Like the universe, the operation of a self-storage facility is rife with mysteries—some simple to solve, others quite complex. As facility operators, you face the unknown all the time, for example:
- Who left that ratty old couch out by the dumpster?
- Why is there a lock on unit 314 when it’s supposed to be empty?
- Why isn’t there a lock on unit 314 when it’s supposed to be rented?
- Why does customer Bob Smith visit his unit at 4:30 a.m. every Wednesday … wearing a hard hat and a pair of furry boots?
- What’s in that giant orange box tenant Jill Jones is storing in her unit? And why is it the only thing in there?
- Who keeps leaving half-eaten Twinkies on the bench outside the office?
- Why does the restroom always smell like cinnamon? There’s no air-freshener in there!
- Who keeps rearranging my box display, dang it?!
- How does the owner always manage to call in for a status report at our busiest time of day/week/month?
- Exactly how many times is old Mr. Johnson going to forget his access code?
- Something scratched a hole in the office wall … Do I even want to know what it is? Worse yet, do I want to know where it is?
There are probably a million other mysteries you could add to this list from daily life at your storage property (and I heartily encourage you to do so using the “Comments” link below). But if you’re like me and love a good sleuth story, you’ll also want check out the new novel “Hot Storage,” now available in the ISS Store.
Authored by Mary Mead, a “transplanted Southerner and lung-cancer survivor,” the book tells the tale of self-storage manager Marlena Montoya, who finds a stash of drugs in a unit that was supposed to be empty. When two murder victims turn up with ties to her facility, she teams up with a local detective to solve the case.
This is the second fiction novel we’ve added to the ISS Store in the past year, and we’re excited to be expanding our catalog to include some recreational products. The first was the horror-fiction novel “Self Storage” by “New York Times” best-selling author Jay Bonansinga, who also penned the popular “Walking Dead” novels. These fun fictions make for excellent break-time reading or great gifts for your industry co-workers!
We’re extremely interested in expanding the Books section of our online store, so if you or someone you know has written or is in the process of writing an industry-relevant publication of any type, please reach out to me about the possibility of adding it to our list of offerings.
If you’ve already read one of these two novels, how did you like it? Would you like to read more works by either author? Again, please leave your feedback in the comments below. Happy reading!