Nora Roberts is an American author of over 200 books, mainy known for romance works. She also writes police procedurals which have elements of science fiction under the name J. D. Robb, and has published as Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After an education that included time in a Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast, but I couldn't spell. I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After her sons were born, she stayed home and tried every handicraft she could find. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three-year-old and a six-year-old, no kindergarten break in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time when she wasn't reading or making up stories. During the now famous snowstorm, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. A career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They married in July 1985. Since then they've expanded their home, travelled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Over the years, Nora has been surrounded by men. She was not only the youngest in her family, but also the only girl. She raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms Roberts has a pretty good insight into the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. She has been quoted as saying that it's a choice between understanding men or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers' groups and has won numerous awards from her peers and the publishing industry. The New Yorker recently called her "America's favourite novelist".
Photo credits: noraroberts.com
