Gotta love the written word

“I don't think you can write - at least not well - if you don't love stories, love the written word.” – Nora Roberts

The bestselling author of more than 200 (yep, that’s 2-0-0, not 2-0) novels,  Roberts writes under her own name, and as J. D. Robb for the in Death series.  She also has written under the pseudonyms Jill March and (in the U.K.) as Sarah Hardesty.

With books out that have spent a combined total of some 900 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list – including nearly 200 weeks in the number one spot, she was a natural choice to be selected as the first author inducted into the Romance Writers 

of America Hall of Fame.

Born on this date in 1950 – in Silver Spring, MD, the city where my daughter and her family now make their home – Roberts started writing to break the tedium of being snowbound during a 1979 blizzard.  She loved the process so much that she finished 6 books before starting to send them off to publishers, most of who rejected her out of hand. Finally, in 1981, Silhouette Books, an imprint of Harlequin, gave her a try and she was off and running. 

She treats writing as a full-time job and writes 8 hours a day, every day, including on vacations.  Biographist Pamela Regis calls Roberts "a master of the romance novel form, because she "has a keen ear for dialogue, constructs deft scenes, maintains a page-turning pace, and provides compelling characterization."

“Every writer has to figure out what works best - and often has to select and discard different tools before they find the one that fits,” Roberts said.  “I don't believe for one moment you can write well what you wouldn't read yourself for pleasure.”

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