either, as some are wont to do.
I sometimes have coffee at night too, especially when we have friends over for dinner (rare nowadays)—coffee after a good meal seems to stimulate conversation. But at night, I usually choose between tea or whiskey. I developed this habit once I was back in the USA; tea and whiskey in Colombia were too expensive (I’m not sure that’s still true), and there was certainly plenty of good Colombian coffee available down there! Yet tea and whiskey might just be in my genes. I’m only half-Irish by descent, but both drinks are civilized companions for a good PBS mystery or nature show or reading, which I mostly do. (Tea is appropriate for binge-reading British-style mysteries, for example, and I think Brits occasionally imbibe Irish whiskey more than they do Guinness). My preferred whiskey is Jameson—Irish whiskey, of course, that thrice-distilled elixir without the smoky burn of the twice-distilled Scottish aged in dirty old barrels (that reminds me of Starbucks’ coffee!), or the biting blast of once-distilled raw bourbon.
All of this is done in moderation, more so as I age. Too much coffee, and I can become as angry as any evangelical Trump supporter; too much tea, and my bladder becomes hyperactive; and too much whiskey will haunt me in the morning, requiring more coffee! The Goldilocks Principle applies here too: Just the right amount of each one is needed to file off the rough edges of life.
What are you choices? If you’re a reader, what accompanies your page-turning (or Kindle page flip)? If you’re a writer, do you need any liquid inspiration?
And now to end on perhaps a sad note (although some readers will jump up and down with joy): I’m going to dedicate a bit more time to writing, publishing, and promoting my stories. While this journalistic exercise of posting three blog articles per week is also writing (I’ve always felt it’s a good exercise for anyone who wants to be a minimalist writer who makes her or his point succinctly), everyone must realize that it takes an immense amount of time. In fact, I don’t know how writers with a full-time day job can do it, along with social media and other required writing that intrudes on storytelling. I could only do it by neglecting my storytelling.
So…as of November 1, I will post only one article per week. I’ve already ended my op-ed series (again, some will jump for joy), because next week some people will be voting (many already have). This blog pales in importance to the democratic duty we all share in voting for our chosen candidates. There’s nothing more important for a healthy democracy. Our leaders represent our will (although many of them avoid that), and that will can only be expressed by voting.
Of course, this blog also might have some entertainment value for my readers. I will keep that in mind as I reduce the number of posts and strive to make them more entertaining, but they’ll be focused on reading, writing, and the publishing business.
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Comments are always welcome!
Origins: The Denisovan Trilogy, Book One. Kayla Jones has dreams she can’t understand. Her future seems determined as the brilliant STEM student looks forward to a research career, but her past gets in the way. As if the chaos afflicting the world and leading to her adopted father’s death wasn’t enough, killers begin to pursue her. With some friends who come to her aid, she begins to discover a conspiracy that can be traced to prehistoric battles between hominins bent on conquest of their world. Coming as soon as possible from A.B. Carolan!
And to tide you over until this new novel is published, please try A.B.’s other three YA novels, now on sale through December 31, 2020 at Smashwords. These three YA sci-fi mysteries, Secret Lab, The Secret of the Urns, and Mind Games will take you from the near to the far future, all set in my sci-fi universe mapped out in “The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy” and other stories. They will provide many hours of reading pleasure for young adult readers and those adult readers who are young at heart.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
