Nora Roberts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nora Roberts
|
|
|---|---|
Nora Roberts, 2007
|
|
| Born | Eleanor Marie Robertson October 10, 1950 Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Pen name | Nora Roberts J.D. Robb Jill March Sarah Hardesty |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1981–present |
| Genre | Romance, fantasy, suspense |
| Spouse |
Ronald Aufdem-Brinke
(m. 1968; div. 1983)Bruce Wilder
(m. 1985) |
| Children | 2 |
Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950, is a very famous American author. She has written over 225 romance novels! She also uses other names, like J. D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
Contents
About Nora Roberts
Her Early Life
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, on October 10, 1950. She was the youngest of five children. Her family loved to read, so books were always important to her. Even though she made up stories in her head, she didn't write much as a child, except for school essays. She says the nuns at her Catholic school taught her to be disciplined.
Family Life
When she was in high school, Nora met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke. They got married in 1968, right after she graduated. They lived in Boonsboro, Maryland. Nora had two sons, Dan and Jason. She called this time her "Earth Mother" years because she enjoyed crafts and sewing clothes for her children. They divorced in 1983.
In 1985, Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, who was a carpenter. He built bookshelves for her. Bruce now owns a bookstore in Boonsboro called Turn the Page Books. They also owned a historic hotel nearby, the Boone Hotel. After a fire in 2008, it was rebuilt and reopened as the Inn BoonsBoro in 2009. The hotel rooms are named after famous romantic couples from books.
Nora Roberts is also a big fan of baseball!
How She Became a Writer
Nora Roberts started writing during a big snowstorm in February 1979. There was a lot of snow, and her two boys didn't have kindergarten. She says she had little else to do! She quickly fell in love with writing. She wrote six books and sent them to Harlequin, a big publisher of romance novels. But they kept saying no.
One time, she got a letter back that said her work was good, but they already had "their American writer." That writer was Janet Dailey, who later admitted to copying some of Nora Roberts's work.
Nora Roberts works very hard. She writes for eight hours every day, even when she's on vacation. She doesn't start with a detailed plan. Instead, she thinks of a main event, character, or place. Then she writes a quick first draft to get the basic story down. After that, she goes back and adds more details, making the story richer and the characters deeper. Finally, she polishes the book before sending it to her agent.
She often writes groups of three books, called trilogies. She writes all three books in a row so she can stay focused on the same characters. Her new books are first released as hardcover books and e-books, then later as paperbacks. Nora does a lot of her research online because she doesn't like to fly.
Her Different Writing Names
Nora Roberts
In 1980, a new publisher called Silhouette Books started. They wanted to publish books from American writers that Harlequin had turned down. Nora Roberts's first book, Irish Thoroughbred, came out in 1981. She used the name Nora Roberts because she thought all romance authors used pen names. It's a shorter version of her birth name, Eleanor Marie Robertson.
Between 1982 and 1984, she wrote 23 novels for Silhouette. In 1985, her book Playing the Odds, which was the first in her MacGregor family series, became a bestseller right away.
Later, she started writing longer books for other publishers. In 1996, her book Montana Sky became a hardcover bestseller. She still writes shorter romance books sometimes. She remembers being a young mom with two boys and not having much time to read long books.
Experts say Nora Roberts is a "master" of romance novels. They praise her great dialogue, exciting scenes, fast pace, and interesting characters.
J. D. Robb
Nora Roberts always wanted to write romantic suspense stories, like mysteries with romance. But her agent told her to focus on romance novels first. After she became very popular, her publisher realized she was writing too many books for them to publish under just one name.
So, they suggested she use a different name to publish more books each year. She chose the name J. D. Robb. The "J. D." comes from her sons' names, Jason and Dan. "Robb" is a shorter version of Roberts.
As J. D. Robb, she writes a series of futuristic detective stories called the in Death series. These books feature a detective named Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke. They are set in New York City in the middle of the 21st century. Even though each book is about solving a crime, the main idea of the series is how Eve and Roarke's relationship grows.
When the in Death series first started, Nora Roberts and her publisher didn't tell anyone she was the author. They wanted the books to become popular on their own. After 18 books in the series, her publisher released the 19th, Divided in Death, in hardcover. It became a bestseller. As of March 2022, she has written 54 novels and ten shorter stories in the in Death series.
Other Names
Nora Roberts also wrote a story for a magazine called Melodies of Love using the name Jill March. In the UK, she was known as Sarah Hardesty for a while.
