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Welcome to our Nww Faces interview column, where you'll meet brand-new romacne authors and find out about their books. This time we're visiting with Maya Rodale, whose first release is The Heir And The Spare from Berkley Sensation.
Maya, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself. I was born and raised in a small town Pennsylvania, and I often go home for my fix of country living. Most of the time, however, I am a city girl. I've lived, loved and worked in New York City for the past six years. In 2004 I graduated from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. My focus was on the transformation of women in literature, both as writers and characters. It was my intention to study what interested me, rather than something with a clear career path. Funnily enough, my major perfectly prepared me for the job I have as a romance novelist. I'm very, very lucky to be able to work full-time on my novels, from the comfort of my own home (or room, rather, since I live in a studio apartment). In my spare time, I am getting a masters degree in humanities from NYU. Are you coming to romance writing from another job? So far, writing is the only job I've really had (with the exception of 2 years answering telephones for a trio of busy NYC restaurants). I intend to keep it that way. What led you to write romance? I love to read romance novels, which I started reading during my junior year of college. I love to write. I also read really quickly, so I thought writing a romance novel would be a good way to stay in that fictional world a little longer. That's what got me started. It was never something I thought I'd do, but looking back now, it all seems like such an obvious, perfect choice for me. Tell us about your road to publication. My road to publication was rather boring, actually. I decided to write a romance novel, so I did. I got an agent, revised the novel. I submitted it, got some rejections, revised again, submitted again, received a few more rejections, sold 2 books, did some revisions and then a few more…and just over two years after I sat down to write The Heir And The Spare, it is finally published. Along the way, I did receive a lot of feedback from a lot of readers-friends, family, others in the romance community, and all of it was invaluable. What kind of research was involved for your first book? In researching my first book, I wanted to obviously go for historical accuracy; however, it was more important to me to maintain the authenticity of the Regency World according to Romance for my readers. I delved into as many Regency romances as I could get my hands on to investigate common themes and even daily activities of the time period. Of course, I also did a general survey of that time in history. I also did research to ensure that I was using proper expressions, forms of address, and the proper order of removal of women's undergarments. Tell us about your debut book. In Regency London, American heiress Emilia Highhart is unwittingly courted by identical twins. The hero falls in love with her when she falls in his arms; his villainous brother lusts after her fortune. With the help of a gossipy, but negligent chaperone, and some meddlesome friends, she is spared from marrying the wrong man. Who are your influences as a writer? Other romance authors have been an influence, of course. I love the wit, beauty, sweetness and sense of humor in works by Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas and Loretta Chase. What does your family think of having a published romance author in their midst? There are quite a few published writers in my family, so in a sense I am merely keeping up with tradition. However, I am the first novelist, and all the female members of my family have read my book and loved it. Tell us about plans for future books. Right now I'm finishing up the second book in the negligent chaperone series. The hero is Phillip Kensington, the "bad" twin from The Heir And The Spare. Phillip Kensington is an Absolute Scoundrel and has been the downfall of more than one proper young lady. He's also been a drunk, a gambler, and generally a disgrace. When he's left for dead on the side of the road, he's taken to a nearby Abbey to recuperate. His nurse is Angela Sullivan, a woman who was once ruined and despises Phillip from the start. She's considering taking her orders and committing herself to the religious life, until she starts falling in love with Phillip. But then their pasts start catching up with them, and a second chance at love seems too much to hope for. Enter Lady Palmerston, a distant relative of Angela's, with her own special manner of negligent chaperoning. Please sign up for my newsletter at my website www.mayarodale.com to stay informed about sneak peaks from the novel, the cover, and its release date. How can readers get in touch with you? Readers can get in touch with me through my website, www.mayarodale.com. I love getting email! Write to me at maya@mayarodale.com. Maya, thanks for joining us, and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of The Heir and the Spare in our Historical section. September 30, 2007
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