Flame & Fable is a newly opened bookstore on Detroit Ave. It is an independent shop run by Nickie Lui, the owner and sole employee. The bookstore specializes in dark romance and fantasy stories. Most of the authors featured in the store are self-published or independently published.
Lui’s love for literature stems from her early childhood.
“I have always been a big reader,” Lui said. “My whole life, my mom inspired my love of reading.”
The idea of opening a bookstore sparked after Lui left her previous job.
“After I had parted with my last job, which was also in the book industry, I went through a lot of introspection to figure out what I really wanted to do,” Lui said. “Owning a bookstore is something I’ve wanted ever since I was a little girl. I was able to make that happen.”
Lui began planning the store in May 2024. However, she quickly ran into some trouble: finding a suitable location.
“Finding a space was the most difficult part,” Lui said.
Lui landed on Lakewood as the location by pure chance.
“I took a few months off planning and I left on a trip last October,” Lui said. “Coming back from the trip, I was driving through Lakewood, down Detroit, and I saw a ‘For Lease’ sign in the window of this space.”
Lui purchased the space and quickly started work on opening her shop in the near future. She soon established a concept for her bookstore: fantasy and romance.
“Romance is my favorite genre,” Lui said. “I really want to call attention to that specific genre because it has seen a big boom in publishing in the last five to ten years.”
Prior to opening, Nickie Lui had created social media pages to build anticipation for the shop’s opening. She first uploaded a “coming soon” trailer to TikTok and Instagram pages appropriately named “flameandfablebooks” on Jan 12. She updated her growing audience on the shop’s progress throughout January.
After multiple videos of package deliveries and spatial design, Lui published a post announcing the official opening date of Flame & Fable. The date was set for Feb 8 at 11 am. Six days before opening, Lui began to reveal surprises about the shop via her social media pages. These surprises thrilled guests even more. This post grabbed the public’s attention and excited book lovers around Lakewood.
When opening day arrived, eager customers waited in a line down the street. The store was stocked with books and other local merchandise.
“I have a local section on the wall, and it’s directly from the source,” Lui said. “The first thing everybody sees when they walk in.”
The shelf contains stickers, cups, pins, keychains, crochet projects, bookmarks, bookshelves, and other trinkets. Flame & Fable also makes a point of amplifying independent and self-published authors.
“I’ll do a feature on some of the local authors and independently published authors that aren’t local,” Lui said. “I shelve them alongside the traditionally published authors. So, when somebody walks through the store and they’re perusing this section and they find something that’s interesting, they can have the experience of choosing a book off the shelf, looking at the cover, reading the blurb on the back, and then decided if that’s the book for them, whether it’s an indie author or a traditionally published one.”
Flame & Fable has some unique aspects you don’t find everywhere.
“I have a queer section of books, and that’s something that you don’t find in other bookstores,” Lui said. “I know Lakewood’s community for queer people is very large and it’s kind of shown in the fact that I can never keep those shelves stocked.”
The community’s response to the new store opening has been positive.
“I’ve lived in Lakewood my whole life,” Lakewood resident and fantasy lover Brian Taylor said. “Seeing a new store open with primarily fantasy books is a great addition to the community.”
Lakewood High School students are also thrilled about the new store.
“I can see it becoming a key part of the community,” senior Edy Keeper said. “It is such a unique concept and I’m excited to see how it develops.”
In the month it has been opened, Flame & Fable has received mass support from the Lakewood community. Nickie Lui has been grateful for the support and repays the community by providing them with the latest reads in fantasy and romance.
“I want to give love and appreciation back to the Lakewood community,” Lui said.
