This being Wyoming, where a Wild West mentality still thrives, Rice sells the 4,000 titles in her inventory alongside products made and sold by her husband, Jef Rice: custom-built handguns and rifles.
“Sometimes, men come in for the guns and their wives come in for books; other times, women come in for the guns and their husbands for books,” Rice says of her diverse clientele, most of them residents of Platte County.
“At first, the books were on a small shelf. Now,” she tells PW, “it's half the business,” resulting in an 80% increase in book sales over the past four years, and a 20% increase this past year over the previous year.
The store focuses on children’s books and fiction, including sci-fi, fantasy, westerns and mysteries. Craig Johnson’s Wyoming mysteries sell well, says Torrie, adding that Johnson visits the store when he’s passing through. “He's a cool writer and he's even mentioned our store in his books.” She also stocks books by other Wyoming writers even if their subjects are further afield. “After all, Wyoming writers don't just write about Wyoming,” she says.
Torrie’s a Wheatland native and a graduate of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne and the University of Wyoming. She describes herself as a “bookaholic.” The store is at 875 Gilchrist St. in downtown Wheatland. Phone is 307-322-1725. You can find the bookstore listed in the Cheyenne phone directory.
Read entire PW story at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6534628.html
Thanks to Myra Peak of Green River for referring us to the PW story.
