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Settle in at the reading tables and sample the opening chapter of Shelving Magic.
No commitment—just a quiet moment with the story.

Chapter 1

Paige Turner frantically scrubbed at the wet stains dotting her silky, turquoise blouse. The cheap paper towel wadded into a clump, doing little to remove the muddy marks. Instead of lifting the spots, her blouse now sported beige flecks. 

Her shoulders slumped as she fought the losing battle in the tiny bathroom stall. She glanced down at her ruined outfit. She couldn’t show up to her interview looking like this. 

With renewed vigor, she whipped a fistful of toilet paper from the roll and tried again. Her elbow banged off the aluminum door as she wiped a spot on her skirt. She winced, rubbing at the sore spot and stomping a high-heeled foot against the grimy, tiled floor. 

A chunk of chocolate éclair wedged behind the toilet caught her eye, and she grimaced at it, wondering who would eat within the filthy coffee-shop bathroom.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her flaming-red hair began to escape her chignon as she returned her attention to salvaging her outfit, cursing the bus that had sped past her as she stood on the street corner. It had hit the large mud puddle from last night’s thunderstorm with such intensity that the mud had splashed clear up to her thick, square-framed glasses.

Tears formed in her eyes as she tossed the wad of toilet paper into the toilet and collapsed onto the seat with a sigh. 

She’d earned an interview for the position of librarian at the Shadow Harbor Public Library. She might as well kiss the job goodbye if she showed up like this. 

And she needed this job. The three dollars and sixty-seven cent balance in her checking account necessitated landing it.

She sank her chin into her palm, letting her other hand drape over her knees. Should she go to the interview? She glanced down at her soiled clothes, filled with muddy stains and wet spots. 

“Hopefully, it won’t matter,” she said with a sigh.

The door to the ladies’ room creaked open. The din of the morning rush at the coffee shop beyond floated in on the air. A pair of reptile-print, spiked heels clicked across the floor. The door to her stall jimmied as the woman tried to push inside.

“Occupied!” Paige called.

A disgusted sigh escaped the woman’s lips, and she stamped the red sole of her designer shoe against the cracked tile. “Are you going to be much longer?”

Paige knit her eyebrows, her nose crinkling. “There’s another stall.”

“Whatever. I’ll wait. Just hurry up, okay?”

She narrowed her eyes, offering a stony glare at the graffitied door. She tugged her arm upward to adjust her black, plastic-rimmed glasses. Her wrist snapped back before it reached her face. She yanked at it again, her forehead crinkling. 

With a shake of her head, she closed her eyes, puffing out a long breath. Her bracelet had caught her hosiery. Pulling too hard would snag her pantyhose. Not pulling at all meant she’d have her wrist stuck to her knee. 

“Hello? Are you coming out?”

“Yes, just a moment! My bracelet is caught on my pantyhose.”

Should she pull off the hosiery? Her pale skin, betraying the long hours she spent with books, changed her mind. 

She leaned forward and squinted at the bracelet. Filled with eight charms, it had been the only thing left with her when she’d been dumped outside of a convent as a three-day-old baby. 

Gingerly, she wiggled the small dragon charm. Its barbed tail stuck between the fine knit, refusing to come loose. Paige teased the tail from the fabric. It popped loose, leaving behind an imperceptible hole that would likely be covered by her pencil skirt. 

She breathed a sigh of relief as she lifted her tote bag and stood. Her lips formed a grimace as she felt something race down her thigh, over her knee, and onto her shin. She winced, letting her gaze fall to her legs before she squeezed her eyes shut. A large runner in her stockings peeked from under her skirt and continued down to her ankle. 

Her head fell between her shoulder blades.  

“Maybe no one will notice,” she murmured as she tugged the door open. It stuck until she jimmied the flimsy aluminum loose, flailing her arms to stay upright. 

With the door open, she straightened her open-front blazer and stepped out of the stall. The restroom’s other occupant eyed her up and down, an expression of disdain crossing her uppity features before she shoved past Paige into the stall and slammed the door shut. 

