RomComs Are All That: An Interview with Romance Author Maya Rodale

Readers, let me tell you something: I was over the moon when Maya Rodale agreed to let me interview her for my course, “I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Legacy of the Romantic Comedy,” and for the Bruja Professor. I love teaching her book, Lady Claire is All That, part of her Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series. In case you didn’t get the hint from the title, the book is based on the teen classic rom-com She’s All That. It’s a delightful historical romp that introduces students to romance novels, fan fiction and adaptations, and the joys of historical romance. Maya was kind enough to chat with me about this book, romance, and the yucks and yums of the rom-com genre. SWOON!

1. In my classes, we talk about the yucks and the yums of various genres. What do you love or think is yummy about romantic comedies?

I love that romantic comedies put me in an emotional space of love, laughter and optimism. I love that they are unabashedly and unapologetically about having a good-hearted good time.  

2. What parts of the genre feel yucky to you? Anything you would change about them?

We can look back at Rom Coms from earlier times and be squeamish or even horrified by what we thought was romantic, or the dynamics between people or whatever. I think of the movie Knocked Up, which I really enjoyed at the time but now I have questions....

On a personal note, while I love grand romantic gestures in rom-coms, I would be horrified if that happened to me IRL. 

3. I have to ask: What’s your favorite romantic comedy? Why?

My favorite romantic comedy is my favorite movie—Roman Holiday. I love it because you can really see the heroine’s journey of self-discovery happening through the romance. I love her rebellion against what is expected of her. I love her joy and pleasure she finds all day. I love that her hero is thrilled to be there, holding her hand. The whole story is kind, it’s funny, it’s magical and you can feel it. Book #2 in the Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series, Chasing Lady Amelia, is based on it. 

4. What inspired you to write a retelling of She’s All That set in Regency England? What is it about that movie that captured your imagination?

Confession: I don’t think I had seen the movie before I decided to write a Regency version of it! Of course I was familiar with it, being a teen in the 90s, but for whatever reason, I had yet to see it. But watching it is the best kind of “work” and “research” that I do. The entire Keeping Up With the Cavendishes series is based on rom-coms and your next question will allow me to answer why I picked this movie...

5. Tell us a little more about the inspiration behind Lady Claire is All That. What romcom tropes and themes did you want to play with? How did the Regency setting change the original high school-set story?

First, I think the Regency is so very high school! 

I knew I wanted to write a very smart heroine based on Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer. Readers were asking for her ever since my novel, The Wicked Wallflower, which drew a lot of inspiration from the work of Charles Babbage and the computer he invented. 

I also knew I wanted to write a “dumb” hero. So many romance heroes are the tallest, the smartest, the richest, the hottest, etc. and I was a little bored of writing that. I wanted the challenge of writing a hero who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but who still had a lot to offer. 

And I had major feminist angst about the whole “makeover” plot and “make her popular” plot that I wanted to play with. 

She’s All That provided the perfect framework to play with all those ideas. 

6. I talk with my students about how many romance authors were inspired to become writers, in part, because of the 80s/90s/00s romantic comedies they grew up watching. Was that the case for you?

Sure! I LOVE those movies and then they stopped making them, so I turned to romance novels instead. And when I read those faster than they could be published, I had to start writing my own ☺ 

7. I also discuss with students how fanfic has really changed the way we think of stories, AND YET, in many ways, most writers are writing fanfic, trying to capture the essence of stories they love. Is that the case for you?

Absolutely. I used to play guitar, and I would try writing songs that sounded like an artist I loved and...my songs always came out wildly different. But it was a wonderful creative exercise. What do I like about it? What emotional notes are being hit, and in what order? What are the ingredients here? 

FanFic is the same, I think. The fourth book in the Keeping Up With the Cavendishes series, It’s Hard Out Here For a Duke, is essentially fanfic to the Meredith and Derek relationship on in season 1 and 2 of Grey’s Anatomy. I actually used the name Meredith Green as a placeholder in Book #1 and it went to press before I could change it so...I was stuck with it! 

8. As you already know, there are A LOT of stigmas associated with the romance genre in genre, and the romantic comedy specifically. Why do you think that is?

Well, I wrote a whole book about this. ☺

Short answer: I think culturally we have anxiety about women and other marginalized groups unapologetically experiencing love, pleasure and empowerment—and then being rewarded with a happy ever after. Romance novels and romantic comedies are all about that, unapologetically so. 

9. What do you think romantic comedies can teach people about life, love, and relationships (you can discuss both the good and bad here)?

A really good romantic comedy shows how the love inspires or agitates someone to really blossom and become their truest version of themselves. I love that. 

I could write A LOT here about how they teach us a script and a language for courtship, romance and love. Or what to look for in a partner. How a partner should treat someone they love. How we get to vicariously experience emotional highs and lows and practice feeling emotionally vulnerable. How we can overvalue grand gestures. 

