Maya Rodale Blog » Defies Categorization

A plea from Penelope

Maya — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:19:42 +0000

And now, dear readers, a special announcement from my darling dog, Penelope. Actually, it’s a special performance of her “poor starving orphan” routine. I feel compelled to mention that she’s a very well fed little dog, but nevertheless…lovely lil’ Penelope would really like you to buy a copy of A Groom Of One’s Own.

Why you should buy a Groom of One’s Own by Maya Rodale from Tony Haile on Vimeo.

From Regency weddings to Green weddings

Maya — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:21:38 +0000

Did you know that 46 percent of couples are thinking about incorporating ecofriendly components into their wedding festivities? Count me in. As y’all know, I’m deep in the throes of wedding planning. Mine will be as green as can be–and that’s green as in environmentally friendly, not the color scheme. I contributed some tips to this awesome article: 5 Rules for Greening Your Wedding. Check it out!

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Wedding season is in the air, but after all the dancing, champagne toasting, and celebrating, what’s left behind is often an ugly mess—up to half a ton of garbage, food trucked in from hundreds of miles away that winds up being wasted, and junky favors that wind up in the landfill. (Seriously, does anyone really use those gaudy shot glasses with the bride and groom’s wedding date printed on it? Or the toxic candles or soaps, or personalized plastic trinkets made in China?)

Green weddings can save tons of carbon pollution and keep tons of garbage out of landfills—a major positive in itself—but you can also enjoy some immediate benefits of greening your wedding. At the top of that list? Saving mega money. “Green weddings have absolutely moved mainstream, which is really exciting,” says Kate Harrison, author of The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2008). “Less impact on the Earth is a major motivator, but another is the desire to save money.”

THE DETAILS: A recent David’s Bridal survey found that 46 percent of couples are thinking about incorporating ecofriendly components into their wedding festivities. That’s great news, because the average wedding creates 400 to 600 pounds of garbage and 63 tons of carbon pollution. One year of American weddings creates about the same CO2 pollution as putting 8 million cars on the road.

Look for my tips–and details about my wedding–and read the rest HERE.

Weddings, Weddings Everywhere!

Maya — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:11:36 +0000

In case you missed my previous blog post–I’M ENGAGED! I’ve celebrated. I’ve broken my engagement ring already and gotten it fixed. Now it’s time to start planning the wedding!

2o10 is already shaping up to be the year of weddings for me. My real-life ceremony will take place in Fall of this year. And then my next book (promo alert!) comes out on June 29th. A Groom Of One’s Own (Formerly Rakish Rogue…) is all about the planning of a wedding, too. (It’s set in the 1820’s, so it’s not exactly helpful to me today as I plan my own).

The backdrop off the story is the planning of the hero, Lord Brandon’s, wedding. His wedding to another woman, Lady Clarissa, to be exact. Our dear heroine, Sophie, is a newspaper reporter and she’s there to chronicle every step of the way, from dress shopping to flower selection to cake sampling. Just imagine the agonies and heartache! As the big day gets closer, our hero, Brandon, falls more in love with Sophie, and begins to suspect that he may have proposed to the wrong woman…

Hopefully, life will NOT imitate art.

There will be many a blog post in the next year about A Groom Of One’s Own and the plans for my totally eco-friendly wedding to a groom of my own

In Memory

Maya — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:39:41 +0000

My grandmother, Ardie Rodale, recently passed away peacefully after a long illness. While it’s incredibly sad, I’m consoled by focusing on many warm, happy memories of her, as I think she would have wanted anyone who knew her to do.

In 2007, we both had books out—The Heir And The Spare and Everyday Miracles—and we went on tour to promote them. We did radio interviews from her office, and we traveled to Ohio and Kentucky for book signings, talks, more radio interviews and even a TV appearance (check out the picture here), and stops at gift shops. It was a wonderful, whirlwind trip where we got to know each other as people and writers, not just as family. That was a gift.

My grandmother read my romance novels. I once gave her the first 80 or so pages of The Rogue And The Rival before it was published and she called me up demanding more. I half-jokingly offered her a version with the sex scenes cut out and she said “Absolutely not.” Hee Hee! She was a funny, spunky old lady and she will be missed.

I’m looking forward to family time this holiday more than usual. I hope y’all enjoy a happy holiday and New Year.

The President And The Romance Novel

Maya — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:21:06 +0000

I know, I know, I’m supposed to be working on drastic last minute revisions of The Sinfully Seductive Rakish Rogue’s Mysterious Midnight Mistress of Pleasure. But something fabulous happened, and I have to share.

Our dear President graciously accepted a Harlequin romance novel from its author, Geri Krotow, and took a little peek at it:

Barack Obama checks out a romance novel!

How cool is that? Almost as cool is that Share The Love, my non-profit, and I were mentioned in a blog about it on The Huffington Post!