Today we welcome Maya Rodale to the blog. Yes, Maya has agreed to virtual chit chat so I can literally pick her brain. And she’s pretty brainy so she can spare the loss of a couple of gray cells. And not only is Maya here to chat about her upcoming release, A Groom of One’s Own, but she (aka Avon Books) is going to give away 5 (five) advanced copies to 5 lucky commenters. Also, A Groom of One’s Own is another book in the July 4th Red, White and Blue Fireworks Giveaway!

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I’ve heard A Groom of One’s Own, the first book in The Writing Girls Romances, compared to Sex in the City in Regency London. What do you think of that analogy?

Instead of four girls in New York City, it’s four girls during London’s Regency. These are stories about female friendship, as well as being straight up romances. Oh, and then there is the scandal, the gossip and the heart-to-heart talks and the fabulous fashion.

Can you tell us a little about A Groom of One’s Own?

Newspaper columnist Sophie Harlow is reporting on the duke of Hamilton and Brandon’s wedding to Lady Clarissa, who is falling for a visiting Prince, while Sophie is in love with the duke, who refuses to jilt his betrothed, even though he’s falling for the scandalous Writing Girl. It’s a love quadrangle and a comedy.

You said that your mother made you start reading romance novels (chuckle, chuckle) because you were working on a degree of Women in Fiction. How do you feel about romance novels prior to reading your first book?

I confess, I was a snob (see my next answer). I also didn’t know the first thing about romances either—other than that my professors at my Serious Academic Institution might laugh at me. They didn’t, in part because I think I was able to argue how romance novels are significant, powerful and valid literary works. In the end, I wrote my graduate thesis on how revolutionary romance novels are.

But I still read them for fun. A lot.

What kinds of books were you reading before you starting reading romances?

Honest to gosh, in high school I was reading Hemingway. For fun.

What does your mother think of your writing career? Was she surprised her nudge got you addicted and now a writer of the romance genre?

My mother is always right, so she wasn’t really surprised that I became a convert and began to write them. She thinks it’s really cool that I write the romance novels and often brags about it or mentions it in her blog.

A Groom of One’s Own
Author: Maya Rodale
Publisher: Avon
Pub. Date: June 29, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0345518859
Retail: $7.99
384 pages

Miss Harlow’s Marriage In High Life London, 1823

A handsome duke. His beautiful soon-to-be duchess. A whirlwind courtship. It is this author’s privilege to report on the event all of London is talking about: the upcoming wedding of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon to the only daughter of the Duke of Richmond. Every details of the “Wedding of the Year” will be reported in these pages as a London Weekly exclusive.

But I, Miss Sophie Harlow, must confess to a secret infatuation with this “double duke” that can only lead to trouble. It is impossible that this notoriously upstanding gentleman would ever jilt his bride for a scandalous female newspaper writer. And yet…the arrival of a foreign prince, the discovery of a shocking secret, and one passionate kiss could change everything. Will this perfect duke risk the scandal of the year to marry the woman his heart desires?

There are only just three more weeks until the wedding…

For a woman to be a writer in Regency London is rare so a woman has to be very independent. Do you prefer to write about independent and self-sufficient heroines?

It was rare for women to be writers—but they did it, and a lot more than we think. Usually they did it because they had to support themselves and kids because their husbands were dead or deadbeats. These women were amazing.

I definitely love reading about independent and self-sufficient heroines because I can either relate to them, or I’m really inspired by them. The challenge of balancing self-interest with a relationship appeals to me, too. And my rule is to write what I like to read.

To you, what makes for a great hero?

Six pack abs, a rakish grin and a title. Just kidding (sort of). I like heroes that are proud, kind men, with a sense of humor. And a rakish grin.

Tell us about the ‘call’, when you sold your first book, An Heir and a Spare.

That morning I had gone on a Real Job interview—I had given up on the book deal, you see. And then I was taking a nap because that is what you do when you’re unemployed and have given up. Usually I am very irked when someone calls while I’m napping, but not when it’s my agent saying I have an offer on my books!

How many books do you have planned for this series and who is next on the agenda. Can you tell us anything about that story?

Oooh…secrets! The next Writing Girl book will feature Lady Julianna, the secret author of the gossip column Fashionable Intelligence. Our hero is the rakish Lord Roxbury (complete with six pack abs, a rakish grin, a sense of humor, and a title). Scandal GALORE.

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I want to thank Maya for dropping by and I encourage you to check out Maya’s other books on her website.

Ladies…have any of you had a crush, fallen in love, been smitten by a married, engaged, seriously dating or likewise man?