Her chunky heels clicked across the stained tile of the coffee shop’s small bathroom. With her sore elbow, she pushed open the door and crossed the small cinnamon-scented coffeehouse. 

Cars buzzed past as she stepped onto the sidewalk. Traffic had picked up considerably since she’d ducked into the popular shop one block from the library. How late was she?

She glanced at the large clock tower looming over the city’s center. Her jaw fell open as a groan escaped her plump, red lips. She slung her bag over her shoulder and sprinted toward the crosswalk. 

Her ankles wobbled as she attempted to run in her heels, dodging cars trying to merge into cross traffic. Horns blared at her. She waved an apology and continued down the next block, past an apothecary, a bakery, and a corner bookshop. 

The tan columns of the library rose from atop the stone steps in front of her. She stared up at the building with the words SHADOW HARBOR PUBLIC LIBRARY carved into the stone. With the back of her hand, she swiped at a wayward lock of hair before hurrying up the steps. She skidded through the door onto the penny-tile floor as the clock tower chimed nine. 

Paige gulped in a deep breath, trying to stop her chest from heaving as she stepped to the circulation desk. She straightened her shoulders and raised her chin. 

“Paige Turner to see Veronica Lauren. I have an interview.”

The blonde behind the desk arched an eyebrow at her as she picked up a phone and pressed a button. She replaced the receiver after a moment and forced a smile onto her face. “You can head upstairs. She’s with another candidate and will call you in as soon as she’s finished.”

“Thank you,” Paige said with a curt nod. 

She spun on her heel and crossed to the large, curved staircase leading up. She wrapped her fingers around the cool bronze railing as she climbed. The aroma of aging books filled her nostrils as she swept her eyes over the lower level.

Rich, dark, carved wood bookcases filled the space as far as her eye could see. Polished wooden tables sat near large windows on the west wall. Study carrels filled the rear of the room. 

It would be a dream to work here. She only had to land the job.

Paige flicked her gaze up. An open door loomed in the center of the wall at the back of the gallery. A wooden bench sat next to it. 

Paige tiptoed to the bench and eased onto it. As she settled onto the wooden slats, her back pressed against the tan wall, the wood cracked underneath her. She winced, glad the bench stayed upright despite its protest under her minimal weight. 

She slipped her tote from her shoulder and placed it on her lap before she rearranged it in front of her, trying to hide the large run in her pantyhose. Voices floated from the room next to her as she dug into her bag for her resumes. 

“…Rhodes Scholarship program provided me with an opportunity I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”

Another voice, unintelligible to Paige, answered. 

A Rhodes scholar? Paige ruminated. Great. She wouldn’t stand a chance. She adjusted her glasses as she stared down at her pitiful curriculum vitae. A good GPA for her master’s degree in Library Sciences topped it. But it came from a small, local college. Not Oxford. It was also several years old. She’d graduated from her program years ago and failed to land a job in her field. 

She swallowed hard as she smoothed a crease from the corner of the page. 

“Of course, I fluently speak Latin and Ancient Greek, along with three other modern languages.”

“Fluent in Latin?” Paige whispered. “Is she serious?”

She flicked her glasses upward again as the other voice spoke in a tone too quiet for her to make out. With pursed lips, she drummed her fingers against her thigh. 

The louder voice spoke again, growing louder as the sentence continued. “…served eighteen months with the Peace Corps which allowed me to learn about several unique and otherwise unknown cultures in the South American jungle.”

Paige rolled her eyes, gagging over the latest comment to float through the door. “I bet she saves endangered animals by nursing them by hand while hanging from a banana tree in the rainforest,” she whispered.

The voice grew louder. “Of course, if there’s anything else I can add to help with your decision, please reach out. I listed my email, cell phone, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts on my CV and business card.”

Paige’s heart thudded. Panicked thoughts raced through her brain, ranging from her less-than-impressive qualifications to the run in her stockings to her lack of a TikTok account. 

She fidgeted on the wooden bench, earning another protest from the furniture piece. 

