In 2015, I interviewed Maya Rodale about her fabulous book, Dangerous Books for Girls. (You can read the interview here.) Maya has updated the book and we sat down (via email) to discuss the changes. Here’s our discussion.

Dabney: You’ve updated this wonderful book. Why?

Maya: So much has happened in the world and in Romancelandia since I published this book in 2015. It feels like a completely different world and I wanted to acknowledge some of those changes and conversations—like #metoo for example. But I didn’t want to update the whole book 🙂 . I felt like it was important to keep it as is, as a record of that moment in time.

Dabney: What have you added?

Maya: I added two new essays. The first is a foreword Are Romance Novels still Dangerous Books? Because in a world of Bridgerton on Netflix and romance novels reviewed in The New York Times and elsewhere, it’s a question worth asking. The Gen Z folks are unapologetic about their romance reading. Which is FANTASTIC. But I wanted to talk about how these books are still powerful even if they’re no longer considered so “dangerous.”

The second essay is The Truth About Historical Accuracy: the Subversive Power of Historical Fiction. This one has been in the works in my brain for a while, and it’s inspired by many heated conversations online over the years about what exactly is “historically accurate.” It’s more nuanced than just facts, and it’s so important to have this conversation because I think a lot of people learn about history from historical fiction and romance.

Dabney: Do you think the issues you raised are different now? If so how?

Maya: I think some of the issues I covered in the original version—like care, and dynamics between men and women in relationships, feminism in romance and how we portray female characters—has been discussed a lot and not just within the romance community. I think there’s less angst and more acceptance around the genre, which is wonderful. But I think there is also still so much to discuss; it’s endless fascinating to me! I’m keeping the conversation going on my Substack, XO Romance: https://mayarodale.substack.com/

Dabney: Thank you for chatting. I love the original version of this book and look forward to reading the updates!