Love is in the air at the Tucson Festival of Books, where local authors Sarah T. Dubb and Jen DeLuca will bring their own distinct flavor of romance stories to readers this year.

Both authors found their way to romance writing through unexpected paths, but for Dubb, the journey began in a graduate school classroom.

These days, Dubb balances several roles: local librarian, parent, community organizer and bird enthusiast.

But her newest role as author has brought both the birds and the bees to the romance genre, with books "Birding with Benefits" and "Honey Bee Mine."

"I've always, always, always been a reader, and I've always had writing as a skill," Dubb said.

But her writing career was not love at first sight.

With a background in nonprofit advocacy journalism and literary fiction, writing has always been part of Dubb's jobs. But fiction writing was a whole different creature.

"Because I had always written a lot, people would (say), 'Oh, you should write a book,'" Dubb said. "And I (said), 'I don't know what it would be.'"

In 2020, Dubb entered graduate school to earn her master's degree in library science.

"I was taking a class called 'Readers Advisory' ... the practice in libraries of helping people find books they would like to read," Dubb said.

The class introduced Dubb to popular fiction genres, focusing on a new one each week and encouraging students to read a book in that genre, all to help her recommend titles to library visitors.

Dubb chose Courtney Milan's "The Suffragette Scandal" for the romance genre week. She was hooked.

"I started reading as many romances as I could. When I read romance, it just felt like it reflected much more what I wanted to spend my time reading, which was something that focused on joy and pleasure," Dubb said. "There's something really fun about knowing the expectations and knowing where it's going to end. There's a lot of room to play with, but within the safety of knowing where you're going, so it felt safe to try."

Dubb's first book, "Birding with Benefits," follows recent divorcee Celeste, who enters into a fake relationship with devoted birdwatcher John to compete in a bird-watching contest.

During COVID lockdown, Dubb juggled three children and her friend's kids on Zoom school while carving out time to write alongside other authors over video calls.

"I didn't tell anyone I was doing it, like not even my partner," Dubb said.

After spending a couple of years working on the book, leaving the story and returning to it later, Dubb submitted her manuscript to agents through the traditional publishing route, a path that can present several barriers to entry.

"Your agent sends your work out to publishers, and it's their agent's job to know which editors at which publishers are looking for this kind of work," Dubb said. "You need one of those 20 people to open your email, look at your work, find a connection to it, and think they can sell it."

She secured representation after submitting a few chapters, and her agent then shopped the manuscript to potential publishers. "Birding with Benefits" was published in June 2024.

Still, Dubb acknowledges the publishing experience isn't so straightforward for everyone.

"I have many privileges moving through this," Dubb said. "My stories are (cisgender heterosexual) stories. I'm a white writer. My characters are white. But if you're coming at it with different marginalities, you're looking at editors, and half of them end up saying, 'I didn't connect with this.'"

In "Honey Bee Mine," workaholic beekeeper Penny is counting on the Sullivan's Glen Honey Festival to save her farm, even though she has to organize it herself. When Zander reluctantly returns to town to deal with his late grandfather's farm, his 11-year-old son's fascination with Penny, and her bees, pulls him into helping plan the festival.

The book was featured in the New York Times in February as one of "3 Fizzy, Fabulous New Romcoms."

Dubb marked the release of "Honey Bee Mine" with a launch party that doubled as a community effort, placing QR codes for local mutual aid groups on tables and tucking resource bookmarks into each signed copy.

"I'm always looking for ways to … keep connecting with community," she said. "How can I use my platform, as big or small as it is? All of my work has generally been to connect people with resources, and that's a big part of what (I) do."

Her connection with the writing community runs deeper than her own books. Dubb recently completed a residency with the Pima County Public Library, mentoring local writers one-on-one on their writing journeys.

"I was honored and amazed," Dubb said. "You're walking into a room with a stranger, you're talking to me about your dreams and goals, you're pitching your story to me so I can help you, you're showing me something you've written. That's all deeply vulnerable."

The residency came at a pivotal time, as Dubb was grappling with the plot of her third book, with each new idea stalling before the second chapter.

