By Jacob Peterson

As Bloodstone Books approaches its first full year as a brick-and-mortar incarnation, owners Gabe DeLeon and Anthony Bertolini say their horror and science fiction/fantasy themed hub is more committed than ever to building a community in its corner of Land Park.

The pair originally opened Bloodstone Books as an online bookseller in October of 2024. DeLeon and Bertolini both felt that the momentum for their online endeavor was strong enough to start doing pop-up events,  which eventually led to an in-person store at 3214 Riverside Boulevard.

They opened their doors in April of 2025.

“The store is all the brainchild of Gabe,” Bertolini acknowledged. “He had the idea to do a bookstore specifically for horror, sci-fi and fantasy: they’re genres that have a lot of avid fans but oftentimes bookstores don’t have the selection these fans are hoping for.”

In addition to providing a wider selection for those select genres, the owners also wanted to create an opportunity for authors from marginalized groups to have their work front and center.

“We’re both queer, so having queer voices in the store is important to us,” Bertolini said. “We want to be able to provide a third space for people to come and enjoy things they’re fans of but also find other like-minded people and a safe space.”

An important part of building this space, and a community around it, has been hosting a series of events. That’s meant continuing the pop-ups that helped them build their base, as well as hosting on-location events such as trivia nights, workshops and author speaking events.  

“We’ve been making sure the cost and barrier to entry is pretty low,” Bertolini observed. “We want people to feel that it’s accessible for them to be able to come into the store and do these things.”

For the owners, one of the biggest learning curves around going brick-and-mortar has been marketing the store to the people of Sacramento.

“It is a whole new set of challenges, you have to rely on foot traffic and word of mouth for marketing,” Bertolini pointed out. “The thing that we found is you can market yourself as much as you want, but you have to give it time for the community to find you.”

One example of the community finding Bloodstone comes in the form of Kathy and Robert Delgado, who first happened upon the lair of tomes while out on a walk. Both were positive about their experiences at the store.

“Honestly, it just has a really cool vibe,” Robert Delgado noted. “It’s really clean. You have the couch in the front, and they have a pretty big selection.”

Another recent first-time customer is Kylea Williams. She first visited Bloodstone Books after shopping at a nearby business. Like the Delgados, Williams mentions the selection at the store, while also being impressed by its non-book options.

“It’s a really fun place, I especially liked all the different stickers they had,” Williams said. “I ended up picking up some cards and a puzzle. I would definitely recommend it.”

Greer Macfarlane is a customer who had heard about Bloodstone from a friend. Like many before, Greer absolutely loved the wide variety of horror titles it had available.

“It was really wonderful,” Macfarlane reflected of her first visit. “I really love bookstores, especially smaller ones like this – and I had a great time.”

Milo Mahoney, on the other hand, falls into the category of a veteran Bloodstone fan. He says that’s because DeLeon and Bertolini have gone out of their way to have a varied library while still keeping with their initial horror and sci-fi/fantasy commitment.

“There’s a diversity of literature there all within that scope,” Mahoney stressed. “If you want a fantasy-romance you can find that; if you want a thriller that’s really funny you can find that; or if you want a sci-fi book that deals with queer themes, you can also find that.”

Increasing Bloodstone’s presence as a community focused gaming space is also a priority for DeLeon and Bertolini. They have recently become a partner with Games Workshop to sell “Warhammer 40,000” sets.

“When we first opened the bookstore, we always had the vision of it being a place where you can get the books you want and then maybe sit and hang out or read for a few hours,” Bertolini recalled. “We want to be a spot for people to do things, that’s our immediate goal.”

This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, CapRadio, Capitol Weekly, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.