Romance Road Trip: Steamy Lit (FL)
By: Sara Shahein
Edited By: Emily Quintanilla
Roll down those windows because it’s about to get steamy in here! We’ve made it to our next stop, to chat with Steamy Lit owner Melissa Saavedra. We’ll talk about all things hot: the mission behind Steamy Lit, advice for aspiring bookstore owners, and an exciting new project on the way!
Meet Cute
Melissa Saavedra, Owner
Sara: Hi! Thanks for joining me today! I am so glad we get to chat about the Steamy Lit Bookstore. To start us off, tell me a little bit about Steamy Lit? How long have you been open, and where are you located?
Melissa: I’m excited to be here. We have a Tampa and Fort Lauderdale location, and we’re opening up in Miami.
Sara: Ooh nice! Which one was your first location?
Melissa: Our first store was in Deerfield, and we moved to Fort Lauderdale.
Sara: And how long have you all existed as a bookstore?
Melissa: We started in the online space in late 2021, and we had our first physical store by the end of 2023.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: I love to see stores move from an online space to a physical storefront. They really come to life. I must ask, what made you want to open up a romance store specifically?
Melissa: I was already in the online space in the romance genre, and we launched through The Steam Box, which is a quarterly subscription box where we pair romance books with sexual wellness and general self-care items. The Steam Box focused on romance because that's the genre that I enjoyed the most and I really dove into as a reader. But I think also because there’s so much power behind romance. Unfortunately, there’s also so much shame attached, whether it’s reading romance, pleasure, or sex, especially when it comes to women or women-presenting folks. I wanted to have a creative space where we can talk about it all. That was the goal behind creating the subscription box. At the time, I lived in California and a few romance bookstores already existed around the country. There were a lot of indie bookstores in San Diego, but there weren’t many in Florida, especially not anything that catered specifically to romance. I attended the Miami Book Fair as a pop-up, and I saw how much interest there was in romance down here. So I decided to give it a go and see if this was something that was feasible and something that could work. And here we are.
Sara: I’m glad it worked out for you, especially with the motive of showcasing the importance of women and women-presenting people’s pleasure in today’s world. I applaud you for that work, it’s incredible.
Melissa: Of course.
Sara: Why the name Steamy Lit? Is there any background to that?
Melissa: No! I think I still have the sheets somewhere. I had like 1,000 names, and I couldn’t figure it out. The Steam Box is what launched first, and I thought if I wanted to do anything else outside of the subscription box, but stay in the same space, there should be an overarching brand attached. That’s where the name Steamy Lit came from; there was the obvious tie-in to The Steam Box, and I love steamy books.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: It’s funny that it worked out that way. Steamy Lit is an excellent name. Choosing one storefront, describe how it’s organized and how you choose what to purchase for the store.
Melissa: They’re both kind of organized the same way . . . Fort Lauderdale is our main hub, and we have that divided into subgenres, like dark romance, what we call otherworldly romance, which encompasses romantasy, anything monster, and sci-fi romance. We have an autographed section, and then we have our special edition section, which are our exclusive Steamy Lit editions. We have a selection of contemporary romance, and then we have mini rollouts that differ in each store based on the space and what is going on at the store. At the Fort Lauderdale location, we have a few consistent displays. One features books written by Black authors, queer books, our Steamy Lit book club picks, books that made you cry, staff picks, and books we think are pretty.Based on the season, we’ll have different displays. Right now, we have a hockey display with the Heated Rivalry love. Our Tampa store has less display space, so we try to rotate the books depending on what is going on. And, of course, we have a section dedicated to new releases.
The Climax
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: I love book displays, especially staff recommendation displays as they help the community get to know the staff better. How do you decide what to purchase for the stores?
Melissa: That does differ per store. A lot of it is trends and seeing what moves faster. It’s really fascinating to track how certain things move faster in one store than the other. For the most part, we stock similarly, but what people love in a certain store affects what we order more of for that store.
Sara: What is your favorite part about owning a genre-specific bookstore?
Melissa: For us, our mission is to celebrate diversity in romance. It’s the intentionality behind that, and the ability to amplify the work of authors whose identities have been underrepresented in publishing and really be able to push those works. You will rarely see a large stock of Sarah J. Maas or Emily Henry. Of course, we have stock, but not a whole lot. You might notice we are stocked a bit differently than other stores, and that’s a little hard in a sense of wanting to have what people want . . . but there’s also a very intentional portion to this. We make sure the books that may not be getting the marketing dollars other books are getting can be out on display and get the recognition they deserve. That is my favorite part, being able to stock books people aren’t finding at their Barnes & Noble, on the front page of Amazon, or all over TikTok. They are able to find gems, and for me, helping connect readers and authors is probably the best portion of it.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: I love that, and I’m so glad that you are championing these voices that publishing and marketing are not focused on because those are equally important books that people may not know about. Steamy Lit’s selection of books is something I would love to check out when I visit the shop, but what is another thing I would need to check out while there?
