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Our very own Wym was assigned
(at the last minute <ewg>) the privilege of
interviewing Nora. :-) What follows is what makes
these two ladies so special, so wonderful ... yes
... so MAGICAL!
Wym's in PINK; Nora's in GREEN! :-)
Dear Nora,
Thank you for taking to time to
do this.
I have to admit this is going to
be MUCH harder on me than it is on you. After all,
you've been through hundreds of interviews ... this
is my first. And you've been asked hundreds of
questions ... probably the same ones over and over.
<Sigh> Yes, this is definitely harder on
me.
So ... how are the kids?
:-)
I remember reading a flyer for
the cruise - MYSTERY ON THE HIGH SEAS - and being
soooo jealous. Seven days at sea with great
writers: Nora Roberts, Jennifer Crusie, Carol
Nelson Douglas ... just to name MY top three. Were
the workshops bursting at the seams with future
writers of America, or were most passengers there
for the ocean air, shopping, cabin boys, and
FOOD?
Actually, I
think there were 70 or so of us there for the
conference, out of like 2,000. So the workshops and
so forth were actually pretty low key and relaxing.
Some of the attendees were straight readers, which
is great. It's really nice to be able to interact
this way with readers. And I actually saw
people--not even in our group--reading my books!
Wow. A first for me. LOL
And now that I
think of it, I was there for the air, shopping and
cabin boys. BW was there for the food.
<g>
You cruised the Caribbean for 8
days. Any talk of the Bermuda Triangle while aboard
ship? Any strange occurrences? You wrote a post
back in May, 1997 and mentioned that you had toyed
with the idea of doing a spin off to the Time books
(TIME WAS - SIM #313, TIMES CHANGE - SIM #317.)
"Might just do it one of these days," you said.
"Pure fun." Lol. Maybe a Hornblower relative could
materialize out of the sea ... pretty
please?
I did ask
someone if we hit the Bermuda Triangle. I was told
that we sort of slipped along the edge of it at one
point. I believe this must have been when BW said,
hey, honey, I'd love to go shopping with you
tomorrow in port. This was the strangest of
occurrences. Likely never to occur again.
Ah, the
Hornblower boys. I'd love to be able to do another.
My slates pretty full right now, but the Time books
are in the back of my mind. I may have an epiphany
there, as I did with the Donovans, and have the
concept just jump out and bite me. If so, I'll
juggle things around so I can see how they're
doing.
I saw "Titanic" last night. It
reminded me how HUGE an ocean liner is. Did you get
lost at all ... end up on E deck while searching
for the Promenade? And you mentioned you
"worked-out" while on board. Did they have state of
the art gym or were there aerobic classes and
shipboard jog-a-thons available?
The Norway is,
we were told, the longest ship afloat. I believe
it. BW and I had a stateroom on the topmost deck,
all the way forward. Most of the stuff going on was
below and aft. I walked miles. Miles. Miles. I
walked to Nebraska where there was no water at all,
then back again. The very first day we were
pitifully lost, desperate just to dump our stuff
and collapse. None of the elevators were available.
We hadn't a clue where we were going. Fortunately,
a nice steward took pity on us and guided us home.
Since we were all the way forward, it wasn't
possible to go wrong in that single direction when
leaving the cabin. After that, it was up to the
gods.
They had a
pretty decent gym. Bikes, steppers, treadmills,
free weights. And in the spa area, rowers. I
discovered after my first and last voyage on the
rower that I won't be trying out for the summer
Olympics in this area. I ended up 14 boats behind
my pacer. Pretty mortifying.
But I
digress.
There were
classes. Aerobics and such. I watched while I
worked out on my own, and very much appreciated the
instructor's build. It was a guy, btw. A really
buff guy. I worked out most mornings, then backed
that up by using the stairs. Since we were like six
flights up or down, this was no little deal. I
outdid BW every time. And snorted smugly at him.
In PLAYING THE ODDS (SSE #225)
Serena MacGregor deals cards on a cruise ship.
You've invited us into the homes of Ireland's
Concannon sisters in THE BORN IN ... series and
made us long for the wide open spaces of MONTANA
SKY. Not to mention a glimpse into the future with
Roarke ... no, I promised I wouldn't talk about
him. Lol. Do your story ideas spring from places
you long to visit, or do they strengthen the
experiences of where you've been?
It's both. And
sometimes neither. I do think a smart writer, a
creative one, doesn't write what she knows, but
what she wants to know. So I often set a book in a
place I'd like to know more about. Like Montana.
For the Born In's I was so dazzled and in love with
Ireland that one book wasn't enough. And in writing
them I was able to go back there in my heart. I've
set stories in my own area because I love it, and I
know it. I've set them in fictional Saudi type
countries where I have no desire ever to go. Some
places you visit just beg to be the canvas for you.
Others are in your head, making you wonder what if.
And some, like Eve's and Roarke's New York, are
just my little fantasy.
How about your new hardcover
(COMING IN MARCH FROM PUTNAM!) HOMEPORT? Where will
the reader be transported to this time
around?
