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Interview with Maya Rodale
Maya Rodale is a bestseller author of historical romance, nonfiction and young adult as well as a lecturer and advocate for the romance genre which you can find in many respected mediums like NPR, The Huffington Post, PBS and more. Please enjoy this interview where she discusses the bad reputation of romance as well as her historicals, plus what’s coming next from her pen.
1. You were originally uninterested in the romance genre until your mother told you to read one, how did that one book change your views?
The book was Shauna by Kathleen Woodiwiss, and I didn’t like it but then she gave me a list of other books after that. So the next one I read was The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss which started horribly with a rape scene because it was 1970 romance. I was like “What the hell, how is this going to end happily?” so I got hooked and read more.
I mainly got into early 2000s romances like Julia Quinn, Stephanie Laurens, etc.
2. This inspired your master thesis, Dangerous Books for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained. Obviously one should read it for themselves, but what is the main argument/conclusion you found in your research?
I studied the history of romance as a grenre of prose and looked at the history of novel publishing, the history of the novel etc. and my conclusion is the bad reputation of romance is that it isn’t valued. It isn’t valued because as a culture/ society we don’t value things that are considered feminine interests. I think now it’s still true but now it’s not just women anymore. It can be any sort of marginalized community or group where romance can serve as a place of joy, hope and empowerment. It’s how we value popular/feminine things that lead to the bad reputation.
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Infernal Devices Trilogy Lookback
Alright, second trilogy of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles. This took place between the third Mortal Instruments book and the fourth as I said in the previous post that The Mortal Instruments trilogy was supposed to only be 3 books instead of 6 books. So this took place between.
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Stephanie Plum #21-26 ReRead
What was I saying about Stephanie Plum reaching a formulaic status quo? well buckle up because Evanovich plunges everyone’s favorite bounty hunter into a brand new story arc.
But that’s getting ahead of things. The first four books are pretty standard Plum hijinks though I found these to have plenty of laughs to compensate for the familiarity.
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Interview with Jake S. Friedman
Jake S. Friedman is animation historian who has written many articles and novels on the field from publications such as The Huffington Post, Animation Magazine, The Philadelphia Daily News etc. He has also worked in various occupations on several popular shows (Little Einsteins, Wonderpets to name a few) and is the official biographer of animation legend, Art Babbit which you learn more on his blogs:https://www.jakesfriedman.com/home and https://babbittblog.com/. He kindly answered my questions on his research and his upcoming, delving into the remarkable history of one of the largest companies in the world. Please read on and enjoy.
1. Let’s start from the beginning, when did you first begin appreciating animation?
When does “loving” becomes “appreciating?” I always loved drawing and watching cartoons. I think I was probably 8 when I learned that actual artists made them. On a family trip to Walt Disney World we saw dozens of artists through the window working on “Rollercoaster Rabbit,” and I had stars in my eyes.
2. And then you began working in animation, how did you get into the business?
I graduated from NYU film school’s animation program with a student film which ran in some festivals. That, plus talking to school staff and making connections led me to a Production Manager who was recruiting.
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Author Highlight: Elizabeth Acevedo
So I’m back with another notable author, Elizabeth Acevedo. Originally Acevedo had wanted to be a rapper, inspired by her neighbohood and Afro-Latin heritage to rap about the abuelas who fed her pastelitos and the racism and sexism she faced. But since that was too “soft” for the rap word, she switched to spoken word and slam poetry. Since then she has used her natural flow to create accesible yet beautiful prose detailing such themes as family, self realization, culture and more.
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Interview with Joya Goffney
Joya Goffney is the dazzling novelist of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl from Texas. Her work centers around Black identity, romance and other young adult trials and triumphs. She is also a kind, communicative author who has answered my emails and allowed me to interview her for this here blog. So please enjoy as she talks about her writer journey, favorite parts, inspiration and a hint at what’s coming next for her third book.
First, let’s start with your writer’s journey. You have a B.A. in
psychology and studied Black sociology before losing your job during
COVID. How did these fields contribute or guide you into writing?Psychology influences my writing a great deal. I tend to use a well-known scale in Black psychology on all of my characters to assess where they are in the development of their Black identity. Doing so also helps me to plan overall character development throughout my stories.
After getting my degree, I took the first job I could get—as an administrative assistant at a car dealership. I hated it, for the most part, thus, writing and reading became my escapes. And my hatred for my day job really motivated me to do what I had to do in order to get published. I worked in the car industry for years before finally getting a book deal. I lost my job after getting the deal, so I was lucky enough to have book money coming in during 2020.
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The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages Review
I was a fan of the series way back in middle school so when I heard they were coming out with a whole new book all these years later. I ignored it. But now I figured why not, let’s see if it holds up. So I reread the other four books and dove into The Riddle of the Ages.
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3 Latinx Romances
The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
Carolina “Lina” Santos experienced one of the worst experiences one could live through. Stood up at the altar. And it’s all the best man’s fault, Max Hartley. Now years later, Santos has pulled herself together to making a succesful wedding planning company and is up for a big presentation that will grant them a stable revenue of weddings at a luxe hotel. The one blip, she has to present with Max Hartley who is determined to step out of his older brother’s, Lina’s ex, shadow and impress the hotlier with his marketing campaign.
With the sudden shock of seeing each other again, Max and Lina pretend they don’t know each other, which forces them to act even more professional than usual as they work closely together to achieve their goals. Yet despite the warning flags, despite all the reasons, they can’t help but screw professionalism in private and with each other.
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Pretty Little Liars Review
*I have never seen the tv show so these reviews won’t be influenced or confused by the television events.
Sara Shepard’s debut series of the sleepy little town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania sparks one of the twistiest teen intrigues of the early 200s. You see, Rosewood is a town full of secrets harbored by the prettiest most popular girls you could ever meet.
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Favorite Rupi Kaur Poems P1
If you knew me in real life, you would know that even though I love books, I despise poetry. Ironic for a creative writing major I suppose but I just find it hard to understand, pretnetious and designed to make me feel as stupid.
But Rupi Kaur is one of the few poets that speaks to me with her short, straightforward words that pack a lot of meaning as she discusses issues of feminism, abuse, sexuality, immigration and womanhood.
Here are just a few of my favorites from her first book of poetry, milk and honey to whet your appetite.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 