Wednesday 21st January, 2026
In Which Preparations Are Made and Pirates Appear
Sunday 18th was spent at the BBE Convention in Glenelg, where we met a delightful parade of new authors and brought home a sizeable stack of their books. Which meant that today began with a flurry of activity: Quick! Get them into the system! Send the paperwork! Make it look like we’re organised!
The shop tolerated this with good humour.
We also received a delivery from Mia K. Rose, her latest book, so we filmed an unboxing video instore, which always feels a bit like presenting an offering to the algorithmic gods. Hopefully they accept it.
The day itself moved in waves: a burst of customers, a stretch of quiet, another burst, and so on. In between these tides, we sold t-shirts, books, and accessories at a steady, comfortable pace.
At one point a woman came in and announced she’d been invited to a medieval swashbuckling wedding, which is easily one of the best possible sentences to hear in our bookshop. We fitted her out with a pirate hat, a medieval belt, and wrist cuffs, and she may come back for Kris to make her dress for the event. The shop, which enjoys an excuse for costuming, was visibly delighted.
A child came in with a joke for the gumball machine:
“Why did the chips cross the road?
To get to the other sides.”
It received a well-deserved gumball, and the gumball machine - fuelled by humour rather than coins - seemed satisfied.
We also moved the shop around again, as is tradition. Lilliana Rose is visiting for her author signing on Saturday, so we shifted displays, rearranged shelves, and placed the signing table in the middle of the shop where it can bask in attention. I spent part of the afternoon making decorations for the lemonade stand we’re running on the same day. Slowly but surely, everything is beginning to take shape.
Stars popped in for a quick hello, which improved the atmosphere immediately, as she tends to do.
All in all, it was a day of good work, good people, and preparations clicking into place.
The shop felt busy in the best possible way, as though the week ahead is already gathering momentum.
