Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts (born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950) is an American
bestselling author of more than 209 romance novels.[1] She writes as J. D. Robb for the
in Death series, and has also written under the pseudonyms Jill March and for
publications in the U.K. as Sarah Hardesty.
Nora Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America
Hall of Fame. As of 2011, her novels had spent a combined 861 weeks on The New York
Times Best Seller list, including 176 weeks in the number-one spot.
Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five
children.[2] She is of Irish descent as both of her parents have Irish ancestors, and has
described herself as "an Irishwoman through and through".[3] Her family were avid
readers, so books were always important in her life.[4] Although she had always made up
stories in her head, Roberts did not write as a child, other than essays for school. She does
claim to have "told lies. Really good ones some of which my mother still believes."[5]
She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of
discipline.[5] During her second year in high school, Roberts transferred to a local public
school, Montgomery Blair High School,[6] where she met her first husband, Ronald
Aufdem-Brinke. They married, against her parents' wishes, in 1968, as soon as she had
graduated from high school.[7][8]
The newly married couple settled in Keedysville, Maryland. Roberts' husband worked at
his father's sheet-metal business before joining her parents in their lighting company. She
gave birth to two sons, Dan and Jason. Roberts became a homemaker and would later
refer to this time period as her "Earth Mother" years. Roberts spent much of her time
doing crafts, including ceramics and sewing her children's clothes.[7] Their marriage
ended in divorce[9] in 1983.
Roberts met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, a carpenter, when she hired him to build
her bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Her husband owns and operates her
bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland called Turn the Page Books.[10] He also works as an
adult content photographer and videographer while she is not an active internet user.[11]
The Wilders also owned the nearby historic Boone Hotel, which was undergoing
renovations when it was destroyed by a fire in February 2008. It opened as the Inn
BoonsBoro in 2009; the suites were inspired by and named for romantic couples from
books.[12]
Roberts once stated: "You're going to be unemployed if you really think you just have to
sit around and wait for the muse to land on your shoulder."[13] She concentrates on one
novel at a time,[14] writing eight hours a day, every day, even while on vacation.[8] Rather
than begin with an outline or plot summary, Roberts instead envisions a key incident,
character, or setting.[13] She then writes a short first draft that has the basic elements of a

story. After finishing the first draft, Roberts goes back to the beginning of the novel. The
second draft usually sees the addition of details, the "texture and color" of the work, as
well as a more in-depth study of the characters. She then does a final pass to polish the
novel before sending it to her agent, Amy Berkower.[15]
She often writes trilogies, finishing the three books in a row so that she can remain with
the same characters. When possible, she does the same with the "In Death" books, writing
three in a row before returning to contemporary romances.[16] Her trilogies are all released
in paperback, as Roberts believes the wait for hardcover editions is too long for the
reader.[4]
Roberts does much of her research over the Internet, as she has an aversion to flying.[8]
She is an ardent baseball fan, having been honored by the local minor league baseball
team Hagerstown Suns several times.[17]