A Brief Summary of the Last 7 Weeks

It's with no little amount of embarrassment that I begin writing this latest post. Despite all my good intentions (blog at least three times a week, etc.), it's been almost two months since I've updated this blog, and longer than that since I've given you a real sense of where I am in this bookstore project. So, here goes:

LIFE EVENTS

1. As some of you know, my husband and I moved. In the period of a month, we sold one house, bought a new one, and, thanks in large part to the sweat labor of family and friends, relocated. We're farther south now, which improves the commute to Laredo by almost an hour--which will come in handy in the coming months.

2. I wrapped up my second year in my MFA program, leaving only one to go. With the classless summer months ahead, I'm looking forward to spending more time researching, visiting independent bookstores, asking advice of seasoned and new booksellers alike, and generally diving into learning as much as possible about the industry.

BOOKSTORE

I'm not going to lie: In the last few months, as I've balanced moving, school, my business, and my general life, I've had some pretty intense flashes of What the hell do I think I'm doing? I think I fully realized how difficult this whole process will be, and that it will likely take much longer to achieve my goal than my naive original estimates. I also wondered if this whole thing was even feasible, or possible, and I panicked at the thought of being the girl who gave some big talk that, ultimately, she couldn't back up. I think that was part of the reason I stopped blogging for as long as I did. With everything that was going on in my life, I wasn't sure where my head was at with this whole thing. That is to say, the desire to move forward never changed, and neither did the conviction--at all--but the confidence had somehow taken a blow. I was scared, pure and simple.

What got my head back in the game was recognizing that moving forward with opening this bookstore (with any business) is a rational (not emotional) decision I needed to make and stand behind. Or not. And if not, I needed to be honest about it, to make it clear that, despite my desire and conviction remaining intact, it wasn't the right time to actualize this particular dream. But in the end, after all the silence and inner struggle and debate, I've decided to give this a real shot. To support my words, and my desire, and my conviction, with action.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to shout from the cyber-rooftops that I'd be opening a bookstore in Laredo. After all, I knew the risks. I knew I'd be the girl who cried wolf (or, um, book) if things didn't work out, if I backed down. But I'm glad I did that shouting. I've met so many wonderful people who have been willing to share with me their experiences in opening bookstores, or who have given of themselves and their communities by donating books to the cause, or who have validated my entire reason for this venture by telling me, simply, "We need this." I look forward to meeting many more people who have so much to teach, and who will help make this bookstore thrive.

SOME FACTS

1. I'll be submitting the Pepsi Refresh grant application tonight, in approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. If approved, the idea will be open for DAILY VOTING on July 1. I'll be talking more about this in the coming days.

2. I've made a big decision to lease a space instead of buying land and doing new construction. This will dial down start-up costs by 66%, which will drastically help speed up the process of opening. And, yes, I have a solid location in mind. It's at a major Laredo intersection, and the store will be approximately 6,000 square feet.

3. The bookstore will also feature free Wi-Fi access, comfortable seating, and a cafe selling coffee, pastries, and a few carefully selected wines and beers. I want the store to be a community gathering place, one that encourages lingering and learning. I'll also tailor the store to Laredo's unique demographic by highlighting books by Latino/a authors, selling classic and contemporary literature in English and Spanish, and providing a good selection of audiobooks for the many truck drivers who pass through Laredo on their routes. And let's not forget the workshops and events. The literacy rate, as we all know (and as the national media is so quick to point out) is a major problem in Webb County. I'm planning on hosting weekly literacy workshops for kids and adults, as well as creative writing workshops. And I hope to attract many authors, especially those who are Latino/a or who are from South Texas, to give readings and book signings. These are just a few of the MANY plans I have for the store. What else would you like see?

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ME

Accountability.

I want to keep you all informed. I want this process to be a dialogue between all of us who love books, read books, write books, and sell books; all of us who live in Texas, who have called Laredo home, who have resided in cities without easy local access to books; and everyone in between.

Thank you (again) all for your support!

LC4A Plans "Tequila Mockingbird" Street Party Fundraiser

Okay--Tequila Mockingbird: How clever is that name? I mean really.

