| Name | Eleanor Marie Robertson (born as) |
| Pen Name | J.D. Robb, Jill March, Sarah Hardesty |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | October 10, 1950 |
| Died | NA |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Education | Montgomery Blair High School |
| Genre | Romance, fantasy, suspense |
| Notable Works | Birthright, The Next Always, Black Hills, Midnight Bayou, Vision in White, The Witness, Tribute |
| Notable Awards | Gold Medallion Award, RITA Award, Quill Award |
| Height | 5' 5" |
| Spouses | Bruce Wilder (m. 1985), Ronald Aufdem Brinke (1968–1983) |
| Children | Jason Aufdem-Brinke, Dan Aufdem-Brinke |
| Official Website | noraroberts |
Born in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 10, 1950, Nora Roberts is the youngest of her five siblings. Her family is known to have Irish roots, and she has herself admitted to being an Irishwoman completely.
Coming from a family of voracious readers, she was always attached to stories. However, she never found herself writing much apart from the essays she had to write as a school student.
While she was in her second year of high school, she moved to Montgomery Blair High School, and that is where she met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke, who would eventually become her first husband.
The couple got married immediately after their graduation against the will of Roberts’ parents in 1968, settling down in Boonsboro, Maryland. She soon gave birth to her two sons, Jason and Dan.
Although her husband was initially working for his father’s business, he eventually moved to work for the lighting company owned by Roberts’ parents.
When she looks back to those years, the author describes it as a time when she was domesticated to the extreme and spent her time doing crafts. She divorced her first husband in 1983.
Roberts hired a carpenter to build her bookshelves in 1985. Little did she know that the man named Bruce Wilder, whom she had hired for the job would be the man she would end up marrying.
In addition to working as an adult content photographer and videographer, he also owns a bookstore named Turn The Page Bookstore in Maryland. The couple owns a hotel named Inn BoonsBoro, which was renovated and reopened in 2009.
February 1979 was when Roberts’ life took a turn, and she took the first step towards her writing career. Caught in the middle of a blizzard with not enough chocolate at home, accompanied by two of her little boys, she started working on her first manuscript.
After developing six stories, she went to Harlequin, the biggest publisher of romance books at that time, only to receive multiple rejections. This is when Silhouette Books, a new publishing company on the block, began to look into the manuscripts rejected by Harlequin.
Through this process, they discovered Roberts and published her first novel, Irish Thoroughbred, in 1981. She used the pen name Nora Roberts, a shortened version of her birth name, merely because she thought every romance writer needed to have a pseudonym.
Between 1981 and 1992, Roberts moved from one publisher to another while continuing to write hit novels. She was mentioned in A Natural History of the Romance Novel, where Pamela Regis gave her the title, ‘A master of the romance novel form.’
In 1997, it came to light that a writer named Janet Dailey had been constantly plagiarizing the works of Roberts. The issue was noticed after a reader found similarities in their books and posted about it online.
Following this, Roberts sued Dailey, who admitted to plagiarizing Roberts’ works and said it was due to a psychological disorder. The case was settled in April 1998, and Roberts donated the money to numerous literary causes, such as the Literacy Volunteers of America.
Pinnacle of Success
By 1996, Roberts had already published over 100 novels, and the number doubled by 2012. She entered the New York Times Bestseller list for the first time in 1991 and then went on to have her name on the list 68 times between 1991 and 2001.
She has been a consistent name on that list since 1999. Adding to her accomplishments, four of the five novels that were listed on USA Today’s list of the best-selling romance novels of the year in 1999 and 2000 were crafted by Roberts.
She was one of the founders of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and received the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, whose name was changed to the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
In 2007, Roberts received the honor of appearing on Time’s list of the 100 Most Influential People. She was accompanied by just one other author on that list that year, David Mitchell.
More than 500 million books of hers have been sold worldwide, and her novels have been published in 35 countries.
Writing Style And Approach
Roberts is known to start her day early with writing. She gets to work in the morning and keeps writing till about 5 p.m. while answering emails, replying to social media posts, and attending numerous work-related calls throughout the day.
Before the development of the internet, the writer would do all her research at the library. She says that she would begin this process in the children’s section just to gather the basic information before she moved to the grown-up department of the library.
Once the internet came along, she started to use it for all her research. Roberts says that she likes to conduct all her research on her own as it also helps with her plots.
Speaking about deadlines, the author has said that she never gets worried about the deadlines placed by publishers as she imposes even stricter deadlines on herself. She attributes this to the discipline she learned as a young girl in school.
Nora Roberts’ Thoughts on Writing
When it comes to her writing style and the approach she follows to writing, here are some of the tricks she follows and advises other writers to adhere to as well:
Writing Every Single Day
Roberts writes every single day. She says that she does so not only because it’s her job but also because she absolutely loves the process. She is aware that not everyone is fortunate enough to love their work, and she feels grateful for being in a profession that makes her happy.
Not Missing Deadlines
The author sticks to deadlines thoroughly. She spends anywhere between six to eight hours every day writing and creating the plot and other elements of her novels in her head.
