MUSE MONDAY
Coffee. It’s more than just a morning pick-me-up. Perhaps
that’s why it always plays a role in my books. In my latest work, Heartquake,
my main character owns a coffee shop and as you might expect quite a few scenes
take place there.
While my love of coffee originated with my need to stay up
all night studying in college, it evolved over the years. Few activities in
life make me happier than sitting down with a good cup of coffee and a dear
friend.
I’ve recently discovered this just isn’t one of my quirks.
No, psychology now explains there are three positive benefits to carving out
time to meet a friend for some coffee.
That cup of joe can actually improve your social
relationships, according to an article in Psychology Today. Its caffeine
content provides you a light stimulant while you’re chatting with your bestie.
This results in a boost in your memory and nudges you to linger and talk.
Just the pleasure of a good cup of coffee with a friend
increases your level of endorphins, those infamous feel-better hormones. And
according to psychologists, this sense of wellbeing allows us to kick back and
actually relax. And that opens us to appreciate the friendship.
Finally, and this is my favorite benefit, sharing a cup of
coffee and conversation provides us with the opportunity “to be fully present.”
Psychologists explain a coffee date contributes to our “cognitive and emotional
reserve.” And that not only strengthens us, but it offers the opportunity of
“genuine happiness,” found in the small details of life.
Sharing a cup of coffee, it turns out, is a Zen activity.
Who knew?
Now that we know its remarkable “perks” we really should “stop and smell the coffee” more often.
Coffee shop owner, Charlee Lightheart, views corporations
with contempt. She believes her father died at the hands of the pharmaceutical
industry. When she's approached to run for city council on an anti-fracking
platform, she's reluctant. She's not sure this movement is her cause.
Billionaire Riley Brockton has given up on love. Then he
walks into Charlee's shop. All he wanted was coffee and muffins. From that
first electrifying touch, he knows he needs more. He withholds one piece of
vital information: he's a lionshifter.
A rogue reporter sets out to reveal the one secret that can destroy the anti-fracking movement and the couple's relationship. Can their love survive the truth and public exposure?
EXCERPT FOR HEARTQUAKE
His hands seemed more like
paws. Not destructive mauling paws of a feral beast, but the large loving ones
of an animal dedicated to protecting those he loved. She feared if he kept his
hand on hers too long, she would start to think about love at first sight
again. Yet she didn’t move it.
When he did remove his hand
from hers, she felt an immediate and crushing disconnect. She fell back to
earth and experienced the gripping weight and limitation of the force of
gravity. Did an astronaut experience this remorse and loss of freedom when
he re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and found himself bound by gravity?
“I apologize,” he said, as
he shook his head slightly. “I think I’ve overstepped my bounds. That’s not at
all what I intended to happen. That was uncharacteristic of me.”
“Don’t be,” she said. She
couldn’t take her gaze from his eyes.
“Pardon me?”
“Don’t be sorry.”
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Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60574351-heartquake?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=99H2V7dnWm&rank=1
Bookbub: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60574351-heartquake?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=99H2V7dnWm&rank=1
