And Then Comes Morning

I was up before daylight this morning, as usual. The world was dark but I knew morning was coming…morning! That grand and glorious start to a new day; new opportunities, new experiences, perhaps new thoughts about old problems. Hope rises with each morning as surely as the sun. One of my favorite songs is “Morning Has Broken”. In Lamentations 3:22-23, we read that “His compassions fail not; they are new every morning.” And of course the best way to start the day is by talking to the Lord.

A good cup of coffee is a must for starting the day or maybe two cups, or three or…Perhaps that’s why in my two cozy mysteries, written with co-author Barbara Burgess, our intrepid heroines Darcy and Flora spend part of each morning in the kitchen talking over the current mysterious happenings while sipping cups of strong, black coffee.

Come to think of it, a lot of the danger Darcy faces is rooted in the  night or a long-hidden cave or a dark, rain-slick highway or dusky woods. But does the lack of light diminish her courage and determination? No!  For example, in The Cemetery Club, a noise in the front yard wakens Darcy: “I threw back the sheets and padded over to the window. The full moon lit the front yard, making it almost as bright as daylight and cast long shadows of trees and bushes across the grass. An owl disengaged itself from the moon-silvered oak and flew silently away…As I watched, another shadow moved from behind the oak. This one was large and upright.”

And  in Grave Shift, “The clouds had gathered forces and a light rain fell as my car crept through the shadowy woods. The headlights beamed a tunnel through the crowding trees…I glimpsed something…It glided directly into my path then stopped and turned its head toward me.”

Our heroine comes through the danger and looks toward a solution to the problem. “The aroma of freshly-brewed coffee greeted me as I came downstairs the day after the earthquake. But that was all that was normal about the morning.” (Grave Shift)

And, “As I went downstairs, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. Grant sat at the dining table. Mom was pouring him a cup of coffee.” (The Cemetery Club)

I think a writer puts some of herself into her writings. I like mornings! I like coffee! And so does Darcy Campbell. And, even if the morning outside my window seems to be on the murky side, I can always go to Levi, Oklahoma, drop in for a visit with Darcy and Flora and start the day with sunshine and a cup of hot, strong coffee.