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billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
BillieB
@billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
4.2K followers 2.7K following 7.1K posts
She/her. Book person. An Old. Founder of Bookstore Romance Day.
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billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Meanwhile, this asshole.

He also pulled out the old chestnut "Time to lean, time to clean."

Yo, Brian. Ever think that the employees weren't shitty, but that you were a shitty manager? Huh? Didja? I'm guessing that no, you've never been that self-aware.
Post from Brian Rafferty: "I'm sorry, but that ACTUALLY is what people in retail SHOULD do ALL THE TIME. They need to acknowledge the customers, say hello, ask if they need help, count out change, say things like "have a nice day." its called Customer Service, and it is severely lacking in a growing number of retailers." Response from another user: "Spoken like someone who has never worked in retail." Brian Rafferty: "More like spoken like somebody who has had to manage shitty employees in a retail setting."
November 8, 2025 at 10:53 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Part of me really loves this cover, but another part of me looks at it & screams internally because they're all crowded in on the subway & not a single person is wearing a mask. I understand why, but even one person in a mask would've been cool.
New Yorker cover. It's a drawing of Zohran Mamdani on the subway surrounded by a crowd of people of all ages, ethnicities, & social classes. It's done in shades of grey, white, brown, orange, black, & peach with a couple pops of red. No one is wearing a mask.
November 5, 2025 at 10:00 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
You're right, but compare:
The cover for Georgia Summers's The Bookshop Below. There is a background of a starry sky. Suspended in front is a wall of bookshelves with an elaborate arched entryway in its center. Framed by the arch is an open book with fluttering pages and purple & red flowers growing from its center. To either side of the book are waves. The book's title is in large gold serif font right in the center of the page. The author's name is in a smaller version of the same font and positioned below the book in the illustration.
November 1, 2025 at 1:21 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Pop quiz, book friends. Is this book YA or Adult? Don't look it up, just first impressions.
The cover for the book Gilded in Vengeance by Lyssa Mia Smith. It features an illustration of a young man in white tie in tails and a young woman in a red off-the-shoulder gown and opera-length white gloves. He stands behind her with his left hand at her waist. Her left arm loops through his and her hand rests on his upper bicep, while her right hand rests at her bosom. From his right hand rises a puff of black smoke. They stand in front of a stained glass window in shades of purple. Through the window can be seen a crowd of people, as well as some flames and what look like a pair of eyes. The book's title is in gold in a large serif font with the author's name in a much, much smaller sans-serif font below it.
November 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
So, uh, I got this on an old-ish post about the BDB show.
Screenshot of a post from Tosca musk [sic] reading "Now I kind of want you to watch it but only if you promise to DM me your unfiltered review. Deal?"
October 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Alt text! Alt Text! Alt Text!

If you're inclined to forget, go to Settings, choose Accessibility, and check the box next to "Require alt text before posting."

If you're using a scheduler for social media posts, you can (and should) add alt text right there in most of the commonly-used apps.
Screenshot of the Bluesky Accessibility settings menu. Heading shows a little human figure in a circle next to bold text reading "Alt text." Below are two options with checkboxes next to them: "Require alt text before posting" and "Display larger alt text badges." Both boxes are checked.
October 21, 2025 at 12:17 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
The cast of Hustle walking side-by-side down a street. From left to right: Robert Glenister as Ash Morgan, Jaime Murray as Stacie Monroe, Adrian Lester as Mickey Stone, Marc Warren as Danny Blue, and Robert Vaughn as Albert Stoller.
October 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Another cat who is really a dragon.
Cat lying at the edge of a sagging metal carport roof. Directly beneath the cat is a collapsed, bent, & twisted metal support beam. The photo is often captioned along the lines of "a dragon in disguise".
October 17, 2025 at 12:10 AM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Theme parks. And an Airstream to visit them in. And I'd hire a driver because I really don't enjoy driving.
a skeet from doctober, username docseuss.bsky.social lets say a wizard has cursed you with a lot of money. you are going to become permanently brain damaged simply by being in possession of so much money. the only way out of it is to spend a lot of money on something ridiculous and not at all useful. what would you buy to break the curse?
October 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
I'm not sure how, so this is probably a mistake, but apparently I'm The Final Girl.
What is your horror movie role this Halloween? Followed by Jack-o-lantern, ghost, and knife emojis. Below is a black screen with res splotches with "The Final Girl" in big white letters across the middle.
October 9, 2025 at 4:47 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
I went to the website and also found this.
Screen grab from The Horror Zine's submission page. In purple text with some red for emphasis it reads "We are a "4theluv" market, exposure only. No monetary or any other compensation for either the ezine or the print magazine."
October 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
To add insult to injury (as long as that injury is nothing worse than a bruise or light scrape):
Screen grab from the Horror Zine website submission guidelines page. In purple text with some red for emphasis it reads "We are a "4theluv" market, exposure only. No monetary or any other compensation for either the ezine or the print magazine."
October 3, 2025 at 1:18 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
TART!
A tomato tart baked in a cast iron skillet and topped with melted cheese. It is on a red towel, which apparently the godsdamned cats slept on because there is a little cluster of cat hair in the upper left corner.
September 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Maybe it's too much time in Romance spaces where "clean" means a very specific, very white-coded type of Romance, but the capitalization of "Clean" in this post feels very telling.
A Xitter post from Kai Trump advertising her new clothing line featuring four photos, three of a young blond woman in sweatshirts with her "KT" monogram and one of the sleeve detail of one of the sweatshirts showing an embroidered (?) rendition of her signature. All photos were taken at the White House. Text of the post reads "Live now at Kaitrump.shop (link in bio)! This collection is something I've dreamed about for a long time, and I'm so grateful it's finally here. Launching this line has been such an exciting project. From the quality of the fabric to the details in the designs, I wanted to create a piece that isn't just merch but a staple you can wear anywhere. There are Clean pieces you can mix, match, and make your own. I can't wait to see how you style them."
September 25, 2025 at 7:21 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Don’t rank them, but a fave B&W movie is:

