How Do You Like Your Coffee?

This is Valerie Comer. Here in Canada the appropriate answer to the above question is, "I like my Coffee Crisp." This does not refer to leaving a mug of the brew outside in winter and having it freeze over. Instead, it has to do with our world-famous chocolate bar. (Nope, not a candy bar--we're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Literally!)



Like the Coffee Crisp bar, Canadians come in various layers, most of which are quite similar to American layers, just put together in a unique way and marketed differently to the rest of the world. We have our prairies, we have our seacoasts, we have our mountains, and we have our frozen north, much the same as the USA does. The scenery in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana is just as gorgeous as where I live right next door in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. You be the judge. This photo was taken last November about four miles from my house:



Canadians are also 'layered' in similar ethnic groups, professions, and lifestyles as Americans, so you probably won't find books by Canadians set in Canadian locations to seem particularly foreign. You'll find us no harder to understand than catfish noodlers from Louisiana or elk ranchers from Idaho, for example.

If you're not Canadian AND you have never tried a Coffee Crisp chocolate bar AND you are one of the first six qualified commenters on this post, I'll be happy to mail you a sample of this tasty confection, anywhere in the world. Please leave your partially disguised email address in the comment if you'd like to enter and I'll contact you for your mailing address.

Valerie Comer writes contemporary romance set in British Columbia, Canada, as well as fantasy set in uncharted dimensions. Her day job is split between flooring sales and writing. She lives on a small farm in Canada with her husband, an energetic puppy, two hives of bees, and a herd of Herefords. Visit her website and blog here to find out more about the various writing projects she has in progress.