Two women appeared at the door: one a tall goddess of a woman with a crown of sleek, straight blonde hair in a shoulder-length bob framing her sculpted countenance. Her perfect makeup accentuated her best features and made any bad ones nonexistent. Her tailored navy skirt suit covered a crisp, white satin blouse. The polished leather of her briefcase gleamed in the overhead lights. 

The second woman, a foot shorter than the first, pulled a pair of glasses from her round face, allowing them to fall on a gold chain against her black blazer. Dark hair pulled into a French twist framed her medium-toned skin and light-blue eyes. She offered a pleasant smile to her candidate.

Paige bounced from her seat, clutching the tote bag in front of her, and thrust her hand out. Her resume fluttered to the floor, hitting the hardwood with a slap that resounded through the library. “Paige Turner. Your 9:00 a.m.”

The blonde flicked her gaze to Paige, her eyes roaming up and down her disheveled form. With a soft scoff, she returned her attention to Veronica. 

“I cannot wait to hear from you regarding this wonderful opportunity.” She thrust her hand out and pumped Veronica’s up and down with expert precision. 

With the grace of a cat, she spun on a spiked heel, offered a final disdainful glance to Paige, sashayed to the stairs, and wandered down them gracefully, her hand lightly grazing the brass handrail. 

Paige swallowed hard as she gazed after the quad-lingual Rhodes Scholar interviewing for the same position as her. Or was it quint-lingual? Was there a word for fluent in five languages? 

“Ms. Turner?” Veronica’s voice called, pulling her to reality.

Paige snapped her head toward the woman, shoving her glasses up her nose again. “Yes, that’s me. Paige Turner.”

She offered a lopsided smile before she gasped, offloading her tote bag to her left hand and shoving her right hand out to the woman. 

With a crinkled nose and a tentative smile, the woman grasped her hand. “Come in.” 

She motioned toward the office and stepped toward it. 

Paige followed her before retreating to retrieve her wayward resume from the floor. She hurried into the well-lit office, cursing the overhead lighting that highlighted every dirty spot on her skirt and blouse. 

She plopped into the chair opposite Veronica’s before shooting back up to stand, realizing she hadn’t been invited to sit yet.

Veronica slid the glasses onto the edge of her nose, then glanced at Paige, who hopped from foot to foot in front of her. 

“Please, sit, Ms. Turner.”

“Thank you,” Paige squeaked as she collapsed into the chair again. 

She set her tote bag on her lap to cover her stained outfit. The ungainly handles smacked her on the nose as they settled backward. She squeezed her eyes closed as she slid the bag to the floor. 

She smoothed her crumpled resume against her thighs before setting it on the desk. “I brought a copy of my resume in case you need it.”

The woman arched an eyebrow as she grabbed it between her thumb and index finger, tugging it toward her. She forced another smile. “Thank you, though I do have a printed copy. Unless this one is updated?”

She glanced expectantly at Paige. 

“Oh, no,” Paige said, waving her hand in the air before she shoved her glasses upward again. “Same one that I sent in when I applied.”

The woman offered a tight-lipped smile as she swept the mangled CV into the trash can next to her desk. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

Paige nodded with another adjustment of her glasses, clasping her sweaty hands together in her lap. 

“Give me an example of a time during any previous employment positions where you’ve had to use ingenuity to solve a problem, and how did the situation turn out?”

Paige licked her lips as her mind scoured her previous employment experience for anything that could be used as a form of ingenuity. She blew out a breath and launched into what she hoped would be an inspiring story.

“Once when I was working at the Shop N’ Go, we ran out of straws for the Icees. And a mom came in with her eight-year-old. Or nine-year-old, maybe. I’m not sure. Let’s go with eight and a half. Anyway, he wanted an Icee, but there were no straws. So, I opened a candy straw and gave them that.”

She grinned at Veronica who raised her eyebrows high. 

“Oh! I didn’t finish my answer. The kid was pretty happy, so I’d say the situation turned out well.”

