I had an amazing experience yesterday. There’s a new web site launching on February 14. It’s called www.romancenovels.tv, and they spent half the day yesterday doing interviews with me.
It was really fun, and really exhausting, since I agonized over what to wear, how to do my hair and makeup, and how to answer the questions.
I used the excuse to buy a fantastic butter-soft silver-black leather jacket. I had my hair done, and the film crew brought a makeup artist.
We did most of the interviews in my den, shooting toward the dining room, so there was a very long view in back of me. I wanted to do it stand up, so I did A LOT OF STANDING. We also shot footage outside the house and in the stream valley down the hill from my house–until it got too cold.
Since I also write cookbooks, I did a cooking segment for them. I created a recipe exclusively for them–a chili con queso with only five ingredients, which I made on camera in my kitchen. When I asked the producer if she wanted me to do a cooking segment, she said, “If you can cook and talk at the same time.” I said I’d done a lot of cooking demonstrations, so I could.
They gave me a huge list of questions, so I spent a lot of time thinking about a huge list of answers. One was–what makes a book a romance?
I said that back in the old days, the 90’s, a romance was the development of a relationship between a man and a woman. But recently, we’ve said that it’s the development of a relationship between two people–perhaps two men. Or two women. Or a woman and a lizard man from the planet Alpha Lasagna. I said that there’s always a happy ending. If not, it’s a love story.
I also told them about being interviewed by Oprah, back before she was a star. That was on People are Talking in Baltimore. They had several romance writers on and there was a male co-host. While Oprah asked us polite questions, he stood in back of her mouthing, "orgasm. orgasm." But none of us would talk about that. So I don’t remember her so much as him!
So, I’m waiting for the launch of the site and hoping I sound intelligent on camera.
Rebecca
Must have been interesting, Rebecca. I’m wondering if this was the same people who spoke to me at RWA; they were talking about cable tv at the time, but it may have evolved into a website?
Nicole
Comment by Nicole Byrd — January 14, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Anyhow, I’ll be very interested to see your interview
Nicole
Comment by Nicole Byrd — January 14, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
Oh wow, this sounds really neat! I would have been petrified though!
Comment by Alyssa Brooks — January 15, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
There’s nothing like having to cook on TV, when a host is asking you weird questions while you’re trying not to mess up your presentation and also sound coherent. (At least on this, nobody was interrupting me.) I guess I’ve had enough experience not to be petrified any more.
But it helps to be an extrovert. It also helps to practice what you’re planning to say. The trouble with this shoot was that they were doing a bunch of interviews with me. So I had a lot to prepare–as well as the food for the cooking demo.
Rebecca
Comment by Rebecca York — January 15, 2007 @ 8:07 pm
How cool, Rebecca! Good for you! I’m sure you were great. I guess with romancenovels.tv on the net, I do need to get the sound fixed on my computer. After it went back to the factory, I got it a month later and it had no sound, but when the store wanted to send it back to the factory, again, I said NO! LOL.
Comment by Annette Blair — January 16, 2007 @ 9:38 pm
I can’t wait to see–and hear– the interview. Be sure to remind us when it comes out!
Nicole
Comment by Nicole Byrd — January 18, 2007 @ 1:58 am