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Interview with Maya Rodale
Oct 8, 2008
Hi Maya,
I visited your website and was so delighted to read about you and your books. You are a treasure and so ‘real’ I can’t wait for our readers to find out more about you. So let’s just get to it, okay?
Tell us a little about Maya Rodale – on a Saturday morning when she doesn’t want to get out of bed…or a Thursday afternoon when she’d rather be walking that adorable little dog (she’s a Shila Inu I hear) Penelope—who is Maya the person?
I’m a morning person. I have a very bawdy sense of humor. I’m a major country music fan. The story of Paddington Bear makes me teary. My favorite every day indulgence is reading magazines (People is a favorite). And I have the best dog in the world—Penelope and I enjoy long walks in the city, home cooked meals and naps.
Okay, now that we know the real person—tell us about your writer’s persona — your schedule and your dreams for your career.
My writer’s persona is dazzlingly sexy, witty, and delightful. I’m a smart charmer! Well, maybe I’m not, but my books are according to people who know such things, like Romantic Times Bookclub and Eloisa James. My dream for my career is for my books to hang out with Nora Roberts’ books at the top of the bestseller list. You know, the usual writer’s dream.
How do you plan to make these dreams come true — So far you have a great start, one book already published by Berkley and another soon to be released.
My plan is to continue to write books sexy, witty and delightful romance novels; talk them up all over town; and hope that the Gods of Bestsellers smile favorably upon me.
The Heir And The Spare sounds like a very engaging read. I know it’s not the new book but it’s such an intriguing idea. And Lady Eldora Palmerston — is a brilliant creation on your part. So tell us first about the title and then about Lady Eldora.
Thanks! The Heir And The Spare features an American heiress unwittingly courted by identical twin brothers. The hero falls in love with her when she falls into his arms, while his twin lusts after her fortune. She is spared from marrying the wrong man by her meddlesome, and deliberately negligent, chaperone.
Lady Eldora Palmerston is the Negligent Chaperone. She was created when I realized that my American heroine wouldn’t just show up in London alone. She needed a connection to society and she also needed some time alone with the hero (and his twin). Lady Eldora Palmerston serves both those purposes. But I did not want her negligence to be a result of stupidity, so I made her smart. Very smart. She knows everything about everyone in the ton, and, with a soft spot for romance, she also knows just when to leave the room.
Another fascinating thing I read about on your website is the book you co-authored with your mother (Maria Rodale) – and as you so adroitly put it you are still friends— tell us about that book and the process the two of you had to get it written and not get in each other’s way as you did. The book is It’s my Pleasure: A revolutionary Plan to Free Yourself From Guilt and Create the Life You Want.
It’s My Pleasure is about…pleasure! Specifically why it’s gotten such a bad reputation (why is it always a “guilty” pleasure?!), and why pleasure and pleasurable activities (such as, say, reading romance novels) are actually very, very good for you. We also share lots of tips on how to add more pleasure to your life, and offer inspiring examples of women who have lived outstanding, exemplary lives. We call them Pleasure Revolutionaries.
The book is composed of essays, so it was very easy to divide the work between us and work from our own computers, in different states. That space to be creative and work independently served us very well.
I understand readers can also get a serialized version of a new novel by subscribing to your newsletter – can you tell us the title—is it too late to hop on to read that? And what is the link to do so if we still can?
Darcy Darlington And The Diamond Of Desire is a serial novella that is available on my website, free of charge (and no need to sign up!). Start with chapter one and catch up before the big conclusion on November 3rd!
Darcy is a young lady and amateur sleuth in Regency-era London. She’s on a quest to obtain the magical Diamond of Desire from The Evil Lord Hartshorne. This diamond may or may not have the power to triumph over un-requited love, and Darcy is desperate to test it on the object of her affections, the dashing Tristan Cole, before he marries another. There is also a connection to The Rogue And The Rival, but you’ll have to read both to find out what it is!
I watched the video you have of your trip to meet your editor and your cover artist at Berkley. I loved seeing you in person and finding out you are ‘real’ and so genuine. How did it feel meeting the editor that you had known only through phone calls up to this point?
