ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. — The FOX43 Book Club highlights the works of local authors with ties to central Pennsylvania.
November's pick, "Confessions of a Farmers Market Romeo," was written by Gettysburg native and farmers market vendor James R. Dubbs.
The novel follows main character Jim from age 12 to 24 as he falls in and out of love and attempts to figure out his role in the world.
“People always ask 'well what genre is this?' and I tell them it's a romantic comedy because I gotta say something, but it's not really a romantic comedy,” Dubbs said. "Because it's funny and there's romance in it, but it’s not what people expect from a romantic comedy, usually, because they’re always written from a woman’s point of view and they always have their happily ever after, and they have all these things you need to hit… I wish I could write like that, but it’s not what interests me about writing."
The author uses his own name for his main character, blending their personalities.
“It’s easiest to write where you just make yourself the main character, because then you know you got at least one consistent character in the book," Dubbs said. "So that’s me—not the events, but that’s my sense of humor and that’s pretty much how I am. So if you read the book, you would know me—you would feel you know me personally almost.
“The book syncs up perfectly with me, because it’s kind of supposed to read a little bit like a memoir.”
"Confessions" is set in Gettysburg—something Dubbs says makes it unique.
“There’s tons of books about Gettysburg, but they’re all Civil War books, so I really, truly think that this is the only published novel set in Gettysburg that’s not Civil-War-centric,” he shared.
Dubbs' dream of becoming an author formed when he was a teenager.
“I read ‘Catch 22’ when I was 16 at summer camp, and from that moment on I always had it in my head that I wanted to write a book,” he said.
He went to Alaska to study creative writing to make it happen.
“Right around that time I tried to write a couple short stories, and I wrote two and was like, ‘you know this is kind of fun and I can actually do this, write them and make them funny and everything,'” Dubbs said.
After mastering short stories, he moved onto novels. But short stories are still the author's first love, and he found a way to incorporate them into his latest book.
“My initial idea was to write it like a Netflix limited-run series, so as you notice each chapter takes about 45 minutes to read and it’s got a beginning, middle and an end and it almost stands alone by itself, so I would argue that you could read any of the eight chapters in any order and still kind of get the same story," Dubs explained. "There is overlap, and like you said, they connect together in a broader sense because it tells the overall arc from when he’s 12 to when he’s 24 and it checks back on him at each time when his life tilts, because as a writer that’s the interesting thing—when somebody’s life tilts and all of a sudden they have to figure out who they are again.”
When he’s not writing, you can find Dubbs and his wife running their booth at local farmers markets.
“Farmers markets are a part of the community, because, you know, you got people that might be their highlight of the week. That’s what they’re looking forward to all week: to come to the farmers market, just relax.”
The markets are close to Dubbs’ heart—and the setting of his latest book.
“Anytime you write, it’s a part of yourself in there. So there are elements in it that are autobiographical," he said.
“There’s a couple stories in there that kind of have elements of truth in it.. But overall, it’s not.. You know, I wrote it like a memoir, and I think it kind of worked, because I had people who knew me my entire life read the book, and they’d be like ‘I don’t remember any of this happening.’”
Dubbs is currently working on another novel inspired by his time in Alaska. He talks more about his life, writing journey and upcoming project in the full interview below.
Those interested can follow along with Dubbs on his website and Facebook to stay up to date on his latest works.
Anyone interested in joining the FOX43 Book Club's discussion of "Confessions of a Farmers Market Romeo" can join the Facebook Live at 10 a.m. on Nov. 28 on the FOX43 Book Club Facebook group.