B’s Book Labyrinth is the setting for
SilkWords’ very first shared world. The publisher and I had been noodling on
the idea of creating worlds where lots of authors could contribute stories, and
B’s Book Labyrinth came to me in a flash. Sweet Trouble is the first
story set in this world, and as such, it is our readers’ first visit to this
setting.
B’s is a bookstore and bistro owned by Sweet
Trouble’s heroine, Bronte. Here are five fun facts about the setting!
1. The bookstore was inspired by Powell’s
City of Books in Portland, one of the last large indie bookstores. That store
is often described as labyrinthine — it has multiple levels and takes up a
whole city block. (I was lucky enough to get a tour of the store a couple years
ago, because I plan to include it in a new novel.) Unlike the more modern
Powell’s, B’s is housed in an old mansion. From the introduction to the world:
Yep, I manage the world’s last bookstore.
Or at least the last one in Seattle. Well, maybe not the last, but certainly
the biggest. In the heart of the Fremont neighborhood, which is accepted by all
Seattleites (or at least the ones living in Fremont) as the Center of the
Universe, is a funky old turn-of-the-century mansion, just south of the world’s
only real troll-under-a-bridge. Its architect was insane, or possibly a drunk.
Six floors, piled atop each other in higgledy-piggledy fashion (much like a
stack of books someone has tripped over and righted without bothering to
straighten), connected by a staircase winding like a corkscrew through its
heart.
2. The store has a resident poltergeist
the staff calls Annabelle. She relocates things, and has a small part in Sweet
Trouble — she tries to communicate with the heroine by pulling out book
spines. Eventually there will be a story about Annabelle! A little more about
her from Bronte’s point of view:
Annabelle — or so we called her, after
the wife of the building’s architect — preferred the fourth floor (romance),
but had been credited with a box of missing books in children’s, a kitchen
mixer that had found its way to the second-floor ladies' room, and the
inexplicable, after-hours activity of our decrepit elevator (refurbished
original-issue).
3. Bronte promotes the store as a
first-date destination, and in fact she meets rock band frontman Brody on the
store’s opening day. Here is her commentary about that from the world’s
introduction:
And people come for love — to find it or
stoke it — because as I said, we’ve got a kind of magic going at B’s.
Interesting things get started here. Sometimes they play out right in the
store, in dark little book nooks on the upper floors (where you’ll find
romance, gothics, and erotica). And I’ll tell you a juicy rumor that made its way
into The Stranger, the local alternative paper: they say we’ve got an
underground passage, and a sister establishment where customers can live out
their favorite storybook fantasies.
4. As I mentioned above, the first story
in the B’s Book Labyrinth world is Sweet Trouble. The heroine goes to
see the hero’s band play at a real venue called the Tractor Tavern, in
Fremont’s sister neighborhood, Ballard. The title of the story, and the style
of music played by the hero, was inspired by an album called Heavy Love,
by Duke Garwood. Here’s the song that inspired the title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0MqEtqSoH4.
5. B’s has its own cupcake! Created by
the bistro’s chef. The “Heart of Darkness” is vanilla cake with grenadine
buttercream and a truffle-sized ball of soft chocolate at the center. (We’re
looking for someone to help us craft a real recipe for it!)
B’s Book Labyrinth Series
Sharon Lynn Fisher
Genre: Contemporary erotic romance
Publisher: SilkWords
Date of Publication: April 2
Cover Artist: Indie Designz
Book Description:
Welcome to B’s Book Labyrinth and Bistro! The first novelette in this SilkWords Shared World Series, Sweet Trouble is the story of smart and feisty bookstore owner Bronte and sexy Seattle-area rock musician Brody.
Brody appears at the store’s grand opening to pick up a book recommended by an ex-girlfriend — and to meet the woman responsible for him losing his apartment.
The awkward first meeting does nothing to dampen the instant chemistry, but with Bronte wrangling menus, book buyers, and the resident ghost, and Brody’s rockstar-complicated past, can either of them afford even the sweetest kind of trouble?
Available at Silkwords.com
About the Author:
An RWA RITA Award finalist and a three-time RWA Golden Heart Award finalist, Sharon Lynn Fisher writes stories for the geeky at heart — meaty mash-ups of sci-fi, suspense, and romance, with no apology for the latter. She lives where it rains nine months of the year. And she has a strange obsession with gingers (down to her freaky orange cat). In addition to her SilkWords stories, she’s authored three science fiction romance novels for Tor Books: Ghost Planet (2012), The Ophelia Prophecy (2014), and Echo 8 (2015). She’s also the editorial director for (and a partner in) SilkWords! Visit her at www.sharonlynnfisher.com.
SilkWords is the go-to source for interactive romance and erotic fiction.
With gorgeous custom covers and a clean, sophisticated design, the SilkWords site offers a secure, upscale reading environment. In addition to content on their web site, they offer stories for purchase in the standard e-book formats.
SilkWords is owned and operated by a full-time mom with a background in genetics and an RWA RITA-nominated, multi-published sci-fi romance author.
Their technology guy and site designer was the founder of Microsoft Xbox Live.
SilkWords features two formats that allow readers to choose how the stories will proceed.
Pick Your Path:
Will she or won't she? With which man (or woman) in which location? With Pick Your Path romance, you decide. Romance and branched fiction are made for each other, like picking your favorite flavor of ice cream...positions, partners, and paraphernalia, oh my!
Reader Vote:
Readers vote at choice points and decide how the story will continue. These stories are a great way for readers and authors to connect. It’s exciting to be part of a developing story!
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4 comments:
And now I want that damned cupcake! Looking forward to reading this when I get caught up with my TBR pile a bit. :)
Ha, me too! Somebody please make it! :)
interesting post
Fabulous thank you.
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