Veronica flicked her gaze to the CV on her polished desk. She jotted a short note before she used her pen to peruse the other lines. Paige swallowed hard as her interviewer arched an eyebrow at the paper.

“It says here you studied the classics. I didn’t see this in your coursework, though. Can you expound on the training you received?”

“Ah, sure. So, I don’t have any formal training in terms of coursework, but I have read all the classics. Actually, I’ve read quite a bit. I’m a real bookworm. Always a book in my hands. I’m familiar with everything from the classics to cozy mysteries. The library is really a dream job for me because I love books that much. I’ve been interested in reading since I was small. I got shuffled around a lot in the foster care system, and reading was really my safety net. No matter what house I was in, I could always escape by reading.”

“So, you didn’t actually study the classics. You’ve just read them,” Veronica repeated.

“Yes, along with many, many other things. Like I said, I just love books!” Paige grinned at her. 

The woman nodded with narrowed eyes as she tapped her pen against the resume. “Uh-huh. So, you believe your love of books qualifies you to be the librarian?”

“Well, no,” Paige said, adjusting her glasses for the umpteenth time. “But I think it’s an added bonus for both the library and me! Having someone who really loves books and understands how important they are to society can make a big difference in how the library runs.”

“You do understand this is mostly an archiving position?”

“Yes, of course. I do,” Paige said, knocking her glasses with her knuckles again. “Yes.”

Veronica stared down at the paper again with puckered lips. Paige clenched her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms. 

“You have a degree in Library Sciences–“

“I do!” Paige exclaimed with a nervous chuckle. 

“That is over a decade old,” Veronica finished. “Well, unless there is anything else you’d like to add, I think we’ve got everything we need. Do you have any questions for me?”

“Ah, yes, I have a list I prepared,” Paige said as she dove into her tote bag, desperately searching for her notebook and pen. 

She retrieved the mangled coil-bound notebook and a pen. With a flick, she flipped it open and scanned her sheet.

After spotting the lengthy list jotted on Paige’s paper, Veronica pulled her glasses off and let them dangle from their chain. “Ms. Turner, perhaps I should stop you here. I’m so sorry, but I’m just not sure how your application ended up in our final interview pile.” The woman glanced down at it again. “I can only assume it was a mistake, and I am very, very sorry for having wasted your time, but to be honest, you’re simply not as qualified as our other applicants.” 

She let her shoulders slump as she flipped the notebook closed, trying to temper the disappointment coursing through her. She squeezed her lips together, and nodded. She offered a fleeting smile at the woman while she shoved the notebook into her tote bag. 

Tears stung her eyes as defeat pulsed through her veins. She’d just blown her one chance at her dream job.

“Thank you for your time,” Paige murmured as she wrapped her fingers around her tote's faux-leather straps. 

She hefted the bag upward. Her bracelet ripped into the unfettered leg of her pantyhose. 

She swallowed hard as she tried to tug it free. It wouldn’t budge. She froze, sliding her eyes closed for a moment. 

“I’m sorry,” she breathed as she dropped the tote onto the floor and used her newly unfettered hand to try to free the bracelet. “My bracelet is stuck. This happened earlier, hence the tear in my hose. That was after a bus raced past me and splashed me with mud from head to toe.”

Veronica pulled open a drawer and dug around for a moment before passing over a pair of scissors. “Perhaps this will help.”

“Oh, thanks. It’s just the tail of the dragon is stuck. It has this little barb on the end of its tail, and it rips into everything.”

The woman lifted her chin, glancing over the wide desk at Paige’s struggle. Her eyes narrowed, and she rose from her chair and circled her desk to approach Paige. She whipped on her reading glasses and stared down at the bracelet as Paige twisted and turned it, trying to free it from the black fabric. 

“Where did you get that?”

Paige stopped tugging at the bracelet for a moment, readjusting her glasses. “The bracelet?”

Veronica nodded, a crinkle in her brow as she stared at Paige. 

“It was in the basket with me when my mother left me outside a convent as a baby.”

