Mean Ole Mr. Latte

Or How a Cup of Coffee Tried to Embarrass Me

Those of you who know me know how much I like coffee—specifically lattes. I’ve even had kids who’ve heard me speak mention that I was drinking my happy juice, as I like to call it. Well yesterday, my favorite drink turned against me.

I was at Barnes & Noble, giving a writing workshop on The Art of Storytelling. I had, in my possession, a nice grande latte fresh from the café. I had just started the workshop, and I was instructing each of the attendants to introduce themselves and tell everyone what they liked to write. As one of the students was talking, I took the first gulp of my latte—always the best, you know.

BURN! It was scalding, and basically lit my entire tongue on fire. Of course, I’m the speaker, so I can’t show any emotion. I forced a smile, nodded my head, and pointed to the next person, meanwhile wishing for some ice water. (I pulled it off! No one knew!)

So I took the cap off the latte, and set it down to cool as everyone else introduced themselves.

But that’s not the only trick Mean Ole Mr. Latte had up his sleeve. As I was explaining what Point of View was, I began to sip my latte, enjoying how nutty it tasted as it went down. It was hot, soothing, and lulling me into a false sense of security. As I was talking, I was making motions with my hands trying to illustrate the concept of “Show, Don’t Tell.” That’s when it happened. Mean Ole Mr. Latte saw an opportunity, jumped in front of my hands, and BAM!

Oh, yes. You all know where I’m going with this. My speaking notes… The table… Everything covered in coffee. Probably one of my more embarrassing moments as a speaker.

So for those of you who attended the workshop, thank you for not laughing at me.


For more information on my novel, A Prophecy Forgotten: Book I of the Elysian Chronicles, and my upcoming novel, Out of the Shadows: Book II of the Elysian Chronicles, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.