It was lovely to meet Wendy, because she’s a really nice person and it’s a pleasure working with her. It was great to chat with her about the book. But as you might imagine, it is a little awkward meeting someone for the first time with cameras rolling!
What did you learn from your cover artist – and I really must ask — are you going to give your next heroine your characteristics so you can be on the cover of your next book? {smile} I think that would be so exciting and you’d be a great model.
Thanks! I thought about doing it! But I didn’t think I’d be able to keep a straight face during the shoot, so I didn’t remind George, the art director, that he had said I could be on the cover. Maybe I’ll practice the appropriate seductive facial expressions and try to get on the cover of my next book.
Now what about your next book The Rogue and the Rival can you give us a sneak peek at what that on is about? Where did you get the idea for it?
The Rogue And The Rival makes a hero out of the villainous twin from The Heir And The Spare. Lord Phillip has been robbed and left for dead before being brought to a nearby abbey to recover. Angela Sullivan is planning on taking her orders of chastity, obedience and poverty when this injured rogue demands her care. She has dallied with the likes of Lord Phillip before, to disastrous results and she will not make that mistake a second time. As days become weeks, they can’t help but fall madly in love. But then their pasts start to catch up with them, and a happily ever after seems to much to hope for, until Negligent Chaperone Lady Palmerston gets involved.
One day a line just popped into my head: “Time had been good to Lord Phillip Kensington, Marquis Huntley, even though he certainly did not deserve it.” I thought that sounded like a good start to a story—all I had to do was make up the rest of it!
You write Regency Romance. I have a lot of respect for anyone who writes historical novels—romance, or any other genre. I read that you took quite a few history courses in your studies while studying creative writing — do you still need to do research to make sure your characters are in the right historical mind frame and setting?
I’m always doing research on my time period or on my characters. There is plenty to read on the subject—non-fiction, other regency romances, and the internet. I was lucky to spend two months in England this summer, and it was tremendously helpful to experience the real setting. You can visit my blog (www.mayarodale.com/blog) to read all about my experiences in London, as well as my favorite research books.
Getting it right is important to readers –so important in fact, that it can make or break a writer’s career. Do you have a special critique partner or some one who will check your stories for historical accuracy before you send them on to your publisher or editor?
I have two wonderful critique partners, and they are a tremendous help. Ultimately, though, I’m the one responsible for historical accuracy (or inaccuracy).
In your family there are many writers – you even did an interview with your grandmother Ardie Rodale where you both talked about your respective books on national television. That must have been exciting for you. Can you give us a little insight into that experience?
Touring with my grandmother to promote our books was a wonderful experience, both professionally and personally. Professionally because I probably wouldn’t have gotten to go on a book tour like that on my own—our multi-generational author “team” was a selling point. Personally, it was really lovely to get some quality time with my grandmother. And going on television is always exciting—and by exciting I mean incredibly nerve-wracking.
It would be really hard for me not to mention Rodale Books as I have a large collection of them myself and I’ve subscribed to Prevention for a number of years – would you say you came by your profession naturally being as there are so many writer’s of note in your family and the fact that you grew up within this publishing dynamic?
I do have lots of writers in my family, and their example, plus the understanding of my family members, made it very easy to dare to become a published author myself. In other words, when I said I was going to write books, no one thought I was crazy—only that I was keeping the family tradition alive.
What is in the works for you now?
I’m making up a new series! It’s too soon to share any details, but when the time is right, I’ll tell all at www.mayarodale.com.
I am sure you still had to ‘make it’ on your own even if your family is famous. Your website is full of wonderful glimpses of Maya the person. Will you tell our readers how they can find out more about you — your website, your blog, can they contact you with questions or comments? How do they sign up to read the serialized novel Darcy Darlington and the Diamond of Desire?
My website is the best place to find me online! Check it out for my blog, excerpts from my books, my “author secrets”, and the exclusive novella Darcy Darlington And the Diamond Of Desire.
Maya thank you so much for taking time out from your busy schedule to help us get to know you better, it has been a real pleasure. I hope you will stop by again soon to tell us what you are doing.
Thank you! It’s been a pleasure!
Interviewed by Billie A Williams
View Maya Rodale's Author Page
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