Spilling the Beans: A Day in the Life of a Coffee Shop

by Lesley Close, Richard Hopgood, Angela Haward

Drink in and delve into the minds of the people around you...the old man in the corner trying out a Macchiato...the troubled girl warming her hands and her esteem with Hot Chocolate...the extra shot of caffeine for the calculating career woman Spilling the Beans invites you to step inside the coffee shop and into the lives of baristas and beverages. Linger for the day with refills...and take away the freshly brewed grounds for gossip. "Fiction writing is often thought to be a lonely art form. The book you have in your hand disproves this theory. This wonderful collection of short stories is written by a group of writers who originally met in my creative writing class in Amersham, and it is as clever, funny and sensitive as the people who created it." Sally Norton author of '101 Things To Do Before You're Five'

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Sandra Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a friend of one of the authors I’m probably a bit biased. Have you ever people-watched in a coffee shop and made up stories about the people you observe? This book takes that idea and creates a great narrative. I’m not usually a fan of short stories but this set was elevated by the common thread of all taking place in a coffee shop during a single day. Each story was cleverly, but loosely twined with the others to make a cohesive whole. A really good read.

[Gretel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A set of short stories all taking place in a coffee shop by a set of amateur writers from Amersham. It works. Inevitably some of the stories I found more engaging than others. Considering how many writers are in this collection, everything manages to come together.

[Chris Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one of the authors, there is bias to my review. I think the rating is justified, though, because of the commitment of these amateur authors to creating a cohesive set of intertwined stories on an interesting theme. Worth a read!