Books by Bruins: Love Stories

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ebruary is a month for love stories, whether it’s a romance novel, personal tale of love and loss, or a book about self-care. Bruin authors are telling tales of love, and one of the books listed below might be just what your heart needs!

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Maybe Someone Like You (2018)

Stacy Wise ’92

Stacy Wise is an award-winning author of the romance novels “Beyond the Stars” and “Maybe Someone Like You.” After a decade working in television casting, she returned to school and received her teaching credential and master's degree from Chapman University. She has taught both kindergarten and third grade. A native of California, she lives with her family and three fluffy dogs in Los Angeles. After writing two successful romance novels, her most recent book, “Lie, Lie Again,” focuses on the ups and downs of female friendships.

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Will There Be Wine?: A Novel (2023) 

Whitney Cubbison ’98

The fictional books “Will There be Wine?” and its sequel, “Will There Be Love?” were inspired by the author’s experiences as an ex-pat divorcée living in Paris while navigating the cultural minefield of dating in a foreign country. Whitney Cubbison is a dual American and French citizen living in Paris since 2009. She grew up in Texas and California and graduated from UCLA with a degree in French. She started her career in communications working for high-tech PR agencies in San Francisco and 16 years at Microsoft, mostly in the Paris office. She earned her French citizenship in 2022 and left Microsoft that summer to focus on completing her first novel.

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Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How to Love (2025)

Mike de la Rocha ’00

“Sacred Lessons” is a deeply moving and inspiring memoir for those seeking self-love and healing. Intensely personal, this memoir delves into the struggle men face in connecting with themselves and others, offering tools for personal growth, and ways to build meaningful and authentic relationships in their lives. Mike de la Rocha is a strategist, artist and voice for change. He’s been named one of GOOD magazine’s top 100 people reshaping our world, received the AFL-CIO’s Justice, Peace and Freedom Award, and has been lauded as a groundbreaking innovator by Stanford Social Innovation Review. A proud alumnus of UCLA, he co-founded Revolve Impact and Tepito Coffee, one of the fastest growing Latinx coffee companies in America. He lives in Los Angeles with his family.

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Love in a Time of War: My Years With Robert Fisk (2021) 

Lara Marlowe ’78

In this true story of love and war, Lara Marlowe was a young American reporter who would become a renowned journalist in her own right. She met famous war correspondent Robert Fisk in 1983 in Damascus. This book is the story of a remarkable man, war in the Middle East and a moving account of a relationship in dark times. Marlowe studied French at UCLA and the Sorbonne, then international relations at Oxford. She started her career in journalism as an associate producer with CBS's “60 Minutes,” then covered the Arab world from Beirut for the Financial Times and TIME magazine. She joined the Irish Times as Paris correspondent in 1996 and returned to Paris in 2013 after serving as Washington correspondent during the first Obama administration.

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Sushi Tuesdays: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Resilience (2023)

Charlotte Maya, J.D. ’93

Faced with a shattering loss, Charlotte Maya searches for answers, acceptance and family resilience. Her story offers intimate moments, powerful lessons and practical ways to move forward after loss, not only for suicide survivors but for any of us seeking to live a life of joy and purpose. Widowed at 39, when her children were six and eight, Maya’s writing explores the intersections of grief, parenting and self-care. She received her B.A. from Rice University and her J.D. from UCLA.

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Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love and Die at the Movies (2015)

Tara Ison ’87

Through 10 personal essays, Tara Ison explores how a lifetime of movie-watching taught her how to grapple with major life choices, for better or worse. She is the author of the romance novel “Rockaway,” an O Magazine 2013 Best Books of Summer and “The List, A Child Out of Alcatraz,” a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Tin House, The Kenyon Review, Nerve.com, Publishers Weekly and numerous anthologies. She is the co-author of the cult film "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead."

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Getting It Right This Time: Break Free from Your Hidden Blocks to Lasting Love (2025)

Orna Walters ’88, Matthew Walters

Dating is made even more complicated because of the pervasive myth that love will magically happen by accident, like winning the lottery. Or that it will happen when you least expect it. In “Getting It Right This Time,” Orna and Matthew Walters, holistic dating coaches and founders of Creating Love on Purpose, teach readers how to take a conscious approach to relationships. Orna and Matthew didn’t meet until after 40, were married at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple, live in Los Angeles with their two silly calico cats and grow organic food in a community garden.

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My Chicano Heart (2024)

Daniel A Olivas, J.D. ’84

"My Chicano Heart" is a collection of author Daniel A. Olivas's stories that explore the complex, mysterious and occasionally absurd machinations of people who simply want to be appreciated and treasured. Olivas is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, born and raised near downtown Los Angeles. He is an award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction, plays and poetry. Widely anthologized, Olivas has written on culture and literature for The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB, Jewish Journal, High Country News and The Guardian. He writes regularly for La Bloga, a site dedicated to Latinx literature and the arts. By day, Olivas is an attorney and makes his home in Southern California.

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Loathe at First Sigh: A Novel (2020)

Suzanne Park, MBA ’02

In this rom-com romance, a junior video game producer finds herself getting closer and closer to the one person she hates most after a mass troll attack online almost ruins her life. An NPR Best Book of the Year, this workplace story is set in the world of video game design.

Suzanne Park is a Korean American writer who was born and raised in Tennessee. She is also the author of the adult novels “The Do-Over” and “So We Meet Again.” Park currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, female offspring and a sneaky rat that creeps around on her back patio. In her spare time, she procrastinates.

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Liquid: A Novel (2025)

Mariam Rahmani, Ph.D. ’19

Mariam Rahmani delivers a modern tale of romance, loss and belonging. This satirical novel tells the story of a young Muslim adjunct professor who decides to give up her career and marry rich, committing herself to 100 dates in the course of a single summer.  Mariam Rahmani is a writer and translator. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from UCLA and teaches at Bennington College.

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As our collection of Bruin authors grows, we’re categorizing the books into an online library, and we’ll need your help to make it as comprehensive as possible. If you know of one, please submit a Bruin author. While all these books are written by UCLA alumni, inclusion into the list is not an endorsement.

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