About the Event

Romance in the Desert is an annual multi-day author event founded by romance author, Michaela Jean Taylor. With its inaugural event coming soon in March 2025, Romance in the Desert features romance authors of all sub-genres and bookish vendors in the heart of downtown Phoenix, AZ.

Our Team

Michaela Jean Taylor, Founder

Michaela is a published romance author and event professional with a background in marketing and communications management. Aside from promoting Romance in the Desert, her main focus is on author and vendor communications, event branding and signage, and attendee ticketing. Her favorite romance tropes are fake dating, second chance, and anything with a cowboy MMC.

LJ, Director of Event Operations

As our operations expert, LJ’s main focus is creating a safe, well-organized and enjoyable environment for our romance book lovers. With an extensive background in event operations, logistics, traffic control, security, and material handling, he’s led the charge in organizing events for up to 15,000+ attendees featuring headliners like Tony Robbins, Maroon 5, and more. His favorite tropes are workplace romance and grumpy x sunshine.