The Coffee Date

Acknowledgments

I remember the day I first came up for the idea of The Coffee Date. It was a May afternoon in my biology class, right before I had an hour off for lunch. I was daydreaming as science wasn't one of my favourite, nor one of my strongest, classes. But to understand how I came up with the idea, it's best to know about the route my life had been taking at that point and the events that had happened while writing.

While planning and writing a plethora of events had taken place. Heartbreak. Graduation. University acceptance. My car getting run into by a drunk driver. I actually wrote chapter 24 while I was in a hospital waiting room, awaiting my dad's heart surgery to be completed. So, I'm upset and I'm stressed and I'm alone. What do I do?
What I always do. I write.

But with this book I wanted to write about what I knew. 90% of the novel was solely based or inspired by instances of my life. One of my friends was murdered almost 2 years ago, so while reeling with the agony of her death I wrote about a girl solving a murder she felt nobody cared about but her. While fighting a battle with anxiety, I wrote a girl who had anxiety but refused to let it stop her from doing what she wanted. While in a relationship where I felt like I deserved better, I wrote a story where the main character is blessed with someone who treats her as she deserves despite the treatment by the world around her.

While I stayed up night after night after night not wanting to sleep and chugging down coffee, I wrote a story about how coffee brought people together and fixed them, and healed them, and made them fall in love with the world and themselves.

Basically, my life has been crazy. But writing my two favourite characters in a world I created was magical. Nathan and Hazel rapidly became my best friends. I could relate to them. They inspired me. And I hope that this novel can inspire someone else.

I hope this can inspire someone with anxiety to fight and take charge of their life. I hope this can inspire someone who's dealing with an unhealthy family situation to defend themselves. I hope this can inspire someone to leave a relationship that doesn't treat them well. I hope this inspires people, like me, who are affected by a murder that life can still thrive and be okay. Most of all, I hope this can inspire someone to do an act of kindness for a total stranger, even if it's buying them a cup of coffee. Because you never know the battles that dwell behind every pair of eyes you see.

"The world was so beautiful and full of so many stories. Now, sitting here with a complete stranger, she got to know his story too. It was nice to crack open a new book, instead of reading her own over and over until the words became bland and overused. Instead, Hazel smiled and folded her hands in her lap, glancing around at all the other books in the room she might one day be able to read."

Anyways, enough with the mushy gushy. Onto the actual thank yous.

A huge thanks to my family for buying so much supplies for me to write on as well as supporting my writing binges when I would vanish for days at a time to plot and write. You thought I was crazy but you let me do what I do.

I'd like to thank so many people who have complimented me on Twitter and here on Wattpad for my writing. Telling me you're genuinely excited for new chapters or adding my book to your reading lists and libraries fills me with so much joy.

I also want to give a quick shoutout to readers who have been supporting me throughout the entirety of this novel and who have kept up with updates as they happen. They vote and comment as the stories goes and your genuine excitement in the story is so thrilling to me.
Those people would be AmazaynMissStylik, FrancieleBroglio and stainedintrovert. Many others have voted on this story but I definitely notice when you guys vote on almost every chapter and binge-read on certain days and it doesn't go unappreciated. So thank you.
Most of all, thank you to everyone who has given me a shot. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and these characters through their journeys. This past year has been insane, but writing this book has definitely been a huge highlight of it.

Thank you. Nathan and Hazel thank you. I thank you. I love you. I appreciate every single one of you.

Keep reading. Keep writing. Keep drinking that coffee.

Most of all, keep striving for your idea of home. I hope you find it, whatever it may be.

- JustAJournalist / Tay ♡