Shelf Love Said Yes—and That Is What Indie Support Looks Like

Sometimes support arrives as an acceptance email.

Sometimes it looks like a bookstore making room on its shelves for a title created outside the traditional publishing system.

And sometimes it looks like one independent business recognizing the value in another.

That is what Shelf Love has done for Been Poppin Publishing.

Between Peace & Desire Has a New Retail Home

Shelf Love accepted Between Peace & Desire for consignment in both paperback and e-book formats.

That sentence may look simple, but it represents something significant.

Between Peace & Desire began as an idea, became a manuscript, survived formatting decisions and publishing obstacles, and eventually became a finished contemporary-romance novel carrying the Been Poppin Publishing name.

Now, it is moving beyond my hands and into a bookstore intentionally built to help readers discover independent authors.

That is a milestone worth celebrating.

Shelf Love did more than say it supports independent authors. It created a place for the work to be found.

A Bookstore Built With Indie Authors in Mind

Shelf Love is an independent bookstore in Austell, Georgia, founded and owned by USA Today bestselling indie author Leah C. Taylor.

The store began with a focus on romance and has grown into a wider home for independent books, signed copies, special editions, author events, curated boxes, bookish merchandise, and stories readers may not discover through the largest publishing channels.

What stands out to me is that Shelf Love understands the work behind an independently published book.

This is not a bookstore treating indie titles like an afterthought. Supporting independent authors is part of its identity.

For a company like Been Poppin Publishing, that matters.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are building professional books, establishing reliable systems, and looking for strong retail relationships with businesses that understand what independent publishing can offer.

Shelf Love recognized that.

How They Handled the Process

The way a business communicates during onboarding tells you a great deal about the relationship you are entering.

Shelf Love has handled my questions with clarity and professionalism.

When I had questions about the contract language and payment setup, they responded promptly and clarified that my submitted consignment agreement served as the official contract. They also acknowledged that some older wording referencing Square needed to be updated.

There was no defensiveness and no unnecessary runaround—just a clear answer that allowed me to move forward.

They provided the information needed to complete the bank-transfer setup and clearly explained the remaining onboarding requirements.

When the e-book required an EPUB file, I sent it. Shelf Love moved the digital onboarding forward and provided a live product link.

That level of responsiveness may sound like a small thing, but to an independent author managing writing, publishing, inventory, marketing, and distribution, clear communication is meaningful.

Good partnerships reduce confusion. They help the work move.

Shelf Love has done that.

This Is Why Independent Bookstores Matter

Independent bookstores do more than sell books.

They curate.

They recommend.

They introduce readers to authors who may not have national advertising budgets, front-table placement, or a large publishing corporation behind them.

When an independent bookstore accepts an independently published title, it creates a bridge between the writer who believed in the story and the reader who has not discovered it yet.

Shelf Love is helping build that bridge for Between Peace & Desire.

And Been Poppin Publishing is proud to recognize businesses that do more than talk about supporting independent creators—they create actual systems that give their work somewhere to go.

Thank You, Shelf Love

Thank you to the Shelf Love team for accepting Between Peace & Desire, answering my questions, guiding me through the onboarding process, and creating a bookstore where independent books are meant to be discovered—not merely accommodated.

This is the beginning of the relationship, but it has already been handled with care.

That deserves to be acknowledged.

If you love romance, special editions, bookish events, and discovering independent authors before everyone else does, visit Shelf Love.

Between Peace & Desire is now available there as an e-book.

Independent bookstores matter. Independent authors matter. And when we support one another, more meaningful stories reach the readers they were written to find.