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Black Coffee
Black Coffee, a new short story collection from the author of Sid Sanford Lives!, brews together heartsick, overcaffeinated characters and dialogue that sizzles off a greasy diner grill.
Enter a mournful veteran’s mind as he loses his grip on reality. Join an all-female extermination squad hunting down despicable men. Wait at the bar with two soul mates as they battle their stormy past and try to bring a cold love back to a boil.
These nine moving, funny, and, at times, terrifying stories explore how people meander in and out of each other’s lives, why family bonds are the hardest to navigate and break, and how hope lights a path even in the darkest of coffee cups.
“Disquieting, thought-provoking, and uncomfortably honest, these brilliantly evocative stories will haunt you far past the final pages. Full of insight and empathy, and revealing a dark unsettling wisdom, these bleak, multi-layered tales are the proof of a brave new voice in fiction.”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally best-selling author of Trust Me
“If you’re the kind of person who still can’t help crying four lines into Paul Simon’s ‘America,’ then the protagonists in Black Coffee are bound to sing to you as well. You can’t help getting lost in these stories—each one a nighttime bus ride down the Jersey turnpike, filled with love, heartache, and inescapable loneliness. But Ford also brings his own brand of dark, off-kilter comedy. He’s an expert at mining humor out of despair. Black Coffee is a sensational collection full of unforgettable characters.”—Spencer Wise, author of The Emperor of Shoes
Enter a mournful veteran’s mind as he loses his grip on reality. Join an all-female extermination squad hunting down despicable men. Wait at the bar with two soul mates as they battle their stormy past and try to bring a cold love back to a boil.
These nine moving, funny, and, at times, terrifying stories explore how people meander in and out of each other’s lives, why family bonds are the hardest to navigate and break, and how hope lights a path even in the darkest of coffee cups.
“Disquieting, thought-provoking, and uncomfortably honest, these brilliantly evocative stories will haunt you far past the final pages. Full of insight and empathy, and revealing a dark unsettling wisdom, these bleak, multi-layered tales are the proof of a brave new voice in fiction.”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally best-selling author of Trust Me
“If you’re the kind of person who still can’t help crying four lines into Paul Simon’s ‘America,’ then the protagonists in Black Coffee are bound to sing to you as well. You can’t help getting lost in these stories—each one a nighttime bus ride down the Jersey turnpike, filled with love, heartache, and inescapable loneliness. But Ford also brings his own brand of dark, off-kilter comedy. He’s an expert at mining humor out of despair. Black Coffee is a sensational collection full of unforgettable characters.”—Spencer Wise, author of The Emperor of Shoes
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2019
11 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Ford
2 books27 followersDaniel Ford is the author of Sid Sanford Lives! and Black Coffee. He’s also the co-founder of Writer’s Bone, a literary podcast and website that champions aspiring and established authors.
A Bristol, Conn., native (and longtime Queens, N.Y., transplant), Ford now lives with his wife Stephanie in Boston’s North End, where coffee and cannolis are always within arm’s reach.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
A Bristol, Conn., native (and longtime Queens, N.Y., transplant), Ford now lives with his wife Stephanie in Boston’s North End, where coffee and cannolis are always within arm’s reach.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 2, 2019
This short story collection is special to me. I hope you all love it like I do!
October 26, 2019
A lovingly crafted short story collection, which finds finds meaning in the mundane and humor in the absurd. Some of the stories read like faded polaroids, capturing relationships in transition and the flawed ways people navigate those transitions. Others are more jarring, written with a brutal honesty that keeps readers engaged between the more reflective stories. Best of all is the centerpiece story from which the collection gets its namesake, a lovingly rendered tribute to the author's late aunt. Told sweetly, efficiently, and lingering just long enough on the details, it's the beating heart of this collection.
August 19, 2019
My thanks to Bianca Marais for introducing me to this terrific writer. I’m ordinarily not a fan of short Story collections: some are good, some not so good and some incomprehensible. All the stories in this collection are terrific. These stories aren’t pretty as they address dysfunctional people dealing with a multitude of life stressors. The common denominator in all of them? Coffee. There is a lot of humor in here and I LOLed at some of the circumstances these characters found themselves in. Welcome to my list of favorite authors Daniel!
September 4, 2019
This is a nice collection of short stories with well-drawn settings and characters. I'm curious now to read Sid Sanford Lives!
January 10, 2022
Sid Sandford Lives was one of my favorite reads last year! I totally was consumed by the stories in Black Coffee.....the characters find their way into others, how the stories are connected, and as the cover says "uncomfortably honest"!
November 5, 2019
I thought this collection of short stories were gritty in the most complimentary way. It was a quick, easy read. I especially enjoyed that it was written by a local Boston writer, though the stories mainly focused in New York. All the characters were relatable and likable. I wouldn’t say this collection of writing is for everyone, but I’d recommend nonetheless. I
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews