Tuesdays have never felt particularly special to Tucson鈥檚 Jaclyn Rodriguez, no more so than any other day, but this coming Tuesday?
Tuesday, January 13?
When it is the publication date for your first novel, it promises to be a special day, indeed.
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling every range of emotion you can think of,鈥 Rodriguez confesses. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited, I鈥檓 anxious, I鈥檓 curious. Truly, I cannot wait. It鈥檚 not every day your dream comes true after so many years of wondering if it ever would.鈥
January 13 has been circled on Rodriguez鈥 calendar for months, because that is the day her debut novel聽鈥 鈥淎 Vow in Vengeance鈥澛犫 will become available at a bookstore near you.
It is also the day she will fly to New York to begin a book tour that includes stops at The Ripped Bodice Bookshop in Brooklyn; Novel Grounds in Chesapeake, Va; Burning Pages in Wilmington, N.C., and Steamy Lit in Fort Lauderdale.
People are also reading…
On Jan. 23, Rodriguez , Sarah T. Dubb, at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe.
Jaclyn Rodriguez
鈥溌爄s a 鈥渞omantasy鈥 that straddles the worldly and other-worldly, featuring a young woman out for revenge against those forces that have taken her family.
Not to spoil the surprise, but there might be some steamy there, too.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved reading romantasies, but I wasn鈥檛 seeing characters that looked like me in those fantasy worlds,鈥 Rodriguez explained. 鈥淓ventually, I decided to abide by the old saying 鈥榃rite what you want to read.鈥 I created my own world, complete with the tarot cards I鈥檝e always been so fascinated with.鈥
Born and raised in Tucson, Rodriguez attended Pima Community College and the University of Arizona before earning a degree in elementary education at the University of Montana in Missoula.
Nine years ago, she returned to Tucson ... and to her longtime dream of becoming an author.
鈥淚 always had a very expansive imagination as a kid, and it would come out in these elaborate, fantastical stories of make-believe,鈥 Rodriguez said. 鈥淚 began writing some of them down in middle school, just for fun, and started to get serious about writing in high school.
鈥淲hen we came back to Tucson, I decided it was time to get serious about writing books.鈥
She has definitely been hard at it.
鈥淎 Vow in Vengeance鈥 is actually her 10th book, but it is the first she will see in print.
鈥淚鈥檒l be honest, there have definitely been points when I鈥檝e wondered it I would ever have the right book at the right time,鈥 she confessed. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure there would ever be space for me at the table.鈥
Then, last summer, she got a call from Zando Publishing in New York City.
And starting Tuesday, there will be a chair at the table with her name on it.
Circled on other local calendars:
A number of other Tucson authors will celebrate pub dates this year. Here is a quick sampler of books to look for in 2026:
January
Cynthia Harmony and London illustrator Erika Meza will launch a new picture book entitled 鈥淎papacho Love,鈥 also on Tuesday. 鈥淭he idea came from the Nahuatl word 鈥榓papacho,鈥 which is a special hug commonly used in Latin America,鈥 Harmony said. 鈥淚 wanted to share a story about love and the many ways it shows up in our life 鈥 from a child's point of view.鈥
Anne Hillerman reports that the paperback edition of 鈥淪hadow of the Solstice,鈥 the latest installment in the long-running Navajo mystery series by created by her father, Tony Hillerman, will be available Jan. 20.
February
Sarah T. Dubb, whose 鈥淏irding With Benefits鈥 was one of the year鈥檚 biggest surprises in 2024, will return with 鈥淗oney Bee Mine鈥 on Feb. 10. In it, a Type-A beekeeper and a former small-town bad boy join forces to plan a summertime Honey Festival.
March
Former UA professor Mimi Nichter will unveil 鈥淗ostage,鈥 a powerful new memoir, on March 1. Nichter was on a plane that was skyjacked by Middle Eastern terrorists in 1970. She was then held captive聽鈥 on the plane, without food or water聽鈥 for six more days. Not surprisingly, the experience changed her for life.
Becky Masterman will put Brigid Quinn back to work in 鈥淚f a Face Could Kill,鈥 on March 3. A halfway house for recent parolees becomes a flashpoint not only for Quinn, but the surrounding neighborhood, as well.
Tucson mystery writers Becky Masterman, left, and Shannon Baker are obviously on the case.
Shannon Baker will refresh her Kate Fox series with 鈥淪corched Line,鈥 again pitting Fox against her estranged mother Marguerite, on March 31.
May
Jillian Cantor will introduce her latest novel, 鈥淭he May House,鈥 on May 12. The story will follow three sisters who spend a week together each May in San Diego. When the oldest sister doesn鈥檛 show up one year, the others piece together a stunning secret from their past.
July
Illustrator Adam Rex has teamed up with Chelsea Wallace for 鈥淭oday is the Day,鈥 a picture book that explores all the wonderful things that can happen on a single day. The wonderful day of its release will be July 28.
August
Cantor began her career by writing for young adults, and she will return to them with a dystopian tale called 鈥淭he Season of Light and Darkness鈥 on Aug. 18. The story will follow different teens as they attempt to navigate and survive a future version of America ruled by a dictator.
September
Jen DeLuca will return to her popular Ren Faire series with a romance novel entitled 鈥淲ell Versed鈥 that is scheduled for release Sept. 22.
Fall
Lydia Millet鈥檚 鈥淔air Ones鈥 will be a double novel, two books in one, featuring two women who lose their oldest friend. W.W. Norton is targeting 鈥淔air Ones鈥 for some time this fall.
Footnotes
- Writers from Phoenix, New York City and Montana have taken top honors in the annual Literary Awards Writing Competition sponsored by the Tucson Festival of Books.
Isabel Lanzetta, a graduate student at Arizona State, was honored for a poetry collection called 鈥淪leepless.鈥 Kim Merrill of New York won the contest鈥檚 fiction division with an excerpt from her in-progress novel, 鈥淗ilda鈥檚 House,鈥 and Tara Kramer聽鈥 from Livingston, Montana聽鈥 was the nonfiction winner with 鈥淭he Deepest Light.鈥
This year鈥檚 writing competition attracted a near-record 719 submissions. Lanzetta, Merrill and Kramer will appear onstage at the upcoming book festival March 14-15. To see a complete list of contest winners, visit .
- The University of Arizona Poetry Center will host Cameron Awkward-Rich and Franny Choi for the year鈥檚 first reading Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. For more, visit聽.