Melissa: I would say our special edition section, because you can only get those editions from Steamy Lit. Those are probably some of our favorite projects because we get to work directly with the publisher and the author to craft alternative covers or designs that no other store is going to have. Another section would have to be the autographed one. We go to a lot of festivals throughout the year where we get a lot of stock signed, so you’ll be able to find a few gems there. Both the special editions and the autographed sections are perfect places to start.
Sara: You can definitely catch me at the special editions section. I am a sucker for a good cover! We talked a bit about combating the stigma that may come from being a romance reader or reading books focused on pleasure. Living in this world, how do you continue to show up for your community of romance readers?
Melissa: I mean, owning a romance bookstore is a bit of the beginning of that, right? Being able to provide a space where folks can come and buy a book that specifically caters to what they like. A lot of it is also tied back to book bans, and we definitely try to stay up to date with whatever is happening in Florida or other states where we have an audience. We encourage them to vote or give testimonies on the books they have read, just trying to make a positive change in any way. We try to stay in the loop regardless if the book bans focus on romance or not because I do think it will trickle down to romance at some point. The more we help fight back as a community, the more impact we’ll have.
Again, just existing as a space, going to festivals, making special editions, we couldn’t do that without our community or readership. I would not be able to open three stores without the support of the folks who have been here all along the way. We have only been able to do the things we do because of this community, so we’ll continue to give back however we can so everyone can enjoy books and reading.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: I love that, and I’m so glad that you are championing these voices that publishing and marketing are not focused on because those are equally important books that people may not know about. Steamy Lit’s selection of books is something I would love to check out when I visit the shop, but what is another thing I would need to check out while there?
Melissa: I would say our special edition section, because you can only get those editions from Steamy Lit. Those are probably some of our favorite projects because we get to work directly with the publisher and the author to craft alternative covers or designs that no other store is going to have. Another section would have to be the autographed one. We go to a lot of festivals throughout the year where we get a lot of stock signed, so you’ll be able to find a few gems there. Both the special editions and the autographed sections are perfect places to start.
Sara: You can definitely catch me at the special editions section. I am a sucker for a good cover! We talked a bit about combating the stigma that may come from being a romance reader or reading books focused on pleasure. Living in this world, how do you continue to show up for your community of romance readers?
Melissa: I mean, owning a romance bookstore is a bit of the beginning of that, right? Being able to provide a space where folks can come and buy a book that specifically caters to what they like. A lot of it is also tied back to book bans, and we definitely try to stay up to date with whatever is happening in Florida or other states where we have an audience. We encourage them to vote or give testimonies on the books they have read, just trying to make a positive change in any way. We try to stay in the loop regardless if the book bans focus on romance or not because I do think it will trickle down to romance at some point. The more we help fight back as a community, the more impact we’ll have.
Again, just existing as a space, going to festivals, making special editions, we couldn’t do that without our community or readership. I would not be able to open three stores without the support of the folks who have been here all along the way. We have only been able to do the things we do because of this community, so we’ll continue to give back however we can so everyone can enjoy books and reading.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: Thank you. I work in the library field, and book bans are an uphill battle. Having the support of bookstores and readers is always wonderful to see. Speaking of support, what is some advice you have for someone who is interested in opening a genre-specific bookstore?
Melissa: I think a big part is to do your market research. You’re going to step into a community you may have been part of as a reader or author, and you’re changing lanes into a business, so doing market research is really important. There are a lot of romance bookstores popping up with similar names and not realizing something like that already exists. It’s something that can easily be fixed with a simple Google or Instagram search. A lot of names are trademarked, so you’re leaving it on an indie store to contact their lawyers, and that all costs money. Again, it’s time and money that could have been saved on both ends. Market research is definitely the first thing. Is there something in your community that is already serving this purpose? You have to be strategic about it. If there is someone already doing what you want to do, is it the smartest business decision to go through with it? Having two genre-specific bookstores within a few blocks of each other is going to affect both stores one way or another.
