Nora Roberts – Inspiring Authors
Saturday is the perfect time to wander through the stacks (that’s librarian-speak for “bookshelves”) and talk about books and the people who write them. Pull up a comfy chair and settle in, because today I want to chat about an author who has inspired me on my writing journey, the incomparable Nora Roberts.
I’ve mentioned Roberts before on this blog, when I did a short piece on the first book in her Dragon Heart Legacy series, The Awakening (if you’re interested in my thoughts on that book, you can read the blog post about it here). I mentioned then that she may very well be the most prolific and successful romance author of the modern era. She has published over two hundred and twenty five books, writes under a handful of pseudonyms, and was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame.
When I was a young adult, I discovered her, quite by accident, by reading her In Death series, published under the name J.D. Robb. I was hungry for mystery and her character Eve Dallas appealed to me. In a world full of tough male private eyes and grizzled policemen, Eve was a breath of fresh air. She was badass without being cartoony, feminine without being a femme fatale. And the books themselves? The mysteries were always compelling, the writing top-notch — simply put, I couldn’t get enough of them.
As a full-fledged author myself, I cannot help but admire Roberts not just for her prolific writing, but for the astounding quality of everything she produces. The love of the craft drips off every page of her work and I feel so proud to call myself a romance author because she’s one too. She’s made me realize that whatever story you write comes down to the people it’s about. The characters have to be real — you have to listen to and respect them as real, or else the whole thing doesn’t work.
What do you admire most about Nora Roberts’ work? Are you a fan or is there another Queen of Romance in your mind? Let’s talk about it in the comment section below!
Robin Jeffrey 