Let me rewind. I was chatting yesterday with Gabriel Castillo, who was just officially hired as the Executive Director of the Laredo Center for the Arts, and who has been running the LC4A used bookstore. I wanted to let Gabriel know about the generous donation coming his way from Family Guy producer Kara Vallow and her friends and coworkers; turns out, he already knew. He and Kara, he said, have been e-mailing back and forth for a week, and the FIVE boxes she sent out are due at LC4A any day now. While I had Gabriel, I thought I'd ask a few questions on how LC4A has been doing. And I want you all to get the update from him:

"I am happy to report that the community has responded beautifully to our fundraising efforts and to our bookstore," Gabriel said. "It’s especially gratifying for me to see so many young people come by to read or purchase books. The books are very affordable: $1 for paperback to $6 for hardcover."

Gabriel added--and this moved me to no end--"I must admit we have some kids who can’t afford even that, so we simply give them the books and explain that if they ever want to return them we will gladly accept them back."

How amazing is that? For so many reasons: first, the heartbreaking fact that $1 a book is out of reach for many children, teens, and young adults in Laredo. Second, that despite that, these kids and adults WANT to read--which I've always known, and that's why quotes like the infamous Wall Street Journal one get me so riled up. (To refresh your memory: "Laredo is a poor city filled with immigrants who don't speak English, let alone read it.") And third, that the community has come together to place books in these kids' hands with no conditions--no price, no due dates. It gives me goosebumps.

LC4A is having its first book signing this Thursday, April 8. Don Hendon, author of 365 Ways to Influence, is a former Laredoan. He asked for the book signing reception and, says Gabriel, "We gladly agreed."

Now for Tequila Mockingbird:

"[The Center] has a very enthusiastic board of directors," Gabriel said. "The board is planning a fundraiser with proceeds going to the bookstore. Several years ago, the Center had an annual tequila tasting party, closing the streets surrounding the Center for a rousing fiesta complete with live music, Mexican antojitos, and a silent auction. The group is reviving the event, calling it the Tequila Mockingbird Street Party."

The Tequila Mockingbird Street Party is scheduled for Friday, April 30, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Ross and Friends will provide the music, and Laredo's historic La Posada Hotel is donating some of the food. L&F Distributors, along with several other local corporate and foundation donors, are co-sponsoring the event. Tickets are $20 pre-sale and $25 at the door with a cash bar. Funds raised by the Tequila Mockingbird Street Party (can you tell I just love saying it?) will go toward maintenance, payroll, and additional marketing for the bookstore.

Laredoans and supporters in surrounding areas: Will you be there?? And I'd love to hear from anyone who has either donated books or been to LC4A in person!

And...Action!

On Saturday, February 6, I was interviewed by Courtney Sames and Fede Cavazos, two fellow Laredoans who have been filming a documentary about the closing of B. Dalton. They have sat and talked with high school teachers who broke into tears; librarians who vowed to increase circulation; a bus full of orphanage children who shopped at B. Dalton one last time before it closed; and a fourteen-year-old girl who has collected thousands of signatures on a petition to bring another bookstore to Laredo.

As the cornflower sky began deepening and the air turned brisk with evening, we sat out on my back deck to have a long, frank discussion about my plans. I was asked about my family, my life in Laredo and since I left, and what books and literacy mean to me. I was also asked how I would tailor the bookstore to Laredo’s unique demographic and why I’ve chosen to take this risk. I guess my answer is this:

Without a bookstore, without a focus on the importance of reading and writing, Laredo is a city at its most vulnerable. At its most exploitable, corruptible, and defenseless. Never have I felt more moved to make a change than I do now. What was once a “life dream”—something I intended to pursue after achieving my own success as a writer—has become one of those rare passions. A mission. A knowledge that this is a problem I can help solve, and which my heart feels a duty to amend.

After the interview was over and we were all chatting in my kitchen, Fede admitted, “You know, before we started this project, I was skeptical about whether Laredo is capable of sustaining a bookstore. But after interviewing all the people we have, I know, without a doubt, that it is. There are a lot of people in that city who want and would appreciate a good bookstore.”

It’s what I believed already, but those words were so validating! There is a community of ardent readers in Laredo, and a community that would like to be.