Most of all, I think they remind us that love and life can be fun and funny and full of heart and emotion and we can take pleasure in that. That is no small thing.

 10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

What a great list of questions, thank you!

11. Where can people find you to learn more about your work?

The best place to find me is www.mayarodale.com. I’m also on Threads and Instagram as @mayarodale and on Substack. 

My most “rom com” romance novels are: Lady Claire is All That, Lady Bridget’s Diary, The Wicked Wallflower, Seducing Mr. Knightly and the contemporary When Jane Met Duke. And in Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels, Explained I talk about why it all matters. 

Guest Contributor Bio

Maya Rodale is the best-selling and award-winning author of funny, feminist fiction including historical romance, YA and historical fiction. Reviewers and readers have noted her “signature wit and banter” (Entertainment Weekly) and declared her novels to be “endlessly entertaining” (Booklist), “funny, heartfelt and lovingly crafted” (Library Journal), “certain to delight” (Publisher’s Weekly), “energetic and bold” (Kirkus), and “absolutely a ton of fun to read” (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books).

A champion of the romance genre and its readers, she is also the author of Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels, Explained. Maya has reviewed romance for NPR Books and has appeared in Bustle, Glamour, Shondaland, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post and PBS. She began reading romance novels in college at her mother’s insistence and has never been allowed to forget it.

Images of Lady Claire Is All That book cover and She’s All That movie poster.

The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.

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The Problematic History of "Indian Romances" with Steve Ammidown

Here’s the thing about being a bruja—and a professor for that matter: Sooner or later (the correct answer is sooner), you need to get real about social justice and historical erasure. In a lot of ways, you can’t really call yourself a witch if you aren’t invested in inclusion and equity, and, yes, mason jars. The same goes for being an ethical professor—minus the mason jars.

This means that a lot of the work we do is about undoing historical erasure and figuring out a healthier, happier way forward. In life. In politics. In the arts. For me, that includes finding and teaching narratives that center people with historically marginalized identities working through their stuff and getting happy endings. Enough trauma porn already! It’s time we see ourselves in stories of growth, change, and possibility.

Sometimes, in order to do that, however, we need to look at when inclusion is not done right. There’s a real difference between stories that center BIPOC characters, for example, and stories that do that well, meaning in a way that is authentic to that community and not sanitized for a broader, whiter audience, or that doesn’t fetishize that marginalized identity.

As we celebrate Indigenous history month this November, I want to take a closer look at the problematic history of the Indian romance, a typically western romance featuring an Indigenous man and a white woman, and how the genre is evolving to celebrate actual Indigenous romances written by Indigenous authors.

Steve Ammindown has become a bit of an expert on the Indian romance and the complex and wild history surrounding it. I was so delighted to interview him about this history and how it might represent issues within the genre more generally. As Steve said in the interview, this is not just important genre history, but an important slive of American history that we can learn from. You can read his brief history of Indian romances here.

But before we dive into that conversation, I’d like to share some wonderful Indigenous romances, in case you are as eager as I am to continue diversifying your reading list and celebrate Indigenous voices living in the here and now, not treated as relics of the past. Carolina Ciucci wrote about eight fantastic romance novels by Indigenous authors, and Jessica Avery developed this list of Native American romance novels by Native authors, both on Book Riot. Rebekah Weatherspoon, a fantastic romance author in her own right (seriously, read her work!), created this thread on Indigenous Peoples Day to celebrate Indigenous romance authors. One of my personal farotive books, Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indgenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology, features a serious of hopeful stories exploring centering Indigenous LGTBQ+ identities in a myriad of fantastical settings.

So, who is ready to deep-dive into the fascinating and sometimes cringe-worthy history of Indian romances, how they are representeative of issues within the genre, and how we can read and support Indigenous romance authors living and writint today? Discover all this, and more, in my interview with Steve below.

Guest Contributor Bio

Steve Ammidown is an archivist currently based in Northwest Ohio. In 2019, he was the Romance Writers of America Cathie Linz Librarian of the Year for his work in preserving and sharing the history of the romance genre with scholars and the public. He currently writes about the history of romance fiction on his blog, romancehistory.com.

The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.

If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that stories are magic & true magic is in the everyday…or your next good read, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment.

Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

The Literary Figure of The Rake with Dr. Angela Toscano

Who doesn’t love a bad boy? Okay, plenty of people! But there’s no denying that the archetype of the rake—both in history and literature—is one that has captured the heart (and loins) of popular culture. Me? While I love a good fake rake like the kind that finds his home in historical romances, I tend to find that the real rakes of yore are kind of terrifying for their entitlement and lack of feeling. And, real talk, you know those rakes—real or fake—likely have mommy issues and venereal disease but that’s a topic for another time!

