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Sweet
Trouble
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
Excerpt:
Heading for the
stairs, I met Trissa coming down. “You’ll never believe it!” she whispered
urgently.
“What’s up?”
“I think Lenny
Kravitz is here.”
Having Annabelle
on my mind, I had braced myself for news of mischief directed at customers.
Relieved, and feeling a little mischievous myself, I raised my eyebrows and
replied, “Who?”
She groaned and
rolled her eyes. “God! Do you do anything but read?”
As the grin I’d
suppressed broke free, she frowned in annoyance. “B! You have to go talk to
him.”
“It’s not Lenny
Kravitz.”
“Come on.”
She grabbed my
arm and dragged me upstairs to the fantasy section, where she gave me a shove
toward a man in distressed denim and black leather. He stood eyeing a shelf on
the L-through-P aisle.
To be fair, he
could’ve been Lenny Kravitz — like twenty years ago. This guy’s denim was truly
distressed, not distressed by machines for that perfect, overpriced lived-in look.
And the cracks in his leather jacket traced a map of a rugged landscape in some
unknown, dark country. The heel and sole of one of his motorcycle boots were
held together by duct tape. He was as poor as I used to be. Maybe poorer.
But his sculpted
features were framed by a glorious but compact starburst of spiky dark hair
bleached burnt-orange at the ends. And I’d stake my store on him being a
musician.
As I stood there
studying him, he looked up, and I took a few steps forward. “Can I help you find
something?”
His eyes moved
over me, but not in a way that felt creepy. He was studying me back. And what
he was probably seeing was that the money I’d spent on my outfit would have
bought him groceries for a month. It wasn’t the way I usually dressed. Well, it
was now. But a year ago my clothes were all the same vintage as his.
“You work here?”
he asked.
“I … ” I
couldn’t bring myself to say I was the owner. “Yes. Can I help you?”
“Do you have
sci-fi? This is all fantasy.”
I nodded. “We’ve
got them in two sections. If you’ll follow me … ”
Chill bumps
washed over my back as I listened to the thud of his boots against the hardwood
floor behind me. I was suddenly self-conscious about the length (or lack
thereof) of my skirt. No way of knowing whether I was imagining his eyes on my
ass, but I was glad he couldn’t see my face, because the heat there confirmed
my belief that they were.
“Here we are,” I
said, waving at the first of the sci-fi shelves. Alpha by author. Is there
something specific you’re looking for?”
He considered me
a moment, delicious chocolate eyes fixed on my face. He was intense about eye
contact. Finally he gave a slight nod. “Solaris.”
“Oh yes,” I said
too eagerly, “that’s one of my favorites.” I walked to L through P and sank
down to study the bottom shelf. “Looks like we have both a used and new copy.”
Solaris was on the obscure side for sci-fi, and now my curiosity was piqued. Or
rather more piqued.
“I’ll take the
used,” he said quietly.
“Of course,” I
said, again in a quick, nervous voice, as I slid the book off the shelf.
I held it out to
him, and he said, “What do you mean?” Something dark flashed in his eyes.
I felt my smile
slipping. “I’m sorry … ?”
Clearing his
throat, he shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll take it.”
I handed it to
him, annoyed that my heart felt like a box of wrestling kittens. The guy had
spoken a handful of words, and he had me completely unsettled.
“What interested
you in the book?” I asked, trying to sound casual and friendly rather than neurotic
or stalker-like.
He hesitated,
studying the cover. “My girlfriend recommended it.”
“Ah.” I
swallowed hard to prevent any more words from coming out.
“Ex-girlfriend,
I mean.” He glanced up, and a slow smile swung one corner of his lips up. “She
left me for a guy with a PhD. I decided it was time to educate myself.”
“Ah.” I didn’t
have to swallow this time. There was no way to reply to that without ending up
a mess of blushing awkward.
“You’re Bronte,
aren’t you?” he said, tucking the book under his arm. “The owner.”
I cleared my
throat. No avoiding it now. “Yeah, that’s me. But it’s just ‘B.’”
“Nice to meet
you, Just B.”
I tried and
failed to stop the eye roll. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that
one.
He grinned.
“Sorry. But I can’t call you that.”
“Why?”
Encore of the
intense chocolate stare. “It’s a less than perfect grade, and that’s not you.”
I was so
startled by this I forgot to notice that it sounded an awful lot like a cheesy
pickup line. “That’s exactly what my moms say.”
He lifted an
eyebrow. “Your moms?”
Now the pickup
line thing sunk in. “Yeah. You got a problem with that?”
“No,” he
laughed.
No one here was
ruffled but me, and I felt like a jerk. I couldn’t think of a single word to
say to him now, except “if you’ll excuse me,” which at this point would only
emphasize my discomfort. Luckily he took pity on me.
“I’m Brody,
Bronte. Thanks for helping me with the book. Good luck with the store.”
Grateful to him
for coming to my rescue, I smiled. Genuinely. “Thank you. I hope to see you
here again.”
He gave another
shake of his head, and his gaze slid around the second floor. “I don’t read
much. But I had to see if it was worth it, me getting kicked out of my
apartment because some rich kid wanted to open a bookstore.”
Review:
This story captured my heart immediately! I love tales that revolve around a bookstore and Sharon has crafted a wonderful bookish universe for me to poke around in for awhile. Love the characters and the quirky voice and can't wait to see where this new Silk Words worlds program leads us.
5/5
The Birth of B’s Book Labyrinth
As editorial director for SilkWords, a
small publisher of interactive women’s fiction, I get to wear a lot of hats.
Since I’m also a romance author, one of my favorite roles is story creator. My
latest creative project for SilkWords is our first shared world, B’s Book
Labyrinth.
In addition to creating the world, I also
wrote the first story, Sweet Trouble. It’s the story of the store
owner’s romance with a local rock musician, but it also sets the stage for the
stories to come. You’ll attend the store’s opening celebration, get a feel for
the ambience and layout, hear about the resident poltergeist, and meet some of
the employees and regulars.
Erzabet asked how I came up with the idea
of setting these stories (which will be written by various authors) in a
bookstore. As with all questions about creativity, the answer is rather
complicated and not even something I entirely understand. But I think the key
factors are these:
- I LOVE Powell’s City of Books in
Portland, one of the last big indie bookstores. It takes up a whole city block
and has been described as labyrinthine. I got a VIP tour a couple of years ago
because I’m writing a new book that will be partly set in the store. B’s
bookstore is housed in a fictional turn-of-the-century mansion, but I
definitely drew inspiration from the idea of a bookstore you could get lost in.
- There’s another indie bookstore in my
neighborhood north of Seattle — Third Place Books. They have a food court and a
stage for live music, and I love how the store serves as a sort of community
center. B’s is more intimate, but it does have a bistro, and the proprietress
promotes her business as a first-date destination and a place to find love. (B
experiences this first-hand in Sweet Trouble!)
- Last but not least, like all authors, I
love books! Writing B’s character is living vicariously for me. Spending every
day in a funky old haunted mansion surrounded by books and book lovers, PLUS a
steady supply of cupcakes and tea .. hard to imagine life could get better!
(Don’t even get me started on Brody … YUM.)
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.
Tour
giveaway
3 bundles of 30 hearts, which can
be used for buying stories on the SilkWords site (www.silkwords.com)
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