Being interviewed was an honor, and I can't wait to see the documentary when it's done. Thank you, Courtney and Fede!

Are you from Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, or South Texas? What would you like to see in an independent bookstore?

A Bookstore for Laredo

The day before B. Dalton, then Laredo's only bookstore, closed, my dad said to me, “I don’t want to hear about your dreams; I want to hear about your plans.”

If you didn’t know him, if you didn’t know me, if you didn’t hear the self-aware laugh in his voice and the teasing tone in mine, his words would sound harsh. After all, what father wouldn’t want to hear about his daughter’s dreams? His oldest child’s dreams?

The truth is, both my dad and my mom have always been wonderfully receptive to, and unimaginably supportive of, their children’s dreams. But my parents are more than listening ears. They are hard workers. Build-from-the-ground-uppers. Entrepreneurs. Inspired and inspiring. I have learned from them what it means to not only dream, but to plan. And to not only plan, but to put that plan into action.

So I understood what my dad meant. I laughed and said, “I think I take after you.” I had recently dreamed about how I hadn’t been so supportive of my husband Colin's latest idea for work. Perhaps the dream was my subconscious telling me to stop, for a moment, playing devil’s advocate. Stop picking apart, examining each word, the syntax of each sentence, the format of each page, and the overall idea long enough to consider the excitement behind the idea. The inspiration. But I suppose I, too, like a plan.

And, yet, I’m not a planner. It’s a big joke in my family, how little of a planner I am. I oversleep, press snooze every seven minutes for two hours, am rarely the first to arrive at an appointment, am often forgetful, and put, maybe, too little effort into amending these qualities. Okay, these flaws.

What I am, however, is a person to whom “No” means very little. Or, rather, it means a lot. It means I will work and fight and sweat (then hide that sweat under a deceptive layer of Laura Mercier mineral powder foundation) all the harder to prove that I can meet that original goal. I can prove that naysayer wrong. I can make that beautiful, effervescent dream an equally beautiful, if imperfect, reality. And, in fact, I can do even better than I first imagined.

My dream: to open Laredo Texas’s first bookstore since the closing of its only one. My border hometown, with a population of 250,000 (and a population of 600,000 just a few steps away in Mexico), is now the largest city in the U.S. without a single bookstore. The 1,200 square-foot B. Dalton, owned by Barnes and Noble, was recently closed as part of the company’s transition to “large format” bookstores. The closing was covered by such media as MSNBC, National Public Radio, and The Wall Street Journal, which irresponsibly (in my opinion) dubbed Laredo “a poor city filled with immigrants who don’t speak English, let alone read it.”

The sting of such criticism follows closely on the heels of media reports denouncing Laredo as a breeding ground for criminal activity—drug and gang violence galore. The largest import/export hub in the U.S., Laredo, Texas is the nation’s bad joke, its bastard stepchild. That’s fine. It will allow us to do something great—something customized for Laredo’s unique culture and community, which is so much more than recent publicity would suggest. One year from now, I hope to watch as ground breaks and gives way to our bookstore. I hope to cheer as that dry South Texas soil splits to allow room for books. Stories. Worlds.

My plan: to research. To learn everything I can about selling books (as opposed to writing, editing, or publishing them). That includes financial dynamics, merchandising, location, store design, demographics, inventory, computerization, human resources, marketing, operations, and the list goes on. To write (and have reviewed) an educated, thorough, creative business plan, entirely tailored to the Laredo market. To apply for grants and fellowships. To apply for a small business loan. To encourage community support. To purchase land. To design and build. And to perform the real work—everything that comes after Laredo’s bookstore opens.

I hope to be a part of raising the literacy rate in my hometown (currently 47% of adults in Webb County lack basic reading skills). I hope to give children and teenagers a safe place to explore themselves, and the world. I hope to give adults a warm, welcoming place to enjoy one another’s company, to sit down with a good book and perhaps enjoy a glass of wine. In short, I hope to offer my city both an escape and a return. A liftoff.

One year. We can do this. And here, I will record the progress. I hope you will join me.

Dreams. Plans. Inspiration. They’re all we need to achieve great things.