Tucson Festival of Books

Smiling Through the Tears


Don't you just love a romance that gives you all the feels? In this session, three contemporary romance authors discuss the space of emotionally charged, serious romance, and how the genre has shifted with the increased focus on rom-coms.


Panelists
Regina Black

Regina Black is a former litigator, current law school administrator, and lifelong romance reader who writes about art, identity, and love in the modern South. Her debut, "The Art of Scandal," was named a best romance book of 2023 by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, Audible, and the Chicago Public Library....

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Ali Rosen

Ali Rosen is a bestselling author of both cookbooks and fiction and the Emmy and James Beard Award-nominated host of Potluck with Ali Rosen on NYC Life. She has frequently been featured on NBC’s Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America....

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JL Seegars

J.L. Seegars is a romance author from the sticks of South Carolina who has been in love with love for as long as she can remember. Known to her readers as a smut peddler, and occasional heartbreaker, she takes pride in writing books like "Restore Me" that make people swoon, cry and swoon again....


Books:
August Lane
Regina Black
Romance
Grand Central Publishing
July 2025
ISBN 9781538767528
336 pages
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The Slow Burn
Ali Rosen
Romance
Amazon Publishing
January 2026
ISBN 9781662535963
316 pages
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Restore Me
JL Seegars
Romance
Sourcebooks, Incorporated
January 2026
ISBN 9781464267437
576 pages