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Maya Rodale

The Not-So-Secret Diary of Maya Rodale, Romance Novelist

I am utterly amazed at those who manage to blog every day. Alas, my life is just not that interesting…most of the time. When it is, I’ll be writing all about my adventures and posting them here.

My Appearance On The Martha Stewart Show (as an audience member).

My hands hurt. I’ve never clapped so much in my life. The Martha Stewart Show hadn’t even started and the audience had been practicing our applause under the guidance of  Joey, “the warm up guy”. We practiced starting when the stage manager yelled “5 seconds” (as in 5 seconds before the show returns from a commercial break). We also practiced fading our applause just so. Seriously. Sometimes we did it too quickly and had to try again.

I’d never been a member of a life studio audience before and it was pretty cool (and cold, the studio was freezing). Everything is SO QUIET when filming and then we applaud, cut to commercial and the set comes to life. A million people come out of the nowhere with props and make up and whatever and then disappear. I ended up watching it on the TV screens hanging from the ceiling most of the time because the cameras blocked Martha.

The audience, as you might imagine, was largely female. There were three boyfriends/husbands dragged along and Joey gave them a dollar each. Joey gave out lots of free stuff during the commercial breaks. I was lucky to get a little booklet of recipes of holiday cookies. Yay baking.
On this episode, we learned how to make shrunken heads (carve out a face on a half a peeled apple, bake it and then serve it in a vat of hot cider) and jack o’ clocks (the hilarious Rosie Perez helped with that). We also learned how chocolate was made, which was lovely because we got free samples. Joy! At the end of the show Martha took questions from the audience (where to eat in Manhattan, how to stop deer).

While it was a really cool experience to be in the audience, I definitely prefer watching TV shows from home, if only so that I can go to the bathroom during commercial breaks.

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Martha takes questions after the show and all the stage lights on the ceiling. Below is a picture of the set–but it’s sideways so tilt your head to the left to get a better look. My apologies but I’m not in the mood to fight with the computer to get it right. I’m just not a perfectionist like Martha.

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My Early Show Appearance!

Did anyone see it? Or did I get up at dawn for nothing?! Me and my fellow New York Restoration Projectbuddies all arrived at CBS’s outdoor studio at 7 am. to promote a big volunteer tree planting day hosted by NYRP and Timberland. As you can see, we all wore blue NYRP shirts and black baseball caps so we would stand out on camera–not that we had a ton of competition. There was not a big crowd at that hour on a Saturday morning. This photo is courtesy my fellow NYRP bud, Sally.cbsnyrp.jpg

It’s been a big week for me and TV. Check back tomorrow when I’ll be posting a blog about being a member of the audience for a live taping of The Martha Stewart Show.

The Darcy Darlington Mystery Continues. New Chapter Today!

Previously in Darcy D, our heroine was captured and locked in the attic! In chapter nine, Darcy takes tea with The Evil Lord Hartshorne.

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I’m a television star. Sort of.

As I was rushing through my lobby on my way to pilates today, my doorman stops me and tells me that when I go outside, I must turn to the left. Wtf?! Turns out they’re filming an episode of, I believe, Law and Order Special Victims Unit. Or something. One of those crime drama’s I don’t follow. And I might be in it! So if you’re a fan of those shows, and happen to see a short girl in a grey sweatshirt with a sticky mat exit a brick building and turn to the left, it might be ME.

That’s not my only potential television appearance on my schedule these days. If you happen to be watching the CBS early show around 7-8 am tomorrow morning (yes, I know, most of you will be sleeping), keep an eye out for me. I’ll be there with the super fantastic group New York Restoration Project. If you see me, let me know!

Diane Gaston Answers The Same Six Questions I Always Ask

scandalizing the tonI discovered Diane Gaston’s books after meeting her at the NJ Romance conference. She was so lovely, and just happened to write the kind of books I like best (Regency Romances), so I had to read her delightful novel, Innocence and Impropriety. I’m now a fan and terribly excited for her latest, Scandalizing The Ton.She has graciously answered The Same Six Questions I Always Ask AND is giving away a signed copy of Scandalizing The Ton to one lucky commenter!

1. If you could have any super power, what would it be?I would love to have the power of teleportation, to dematerialize here and materialize in England whenever I wished, or in Switzerland to visit my friend Melissa James, or Australia to visit my email group All of Us, or anywhere my friends live.

2. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?I have agonized over this. I fell in love with Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe, so much more complex and interesting a character than could be depicted in the TV miniseries. Also Miles Vorkosigan of Lois McMaster’s Vorkosigan series, a hero who is also a dwarf. I quite loved Reginald of Mary Jo Putney’s The Rake and the Reformer, because, after being introducedto him I was off on an obsessive reading of Regency romance. And, of course, I must mention Damerel from Georgette Heyer’s Venetia, and The Duke of Mitford from Mary Balogh’s An Unlikely Duchess. I almost always fall in love with every hero in the romance novels I’ve read since. It is impossible to pick a current favorite!

3. What is one of your most romantic moments?I think the most memorable romantic moments come during courtship. Right after my husband and I became engaged we splurged on dinner at an historic restaurant in Alexandria Virginia, called the Seaport Inn. The setting was fancy for us, being on very limited budgets, and we had a romantic table-for-two. I can still remember the waiter, a dignified gray-haired black man who treated us as very special, even though at one point he dipped his sleeve into one of our drinks. We said nothing. It was a light-hearted time between my husband-to-be and myself and a memory that has lasted for all the years we’ve hung in together.

4. Of the places you’ve traveled to, which is your favorite?I must say London, England. I’ve only traveled to England twice and had a few days in London each time. It is very powerful to walk down the Mayfair streets that your fictional characters walk and to enter shops where Wellington or Brummell or Byron or Austen shopped. I am enthralled with the British museum, the George III Room and the Elgin Marbles. I feel like I’ve not had enough time in London. There is so much more I want to see and see again.

5. What is your most used curse word?Maya, I am surprised at you! Ladies, such as me do not curse. I assure you I have only done so when my most ill-favored politician appears on TV and then I cannot be faulted if That f….g as….l escapes my lips!

6. Please take a moment of shameless self-promotion:If you insist! Today, October 1, 2008, is the day Scandalizing the Ton should appear on bookstore shelves. Scandalizing the Ton is my Regency Paparazzi story, my idea of what it would be like for a Regency lady to be the victim of the historical equivalent of the media frenzy we see around celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Or Anna Nicole Smith.

Here is the backcover blurb: Lady Wexin, once the ton’s foremost beauty, has been abandoned by her family and friends, and creditors hound her. Her husband’s scandalous death has left her impoverished and the gossip-mongering press is whipped into a frenzy of speculation when it becomes clear the widow is with child. Who is the father?Only one man knows: Adrian Pomroy, Viscount Cavanley. He has cultivated the reputation of a rake, but in truth yearns for something useful to do. Delicate beauty Lydia Wexin could pose an intriguing and stimulating challenge.scandalizing the ton

Scandalizing the Ton is a Harlequin Historical and is typically shelved with the Harlequin Series books. If you haven’t read a Harlequin Historical in a while I urge you to give them a try. There’s a lot of innovation and diversity in the line. See more about Scandalizing the Ton on my website www.dianegaston.com and have a look at my video !

I’m giving away a signed copy of Scandalizing the Ton to one lucky commenter here, chosen at random. Ask me any questions you might have about Scandalizing the Ton or my view of the Regency or Harlequin Historical, I’ll pop back in to answer. And, thank you, Maya, for posing the Same Six Questions to me!

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