Most of
Homeport
is set
on the coast of Maine. I have been there, and find
it so atmospheric, so rugged and gorgeous. Again, a
wonderful canvas. I also wanted to give my heroine
that steel spined Yankee sensibility, as well as
the romance of that rocky, windswept coast. Some of
the story moves to Florence. Another place I fell
in love with. Since the book deals with the art
world, it only made sense for me to visit Florence
with its heart-breaking art, its wonderful narrow
streets and grand cathedrals. If my characters
couldn't find romance there, they didn't deserve a
book. <g>
Do you do anything special to
prepare yourself for a nationwide tour - like
finger exercises for all that signing? Is there a
particular memory from a tour that makes you smile?
Or perhaps one that makes your hair stand on
end?
I take vitamins
and pray. This isn't such a joke. <g> Touring
is the most grueling, the most brutal part of the
job. There are certainly high points, but primarily
it's just hard work. You forget where you are, why
you are much less who you are. You live out of a
suitcase and stumble into airports and hotel rooms.
Feel sorry for me yet? Good. LOL. You also have the
opportunity to meet readers all over the country.
This is one of the best things. The publisher does
their best to make it as easy as possible, because
they know they're going to work your butt off. You
usually have very nice accommodations. The
publicity department knows me, and they let the
escort in each city know that if there's a shopping
opportunity and I'm not yet in a coma, head to a
mall. <g>
I remember
several years back, getting in Memphis at two a.m.
I was at the Peabody which is one of my favorite
hotels in the world, but would only be able to
sleep there--for four hours--before checking out to
start the next day with Good Morning Memphis. I
know I have to sleep hard and sleep fast. I get out
my outfit for the next day. I start to undress. And
I can't unzip my skirt. It won't budge. I take a
deep breath and try again. Nothing. I laugh
hysterically and slap myself. Try again. Nothing. I
drag the back of the skirt to the front, tug, pull,
pray. I actually try to rip the skirt off--who
cares if it's silk and pretty new, I have to get
the hell out of it! I'm helpless, giggling, reeling
with fatigue. So I sit on the edge of the bed and
think. Okay, okay, okay, calm down. If you can't
get it off, you'll just sleep in the damn thing,
get up early and try again. Call the escort and
tell her to bring scissors and cut you out of it.
You can handle this. Then I stood up, gave it one
more try. The bloody thing went down like butter.
Just glided right down. After that I only remember
falling face down on the bed until morning.
Many of the BB/N's (from all the
boards) are preparing to descend on TTP and sleepy
Boonsboro again this summer. Rumor has it guitars
of all sizes will show up also. Seems we ALL know
the chords to House of the Rising Sun. Lol.
Question is: Will you be willing to sing?
How drunk am I
going to be?
I guess, since this is ADWOFF'S
Valentine's Day Issue, a romance question is in
order. Then again, unlike some BB/N's who demand
DETAILS, I believe some things are NONE OF OUR
BUSINESS. Hmmmm. Maybe I can ask something safe
like: Do you and BW exchange Valentine's gifts? And
are chocolate and champagne needed for a perfect
evening? Or perhaps a question a little less safe:
When did you figure out you were in love? I know
I'm STILL wondering what happened to me.
BW and I do
exchange gifts, though he likes to say--every
year--why don't we just not and call it even. He
likes for me to give him the hairy eyeball at this
time. It's just our little routine. This year we
decided to deal with it on St. Thomas. I needed a
bottle of Bijan--I have two scents I normally use
and this is the one I most often carry on the road.
I was just about out, have the tour coming up, so I
was going to get some. He got it for me. Then he
started looking at Swiss Army knives as he'd lost
his. He picked out the one he liked and I got it
for him. I believe he's vastly relieved he doesn't
really have to think about it this year. LOL
When did I
figure out I was in love? Hmmm. Well, the sap fell
for me right off the bat. Men are so easy.
<g> At that point in my life, I didn't even
think about men, unless they were in my books. I
wasn't very happy with men I couldn't make up. He
seemed nice. He was cute. I had a couple little
tugs that were probably lust and just ignored them.
Didn't need that. Then he asked a neighbor who'd
initially recommended him for the job here at home
to talk me into going to this pub on St. Patrick's
Day. Took some talking as I just didn't go out much
then. But it was St. Paddy's Day and I had a good
pal who decided to go along. BW had just finished
the work here. He showed up at the pub--the
sneak--got himself seated next to me. Casual,
social deal. I realized I had a very cute carpenter
in my house for the best part of two months. LOL.
And two days later he called and asked me to
dinner. At his place. I was so surprised I didn't
think about it and said okay.
The man cooked,
his house was cleaner than mine. Hmmm. That might
have been the start of the fall. He made pasta. I'm
a sucker for pasta. Then he leaned over and kissed
me. I was a goner.
Thank you, Nora. For your time
... for your answers ... for your stories.
Wym
ADWOFF > Newsletters > Edition7 > Up Close with Nora
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