蜜桃影像AV

It鈥檚 actually on her arm, a white-crowned sparrow that was tattooed above Dubb鈥檚 left elbow years ago and now seems more comfortable than ever 鈥� especially since Dubb鈥檚 debut novel, has become one of the summer鈥檚 most surprising hits.

Released June 4 by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 鈥淏irding鈥� was quickly applauded by NPR, Publishers Weekly and Audubon Magazine.

As fast as you could say 鈥測ellow warbler,鈥� Dubb was under contract to write two more novels, and the design on her arm looked almost prescient. Clearly, her career has taken flight since she married her affinity for birds with her dream of writing a romantic novel.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a fun summer,鈥� she confessed last week. 鈥淚t still feels a little unreal. We went back east to visit family and saw my book in the Philadelphia airport. Somebody sent me a picture of it from a library in Melbourne. It鈥檚 crazy to think about my little book being out in the world.鈥�

鈥淏irding with Benefits鈥� is a joyful, sometimes-steamy love story that follows an unlikely couple who team up for a major bird-watching contest.

The tale is set in Tucson and features Celeste, a 40-something divorcee who teaches in a local middle school. Her daughter, Morgan, is a high school senior headed to Northern Arizona University. Then there鈥檚 John, an expert birder who looks great in T-shirts.

Will Celeste and John find birds? Will they find themselves? Will they find they are made for each other?

Fun and easy to read, 鈥淏irding鈥� is another sparkling example of why romance fiction has become the best-selling genre in American literature.

Thank Dubb, a full-time mom and part-time librarian with the Pima County Public Library.

Born and raised in Tucson, she became a writer who worked with a variety of nonprofits here and in Washington.

Dubb has always been a writer. But an author?

She could not imagine seeing her name on a book jacket until five years ago, when she began studying for a degree in library science at the University of Arizona.

As part of the curriculum, students would read a book or two from each major genre. When Dubb read her first romance, she fell in love.

鈥淯ntil I went to library school, I鈥檇 pretty much read literary fiction,鈥� Dubb said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the reasons I didn鈥檛 think I was cut out to be an author. I didn鈥檛 know what I would say. But I loved romantic fiction right away. I read one, then another, then another. It鈥檚 a genre where you鈥檙e rewarding hope, you鈥檙e celebrating joy. You have to have a happy ending.

鈥淩omance novels fit my personality a lot more than what I鈥檇 read before. If I was ever going to write a book, I thought this might be something I could do.鈥�

The final nudge came from a college friend in the spring of 2020.

鈥淚 reached out to Rachel and confessed I was loving romance books,鈥� Dubb recalled. 鈥淪he said, 鈥極hmygawd, I am too!鈥� When I told her I was thinking of writing one, she loved the idea. That got me started. For a long time, she was the only person who knew.鈥�

鈥淏irding with Benefits鈥� was actually Dubb鈥檚 second full-length manuscript, written while waiting for word on the first 鈥� a small-town story set in Patagonia.

鈥淚t was a about a spunky woman running for mayor and a former baseball player coming back home,鈥� Dubb said. 鈥淲e never did find a buyer. Publishers said it was too light, not hooky enough.鈥�

Dubb found all the 鈥渉ooky鈥� she needed when she asked Celeste to step outside in 鈥淏irding.鈥�

Already a casual bird-watcher, Dubb went on several guided bird walks and studied an assortment of guides to sharpen her grasp of the sport. The completed manuscript went out on submission in the spring of 2022.

Interestingly, Dubb self-published three novellas under another pen name 鈥� Eliza McLane 鈥� while waiting to hear back from publishers. 鈥淗aunted Hookup,鈥� 鈥淪anta Baby鈥� and 鈥淧erfect Match鈥� .

鈥淭hey were great fun to write, they were exactly what I wanted them to be, and they were getting readers,鈥� Dubb said. 鈥淔or a while there, I thought I might switch over and be Eliza McLane. Then, finally, the phone rang.

For the record, that was Feb. 6, 2023, and Eliza hasn鈥檛 been seen since.

Readers of modern romance will see that 鈥淏irding鈥� is a rare bird on several fronts. The key characters are in their 40s. One of them is divorced. Middle-age characters with middle-age problems are rarely found in romance novels, but Dubb was not trying to plow new ground.

鈥淟ook at me,鈥� she laughed. 鈥淚 was 39 when I started writing the book. Several of my friends were starting over after a divorce. I live with those things every day.鈥�

Her best decision was to give her characters binoculars and field guides. As well-received as it has been by mainstream media, 鈥淏irding鈥� has drawn even more attention from the American outdoors.

Audubon Magazine sent a writer to Tucson to profile the author. The American Birding Association featured Dubb and her book in a full-length podcast.

鈥淚 always thought birding could be romantic because so much of it is paying attention,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about discovery, and the desire to find some magic in our everyday world. Aren鈥檛 we all looking for that?鈥�

Poor Eliza never had a chance.

FOOTNOTES

鈥淪arah T. Dubb鈥� is a pen name chosen for the simplest of reasons. 鈥淢y agent said my name wouldn鈥檛 fit on the cover鈥� she said. 鈥淢y last name is long, and hyphenated. Since the two names start with a 鈥楾鈥� and a 鈥榃,鈥� people had called me T-Dubb my whole life. It sounded real natural to me.鈥�

The University of Arizona Poetry Center is again co-hosting the annual a nationwide challenge to read a book of poetry every day in August. To encourage readers locally, there will be poetry read-alongs Aug. 14 and 28 at the Tucson Hop Shop, 3230 N. Dodge Blvd. Both will begin at 4 p.m. Learn more at .

the newest romance from Tucson author Jen DeLuca, will be released Aug. 13 by Penguin. DeLuca will celebrate that afternoon with a , 6208 E. Speedway. It will begin at 6 p.m. Get more info at .