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BLACKWOOD BOOKS.

When Alicia Blackwood steps into her late mother’s bookstore for the first time since being willed the business upon her 22nd birthday, she doesn’t expect a thriving clientele to be waiting for her to re-open its doors. She is especially surprised to find that many members of the local community visit the store in search of books that are often outside of the norm, or even downright magical. Bronwyn Hawthorne has always dreaded the day that her favorite bookstore closes, or worse, is taken over by a non-magical owner. After the passing of her mentor and Blackwood Books’ founder, she worries that the new face of the store won’t be able to supply the books necessary for her catering company’s survival. Luckily, the late owner of Blackwood might have a few tricks left in her sleeves to help the store’s legacy extend for generations to come.

ABOUT.

Stage: writing, first draft Genre(s): low fantasy, ya, romance POV: first person, past tense Tags: magical realism, lgbtq/queer themes, female mc, lesbian mc, witches, small towns, low fantasy, small business, parent death, strangers to friends to lovers, age gap romance, wlw, etc.

CHARACTERS.

Alicia Blackwood | Owner of Blackwood Books, 22, Lesbian Bronwyn Hawthorne | Catering Company Owner, Queer, Witch Ivan Tetherton | Tailor, 37, Trans, Vampire Maria Blackwood | Dead, Past Owner of Blackwood Books, Witch

LINKS.

page | tag | inspo | pinterest coming soon!

EXCERPT.

When I stepped out of the backroom, I was greeted by an ethereally beautiful person with curls twisting halfway down their back and brown skin dappled by sunlight from the cracks between boards covering the windows. She turned toward me and frowned deeply. “Who are you?” She said in a raspy voice. I gaped a little at her rude tone. “Um...I’m Alicia. Blackwood. My mother used to own this store?” My words became questioning even though they were true. “Er, sorry, who are you?” My eyes flickered between her hands, holding a stack of cookbooks with odd names, and her face, which had become less icy upon hearing my last name. She sat the cookbooks on the counter. “I’m Bronwyn Hawthorne. I run a catering company down the street. Have you...are you taking over the shop?” “Nice to meet you. Um...I’m thinking about it. My mom left it to me. I don’t know how to run a business, but I just felt like I needed to take over.” I looked down at the books under my hands. The top one was called “Magical Plants: Herbs and Fungi for the Average Witch.” I looked at Bronwyn again and laughed a little. “Wow, I didn’t know they made fictional textbooks. Um, you want to buy these?” Her face twisted slightly like she didn’t know what to think of me or I’d said something wrong. “Yes.” I swallowed and turned toward the register next to me to get away from the awkward tension that had suddenly erupted between us. My earlier retail experience came in handy, and I quickly navigated to scan the books. “Um...that’ll be $62.94.” I turned back and she handed me a stack of bills, then picked up her books and left without waiting for a receipt or any change. I started to call out but was cut off by the door slamming shut behind her. “How odd.”