When was the last time you started something just for you? For Rayanne Streeter, sociology professor and owner of Good Girl Books, it was June 2024 when her hot pink Mitsubishi mini truck dubbed Little Miss Smuttie became a dream come true.
Rayanne was craving a creative outlet to balance her work as a sociology professor of women’s and gender studies, and notes the seemingly ubiquitous pipe dream, “to own a bookstore and a bakery and a flower shop,” to which this writer can agree. Wouldn’t it be magical?
However, starting a business is no easy feat, with the projected rent and overhead for a bookstore being offputtingly high. She began investigating other ways, noticing the rise of successful “bookmobiles” across social media. Rayanne credits much of her business success to good ol’ Google searching, including what led her to import the very adorable 1997 Mitsubishi mini-cab from Japan. That was the moment, she adds, when Little Miss Smuttie, who arrived as pink as you see her now, landed in her driveway, that she knew this dream was real.
For those uninitiated, the derivative smut is slang for ‘magazines, books, pictures, movies or jokes that offend some people because they relate to sex,’ (Cambridge dictionary) though Rayanne notes only some of her inventory fits that bill. “I only read romance. The world is hard and scary and anxiety-producing, and so I personally only want to read the softest of books,” she says from her office which doubles for inventory storage.
When she first launched Good Girl Books, Rayanne focused on curating reads she loved, mainly in the contemporary romance genre until the romantasy girlies (this writer included) caught up with her. Romance has many subgenres, including romantasy, which relies heavily on fantasy themes, historical, regency, western, paranormal and erotica, with infinite sub-subclasses and subject matter for every exploration. Now, her bookmobile carries a myriad of romance subgenres and branded merch — another stamp in her creative passport.
“I got an iPad last year and just started designing,” she admits when I applaud her holiday setup from last season’s Retropolitan Craft Fair. She created the Good Girl Books logo which features the OG Good Girl, her golden retriever Poppy, as well as bookmarks, tote bags, and more. She’s even parlayed her love for embroidery, first started as a way of coping with anxiety, into themed merch her community loves.
Isn’t this the bonafide entrepreneurial spirit? Someone finding something they love and realizing they can cultivate community around that shared enjoyment, ultimately resulting in a thriving business.
A self-proclaimed people pleaser, Rayanne relishes in her niche genre selection as a factor in her success. “I get to focus on the things that I’m interested in. I don’t have to worry about trying to please every single person. I just have to hopefully please some of the romance readers.”
Though there are multiple bookstores in Knoxville, both independent and large chain, romance-specific remains Rayanne’s footprint. Handbuilt shelves and inviting fixtures make for an exciting, stationary shopping experience wherever Good Girl Books pops up, which for the last six months has been all over the area! For example, on January 25, 2025, you can see Rayanne, Poppy, and Little Miss Smuttie at the Oglewood Avenue plant shop in N Knoxville for the Onyx Storm new-book release, along with Magpie’s bakery, a flash tattoo artist, and all the dragon-themed merch you can imagine.
Or, if you want to live out your hockey romance fantasy, Good Girl Books is partnering with the Knoxville Ice Bears for a Valentine’s Day event, designed to bring more women out to local hockey games!
With only six months under her belt, Rayanne is reticent to think too hard on the future, instead focusing on enjoying all that she’s built so far. Talks of a brick-and-mortar location or even franchise bookmobiles may be swirling around, but the Good Girl Books community is keeping her plenty busy with the latest in book trends, events, and creative merch.
If you’re a romance reader looking for your next sweet story, or genre-curious looking for a recommendation, connect with Good Girl Books on Instagram and stop by their next pop-up!
