Bringing the heat
Sweaty shifts, steamy hockey romance, and sexy cutting boards
My next novel, Raising Kane, will be launched in two events. The first is being graciously hosted by Owl’s Nest on February 26th. The second is happening at Chapter’s Chinook on March 5th. Both are free events.
RSVP here for Owl’s Nest.
RSVP here for Chapters.
I hope to see you there!
Good morning friend,
I just got paid on Friday for the two weeks of work between December 14th and Boxing Day. I had to check the paycheque, because surely there was an error. I didn’t work that much, did I?
It seems I did: 70 hours in the two weeks. Huh. I survived my first Christmas in retail since 2003. It went by so fast, but it was incredibly hard. The absolute chaos, long shifts, and incredible pace—and holy shit ALL THE RETURNS EVERY DAY (even on Boxing Day)—took my breath away and had me sweating from exertion.
I described this insanity to one of my managers as the queen ant having died and the entire colony was in chaos. People were everywhere. I’d be helping one, and three others would call out to me for help. It was overwhelming. I felt like I was swimming upstream, trying to navigate my way through all the bodies. I did my best to acknowledge everyone and tell them I’d be right with them, but as I made my way back, two more would snag me. I felt bad for leaving people hanging, but I was also thriving on the busy-ness.
I hadn’t realized how the weeks leading up to Christmas and Boxing Day knocked me on my ass until December 30th. I was off that day and the next and I was so damn tired and glad it was over. I guess I hadn’t noticed because every time I walk into the store, I am so deliriously happy to be there.
When I went back to work on the 1st, I felt a bit rejuvenated. I had a gentle start to the day, filling the holes in the staff picks, re-shelving the returns, and chatting with my co-workers. It was nice. One of my colleagues apologized for sniffing candles while I was putting things away. I laughed; we are all burnt out and I did not begrudge him a moment to smell the balsam and cedar.
Things will settle down as we get further into January. I’ll be able to do that thing I love most: chat with customers, help them find the books they seek, and make recommendations.
Even though gift-giving season is over, I want to tell you about Brian, a vendor I met at the High River Christmas market. Brian’s table was packed with charcuterie boards, cutting boards, serving trays, and cribbage boards, all made by him. I’ve been in the market for a new cutting board since our current one is warped and in rough shape. I’ve been chatting with woodworking vendors at every market I’ve attended since the fall of 2024, searching for someone who could make a custom cutting board of large proportions.
I found several, but their prices were way out of my budget. After a brief conversation, Brian guess-timated what the cutting board would cost. With a handshake, the deal was made.
I was shocked when Brian sent me progress emails. “Wood chosen,” he emailed. “I’ll start putting the pieces together tomorrow.” Not only did Brian tell me what was happening at every stage, he sent photos. I was not expecting that level of communication.
The finished product was more than I expected. It’s a beautiful, sexy, 18x20 showpiece for our kitchen. The price was extremely reasonable. He asked nothing of me other than “Tell your friends” when I went to pick up the board.
So that’s what I’m doing. Brian doesn’t have a website nor does he have presence on social media. He’s just a guy who makes beautiful things from wood in his spare time. You can reach out to him directly via email zappeyb@gmail.com.
Last week, I had minimal meaningful interactions with customers. I spent the bulk of my time on cash, but I still managed to sneak in mini-conversations. One young woman was vibrating with excitement when she discovered we had copies of Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry.
“I live in New York and not a single copy can be found anywhere,” she told me. “Finding this made my day!”
Our store was lucky enough to receive a post-Christmas shipment of almost 50 copies (all gone now). Since the release of the gay hockey romance series on Crave, everyone wants to read Rachel Reid. It’s the hottest title right now, both in-store and on-screen. 😜
I was reflecting on this last night. Streaming services not only changed how we consume shows and movies, but how we choose what to read. Netflix’s Frankenstein sparked an increase in sales of Mary Shelley’s book. The upcoming theatre release of Project Hail Mary made that book one of the most requested this holiday season. The same is happening with Hamnet, a wonderful book by Maggie O’Farrell whose adaptation is now in theatres. In fact, this trend has so much momentum, the store has a display of books on a Page to Screen table.
It made me a little wistful for my days as a product manager for Chapters. Back then, it was up to the managers to come up with themed display ideas. One of my favourite tables to set up was the Oscar nominees. As soon as they were announced, I ordered the books on which some of the nominees were based. My display was smaller than the Page to Screen selection is now and it never sold out like these novels do nowadays. Still, I’m pleased to see books finding new homes, regardless of the path they take to get there.
Happy reading!
xo Dana