By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
There’s a new bookshop in Crestline and it is owned by a person who really appreciates books – author Rachel Manija Brown.
Paper & Clay held its well-attended grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 16. The new store is located on the north side of the street at 23872 Lake Drive in Crestline, near the intersection of Thousand Pines Road, between Fort Gregory Outdoor Company and the barbershop and across from Ace Hardware and Bizzyland in the Lake Gregory Village section of town.
The cute shop, which has three rooms of new books, is a life-long dream come true for Brown.
Rachel Brown through the photo frame of books in the new bookstore Paper & Clay in Lake Gregory Village, Crestline.
The design of the store is very creative, reflecting the owner, including a book arch for selfies, stuffed animals for children and interesting gifts, including tarot cards, bookmarks and more. There are several “selfie-appropriate” spots in the store.
Brown is a multi-talented author and artist who not only has her three series of books in the store, she also has a wide selection of pottery items and art pieces she has created at Lake Mud Pottery. Also displayed around the store are many miniatures of book scenes that she has created, plus she sells design kits to create your own miniature book scenes. In the store, there is much more to make the imagination thrive in each of the three rooms, each at a separate floor level.
The children’s room at Paper & Clay is quite exciting for children, with a wide selection of books.
The bookstore is divided into several rooms of books, including a young adult room with a good selection of young adult literature, which is a growing market at this time, and a separate children’s book room with a low couch, with many Wimpy Kid books, adventure, non-fiction and younger children’s books and even minimally scary books for the pre-teen, which is all the craze these days and very popular.
During the grand opening, one 7-year-old said to Rachel, “I love this store and want to come back every day!” Her mother agreed that they would definitely be returning, and often.
Another three customers in the store, while enjoying the comfortable chairs, declared the store was perfect and that the opening day cookies were delicious. They were very impressed by the book selections and by Brown herself.
Brown said she had such a great day meeting the many visitors and customers in the store during the opening day festivities and was very surprised at the large number who had come to visit her new store. She is now really looking forward to owning and running the store, meeting other readers, any other writers in town, and talking about books. As an author, this is a dream she has always hoped would come true. She was thrilled when this location and opportunity presented itself, especially when she had the time and ability to make it happen.
Brown has lived in Crestline for several years and has found the forested environment to be very conducive to her creative writing. She is a well-known and successful writer with three series of books with several books in each series.
Brown personally enjoys reading books in the horror genre, so she has a massive horror book section, plus a couple of miniatures of horror book scenes she has made, including the dance scene she created from Carrie. If you blow on it, it gives true action to the scene. She makes the figurines through a 3-D printer and the scenes from her imagination from the text.
Brown stocks a very good selection of fiction book choices, including the romance genre from many well-known authors. She has coloring books of famous book scenes and characters for all ages, a perfect way to spend a wintery day while inside.
She has penned two Romantic Fantasy series of books under the pen name of Zoe Chant. She has several books in the “Shifter Vets” series, and her others are in the “Protection Inc.” series. If you purchase them, the books could be autographed by the author, while there. What a perfect surprise gift choice for the upcoming holiday season – an autographed book for the romantic fantasy reader in your family.
In Brown’s young adult series, her books are in “The Change” series with the book titles Stranger, Hostage, Rebel and Traitor. These books could be personalized as a perfect holiday gift for your teen.
Regular store hours at Paper & Clay will be Thursday through Sunday, noon to 6:00 p.m., at 23872 Lake Drive, in the Lake Gregory Village area of Crestline.
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