Following its debut as a mobile bookstore earlier this year, romance-focused bookstore Forced Proximity has opened a bricks-and-mortar location in Findlay, Ohio, the Advertiser-Tribune reported.
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| Forced Proximity owners Ben and Brit Kirkwood. | |
The bookstore opened in its new home at 11300 Hancock County Rd. 99 on November 1 and carries both new and used romance titles. Owner Brit Kirkwood fell in love with romance books a few years ago and, in 2024, following visits to the Ripped Bodice's Brooklyn, N.Y., location and to Grump & Sunshine in Portland, Maine, was inspired to open a bookstore of her own.
She and her husband, Ben, began with a mobile bookstore built from a 7'×14' trailer. It debuted at a local flea market on May 31, and the reception was "beyond my wildest dreams," Kirkwood told the Advertiser-Tribune. Eventually she started selling "blind date with a book" bundles at a business called Thistle Exchange, and in September, the team behind Thistle Exchange notified Kirkwood that an adjacent storefront was opening up and suggested she open a bricks-and-mortar space.
Initially Kirkwood didn't think she would be able to do it, as she had a full-time job, children, and needed health insurance. Thistle Exchange, however, offered to assist when Kirkwood wasn't there to run the store, and with her husband's encouragement Kirkwood decided to go for it. Once they got the keys to the space, they got the store ready to open in a matter of weeks.
Kirkwood said she was deeply moved by the amount of people who came from near and far to support the bookstore. "I think we are fortunate to have a really great community and really great people who want to make reading cool again."