Nearly every writer stalls, panics, and wrestles with self-doubt at one time or another. But here’s the question of the day. Can a writer’s struggles lead to a deadly end? Reverse the words “writer’s block” to “blocked writer”—as in thwarted, stymied, stonewalled—and you may have an even stronger motive for murder. At least, that’s what my husband and I pondered as we set out to pen our latest Coffeehouse Mystery, NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY.
Ironically, though the anguish of the dreaded “writer’s block” has sent fear into the hearts of many a scribe, that same literary affliction has also propelled entertaining plotlines in novels and films. There’s The Shining, of course; more recently The Plot; and the Nicolas Cage film Adaptation to name a few. We were similarly inspired as we sat down to write our newest Coffeehouse Mystery, NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY.
Given the looming deadline for the 21st title in our long-running series, we stared at blank screens for a time and then—EUREKA!—our stalled progress itself became the inspiration.
The idea of writer’s block felt perfect for our Coffeehouse series. After all, coffee itself is known as “writer’s fuel,” and the notion of writers scribbling (or procrastinating) in coffeehouses has been around about as long as there’ve been coffeehouses.
And so we were off and running, crashing through our own creative wall with the battering ram of writer’s block itself. Now the ideas were flowing. We saw our amateur sleuth—single mom and coffeehouse manager Clare—facing the devastating problem of sluggish foot traffic in her landmark Greenwich Village shop. How does she solve it? With the help of her loyal crew of baristas who suggest turning her shop’s second floor into a “Writer’s Block” lounge, something her century-old coffeehouse once embraced, only to abandon when something dark occurred. And though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare agrees to the idea of resurrecting a space for writers. And it works. Maybe too well.
A quirky collection of creative types is soon packing both floors of Clare’s coffee shop. Unfortunately, many of these poets, playwrights, and novelists wrestle with the same demons of self-doubt, envy, and free-floating anxiety that many of us writers do, and as the pages turn in NO ROAST FOR THE WEARY, this stressful soup leads to murder.
Given our own two decades of experience with the exhilarating highs and gut-twisting lows of the creative process, we took to the idea of writer’s block with zeal but also empathy. Layered into our amateur sleuth’s quest for the truth behind several serious crimes (both past and present) are real and hilarious truths about the writing life, truths we know from our long experience living and working as professional writers in New York City.
Until our full-time careers as authors kicked into gear, we spent years working day jobs while writing on the side, which is why we know how crazy, inspiring, and exhausting life in the arts can be (yep, No Roast for the Weary), and we weaved some of that oddball knowledge into our newest Coffeehouse title.
At the close of our tale, we even included a short list of our favorite ways to combat writer’s block. Who knows, the tips may help inspire our fellow authors, if not prevent another deadly end. So, join us and hold on for this one. No Roast for the Weary is one heck of a caffeinated ride, and we hope you enjoy it.
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Coffeehouse Mystery #21
When the Village Blend opens a Writer’s Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.
As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won’t survive if she doesn’t sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend’s customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer’s Block Lounge is born.
Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop’s second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward…
Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day.
Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest.
Includes a knockout menu of recipes!
Mystery Cozy [Berkley, On Sale: April 1, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593642283 / eISBN: 9780593642290]
CLEO COYLE is the New York Times bestselling pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing popular fiction in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. With more than 1 million books sold, Alice and Marc have authored more than 25 works in their two long-running, “relentlessly entertaining” mystery series.
Praised as a “master of misdirection” by Mystery Scene magazine, Cleo Coyle has been awarded starred reviews by Library Journal and Kirkus, honored with Best of Year selections by multiple reviewers, and recommended by Booklist and Library Journal for core library mystery collections.
Cleo’s Coffeehouse Mystery series, celebrated for pioneering both the “coffee” and “urban cozy” genres, follows the adventures of amateur sleuth Clare Cosi, a single mom with a complicated love life who manages a Greenwich Village coffeehouse and a quirky crew of baristas while helping the NYPD solve perplexing crimes.
Cleo’s Haunted Bookshop series, hailed as a highly original blend of cozy and hardboiled genres, features an earnest young New England widow who catches criminals with the help of a gumshoe ghost, the irresistible spirit of a tough private detective who’d been gunned down in her bookshop decades before.
In addition to their critically acclaimed mysteries, Alice and Marc have written multiple works of fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. They are also accomplished tie-in writers who have created bestselling properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM.
Originally from Western Pennsylvania, Alice and Marc live in New York City, where they haunt coffeehouses, hunt ghosts, wrangle rescue cats, cook like crazy, and write independently and together.
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