In any case, rakes are beloved because they represent a rejection of social norms. They’re just above all. Literally. They have the class, money, and prestige to do whatever they want and get away with it. That’s also why the figure of the rake isn’t quite everyone’s cup of tea. Like the bad boy billionaire in romance (aka the rake reincarnated), the rake also represents typically white male entitlement and privilege, along with a real sense that other bodies—typically female bodies—are commodities for his amusement. So on the one hand, we have the titillating fantasy of the freedoms wealth and position can buy a person and on the other, we have the terrifying realities of the freedoms wealth and position can buy a person. Of course, we also have everything in between, most notably fake rakes in historical romances that are charming, good at the sexy stuff, and secretly harboring a heart of gold.

The history of the rake is, in many ways, the history of the romance novel, and I can think of no better scholar to unpack this figure than Dr. Angela Toscano. She walks us through the origin of the rake in the 1600s to the modern manifestations of the character in romance novels. Prepare yourself for a lecture on drinking, gambling, whoring, and general rakish behavior! Oh, and politics, royal beheadings, religion…you know, all the low-stakes first date topics. Enjoy!

Guest Contributor Bio

Dr. Angela Toscano specializes in the long history of the romance, from the Byzantine period to the present. She received her doctorate from the University of Iowa, specializing in early modern fiction. Currently, she is the book review editor for the Journal of Popular Romance Studies. Most recently, her chapter on the Gothic was published in the Routledge Companion to Popular Romance Fiction. Her lectures, writings, and other work can be found on her website: angelartoscano.com and on Twitter at @lazaraspaste.

The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.

If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that stories are magic & true magic is in the everyday…or your next good read, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment.

Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

The Complicated Legacy of Georgette Heyer with Dr. Sam Hirst

Georgette Heyer is perhaps one of the most famous, or infamous, if you prefer, names surrounding the historical romance genre. In fact, she is often credited with starting the genre. Many a romance lover grew up reading her work. Others might not have heard of her, but have no doubt read historical romances designed in her image of Regency England (and other time periods).

Heyer is the author responsible for the historical romance as we know it today: epic romances featuring swashbuckling lords fighting duels and ladies in gorgeous gowns swanning around ballrooms in search of a husband. There is intrigue. There is witty banter. There is kissing. Sometimes there is even fainting. What’s not to love?

Well, I’ll tell you. Much of the romantic world Heyer constructed is framed as a white utopia divorced from the historical realities of the day. In fact, so much of the luxury of Heyer’s world is dependant on the erasure or minimization of people with marginalized identities within her stories, not to mention the erasure of the complex political and social context of the times. It’s not all balls and duels, people!

And yet, so many later historical romances perpetuate the same classicist, racist, ableist, and heteronormative fantasy birthed from Heyer’s mind. In fact, I’m coming to see that the courtship novels that inspired many a historical romance are, in many ways, much more progressive than the texts they inspire. I was marinating on this idea when I came across an audiobook version of Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. It was narrated by Richard Armitage of BBC’s North & South (2004) fame. The agenda couldn’t have been clearer: to get fans of the now-iconic BBC mini-series based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s Victorian social novel interested in Heyer’s work. Surely, we would also love Heyer since she wrote love stories that took place around Gaskell’s time.

Yet the two authors couldn’t be more different. Gaskell was directly and explicitly writing about the politics and social upheaval of her time. She grew up in a progressive household and went on to live a more progressive life with her husband, writing, raising children, and doing her social justice work. North & South is as much a story about the evils of Industrialization, class conflict, religious dissent, and changing social hierarchies as it is about love. Heyer’s worlds, on the other hand, explicitly ignore those historical realities or only tangentially acknowledge them in favor of the glamorously romanticized lives of the aristocracy. But in the minds of many, there is no clear difference between historical romances and courtship novels simply because they are both about romance and the things that happen behind closed doors.

Dr. Sam Hirst does a spectacular job of unpacking Heyer’s legacy in the romance genre and lovingly explores how we can both appreciate, even love, an author while also being critical of where they fall short. As they say in their lecture, Heyer not only passed on a love for stories of the past and laid the foundation for historical romance worlds but also passed on narrative frames that excluded, villainized, or marginalized people with marginalized identities. Thankfully, many authors are moving beyond that limited framework and exploring just how complex, engaging, and inclusive the genre can be.

Guest Lecturer Bio

Dr. Sam Hirst is a Teaching Fellow at Liverpool University. They work on the early Gothic and 20th-century romance and have published on the Gothic romance and Georgette Heyer. They run the online program Romancing the Gothic.

The Bruja Professor, a witchy take on literature, the occult & pop culture, is the scholarly sister to Enchantment Learning & Living, an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you.

If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that stories are magic & true magic is in the everyday…or your next good read, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment.

Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!