Veronica’s eyebrows rose toward her hairline, and her jaw unhinged. “This bracelet was with you when you were abandoned?”

Paige nodded as she continued to wiggle the dragon charm around. “The nuns said it was the only thing with me. Not even a note.”

The woman crossed back to her side of the desk, her fingers tracing over the highly polished surface as she stared into space. 

“Ah, there, got it,” Paige said with a smile. She lifted her wrist and wiggled it in the air. “Again, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” She placed the scissors on the woman’s desk and slid them toward the blotter. Holding her left arm in the air so she wouldn't snag herself again, she gathered her tote with her right hand and stood. “Have a nice rest of your day.”

Paige sidestepped around her chair and headed for the exit.

“Ms. Turner,” Veronica said before Paige stepped out the door.

Paige twisted to face her. “Did I forget something?”

Veronica nodded at her, swiping something off her desk. “Your key.” 

The woman held a keycard and a small keyring toward her.

Paige offered her a confused glance. “Those aren’t mine.” 

“They are now. Welcome to the Shadow Harbor Public Library. You are the newest librarian.”

✨ Enjoying the story?
You can find the full series in the Book Stacks—or check out a free book at the Checkout Desk.

Dewey doesn’t invite just anyone into his nest.
Settle in and listen as Paige is welcomed into one of Shelving Magic’s quietest corners.

Click here to listen to Nellie read the scene.

Every library has its staff.
Shelving Magic is no exception.

Meet the people (and creatures) who keep the shelves in order, the magic contained, and the chaos… mostly manageable.

Click to download the character portraits.

Some magic doesn’t announce itself.
Look closely—eleven objects have been hidden somewhere in the room.

Can you find them all?

Some books aren’t meant for everyone.

As a thank-you for exploring Shelving Magic, you’re invited to unlock a private perk reserved for library members.

Enjoy 20% off any Shelving Magic item in the shop.

Use code: SHELVING20

Visit the Shelving Magic Shop here: https://shop.nelliehsteele.com/collections/shelving-magic

Not every potion comes in a bottle.
Some are meant to be taken home.

Download a set of Shelving Magic wallpapers, designed for readers who like their magic subtle and their shelves well-stocked.  Click here to download!

Not every magical object is dangerous.
Some are simply… inconvenient, surprising, or a little ridiculous.

The archive below highlights a few notable items currently cataloged at Shelving Magic.

Seepy Sap

A viscous, shimmering substance that allows the user to enter a temporary “Seepy” state
Particularly useful for slipping through tight spaces—such as under locked doors. Side effects may include drowsiness and mild embarrassment.

Top Tapper

Enchanted tap shoes that grant the wearer exceptional rhythm, coordination, and flair.
A matching sparkly outfit is automatically provided. Consent is not requested.

Lion Tamer

A dramatic whip that conjures fully formed lions with every crack.
The user is immediately dressed as a Big Tent lion tamer, complete with appropriate confidence—whether earned or not.

✨ Additional artifacts remain uncataloged, misplaced, or temporarily banned from circulation.

Magic has a way of changing things when you’re not looking.
Two images appear identical—but seven small differences have slipped in.

Can you spot them all?

Shelving Magic is home to more creatures than any single library could ever catalog.
This room highlights just a few—enough to give you a sense of what’s lurking between the shelves.

Dragons

Dragons are far more diverse than the stories suggest.
Some dwell deep in the Amazon, adapted to heat and dense canopy, while others prefer quieter, colder regions. Dewey is considered… unusually small.

Vampires

Vampires exist in hundreds of variations, shaped by region, magic, and adaptation.
Daywalkers like Devon are rare—and often misunderstood by both humans and their own kind.

Werewolves

Werewolves are divided into clans, each with its own customs and transformations.
Not all of them howl at the moon—and not all of them agree on what the moon even means.

Valkyries

Valkyries are warriors bound by ancient oaths and personal codes.
Drucinda belongs to one such order—and takes her responsibilities very seriously.

Other Creatures

The shelves contain records of many other beings—some helpful, some dangerous, and some best left unclassified.