Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts (born Eleanor Marie Robertson on October 10, 1950) is an American author of over 225 romance novels. She writes as J. D. Robb, Jill March and (in the U.K.) Sarah Hardesty. Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. As of 2011, her novels had spent a combined 861 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, including 176 weeks in the number-one spot. Life and career Personal life Early years Roberts was born on October 10, 1950, in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. Her parents have Irish ancestry, and she has described herself as "an Irishwoman through and through". Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. Although she had always made up stories in her head, Roberts did not write as a child, other than essays for school. She does claim to have "told lies. Really good ones—some of which my mother still believes." She credits the nuns at her Catholic school for instilling in her a sense of discipline. Marriages During her second year in high school, Roberts transferred to Montgomery Blair High School, where she met