A light purple bus sits in front of the 7AM Somewhere coffee shop in Brighton. It is barely bigger than a ban. People come into the truck with coffee mugs and leave with small beaded bookmarks, tote bags filled with books and keychains saying “good books make bad girls.”
On its sides, a faded white logo of a woman looks back at people, her face is covered by a book and the words “Rescued by Romance: Books and More.” The woman has a messy bun and thick eyebrows — a nod to its owner: Becky Barker.
“Purple is my favorite color, and our image came from the idea of what people would see of me reading constantly,” Barker said. “So the lady in the logo had to have some thick eyebrows.”
From Brighton to Henderson to Fort Lupton and many other places in Northern Colorado, Barker takes her purple truck to coffee shops, breweries, and parks. She is on a mission to bring romance books to the towns of Northern Colorado that often do not have access to independent bookstores.
These holidays, Barker also wants readers to find a community that meets them where they are.
It all started five years ago, after her husband died in 2020. He had a heart attack in the middle of the night.
“I got into a deep grief and depression,” Barker said. “And when you are numb from grief, you are just watching TV and not feeling anything really. But books … books make you feel.”
Romance novels with their emotional turmoil, funny banter, and focus on social connection awoke Barker. The stories by T.L. Swan and Sadie Kincaid allowed her to laugh and cry again. And the criticism that some levy at the genre doesn’t bother Barker at all. Indeed, she sees romance novels as telling an important story.
“These women in the books are strong women, in control of their lives, and opinionated,” Barker said. “I feel like it is helping all women talk about their feelings, know that it is okay to have these feelings and not be ashamed of talking about feelings ... and have higher expectations of the men in their lives and men in general.”
Soon she was attending author events, signings, book clubs, romance bingos and building her own overflowing library.
It was then that Barker noticed the author events and book community that had helped her were inaccessible for many people.
Finding author events takes time: scanning newsletters, following book influencers on social media, paying tickets and long commutes. Cities in northeast Colorado, like Commerce City, Henderson and Fort Lupton, do not have their own bookstores. People often need to drive more than 30 or 40 minutes to get to the closest bookshop. Drive farther down the road, and rural areas face even more barriers.
Independent bookstores are mostly found in Denver or Boulder, and for romance-lovers, access is limited to the Spicy Librarian, which just opened this year.
“That’s what was kind of frustrating: We don’t have anywhere to go. So I was trying to bring it to those small towns,” Barker said.
Around the time Barker was getting deeper and deeper into reading romance, her brother started joking about Barker opening a bookstore of her own.
“He would say ‘You should just open a store,’ and I would reply ‘Be careful what you say because I might just do that,’” Barker recalled.
A vision board and a lot of research later, Barker began reaching out to coffee shops and small venues, asking if she could set up a pop-up bookstore with them. It was early May when she started loading her car with crates of romance books and small trinkets to sell. Her friend Stacy and her brother would come along to help her set up while she talked to potential customers.
At some events, she started bringing local authors like Alison Speka. The 7AM Somewhere coffee shop in Brighton soon became one of Barker’s common spots to spread the joy — coming up every other Saturday and even creating a smaller pop-up bookstore for children’s books.
As her business grew, her customers started to share their own personal stories with her.
“It’s crazy that a lot of people are affected by reading after losing their parents or spouses,” Barker said. “I thought it was just me … but a lot of people have said that same thing. After losing their parents or kids or husbands — that reading really helped them find their feelings again and not be so numbed anymore.”
In May 2025, she made the decision to purchase a small school bus and turn it into her own bookstore on wheels. She replaced the seats with wood shelves and metal hangers. She covered the dull grey floor with a blue carpet, and classroom phone holders became the home of bookmarks and stickers. Neon lights with phrases like “morally gray” grace the entrance.
Six months later, Barker has amassed over 150 members in her loyalty program, the majority of those are returning customers. Ash Kaufner attends every event Barker hosts, despite living for half of the year in Wyoming.
“I love Becky and supporting small businesses,” Kaufner said. “I bring my kids every time and Becky orders books for them when I ask her … and bringing my mom to choose some books after she got out of reading while she was taking care of my dad is amazing.”
Although “Rescued by Romance” started as a side hustle to Barker’s full-time job as a controller, she is now looking for the best location to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore in the upcoming year.
This December, while Barker recovers from knee surgery, she is also planning to launch a new website for Rescued by Romance. The website will include a complete list of author events month by month and giveaways to offset ticket costs.
“Come and check us out, don’t be scared of the smut!” Barker said as a farewell.
