Date Night with Alyssa Cole ft. Natalie Caña, Lydia San Andres, Julie Tieu, Jamie Wesley, and Tia Williams

Our Date Night series with host Alyssa Cole and a diverse group of Romance writers continues for 2022 and will be happening every other month! This event is free to attend and will be held digitally via Crowdcast. Click here to RSVP for the event. You can buy our dates' books below and there will be a link for purchase during the event.

Our July Date Night is an evening with the fabulous romance authors Natalie Caña, Lydia San Andres, Julie Tieu, Jamie Wesley, and Tia Williams. We'll chat about writing during Covid-19, our favorite tropes, the TV getting us through, and whatever else comes to mind during this free flowing chat with host Alyssa Cole. 

ABOUT THE HOST

Alyssa Cole is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of romance (historical, contemporary, and sci-fi) and thrillers. Her Civil War-set espionage romance An Extraordinary Union was the American Library Association’s RUSA Best Romance for 2018, and A Princess in Theory was one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2018. She’s contributed to publications including Bustle, Shondaland, The Toast, Vulture, RT Book Reviews, and Heroes and Heartbreakers, and her books have received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her pets.

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Natalie Caña has been many things: a teacher of fun-sized to king-sized humans, a seriously unqualified softball coach, a scaredy-cat Halloween store manager, an Emmy award winning public television producer, and more. The one thing she’s ALWAYS been, since she first picked up a pencil, is a writer. She loves to incorporate her you’ll-never-believe-what-just-happened-to-me personal experiences, enthusiasm for telenovela tomfoolery, and love for her Latinx culture into creating funny, heartfelt, and just a little bit over-the-top contemporary romances for characters who look and sound like her. When she’s not writing in her peaceful, Hamilton-themed office, Natalie can most often be found engaging in shenanigans with most of her family (who almost all live within a ten block radius) or taking naps with her fur baby, Mr. Bruno Mars (Also known as, He Who Doesn’t Feel Like Doing Anything).

Lydia San Andres (She/Her) lives and writes in the tropics, where she can be found reading, sipping coffee, and making excuses to stay out of the sun. As much as she enjoys air conditioning, she can sometimes be lured outside with the promise of cookies and picnics. She writes historical romances set in the Caribbean with Latinx characters who are much more fond of the tropical heat than she is. Find her on InstagramTwitter and TikTok @lydiaallthetime and by searching for the hashtag #palmtreesandpetticoats!

Julie Tieu is the author of The Donut Trap and the forthcoming Circling Back To You. When she is not writing, you can find her reading, on the hunt for delicious eats, or dreaming about her next travel adventure. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her high school crush husband and two energetic kids.

Jamie Wesley has been reading romance novels since she was about 12 when her mother left a romance novel, which a friend had given her, on the nightstand. Jamie read it instead, and the rest is history. She started her first manuscript, a contemporary romance, after she graduated from Northwestern University in 2002 and couldn't find a job. Life got in the way as it often does, i.e. she found a job, and she didn't finish the story. However, she never forgot about it and finally got serious about completing it in 2009. And then she finished a few more stories. In 2012, her manuscript, TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, was named a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart competition and was published by Entangled Publishing in 2014. Jamie holds a master’s degree in sport management (yes, that's a real thing :-) ) from the University of Texas at Austin, so it probably comes as no surprise that she loves sports and spends an inordinate amount of time rooting for her hometown Dallas’s pro sports teams and her alma maters. She also adores Walt Disney World, shopping, and pop culture. Want to know if your favorite TV show is going to be canceled or what the newest Disney attraction is? Ask Jamie. She'll probably know the answer.

​Tia Williams had a fifteen‑year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty‑blog industry with her award‑winning site, Shake Your Beauty. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva and penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. Her previous novel, the award‑winning The Perfect Find, is being adapted by Netflix for a film starring Gabrielle Union. Tia is currently an editorial director at Estée Lauder Companies and lives with her daughter and husband in Brooklyn.

Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during this virtual event. 

Event date: 
Friday, July 15, 2022 - 6:00pm
Event address: 
Staff Pick Badge
How to Find a Princess: Runaway Royals By Alyssa Cole Cover Image
$7.99
ISBN: 9780062934000
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click on the title to see which location!
Published: Avon - May 25th, 2021

Staff Pick Badge
A Proposal They Can't Refuse: A Rom-Com Novel By Natalie Caña Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780778386094
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click on the title to see which location!
Published: Mira Books - June 7th, 2022

Compromised Into a Scandalous Marriage By Lydia San Andres Cover Image
$6.75
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781335723345
Published: Harlequin Special Releases - July 26th, 2022

Circling Back to You: A Novel By Julie Tieu Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780063069848
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click on the title to see which location!
Published: Avon - July 12th, 2022

Fake It Till You Bake It: A Novel By Jamie Wesley Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781250801852
Availability: Not In Store - Available to special order for pickup or ship. For even speediest shipping we suggest our Bookshop.org page!
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - June 21st, 2022

Staff Pick Badge
Seven Days in June By Tia Williams Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781538719091
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click on the title to see which location!
Published: Grand Central Publishing - June 7th, 2022