"THE COFFEE SHOP" - by Lauren Hunter
About the Book
Review
Author Interview
Links to Lauren's Pages
"THE COFFEE SHOP"
From the moment Derrick Sloane and Annie Maddock met there was an
instant connection. They date for five months, growing closer every day.
Only Derrick wakes up to discover the entire five month relationship was nothing more than a dream. Or was it? For when he goes to the coffee shop who should be there but Annie, just as in his dream. Derrick soon realizes he was seeing a relationship with Annie five months into the future. That night the dream continues right where it left off, five months in the future, but his meeting with Annie that day has altered the timeline. Every day he spends with Annie, he continues to alter the timeline of his future. Although Derrick tries desperately to put everything back to the way it was in his dream, every attempt just makes it worse.
And when he is shown two alternate timelines, he must now make the most difficult decision of his life.
Only Derrick wakes up to discover the entire five month relationship was nothing more than a dream. Or was it? For when he goes to the coffee shop who should be there but Annie, just as in his dream. Derrick soon realizes he was seeing a relationship with Annie five months into the future. That night the dream continues right where it left off, five months in the future, but his meeting with Annie that day has altered the timeline. Every day he spends with Annie, he continues to alter the timeline of his future. Although Derrick tries desperately to put everything back to the way it was in his dream, every attempt just makes it worse.
And when he is shown two alternate timelines, he must now make the most difficult decision of his life.
REVIEW for "THE COFFEE SHOP"
by Ellen Fritz
The story alternates
between what seems to be reality, dreams and dreams within dreams. After experiencing a romantic relationship of
five months in a dream one evening, with Annie Maddock - a girl he has never
met before, Derrick Sloane is cruelly awakened by the ringing phone. But
imagine his surprise when he really meets Annie at The Coffee Shop: just as he
had in the dream.
The events leading up
to the meeting is frighteningly similar. A truck had lost its load in the
street causing a traffic pile-up, which in turn caused Derrick not to be able
to get to his usual morning haunt for his usual morning coffee - hence the
detour to The Coffee Shop.
Derrick (a very
likeable character), is a successful businessman who is out of his depth when
it comes to dealing with personal relationships and his feelings for his loved
ones. Despite his wealthy status, he is a remarkably unselfish person capable
of making life-altering personal sacrifices to protect others from harm. He
cares deeply for his friend dr. Brian Taylor who had been his friend since
childhood and with whom he regularly enjoyed a game of racquetball. But then
his own life changes, when along comes Annie.
Annie, an
uncomplicated girl who enjoys the simple things in life, provides a welcome
contrast to Derrick's life in the competitive corporate world; just the kind of
woman he wants to come home to. As their relationship progresses, he discovers
that Annie has the intelligence and potential to be more than the health store
clerk that she is. He mentions this to her. That night in his dream of the
future, Annie is a business woman and no longer the home maker he loved in the
first dream. He soon realises that trying to change Annie to what he thinks she
should be, is unwise, as the result might not be to his liking or her benefit.
I couldn’t help but
grin from time to time. As Derrick is the only one experiencing the dreams and
alternations between present and future, he comes up with some ideas,
statements and suggestions which seem ludicrous to Annie. Thinking Derrick
slightly crazy or ill, she then summons his friend, the good doctor, who most
of the time, displays remarkable faith in Derrick and tries to help him figure
things out.
There are some truly
heart-stopping moments when the lives of both Brian and Annie hang in the
balance. Derrick has to do some fast thinking to prevent disaster. All these
dreams and shifting timelines present him with choices which will determine the
ultimate fate of Annie, Brian and himself. When he does something in the
present, it changes things in the future.
The dialogue is
highly stimulating; full of banter, humour and wit; and the rapid shifts
between dream and reality, future and present, keeps the reader intrigued. The
somewhat poignant romance may even make your eyes mist over. I absolutely
recommend this book to anybody who wants to read a romance with an
unforgettable twist and a healthy dose of suspense. “The Coffee Shop” will
pleasantly surprise you!
Ellen's star rating 4/5
"The Coffee Shop" by Lauren Hunter is available for purchase from Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble and SmashWords.
MEET this week's FEATURED AUTHOR
If you had to ask Lauren to summarise her
life in a few sentences, she’ll tell you that, in her opinion, she has led a
fairly boring life. But reading the list
of things she has accomplished in her life, it leaves the reader in awe.