Her Amazing Success
In 1996, Nora Roberts wrote her 100th novel, Montana Sky. In 2012, she reached 200 novels with The Witness. In 1999 and 2000, four out of the five best-selling romance novels listed by USA Today were written by her!
She first appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list in 1991. Between 1991 and 2001, she had 68 books on that list. Since 1999, every single one of her novels has been a New York Times bestseller. 29 of her books have even debuted at the number-one spot!
As of 2013, her novels had spent a total of 948 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. That includes 148 weeks at number one! By 2009, over 400 million copies of her books were in print. Her novels have been published in 35 different countries.
Nora Roberts helped start the Romance Writers of America (RWA). She was the first person to be put into their Hall of Fame. In 1997, she won the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, which was later renamed the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. She has won 21 of the RWA's RITA Awards, which is the highest honor in the romance genre.
Many of her novels have been made into TV movies. In 2007, Lifetime Television made four of her books into movies, including Angels Fall and Montana Sky. Four more movies were released in 2009, such as Northern Lights and Midnight Bayou.
TIME magazine named Nora Roberts one of their 100 Most Influential People in 2007. They said she "has explored and celebrated the feelings of the human heart."
Dealing with Plagiarism
In 1997, another popular romance writer, Janet Dailey, admitted to copying Nora Roberts's work many times. This was discovered when a reader noticed similar parts in Roberts's Sweet Revenge and Dailey's Notorious. Nora Roberts sued Dailey, who said it was due to a psychological problem. Dailey admitted that two of her novels copied heavily from Roberts's books. These novels were then removed from sale. In 1998, Dailey settled the case. Nora Roberts gave the money from the settlement to groups that help people learn to read.
Nora Roberts also spoke out against another romance writer, Cassie Edwards, who copied parts of older books without giving credit. In 2019, Nora Roberts and other authors were also victims of copying by Cristiane Serruya.
Helping Others
Nora Roberts is known for her charity work. She is often on lists of celebrities who give a lot to good causes. Most of her donations go to the Nora Roberts Foundation. This foundation supports groups that help with reading and the arts, assist children, and do humanitarian work. The Foundation also created the Nora Roberts Center for American Romance at McDaniel College. This center helps people study romance novels in an academic way.
Movies Based on Her Books
Here are some of the movies made from Nora Roberts's books:
- Magic Moments (1989)
- Sanctuary (2001)
- Angels Fall (2007)
- Montana Sky (2007)
- Blue Smoke (2007)
- Carolina Moon (2007)
- Northern Lights (2009)
- Midnight Bayou (2009)
- High Noon (2009)
- Tribute (2009)
- Brazen (2022)
Lifetime Movie Channel Adaptations
Many of Nora Roberts's books have been made into TV movies and shown on Lifetime.
The 2007 Collection included:
- Angels Fall
- Montana Sky
- Blue Smoke
- Carolina Moon
The 2009 Collection included:
- Northern Lights
- Midnight Bayou
- High Noon
- Tribute
Awards and Honors
As Nora Roberts
Golden Medallion Awards
These awards were given by the Romance Writers of America.
- Untamed: 1984 Golden Medallion for Best Traditional Romance
- This Magic Moment: 1984 Golden Medallion for Best Contemporary (65–80,000 words)
- Opposites Attract: 1985 Golden Medallion for Best Short Contemporary Romance
- A Matter of Choice: 1985 Golden Medallion for Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
- One Summer: 1987 Golden Medallion for Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
- Brazen Virtue: 1989 Golden Medallion for Best Suspense
RITA Awards
These awards are given by the Romance Writers of America.
- Night Shift: 1992 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Divine Evil: 1993 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Nightshade: 1994 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Private Scandals: 1994 RITA Award for Best Contemporary Single Title
- Hidden Riches: 1995 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Born in Ice: 1996 RITA Award for Best Contemporary Single Title
- Born in Ice: 1996 RITA Award for Best Romance of 1995
- Carolina Moon: 2001 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Three Fates: 2003 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Remember When – Part 1: 2004 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense
- Birthright: 2004 RITA Award for Best Contemporary Single Title
- Tribute: 2009 RITA Award Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Quill Awards
These awards are given by the Quills Foundation.
- Angels Fall: 2006 Book of the Year
- Angels Fall: 2006 Romance
- Blue Smoke: 2007 Romance
As J.D. Robb
- Survivor in Death: 2006 RITA Awards Romantic Suspense winner
- New York to Dallas: 2012 RITA Awards Best Romantic Suspense winner
