Trigger Warning Book Bus hosted a ribbon cutting celebration recently in Waukee, Iowa, after which owner Becky Vandermark made a stop at Local 5 News to talk about her venture. The mobile bookshop is located inside a 22-passenger shuttle bus that has been transformed into a romance bookstore.
"I wanted to do something different, and I thought I need something like a food truck and a bookstore... and here's the book lists," said Vandermark, whose day job is serving as a Waukee police officer. "I'm just excited to share my love of reading with people. I think everybody to use a little bit more love in their life."
The store's website notes: "The interior is moody, intimate, and unapologetically romantic. Low, warm lighting casts a seductive glow over shelves filled with stories of desire, danger, and devotion. Neon script softly illuminates the floral textures and rich tones creating a space that feels private, tempting--almost forbidden. Every inch whispers: stay awhile. The bus will hold approximately 600 romance novels available for purchase."
In March, Vandermark told the Des Moines Register that she began her love of reading as a U.S. Marine: "No matter what country I was in, no matter what was going on, I was always able to just escape into a book." She particularly enjoys romance novels, a way for her to "escape reality," and likes the appeal to "our human need to feel accepted, to feel loved."
This ultimately led to purchasing and renovating the bus. "This was a retirement home shuttle bus before it was this," Vandermark said, noting that the mobile bookshop's name is an homage to her law enforcement background and an acknowledgment of the explicit content of the books she plans to offer. She plans to sell in the Des Moines metro area at events and rent the bus for parties.