A lot of her time goes into researching as well, and she refuses to let anyone else do the research bit because she believes she learns a lot through the process.
Working on Her Own and Maintaining a Routine
Roberts doesn’t collaborate with other authors for her novels. She believes in writing everything on her own and is proud to say that anything with her name on it is written purely by her and not by a ghostwriter.
She finds the idea of including other creators in her process, not her style, which is why she doesn’t brainstorm even with her agent or editor. Another thing she religiously follows is maintaining a routine that allows her to be her most productive self.
Not Making Excuses
Roberts has clearly set many rules for herself, which is evident through the flourishing career she has had in the last couple of decades. She believes in not making any excuses whatsoever and just getting the work done.
Making the Necessary Sacrifices
A writer has to make a certain amount of sacrifices in order to reach a point of success in their life, and this is a mantra that Roberts has followed since the beginning of her career.
She says that she doesn’t attend any events or parties, doesn’t go out for lunches and dinners, and doesn’t socialize all that much. She enjoys being at home and in her own space.
Whatever time she has on a daily basis, she spends it on writing. Roberts says she doesn’t let social media consume her too much, either. Her routine is extremely important to her, and the only time she lets herself relax is during the weekends.
The Three Ds
According to Roberts, there is no magic spell that can be cast when it comes to writing a novel. Instead, she follows the formula of the three Ds that let her succeed, and those are discipline, drive, and desire. Not only does she have all these qualities, but she also employs them while writing.
Enjoying the Process
Much like any other profession, a writer needs to thoroughly enjoy their job in order to stick to it for a long period. This is clear in the way Roberts functions. She says that she loves being a writer even when she is having a bad day.
The central themes explored by Roberts in her novels are love, relationships, and the power of family. It’s through the experiences and journeys of her characters that she goes into the depths of these themes and explores them with plenty of wisdom, insight, and sensitivity.
Perhaps the fact that she started from a humble background herself enables her to stick to subjects that are relatable to people from all over the world.
Not only does she write enjoyable romances and aspirational stories about women, but she also ensures to fill her books with optimistic, uplifting, and heartwarming messages.
Despite the positive tone taken by the author, she manages to write stories that look into the difficult themes of redemption, loss, and the pain that comes from grief.
Roberts never had any plans of becoming a writer, even once she entered adulthood. However, she was always fond of reading and books, much like many of her family members.
It’s this love for literature that helped her cook up stories in her head all the time. Ultimately, her talent for making up stories enabled her to become the immensely successful author she is today.
She credits her teachers for helping her in their own way, along with the nuns who were a part of the education system in her life. Roberts believes that the discipline she imbibed from them allowed her to put her talent to work.
In addition to giving the world the opportunity to read her books, Roberts has also left a strong legacy behind as one of the most philanthropic celebrities as per the annual list issued by the Giving Back Fund.
She established the Nora Roberts Foundation in 2001 in order to encourage literacy and the efforts made in the arenas of humanitarian acts and the arts. The foundation also supports various organizations associated with social justice, building a safe world, and developing a better environment.
While Roberts’ legacy is set in stone for numerous reasons, there are also the many adaptations of her novels for which she will be remembered for generations.
When a person’s career has been celebrated for 40 years, it’s not surprising for them to have a wide array of awards and honors associated with their name. Nora Roberts has been complimented time and again for her work as an author, and rightfully so.
She was the first author ever to become a part of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. The following are some of the many awards that have been bestowed upon her to date:
- Golden Medallion Award for The Heart’s Victory in the ‘Best Contemporary Sensual Romance’ category in 1983
- Golden Medallion Award for Untamed in the category of ‘Best Traditional Romance’ in 1984
- Golden Medallion Award for This Magic Moment in the category of ‘Best Contemporary 65–80,000 words’ in 1984
- Golden Medallion Award for Opposites Attract as the ‘Best Short Contemporary Romance’ in 1985
- Golden Medallion Award for A Matter of Choice in the category of ‘Best Long Contemporary Series Romance’ in 1985
- Golden Medallion Award for One Summer as the ‘Best Long Contemporary Series Romance’ in 1987
- Golden Medallion Award for Brazen Virtue as the ‘Best Suspense’ in 1989
- RITA Award for Night Shift as the ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 1992
- RITA Award for Divine Evil as the ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 1993
- RITA Award for Nightshade as the ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 1994
- RITA Award for Private Scandals as the ‘Best Contemporary Single Title’ in 1994
- RITA Award for Hidden Riches as the ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 1995
- RITA Award for Born in Ice as the ‘Best Contemporary Single Title’ in 1996
- RITA Award for Born in Ice in the category of ‘Best Romance of 1995’ in 1996
- RITA Award for Carolina Moon in the category of ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 2001
- RITA Award for Three Fates in the category of ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 2003
- RITA Award for Remember When – Part 1 in the category of ‘Best Romantic Suspense’ in 2004
- RITA Award for Birthright in the category of ‘Best Contemporary Single Title’ in 2004
- RITA Award for Tribute in the category of ‘Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements’ in 2009
