Nora
- added Tuesday, March 27, 2001 @ 7 P.M. |
Gretchen
@ 7 P.M.
Deb
(aka Stalker ;-) - added Tuesday, March 27,
2001 @ 8:30 A.M.
Nora
in Cleveland - added Monday, March 26, 2001 @
7:30 A.M.
From Nora -- added on Sunday, March 25, 2001
@ 3 P.M.
My hotel mojo continues.
It appears to be good mojo at first. I use that
marvel of the civilized world, room service, and
order dinner. I go for red meat tonight, and eat
like a wolf, guzzling the mini bar champagne in
grand solitude. It's soooo good to be here, alone,
with nothing on my slate.
I take a bubble bath. Oh joy. Rapture.
My goddess of an editor sends me MORE champagne
and chocolate covered strawberries, and the hotel
sends up a beautiful fruit plate. This is living. I
nibble strawberries and save the hotel for Sunday
night.
It seems like a perfect night for an in-room
movie, so I pile up pillows, slide into bed and
peruse my choices. Charlie's Angels, I think. Just
perfect. No thinking necessary. But each time I
press order movie, it tells me my order's been
canceled and I won't be charged. I WANT to be
charged, damn it. Call the front desk, and am put
on hold. For a long time. Hang up, call again. Many
apologies. Something with their computer and they
will now push some magic button down there which
will allow me to order movies. Okay.
This is done, and I settle into watch those
girls kick some butt. It's like a cartoon and I'm
in the mood for it.
I hear someone at the door, frown to myself as
my privacy sign is up. Then I hear a really loud
noise, so I get up, go to the parlor door and am
surprised and disconcerted to see that my security
chain has been ripped clean out of the wall.
Someone not only ignored the privacy sign, but was
pretty determined to get in. Nobody's there now
though.
Immediately call security.
The guy comes up. I have to give an oral
statement, a written statement. Many apologies from
him. He needs to interrogate the lock--which means
coming back with some little machine that checks to
see what key was used last. He goes away and comes
back with two guys. One to do the lock thing, one
to reinstall the chain.
My quiet evening is now a bust, and I'm a little
disturbed.
There are many more apologies.
Guy checks the strength of the chain, asks me to
do so. Seems solid. They promise to keep me
informed, and when they go, I drag the big, heavy
hassock over and shove it against the door. Just in
case.
He calls me shortly, asks if I'd like another
room. What's the point? Asks if there's anything
they can give me. I can't think of anything. More
apologies.
I'm already pretty sure it was staff who did
this. Some delivery person who didn't see or who
ignored the sign then shoved the door too hard
after they used their pass key.
I'm more sure of this when the guy calls back
again to ask me what time the incident occurred,
and if anyone came to the door between then and his
arrival. Some jerk is trying to cover his butt on
this. No, I say. I called as soon as it happened,
and no one else came to the door.
Someone, I believe, got fired last night. I
can't feel sorry about it. Scared me, and spoiled
my relaxing evening.
This morning, there was a message for me. They
tried to deliver my dry cleaning last night--which
I'd asked them to return Sunday--but my privacy
sign was up. Uh-huh. No doubt this was it.
Nora
Monday, March 26 @ 7:30
A.M.
It's snowing. I'm talking lay on the ground,
hang on the trees, blow in your face snow. This is
just not right! LOL. It's about twenty degrees, and
windy to go with it.
Good thing I snugged in yesterday.
Up at five for morning TV. No Oscar watching for
me last night. Very nice couple of interviews this
morning, and I'm back in my suite to do a phoner.
Not much to do today, so I'll stay in, out of this
crappy weather until I have to go out to do a
radio, some stock signings, then the formal signing
tonight.
Since I'm off to Milwaukee tomorrow, I don't
expect to see spring for a few days yet.
Nora
Deb checks in
Okay, can anyone say STALKER??? LOL!!! Really, I
had big reservations about going to see Nora again,
but then I just thought screw it - she only comes
around every so often so you better take advantage
of it while you can. It's one of the few times I
only have to drive an hour or two rather than seven
or eight like when I go to TTP!
Anyway, I'm lucky and find a parking spot
directly out front. This is really surprising as
it's after 6 PM and I figured by now it would be
standing room only as it was in Dayton on Friday.