Besides being a very talented and promising author, Lauren has studied voice
for two years, and in her own words “can now sing like those opera singers”.
She also figure skated for almost 8 years, did a little modelling and acting;
and took piano lessons for another few years. Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy are
only a few of many composers whose compositions she had mastered on the piano.
She has also taught English in Japan for a year; and loves maths and science.
Besides poetry, this multi-talented author also writes short stories – some of
which are being published.
Sadly, Lauren’s mom passed away a few months
ago; and she now finds her strength in her father, who is her inspiration and
pillar of support.
INTERVIEW with author LAUREN HUNTER
ABOUT "THE COFFEE SHOP"
Q: Is “The Coffee Shop” your first book?
A: The Coffee Shop was my first book published, but it is the last book I wrote. As mentioned in the previous question, the first one was a paranormal saga, followed by a sci-fi, that is about a girl with very strange abilities, I can’t tell you why or I’ll give it away, but she is in hiding when taken by a government agency. Only after her abilities vanish do they release her, but when those abilities mysteriously reappear, she runs, all the while trying to discover her true origins, never considering just how unbelievable they really are, or her destiny because of them. That book has e. s. p. and psychokinesis, among other things. I then wrote a Regency trilogy, regencies take place in England during the Regency period (1811-1820) although some consider it to extend for some time before and after that, the true regency period falls within those dates. Those tend to be based on humour, wit, and misunderstanding, although there can be smuggling and aspects of the war that come into it, I put a ghost in each of mine. It was then that I wrote, The Coffee Shop.
Q: How long did it take you to write “The Coffee Shop”?
A: 19
days.
Q: Where did you get the idea for “The Coffee Shop”?
A: The morning I got up and started working on The Coffee Shop, was the day I was going to start my horror novel. But the second I woke up this idea popped into my head. I recalled something I had read years ago, something bizarre, based on a true story. I thought that would make a great novel. I then took that idea and tweaked it, and then tweaked it again, and again, and very quickly in a matter of minutes I had mapped out the storyline for The Coffee Shop. I then sat down and started working on it immediately. I don’t want to give that original idea as I am considering using it as is for another novel.
Q: Which of your characters in “The
Coffee Shop” are your favorite and why?
A: Oh, that’s like asking a mother who is her favourite child, and in a
way our characters are a lot like our children. They become very real to us. We
know they are only figments of our imagination but the moment we start writing
about them they immediately feel very real. We know exactly what they look like,
and we know every aspect of their person and personality. And the more we write
about them the more real them become to us. I have had stories where I have
killed off a character and I was so upset that I had to stop and cry for a
while. I know that sounds REALLY stupid, but it was so real that I was actually
mourning their death. I guess it’s a lot like when a reader is moved by a story
and it makes them cry, or laugh. To them the characters become very real, just
as with the author.
So, as to who is my favourite...I love each of them in a
different way, Brian, because he’s loyal, although very annoying, and childish,
Derrick because he has such a big heart, and tries so hard, and Annie because
she just wants to be loved, and will give her heart and soul to the one that
does.
Q: If “The Coffee Shop” could be made into a major motion
picture, who would you choose for the main roles?
A: Oh...hmm...let’s see, Hugh Jackman for Derrick, Paul Bettany for Brian,
and January Jones for Annie.
Q: What was the hardest part of writing “The Coffee Shop”?
A: Any time you are dealing with alternate timelines and paradox you can
be guaranteed some degree of confusion will enter into the story. Trying to
keep all the facts straight, have them all match up, covering every story line,
and keeping them all separate with no loose ends, isn’t the easiest task. You
have to keep all your notes very detailed, and very clear. In any paradox story
you are going to have, well, paradox, things that won’t seem to make sense, or
will lead to some level of confusion as the story is flowing, because the
timelines become contradictive. It’s that contradiction that leads to confusion,
but that is all part of the story.
