Magic in the Mess

We were surrounded by boxes.

Stacked high. Taped shut. Each one filled with new books and big dreams, or at least that’s how I tried to romanticize it while my hands throbbed and my spine begged for mercy. Inventory days are a special kind of liminal space—somewhere between the high of fresh potential and the low of barcode-induced breakdown.

I was deep in the barcode blur. Sore. Stressed. Teetering on the emotional edge where “I’m building something amazing” meets “I might be completely unhinged.”

And then, it happened.

In the bottom of a box—no spotlight, no fanfare—there it was:
A signed copy of A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire.

Just sitting there. Casually. Like it wasn’t the most magical plot twist of my entire week.

I froze.
Picked it up like it might dissolve in my hands.
And then I squealed. Loudly. In front of other humans. Zero shame. Zero regret.

Because this series? It means something to me.

Wicked showed up in my life at a time when I was questioning everything: what was true, what was taught, what I was allowed to want, believe, become. Maguire’s reimagined world cracked something open in me. It whispered, “There’s more. Keep digging.” And I did.

So yeah—this one’s not for sale.
This one’s mine.

And maybe that sounds silly. Maybe it’s just a book in a box.
But in that moment, it felt like the universe slipped a little note under the door that read:

“You’re doing it.
It’s hard.
And here’s a reminder that it’s worth it.”

I needed that. Because the week had been brutal.
I’d painted until I was covered in more primer than pride.
Sanded until my shoulders gave out.
Balanced on ladders and on the edge of burnout.
Questioned every financial decision.
Stretched energy I didn’t have and patience I couldn’t find.

And then this book arrived.
And that signature in black ink? It gave me a full-body chill. Not because it’s rare. But because it found me—right there in the middle of the mess.

That’s the magic.

It’s not always grand or loud or filtered for Instagram. Sometimes it’s hiding in the bottom of a cardboard box, waiting to remind you why you started.

That’s what this whole store is about, really.

✨ Magic in the mundane.
✨ Messages in the mess.
✨ Stories that show up exactly when we need them.

So thank you, Gregory Maguire—for the worlds you build, the truths you twist, and the quiet, perfect timing of it all.

And to anyone else knee-deep in the hard parts of building something:
Keep digging. The story’s coming.