Alaska’s romance novel community keeps love in the air all year long

On a Saturday afternoon, it was standing room only at Anchorage’s only romance bookstore, Beauty and the Book. Five authors were gathered for a panel on romance books, sharing everything from book inspiration to sex scene logistics. The large and excited audience of romance readers at this event is no accident — romance is a wildly popular genre nationwide, and Alaskan audiences are just as hungry for love.

Romance is currently the titan of the publishing industry, but the genre has been widely popular from the late 1800s onward. In 2021-2022, the romance genre saw an over 50% increase in print sales while many other genres stagnated or declined. 

What makes a romance novel? That definition can be quite broad: According to the Romance Writers of America website, a romance novel must have a central love story and an emotionally satisfying ending. Romance can then be divided up into all kinds of sub genres: western, sci-fi, historical, paranormal… the list goes on and on.  

Baylee Loyd is the co-owner of Beauty and the Book. She owns the shop with her sister, Ally Kindred. Loyd started reading romance novels around two years ago, when she was six months postpartum and Kindred was three months postpartum. For Loyd and Kindred, romance novels were a way to reconnect with themselves after becoming mothers. 

Loyd said that she saw that other romance novel bookstores were popping up in the lower 48 and in Fairbanks. Loyd and Kindred decided that Anchorage needed one too. 

The response to Beauty and the Book’s opening in June of last year was, “really really great.”

“If you look at pictures from our opening day, we had lines down the street. And we did not expect the feedback — this was supposed to be a side project for us,” said Loyd, “My sister is a real estate agent and I am a stay at home mom, and we just expected this to be a hobby-side-thing.” 

Now, the shop has turned into a full-time job with two other employees on their payroll. 

Loyd felt that part of the appeal of romance novels to readers is the safety these books offer. “I think it's appealing to women and queer people especially, because it's a safe place for discovery and a safe place for desires. [It’s] a safe place like to see strong female characters, strong queer characters, in an environment where it's not always safe to express that.”

Another appealing part of romance novels? The male love interests in these novels are often doting lovers and emotionally mature, traits that aren’t always encouraged in men in real life.

As born and raised Alaskans, it was important to Loyd and Kindred to carry local authors on their shelves. What they didn’t expect was how many they’d be carrying.

“We did not realize we had as many [authors] as we have,” said Loyd, “There’s a really big community of authors as well.”

One of the Alaskan authors on the shelves at Beauty and the Book is author K.T. Munson. After the bookstore opened, she left one of her books for the owners, and was excited when they decided to carry some of her works. 

Munson had been writing since she was six, and has been publishing her works for the last decade. Her works vary, and not all are strictly romance. She’s written romance, epic fantasy, science fiction, dystopias, and more. 

“I think romance is like, about connection,” said Munson, “I would say all of my stories have an element of romance. It's just because we as people, we seek out the connection in others.”

Munson said that having her works at Beauty and the Book has helped her find an even broader audience of readers. They hosted a book signing for her last year, and it gave her an opportunity to connect with readers face to face. 

She said she loves that Alaskan authors are so prominent in the store. “I mean they have a whole section, like right up front! Not in the back!”

Another author front and center at Beauty and the Book is Neva Post. She writes Yeti romances, partially inspired by her love of the cold — courtesy of being raised in Fairbanks.

Post said that her introduction to the romance genre was “personal.”

“My husband had gone through cancer treatment, and I was at a point in my life where I just needed a happily ever after, like I needed to know at the end of the book everything was going to be okay,” said Post.

Post took up paranormal romance at the recommendation of a critique buddy, who told her to try writing a monster romance as a way to take a break from a different book draft. Through that challenge, her Alaska Yeti series was born. 

“What I like about monster romance is that I think many of us can identify with maybe feeling like the odd person out,” said Post. She said that her books have themes of acceptance, because at the end of the day, the yetis in her stories are accepted and loved for who they are, claws and all.

Though romance is the most popular genre in publishing, there’s still a strong stigma around the genre, especially around those who write it. Neva Post is a pen name, partially to keep her work life and publishing life separate.

Author D.L. Darby has also seen the stigma during her time as a romance writer. Growing up in Soldotna, she said that people weren’t shocked that she was a writer, but were shocked by the genre.

“I have had people that I know be like, ‘oh, like, aren't you embarrassed about that?’ Or, you know, ‘isn't your husband embarrassed about that?’” Said Darby, “And like no, my husband's very supportive, and I am certainly not embarrassed, because I think that sex is something that should be talked about and celebrated, and I don't think that it should be something to be ashamed of.” 

Darby had been writing since she was in elementary school.

During the pandemic she joined BookTok — the online community of book readers and reviewers on TikTok. After reading more romance, Darby felt she could write her own contemporary romance novel, and she did. Now, she has nine books out, each exploring different themes and tropes.

While not all romance novels in the genre necessarily have sex, she said that for her, sex is an important aspect of the stories she’s trying to tell. 

“My husband asked me, you know, ‘can you write your books without the sex and still have a good story?’” said Darby, “And it's like, well, yes, but that's part of the story. It's that intimate connection.”

On the other hand, Darby said that there is a misconception that romance novels are purely sex. The plot is still just as much an important part of the story, and Darby said that you don’t have to sacrifice either.

“You can have a really great story and still have sex.”

Loyd, the co-owner of Beauty and the Book, says that romance novel holdouts should give the genre a chance. 

“I think there's something for everyone. I think if you haven't discovered romance yet, you just haven't found the right book.”