Barely a year of rubber hitting the road, Good Girl Books opens a brick-and-mortar location in partnership with local author
The pandemic was rife with memes idealizing the dream of opening a combination bookstore/coffee shop/flower shop/boutique – really, any duo that combined comfort habits with community, a deficit many of us are still just getting back. Today, two Knoxville bookish babes have materialized that dream in Rocky Hill.
Just six months ago, we covered the still-newish local business Good Girl Books, spotlighting founder Rayanne Streeter and her hot-pink book truck dubbed Little Miss Smuttie. Less than a month ago, Streeter and her business partner Lauren Morrill celebrated the grand opening of their brick-and-mortar store with more than 700 patrons lined up around the building waiting for the doors to open.
“Romance bookstores are really hot,” says co-founder Morrill, an East Tennessee native and author of spicy adult and sweet young-adult romance novels. “They’re tourist destinations. People stop on their way to the beach from Ohio or the drive up from Atlanta to come for the vibe – the brand that Rayanne has created.”
Streeter started Good Girl Books as a creative outlet and “to create community, to talk to other romance readers and to destigmatize romance reading.” One such reader was Morrill, who fell in love with the Good Girl Books vision and decided to invest in it.
In addition to publishing nine novels (with more on the way), Morrill has been managing her husband’s YouTube channel, which surprised them with its success. “We’ve been doing that for about five years, and we just had some money,” she shares candidly, calling Good Girl Books a “bulletproof business.” Bragging on Streeter (who is working on accepting all the compliments), she says, “We just work so well together.”
The two women fittingly met at a book club, and the idea of opening a bookstore together entered the chat. Little Miss Smuttie, cute as she is, was limited to pop-ups, which meant many customers weren’t able to connect with the brand in-person if the timing didn’t work out. And of course, the truck’s available space for inventory made it difficult to satisfy the community’s growing desire for niche, indie and fast-trending titles.
After just a few months in business, Good Girl Books hosted a pop-up at the recently opened Rocky Hill location of Fleurish Flowers, another local business that began with a truck. Streeter clocked that half of the Fleurish building was unoccupied and already retrofitted with garage doors, but, having just started her mobile business, she put the space out of mind.
When Streeter and Morrill started seriously considering locations, Little Miss Smuttie was top of mind. “We wanted the truck to be part of the space,” Streeter notes, “and still be able to go in and out to do pop-ups.”
Back in the aughts, it seemed like locally owned bookstores were headed for extinction. Between 2000 and 2007, more than a thousand bookstores closed nationwide, and the rise of Amazon as the de facto book source still hurts the industry (and the planet) to this day.
But since 2009, the number of independent bookstores has grown by 50%, with more than 2,400 now operating in the U.S. Many factors contribute to this resurgence, but specifically for the romance genre, BookTok and other online communities have fueled the near-rabid growth of the once-taboo genre.
Morrill jokes about what it was like walking into a Barnes & Noble in 2011 and whispering, “Do you have ‘50 Shades of Grey?’” and how the genre since has become destigmatized in many ways. Rather than feeling shame for their interests and reading tastes, Good Girl Books aims to carry a variety of titles that their customers can feel empowered to enjoy free from shame or judgment.
The two women light up when asked about the future. Streeter is beyond excited for the store to simply exist. “[Customers] can come in to see us six days a week,” she says. “The truck is there. They get to see her, and [we] continue to build community.” They’re both looking forward to hosting author events, book clubs, bookish craft nights and much more.
Upcoming events include Romance Bookstore Day on Aug. 9, which will feature flash tattoos by Sad Cowgirl Tattoos, mystery book dates and multiple romance authors signing books on site; and Streeter’s dog Poppy’s birthday bash on Aug. 16, which celebrates the OG Good Girl with Knoxville Pet Photographer taking dog portraits, Adopt a Golden adoptions and 10% of proceeds going to their mission.
You can keep up with Good Girl Books and Lauren Morrill on Instagram, and you can visit the Good Girl Books location at 7685 S. Northshore Drive.
