By Amber Lanahan
Photography by
Katherine Kocian
Growing up in Paris, France, the sight of a little red book in her mother’s hands is a memory remembered fondly for Good Girl Romance Bookstore owner Sandra Blau. “In France historical romance books are mostly in red. My mom was always reading these red books, and when she did, they would have her attention. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Something’s going on in there.’ So, one day I picked up the book and read all of it. That was how my love of romance literature started,” she shares.
This little red book would be the first words on the page of a woman’s story of love, romance, and a bookstore – El Paso’s own Good Girl Romance Bookstore located on the west side of town.
When Blau married her high school sweetheart, a romance bookstore in the Sun City was probably one of the last things on her mind. However, fate had other plans, as six years and three months later, she’d be the owner of an El Paso bookstore serving as a haven to readers of love and romance looking to find their community.
“I felt alone when I was reading romance. I had no friends to share my thoughts with about a book, and the people I knew here weren’t reading. This is why I started the book club, and it grew from there. I wanted to bring these people together and help them find a way to share this love without judgment,” says Blau. “I’ve noticed that women here in the U.S. tend to be very proud about the fact that they read romance, but there’s also the relationship some people have with literature. Many people don’t believe that the romance genre is real literature, and I don’t think that’s true. To build a story, write, re-write, and continue writing to ensure the story maintains its consistency is the same as with any other form of literature.”
This dedication to creating a space for romance readers started from a singular desire to find herself a community that has now developed into a location that plays host to a variety of events from reading challenges, book club days, and soon beloved romance authors themselves.
Blau takes the collection within her store seriously, as outside research and active social media engagement with customers helps her determine the store’s future inventory.
“When I started to post on social media that we were about to open, I asked everyone which author they would like to see and asked them to share their names.” Blau explains. “Of course, I order popular books, but I try to look more for books that tend to be self-published. I think about whether customers will want to come to me for something other stores have or if it’s something harder to find.”
This consideration for independent authors has allowed Blau to share a more extensive collection of love stories with her readers outside of the New York Times best sellers list while elevating author voices that would otherwise have difficulty being experienced by the average reader.
As with any well-written story, the protagonist faces challenges throughout the journey to help them develop and grow. This experience also rings true for Blau as she has been forced to face the pains of a budding business.
“The money is challenging. Like with every business, when you start, you spend money only to work to reimburse that money. This part of the business is currently my biggest challenge because I’m still learning how to do that. The community and learning something about a book from a customer are the parts I find most enjoyable, but the businesswoman part has been a challenge. I don’t want to work for the money, but at the end of the day, I’m reminded that this is still a business, and even if I don’t want to learn about things like accounting, I’m the one who has to do it.”
Blau has worked to balance the two contrasting aspects of her business while also creating a warm and inviting space for anyone who walks through the door.
One such experience was witnessed during this interview in a family that entered the store with a young child. While mom was perusing the store’s collection with a few other customers, the child became restless in dad’s care. Briefly excusing herself from the interview, Blau collected some items from the register and approached the family. Kneeling to speak to the child personally, she revealed a blank coloring page and asked if they would like stickers. After exchanging a cautious gaze with their parents for approval, the child collected the items and sat with their father on the couch to play with their newest treasures.
“It’s because I’m a mom,” Blau explained. “When I used to go to the bookstore with my kids, I would try to keep them entertained while I was looking at the books. I try to find things where the kid could do something too. When a mom shows up with a kid, I know they need time to look around without worry. I have coloring pages, special stickers, as well as juice and snacks for the kids. I even have a small children’s bookshelf that I’m testing out too. I want to find a way for the kids to enjoy being in the store as well as the moms. I’ve even had some kids tell me that they love coming here with their mom. This bookstore is mostly for the community, not just for me.”
For an interviewer who has grown accustomed to the inauthentic personas of national chains, such consideration proved refreshing and only added warmth and charm to the space.
Sandra Blau is a lover of love stories who’s used this passion to create a location that welcomes readers as soon as they cross the threshold.
“With everyone that I talk to, I’m always learning something new. It’s like a sharing experience with everyone that comes by,” she says. “I don’t know if they learn something from me, but I always come out of it with something new. It can be anything. It can be vocabulary for me, because English is my second language. Or they share with me how they’ve felt about a book, which helps me with future recommendations and selections.”
This dedication to nurturing a genuine human connection through beloved literature might serve as this location’s strength as its owner strives to put her business and adopted home of El Paso on the map for romance writers and readers alike. For those seeking a romance reading community or simply a hard-to-find romance novel from an independent author, Good Girl Romance Bookstore is a location that will have you looking forward to the next chapter.