"Being inspired by all these people coming in and having so many ideas, and the way that they activated my brain … 'Okay, if I can do that for them, I just have to do it for myself too,'" Dubb said. "It ended up being really, really encouraging and important for me at that time. I think with everything I write, I'm becoming a better writer."

The residency reignited Dubb's creative spark, and she's not the only Tucson romance author who traces her love of storytelling back to a lifelong relationship with books.

From an early age, DeLuca's mother nurtured her love of reading, and library visits often inspired her to write her own stories.

"Writing was just always something that I did as a hobby," DeLuca said. "It was just a thing that I like to do."

Several years ago, DeLuca decided to participate in November's National Novel Writing Month alongside writer friends, where the goal is to write 50,000 words by the end of the month.

"I had a romance novel idea kicking around in my head, and I had the most fun writing it," DeLuca said. "I'd never written a romance novel before, even though I always read them. I just had so much fun writing banter and kissing and yearning and all of that stuff. And I sent it to one of my writing friends, and she (said), 'Yeah, you need to do something with this. This is good.'"

Her first manuscript, however, did not sell.

Agents were interested, but DeLuca found herself writing disingenuously until she landed on a subject she was truly passionate about: a Renaissance fair.

"While that book wasn't selling, I wrote 'Well Met,'" she said. "It was very much like a lot of perseverance."

"Well Met" follows Emily, who arrives in the small town of Willow Creek to care for her sister and ends up volunteering at the local Renaissance festival, where she butts heads, and eventually falls for, the festival's stern but charming organizer, Simon.

"I wrote a scene that's kind of in the middle of 'Well Met' now, that was (a) fake hand fasting scene, and I cracked myself up while I was writing it. And I was like, Okay, maybe this is a good idea. So I just kept playing with that book," DeLuca said. "(I told my agent,) I hope you like Shakespeare jokes and pirates."

DeLuca has since written four other books in the series that follow characters from the first book navigating their own romances, from long-distance relationships to dating facades.

The fifth book of the series, "Well Versed," will be released later this year.

"(It's like) when you watch a TV show for five or 10 years, and then they have the big series finale with all the guest stars and call backs to (the) beginning … there's a lot of that full circle stuff," DeLuca said. "I'm very excited about it."

Her second series, Boneyard Key, serves as a love letter to Florida, where she lived before relocating to Tucson, blending beach town charm with lighthearted ghost stories.

"I wanted to write about something to do with beach houses, and then that became beach ghosts, and then I would just start thinking about Florida tourist towns," DeLuca said.

"Haunted Ever After" follows Cassie, who reacts to her friends' marriage by impulsively buying a historic home in the tourist town of Boneyard Key. As she investigates her new home for potential paranormal activity, she crosses paths with coffee shop owner Nick and embraces Boneyard Key's ghost tourism. The unlikely duo sets out to find the truth behind the haunting, potentially finding love along the way.

The second book in the series, "Ghost Business," was released last year.

Though romance may not be for everyone, DeLuca believes the genre serves an important purpose for readers navigating difficult times.

"There are so many romance novels that tackle difficult subjects," she said. "I consider mine relatively lighthearted, but I still have characters who struggle with grief and characters who struggle with anxiety. I feel like a lot of romance novels are more than just fluff."

Her readers agree.

"Some of my favorite emails that I've gotten from people are ones where I've gotten messages from people who are like, 'My mom was in the hospital and reading your book helped me get through it, help distract me for a little while,'" DeLuca said. "That, to me, is just as important, to write like a romantic comedy that's just gonna let people laugh and swoon a little bit."

With the Tucson Festival of Books approaching, DeLuca is looking forward to connecting with readers in person.

"It's really amazing when people come up and they're just like, 'Oh my God, this book meant so much to me,' or just, they're so glad to meet me," DeLuca said. "There are people who do fan art that blows me away, because I'm thinking, you liked my book so much that you created your own art from it. That amazes me."

Her love for the literary community extends farther than just fans of her book.

"When I was in Atlanta (for the Love Y'all Romance Bookfest,) I got to meet some authors that I've only talked to online, but I've never gotten to meet in person yet," DeLuca said. "Everybody is so kind. Everybody's very supportive of each other. I think that's great."

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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