About the Author

Nora Roberts won the hearts of Slovenian readers in 2002, when Meander published the first translation of Nora Roberts’ romance novels, namely the collection Chesapeake Blue: The Beauty of the Sea , Tide , Inner Harbor and The Blue of the Bay . Since then, Nora Roberts has been one of the leading authors at the publishing house, and her romance-fantasy novels are a ‘regular’ in Meander’s program.

“There are no dead ends in life, only detours.”
Nora Roberts

The most popular American author of romance novels

“America’s most beloved writer,” as The New Yorker magazine called her , will turn 72 on October 10. She is known as one of the most prolific writers, having written more than 225 novels . She has received numerous awards for her work; including 19 RITA Awards; in 1986, she was the first author to be inducted into The Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame; for her 100th novel, Montana Sky , she became the first recipient of the Centennial Award in 1996; and the Romance Writers of America (RWA) also awarded her a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her novels have been translated into more than 25 languages ​​and remain at the top of best-selling and most read books lists. She has sold nearly 500 million copies of her books; many of her novels have been adapted into films. Her books have spent 176 weeks at number one on The New York Times bestseller list – and she has remained on the best-selling author list for almost 16 years !

The acclaimed writer of romance, fantasy and crime novels, who also writes under the pseudonyms Elly Wilder, Jill March, Sarah Hardesty and JD Robbs , is one of the wealthiest authors in the world. Her fortune is estimated at $450 million.

The tireless Nora does not give up and remains faithful to her work rhythm: once five, now she writes four novels every year . The writer is very disciplined, unpretentious, down-to-earth, and when asked what drives her, she answers mercilessly and with characteristic humor: “Alcoholic beverages.” Every time she finishes a novel, she treats herself to a glass of strong drink and wishes the book a happy journey into the world.

The writer was born
Nora Roberts ( Eleanor Marie Robertson ) was born in Silver Springs, Maryland, in 1950, the youngest of five children and the only daughter in a family of Irish descent. Everyone in the family loved to read books, but she had no great ambitions as a child, only a vivid imagination for making up stories; she was very creative and skilled at working with her hands. She also attended a Catholic school for a few years, which instilled in her a strict attitude towards order and discipline. Not yet 20 years old, she married in nearby Keedysville and moved into the house where she still lives today . She became a housewife and mother of two sons.

During the (now famous) blizzard of 1979 , she was stuck at home with her two young children for a week. To keep herself from going crazy, she grabbed a notebook and started writing a story. And so her career began. After several rejected manuscripts, she published her debut novel, Irish Thoroughbred , in 1981. Her subsequent books became instant bestsellers and are among the most widely read contemporary romance novels.

Soon after, she divorced her first husband and became a single mother. Writing became her salvation and a way of life , as she could work from home and take care of her child at the same time. She soon met her second husband – a carpenter, whom she hired to build her bookshelves. They became inseparable, renovated their house and opened a bookstore in their hometown.
“If you don’t follow your dreams, they will never come true.

If you don’t dare to ask, the answer is forever no. If you don’t take a step forward, you will forever stay where you are.”
Nora Roberts

She transformed the modern American romance novel

Nora Roberts began her writing career in the early 1980s with the short romance novels that were typical of that era: unhappy, helpless heroines and strong, successful men who saved them. These were stories full of glamour, fame and fortune. Nora changed this genre of modern romance novels over time. Her novels became longer, and the female characters became strong women striving for healthy love relationships. The heroines are working women, often have very special, interesting professions, and marriage is not their most important goal in life. The main characters are therefore women with whom readers can identify, because they are not perfect, and above all, they are looking for themselves in the stories and not someone else.

Nora has been surrounded by men her whole life, so she had only two options: “either figure them out or run away from them as far as possible.” She is convinced that she knows very well how men think, and this can be confirmed by the enthusiastic readers of her novels.

In addition to compelling literary characters, Nora Roberts consistently draws readers in with her excellent sense of sparkling dialogue , her masterful construction of plot and individual scenes , and her skillful conjuring of narrative tension that captivates and keeps the reader hooked on the book from the first word to the last.

“A glass half empty, a glass half full, what the hell is the difference? If you have something in the glass, you just drink.”
Nora Roberts

The extraordinary productivity of Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is a very loyal and devoted person; she still has the same agent she had at the beginning of her career and has known her publicist for 30 years – just like her housekeeper.