Say a man built a time machine, he then travels back in time,
meets a woman, gets her pregnant, comes back to his present only to discover he
was his own grandfather. This is what you would call paradox. You would say,
that’s impossible, he would have to be alive before he was alive, but he can’t
be alive before he is alive, but he travelled back in time so he met his own
grandmother before he was born. You say that can’t happen, that doesn’t make
sense. Or the grandfather paradox, you travel back in time and kill your own
grandfather so you are never born. So none of it could have happened, but it
did happen, within the story. You say, that’s crazy, that can’t happen
So, as the story unfolds the alternate timelines offer
paradox into the storyline, but as the story continues it all starts to fall
into place, it starts to make sense, and in the end you understand what has
happened, and what is going on. I try to help the reader keep a handle on what
is happening by italicizing those parts of the story when he is dreaming in the
future.
Q: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your
own life?
A: I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that all writers use
personal experiences, or observations, from their own lives and incorporate
them into their stories, to one degree or another. I have done just that, some
stories are largely based on personal experiences and the rest have moments or
portions that I have taken from things I have witnessed, learned, or
experienced first hand. As for this story, I have indeed used personal
observations, or experiences, directly in the storyline. That those anecdotes are based on actual events gives my story realness. That you
are basing incidents on true events makes them easy to write without questioning
yourself, and adds a layer of realism.
ABOUT LAUREN
Q: Who are your favourite authors and what is it that really
strikes you about their work?
A: Stephen King, for one, I admire the way his mind works. Horror is an
area I definitely want to write more in. There are others, but we’ll be here
all day if I start listing them all.
Q: What
is your most favourite childhood memory?
A: Can’t
think of one. I know how completely pathetic that sounds, but I am sitting here
and I can’t think of a single thing, maybe I’m just tired.
Q: What
was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?
A: What,
you only want me to pick one? But there are so many!
Q: What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an
author?
A: My bridges are burned, so it’s this or...nothing.
Q: If you can have dinner with one person, who would it be and why?
A: I am going to extend this to any point in history and say I’d like the
opportunity to spend an evening with my mom again.
Q: Do you
have a favourite quote you want to share with your readers?
A: I assume you mean something to do with
writing, but the first thing that comes to mind is something silly like, “Before you criticize someone, you should walk
a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away,
and you have their shoes.”
ABOUT WRITING
Q: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
A: There wasn’t any one defining moment, if that’s what you mean. I always
enjoyed it, and throughout elementary school the teacher chose my stories to
read to the class. I assumed if the teacher liked them they must be okay. I had
considered the idea in my early teens but never seriously. I did write poetry,
and have had a number of poems published in anthologies, but it wasn’t until my
mid to late twenties that I decided to write a book. I started on it, worked on
it on and off over the years and eventually finished it. It takes place
starting around 1900 and goes for a lifetime, and is about reincarnation, with
past life flashbacks, and visions, and ghosts, and stepping momentarily through
a doorway in time. That was my first book. I still need to type it up as I
wrote it out long hand. It was after that I wrote my sci-fi in four weeks, then
some time after that I wrote my first Regency. It was then that I decided to
start looking for a publisher.
Q: What motivates you to sit down behind your pc and start
writing?
A: I don’t think of it that way. These ideas are floating around in my
head and I want to get them down, I want to tell their story. Once those ideas
start to flow I can write all day every day, that’s when you do 50K in 12 days,
or 85K in 19 days. When you’re on a roll it gushes out of you, and it’s all you
can do to keep up with yourself. But you are either in a writing mood, or you
are not. Creativity is something I have never forced.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about your next book?
A: The book I am working on now, I’m about 30K in, is a horror story. It’s
about an affair gone wrong where the girl winds up dead. A writer comes to stay
at the cabin to work on his next novel, unaware her ghost is lingering there.
The ghost comes to realize she can impose her thoughts into the writer’s mind.
He thinks they are his own thoughts and starts to use them for his next novel,
unaware he is writing the story of her murder. Over time the ghost starts to
realize she can impose more and more control over him, and at some point takes
him over to seek revenge.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
You can follow author Lauren Hunter on the
following pages:
http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18
http://laurenhunter-1.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/LaurenHunterFanPage
http://www.wix.com/lhunter1/romance
http://twitter.com/#!/LaurenHunter_1
http://www.myspace.com/LHunter-1
http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18
http://laurenhunter-1.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/LaurenHunterFanPage
http://www.wix.com/lhunter1/romance
http://twitter.com/#!/LaurenHunter_1
http://www.myspace.com/LHunter-1
2 comments:
Fantastic review and interview :-) Really enjoyed finding out about Lauren, her writing, and The Coffee Shop.
Great review and interview! Sounds like a very interesting book :))
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