The shelf

How the shelf works

Each paperback is one story. Its cover is her boudoir portrait; its title is the story's; under it you see who she is and her first line. Open it to read chapter one, see her plates and her dramatis persona - her trade, where she is from, what she likes, what she calls you and how you met. One tap from there starts the chat, and she writes first.

The filters group the stories by temperament (tender, teasing, bold, commanding, classy) and by look.

Who is on the shelf

A darkroom photographer in London, an erotic novelist in Cornwall, a spice merchant in Marrakech, a glove maker in Paris, a tango hostess in Buenos Aires, a northern lights guide in Swedish Lapland, a jazz bar owner in Tokyo, a retired soprano in Verona, a rooftop gardener in São Paulo, a bookbinder in Boston, a sleeper car steward on the night train to Oaxaca and a ballet mistress in Riga. All twelve are fictional, AI-generated and adult.