She calls herself a loner. She loves being alone and enjoys solitude. She loves her family and is devoted to her grandchildren, sons, daughter-in-law and husband with all her heart. But every morning, when her husband says goodbye and leaves for work, her heart leaps with joy, because she has space and time for herself again.

As a person, she is distinguished by her attitude towards work: whatever she starts, she finishes. She writes every day, eight hours a day, five days a week, without exception . This was also the case when her sons were still small and when the rule in the house was: “If there is no fire or blood involved, they do not disturb my work.”

The extraordinary success and productivity of the author of romance and fantasy novels, who also writes crime novels under the pseudonym JD Robb, has led to speculation that she does not write her novels herself. She responds to these unfounded accusations in her own direct way on her blog Here’s How I work | Fall Into The Story ):

• ” I write every day . It’s my job and I’m lucky enough to love my job. I’m very disciplined and I write very quickly, that’s just the way I am. I never miss deadlines. I work six to eight hours a day, some of it staring into space – the creative process requires it – I need some time to research and browse through data. I don’t have any assistants because they would only annoy me. No one can do this work for me. I don’t have a “staff” and I don’t want one. When I’m writing, I can’t stand people around me, or conversations. At that time, I prefer to be alone in the house and on the property, so that all the air is mine. Luckily, I have a housekeeper who comes once a week. I don’t clean, I don’t go shopping, I don’t waste time on social media. I don’t have and never have had a hired writer. My writing is my work from start to finish. If my name is on the cover, then I wrote the book.

• I like to be alone. I don’t have any collaborators to brainstorm and find ideas for the stories of my novels with. If my dear agent or editor suggested something like that to me, I would be forced to ‘kill them to death’. I get up early, that’s just how I am. I rummage around the house until eight, then work until three, sometimes a little longer, then finish and exercise for 90 minutes. Every working day. This is my routine, which I enjoy immensely. Only then do I deal with my husband and family.

• Routine is my first principle. That’s just how I am. A day or two to relax, then I lock myself in the cage again and work. I write a lot of books because I work every day, because I don’t go to lunches and dinners, I don’t go to events, I don’t have hobbies and I don’t have many friends. Because I don’t want to. I like being at home. There are countless people in my head to keep me company. And I stick to my routine. There’s no secret, no formula, no magic. I should add that I use a very, very old computer program, Word Perfect, that’s DOS. I like the blue background because it’s easy on my eyes. I like it because there’s nothing pinging or blinking that would distract my attention. That’s how I work alone, with my butt on the chair, my head in the book and my fingers on the keyboard. I’m grateful for modern technology to check my spelling, because that’s my weak point and I make a lot of spelling mistakes. Although it sometimes gets me angry when things don’t work out – what do you think, “the word doesn’t match any hits”? I currently manage to write four books a year: two like JD Robbs, one standalone novel like Roberts, and one part of a trilogy. That’s a lot, but it fits my lifestyle at the moment. I love my work, even when I’m having a bad day. I respect and appreciate my readers. Any lie to me is disrespectful and belittling. So readers – whether you like my books or not – I wrote them all myself.

“There are some things in life you can’t control. You can only turn them into fun or tragedy.”
Nora Roberts

Nora never disappoints.

Fans of Nora Roberts’ novels are never disappointed. The nickname “Queen of Love Stories” given to her by her fans is not without foundation. Tense stories, authentic characters, and an exquisite storytelling style distinguish her romance and fantasy novels. The topics that the talented author touches on are always new and different, and all of them are so profound that the reader feels that he has learned something new, realized something, or understood something better .

The author always masterfully delves into the relationships of close-knit families, where strong emotional bonds are forged, whether they be blood, friendship or love. Nora Roberts is fascinated by family dynamics, family history and individual personal growth . Multi-generational, deep and heartbreaking dramas and tragedies completely captivate readers, but the endings are always inspiring, positive and awaken strong positive emotions.

Many other authors’ collections disappoint in the second part of the series, but Nora Roberts never fails. The other parts of her series also contain enough substance and additional plots that lead to the final denouement in the last part. This is especially evident in her fantasy novels.

In short, Nora Roberts’ novels are a real treat – like grandma’s homemade muffins: sweet, filling, and completely reliable.

“Magic exists. Who, looking at a rainbow, at wildflowers, at the music of the wind, and at the silence of the stars, can doubt magic? Everyone who has ever loved has known it. Magic is such an ordinary and such an extraordinary part of our everyday lives.”
Nora Roberts