FOREWORD
My name is Alex Shvartsman, and I’m a coffee addict.
I managed to stave off this addiction for the first thirty-five years of my life. Coffee was my secret weapon–since I drank it so rarely, a single cup could turbo-charge my caffeine-susceptible brain. And then I began writing fiction.
Coffee and fiction go together well. A little too well. I’m now at the point where I find it difficult to write new words without imbibing a cup of java first. I like to joke that coffee deserves a co-author credit on most of my stories. And I’m not alone.
Having spent a fair amount of time hanging out with other science fiction and fantasy fans, I learned that–in addition to great books–there are three things 99.9% of them love: cats, bacon, and coffee.
There have been a lot of excellent cat-themed anthologies over the years. Recently, Baconthology was published to fill the small void in the hearts of bacon fans not yet clogged by consuming actual bacon. And yet, no one seems to have made the obvious leap and published a book of speculative stories about coffee. This volume seeks to correct that terrible oversight.
Within you’ll find fourteen caffeinated stories that run the gamut from dark to light and sweet. I sought to include every flavor, except for that burnt swill in the office coffee pot.
So grab your favorite mug, savor that first sip, and flip the page.
Happy reading!