What Novelists Can Learn from a Coffeemaker

About a month ago, our wonderful, faithful Gevalia coffeepot died. What a shame! Since my wife and I have become rather . . . um, dependent on our daily intake of the coffee bean (hey, it is in the vegetable or fruit family), I zipped out to Walmart for another coffeepot. I figured Mr. Coffee was a decent brand, and the model I grabbed was the right price. What a mistake! Two weeks later, I turned it on one morning between pages of a hectic edits—and nada. There wasn’t a sign of life other than a taunting green light that smirked at me as if some wise guy were playing a joke. Thankfully, Walmart took the coffeepot back, and I decided not to waste a nickel on another Mr. Coffee that might just croak again in two weeks. So this time we’re trying a Black & Decker for the same…

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