There is joy in this field, but there is also a romanticization surrounding owning a bookstore. It is not the money maker a lot of people may think it is, and you read a lot less. It’s important for people to talk to other bookstore owners and figure out what works for them. I often tell people to start online and build their community. Do pop-ups and see if that works for you, if you enjoy it. That’s the most important part. How do you continue something you don’t like? I think it’s best to start a little smaller, think about what you want to bring to your community, and do the proper market research.
Fort Lauderdale Location
Sara: Yeah, it’s amazing what a simple Google search can save people. Thank you for that reminder. Can you talk a little bit about Steamy Lit Con and how that kind of came to be? There aren’t many bookstores I know that put on such large-scale events.
Melissa: The thing about Steamy Lit in general is that we were a bookstore last. It’s how people know us now, but before we were more community pop-ups and online-based. Steamy Lit Con came from a lot of the relationships I created through being a Bookstagrammer and being intentional about the books I was featuring. I realized there was a lack of space where diversity and inclusion were truly championed, and this is no shade to other cons. People do what they know and what works for them, but a lot of times people of color and Indigenous people were an afterthought. I would go to some of these conventions and only see a handful of readers of color, but also a small portion of authors of color. I wanted to create a space where the readers coming are excited about BIPOC authors, where they want to read and buy their books, and support them. I became friends with Cookie, who is my co-organizer for Steamy Lit Con and who said if I ever wanted to do something like this, she was down. Then I talked to USA Today Best-Selling romance author, Adriana Herrera, and she thought I could do this and she’d support me. Knowing that I had the support of a powerhouse like Adriana really helped me get more involved in the space and build more relationships. The support from Cookie, who honestly runs a lot of our back office stuff, was something that really launched Steamy Lit Con forward for me. We finished our third year, and we set out to do exactly what we planned from the start. We had people sell out of their stock and authors telling us this is the first time people were lined up to see them. Year after year, we brought in more intentional readers dedicated to championing diversity in romance. Steamy Lit Con has been so special, and hopefully, we can continue to grow in one way or another.
Sara: That’s really beautiful, and I love that it was a grassroots thing; you started this community with those initial collections and showed it really does take a village.
Melissa: Truly. I mean, for the first year, I sent out a bunch of emails to authors and explained I didn’t have money for this, so this is how much we are charging per table, and if we don’t get the goal we need, we’ll refund you the money. Two hundred said, “This is so important, let’s see what we can do.” We raised about $160,000 in order to launch the con. A lot of it was a community effort, and it couldn’t have been done without the people involved. From year one to year three, it just goes to show these stories matter and shows publishers they need to put marketing dollars behind these stories to make sure they are reaching the right audience.
The Epilogue
Sara: That is very true and so impressive! This community is capable of so much. I’ve got a few more questions for you. What are your favorite tropes and subgenres?
Melissa: Second chance, love you since childhood, and ex-boyfriend’s dad.
Sara: Choose one of those tropes or subgenres and tell me why you love it.
Melissa: Oh, second chance, mostly because it’s always going to make me cry. It’s also real and raw in a way I think life is, and the misconnections we have within a relationship. It could be right person, wrong time, and being able to find each other again despite time, hurdles, and other obstacles in life is very realistic and beautiful. I did a Kiss, Marry, Kill: Romance Tropes once at a book swap, and everyone voted to kill second chance. I felt so attacked, I knew I was not in the right place.
Sara: Yeah, what! Justice for second-chance romance, I love it. Are you reading anything right now?
Melissa: Yes, but I can't really talk about it. I can tell you it’s a second chance. We’ve partnered with Generous Press to do a collaboration on a trad-publication. We received manuscripts, and we’re reading through them to see what will become our first published collaboration, which I am really excited about because it is something I have always wanted to do. Their mission aligns very well with ours in that we are both championing diversity in romance. The book is second chance, loved you since childhood, and I am just eating it up. A series I can talk about is The Wicked by Rebecca Johnpee. I am not a dark romance girlie, but this was a really great intro to dark romance. It’s mafia, and the main character is dating one brother but loves the other brother. There’s also a bit of love-to-hate going on. The cliffhanger is driving me nuts, but it’s very enjoyable, especially for people who want to dabble in darker themes
Sara: I will have to check it out! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me and teasing that upcoming project! I will have to keep up with Steamy Lit to see which book you decide to choose for the collaboration!
All Aboard!
Hop back in, readers. We loved our conversation with Melissa about the mission behind Steamy Lit, and we’re headed to our next stop! In May, we’re taking a trip to visit Kentucky’s first Romance bookstore, A Novel Romance, to chat with owner Jonlyn.