I have many, but Topper was my first Cary Grant & will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.

The full movie is available on YouTube & worth a watch.
A still from Topper (1937). Cary Grant is dressed in a tuxedo and sitting on the floor with his legs out to the side. Roland Young wearing a grey suit and is asleep with his hand under his cheek and his head in Cary's lap. Constance Bennett is wearing a black dress and kneeling on a chair looking down at the two men.
September 24, 2025 at 3:55 AM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Cat tax.
Black and white photo of a tuxedo cat with a white bib and a white blaze down her nose. She is sitting on a fluffy white blanket and photographed from above, looking up at the camera.
September 23, 2025 at 7:51 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Although the sentiment is implied, this is not a direct quote from the Utah governor's presser, in spite of what the quotation marks and commentary would lead you to believe. This, too, is misinformation. Quote the man directly. What he says is damning enough.
Post from spooky•girl•cassiopeia that reads "'I wish we could blam this on muslims or migrants, but turns out it was one of us.' shat a wild thing to say" above a video of Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox at a press conference. FBI Director Kash Patel stands behind him. Nowhere in the video does Cox use the words presented by the poster as a direct quote.
September 12, 2025 at 10:13 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Post a team you would send instead of Bongino and Patel.
A photo of Tommy Chong and Richard "Cheech" Marin in a car filled with smoke.
September 12, 2025 at 9:29 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
@labeler.antisubstack.fyi

You wanted to be informed if something escaped your labeler & I just accidentally clicked on a Substack article because it wasn't showing a label.
Screenshot of a post by The Bulwark. Text reads "These four candidates with different messages, areas of emphasis, and rhetorical styles are a great example of why diversity of ideas and style are good for a political party." There is an image of four faces and a link to the full article.
September 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Doctor I trust more than RFK, Jr.
Black and white photo of Dr. Demento in his signature top hat and tailcoat. His t-shirt has a picture of a gramophone and there's a newspaper open in front of him.
September 7, 2025 at 6:13 AM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
New favorite insult just dropped.
A post with the poster's identifying info removed which reads "he seems like he uses margarine"
August 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
This is a strong essay from Flavor Flav, a man who has changed his own perspective on guns. May his own change of heart & perspective serve as a guidepost for others.
Quote from the article that reads: "Fear and power are two of the biggest emotions that drive us. America is being built on fear. You have people who are scared. And these people are fighting for gun rights to protect themselves. They wouldn't have to protect themselves if all guns were banned. Fear is a powerful, short-term motivator. We need to flip it so it can break through to be a positive and valuable resource. Let our fear of losing our children be more powerful than our fear of our next-door neighbor."
August 27, 2025 at 10:22 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Have any of the #Romance scholars explored the phenomenon of the illustrated cover? Has there been an in-depth article or exploration by a reviewer? Because I feel like we've talked about this for years, but don't recall seeing anyone write about it in a professional/public context.
Post from Adam Morgan: "Has anyone written about the infantilization of commercial genre fiction over the last decade or two? Why do so many new SFF adult titles look like coloring books now?"
August 26, 2025 at 6:58 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
Eventually, I will block this "person" (bot, presumed), but they are currently engaged in an argument about the legal process with Courtney Milan, which is too entertaining for me to not have access to.
Post from @ anneeliot.bsky.social that reads "Only people who read romance novels believe that trump could have been indicted immediately. Which room?"
August 20, 2025 at 4:08 PM
billie.bookstoreromanceday.org
If you ever have something to go with this dress, I will pay top(-ish) dollar. (Not me in photo.)
A young woman with tan skin and a messy pink bun stands in with her body half to the camera and her face in three-quarters view. She is in front of a pink wall and is wearing a multi-layered tulle dress with a ruched bodice and thin straps. You can't tell from the photo, but the dress has a pink top layer and each underlayer is a different color of tulle, except for one layer that is a leopard-print felt-ish material. The skirt of the dress hits mid-calf and is satisfyingly swishy. It resembles a prom dress from the 1950s, but with Betsey Johnson flair. The dress has been paired with knock-off Doc Martens in a black and white leopard print accented with roses.
August 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM