Sweetwater's: A Brief Escape with Books and Cocoa

August 2025

Several times a year, I'm privilaged to share my books with the coffee house patrons of Sweetwater's Coffee & Tea in Novi and Canton, Michigan. These events are organzied by Creative Slingers of Ink, and I love every visit.

For me, coffee houses (or as I call them, cocoa dealers) are a perfect fit for books and storytelling. The atmosphere is already relaxed and time slows from the moment you walk in the door. Small groups sit together chatting, laughing, and sharing a bit of their own storytelling. Others sit apart from the crowd with laptops or sketch books, some with mind palace music in headphones and earbuds.

Most people who visit discover our books accidentally when they arrive, and a few others come in with the specific goal to seek us out, hearing we'd be there through the "grapevine" of social media. Some chat a while and buy books, some just say hello. For me, each encounter makes the day better.

Whenever I present my books at any event, I rarely go with the expectation of making record sales, (although, honestly, that would be great). At coffee shops, that expectation is even smaller. These are not sales-rich environemnts. They're not meant to be. They are, however, rich pockets of humanity, connecting me for a few hours of the energy of community. It's nice to have conversations with people in a place where judgement is at a minimum. After all, on some level, we're all there to escape and enjoy a little bit of nice in between the stressors of the day.

And it is nice. Especially with a warm cup of liquid wonderment... and their pretzel-bread sandwiches are tastey, too.

I will be at Sweetwater's a few more times in the coming months, at both the Novi and Canton locations. If you're interested in joining me for a cup of coaoa and a little converstaion, and perhaps add a new book to your TBR, I'd love to meet you.