Spotlight on Bookstores: *Quail Ridge Books & Music* in Raleigh, NC

I’m delighted to have Jean Kwok as a guest today, contributing to the Spotlight on Bookstores series.  Jean’s debut novel, Girl inTranslation, is recently available in paperback. This unique coming-of-age story arose from the author’s own experience as an immigrant from Hong Kong to New York – by day an honors student adjusting to a new language and tormented by bullies, by night working alongside her mother in a Chinatown sweatshop.

I won’t tell you if/when/how the life of young Kimberly Chang, the novel’s protagonist, deviates from that of the author.  But, you can read the following essay and see that Jean Kwok is doing well, indeed.  Here, Jean shares about two experiences with the staff of Quail Ridge Books & Music – both show the warmth, welcome, and support of this wonderful indie bookstore.

To learn more about Jean Kwok, visit her author website, follow her on twitter at @JeanKwok, or “like” the Facebook fan page for Jean and Girl in Translation. And, check out the BlogHer Book Club articles, interview with Jean, and reviews of Girl in Translation (I have one pending at BlogHer; it’s scheduled to post there on May 30).

You can follow Quail Ridge Books on twitter at @QuailRidgeBooks, and “like” the Facebook fan page for Quail Ridge Books.  And if you visit the bathroom there, be sure to let us know!

If you’re ever in Quail Ridge Books, you are going to need to go to the bathroom. No, I am not presuming to predict your bodily urges. I’m actually telling you that you *need* to see that bathroom. Let me tell you how it happened to me.

A year and a half ago, I met three wonderful women from Quail Ridge – Sarah Goddin, Rene Martin and Trish Coffey – at my very first author dinner. I was on a pre-publicity tour through the United States, four months before my debut novel would actually be published. I was there to meet a whole group of independent booksellers, all of whom were lovely, by the way. And I was actually pretty nervous because being the author at an author dinner is kind of like being the bride at your own wedding, only you have to do it again and again.

Fortunately, Sarah, Rene and Trish put me immediately at ease. They are such warm, knowledgeable people. They read everything. They know everything. Trish was sitting diagonally across from me and while she was talking to me about how she loved books with strong female characters, I noticed something. Trish was perfectly dressed and accessorized. I am the type of person who always has on exactly the same necklace, rings and earrings because I can’t figure out what else to do. If you check my press photos, you’ll see I’m telling the truth. Trish was wearing earrings with dangling luminescent lavender pearls that subtly picked up the violet in the purple-and-white flowers on her dress. Her silver bracelets were graceful on her slender wrist, complementing the earrings perfectly. Her shoes were tasteful. And get this – Trish is just my size.

When you are not very big and not very good at dressing yourself and then meet another small person who is excellent at it, well, thoughts of borrowing and getting into the other’s closet naturally start to crowd into your mind. So, a few months later, when I needed to hit the road again, this time for the national book tour for the actual publication of my novel, I jumped at the chance to head down to Raleigh, NC again.

I know, you’re all wondering what all of this has to do with the bathroom and are probably disappointed that there was no bathroom-going in the restaurant anecdote above. Just hang on, I’m getting there.

By the time I arrived at Quail Ridge Books & Music, however, I’d forgotten all about sneaking into Trish’s closet. I was terrified. It was one of my first readings and I could see there were already a number of people seated inside, waiting for the author – who was, gulp, me. But again, the warmth and magic of Quail Ridge helped me to relax the moment I stepped inside the store. Several staff members immediately waved hello. And it wasn’t just because they would have had a problem on their hands if the author never appeared, because I saw them doing this to other people who came in too. The store felt inviting, filled with different niches containing an amazing collection of books, music and other items like greeting cards, which I’ve heard are so special that people travel from all over just to get them. From the way the staff and customers interacted, I could tell that Quail Ridge is a well-loved community hub.

However, even though I was now more relaxed than before I entered, I was still pretty nervous. So I went to the bathroom. (Finally, you’re thinking.) And my jaw dropped. I’d known that Quail Ridge had one of the most comprehensive author event programs in the country but here was the proof. No, there weren’t any author corpses in the bathroom but rather an incredible collection of small framed photos of authors, some of whom are very famous. Everyone there had read at Quail Ridge. Some signatures had funny little notes, commenting on their presence in the bathroom. Joyce Carol Oates gazed down at me while I checked my makeup there.

When I finally exited, I squared my shoulders and made my way to the podium. Because I understood that I was a part of a long tradition of authors who had read at Quail Ridge, and I had to live up to that bathroom.