The signing was at a Joseph Beth bookstore and
while I was slightly nervous walking in (I got a
prime parking spot and I see no information or
publicity about the signing) I have to tell you
that these people and the store in general are just
AWESOME. I was SO impressed. I talked to several of
the staff who approached me about books, not me
having to seek them out, and they were friendly,
knowledgeable, talkative. Just wonderful. By the
time I had to leave, I was begging them to set up
shop in Columbus. I've had about all I can stand of
B&N and Borders. We definitely need some of
these indy bookshops that are spreading like
wildfire.
The Q&A area is set up at the rear of the
store on the 1st floor level and I head on back to
find that only a handful of people are there yet.
It's about 6:20 at this point, so I'm thinking it
might end up being a small group. The number did
swell to standing room only, but not until just
moments before Nora showed up and I got the feeling
that most of the people were just customers who
heard she was in the store, so they came over to
see what she had to say.
While waiting for Nora, I got chatting with
other fans around me. Yeah, yeah, I know. Me and my
big mouth. :) Can't help it though. It's so much
fun to hear what others think of the books (at
least the Robb's for me) and just get different
perspectives, etc... Told a few gals about the list
here because they kept looking at me funny when I'd
mention trekking to TTP so I had to explain that
it's become as much a trip to pay homage to Nora as
to meet up with friends from this list and go book
hunting, get drunk, whatever the case may be! :) So
we might get a few more newbies...
Nora showed up just a bit after 7 and while she
looked great, it seemed to me that she was really
tired. I'd read her travelogue before I left, so I
knew she'd been on the go since 6am and didn't like
the cold weather and snow Cleveland got one little
bit. She did not do as long of a Q&A session as
she did in Dayton, but it was lively nonetheless.
I'll try to hit the highlights I can remember here
(keep in mind I'm an In Death fan so anything
outside of those are out of my frame of
reference...):
*Someone asked about the Quinn's and
the possibility for a book with more about Seth.
Nora said something about Seth being 12 and too
young to have sex. But at the same time, she said
she's starting to feel like she might have to age
him as they do in soap operas and write a book
because everyone keeps asking and though she's
stubborn, all the requests are starting to wear her
down.
*Someone asked about her process of writing
(i.e. how many drafts does she do, etc). Nora said
she does at least 3 drafts, maybe a 4th on occasion
and then she hands it off to her editor and if the
editor says "this isn't working" Nora will fix it.
A related question that came up on this topic was
if she writes more than one book at a time. Nora
said that she only works on one book at a time
because she's linear and needs to stay clear on the
story.
*Someone asked how she juggles writing in so
many different genres and Nora explained that she
felt her work was really more under one genre,
romance, with a lot of variations. She described it
as being like the spokes on a wheel. She can write
romantic suspense like Carolina Moon, or she can
write dark, edgy, mysteries with some romance like
the In Death books, or she can write just straight
romance like the little Silhouette books. She said
the variety keeps her going; that she would get
bored doing the same thing all the time.
*A lady in the audience asked Nora who her
favorite characters are and she said that she loves
them all, but usually, whatever she is currently
working on are the characters she likes the most.
Right now she is working on Midnight Bayou and
she's "just loving" Declan (I understood her to say
Declan this time, not Devlin as I'd previously
thought she said) Fitzgerald and Lena (can't
remember her last name, but her full first name was
Angelena) who are her main characters for that
book. She said when she's finished, she'll put them
away and then she'll get close with the next cast
of characters she writes about. But she also
commented that Eve and Roarke are very dear to her
heart because she keeps coming back to them (and
the audience agreed with her, nodding their heads
and verbally saying, "Oh yeah, absolutely.")
*The question came up AGAIN about Eve getting
pregnant. Nora basically said the same thing she
said in Dayton, however, she did ask, "Why does
everyone want Eve to get pregnant? You guys
remember what happened when you got pregnant, don't
you? What happened to your sex life, huh???" and
she turned her thumbs up signal into a thumbs down
signal and made a face. She asked if we wanted that
to happen between Eve and Roarke and everyone
seemed to abandon the idea of Eve getting pregnant
EVER. :)
*Another question that also came up in Dayton as
well as Cleveland was about how she does her
research for her books, does she travel to all
these places, etc... Nora keeps joking that
representatives from the IRS are sending people to
ask these questions. She says she has receipts to
prove she went to the places she did for her
books... :) Yes, she's been to Ireland many times.
Yes, she's been to Italy, etc... No, she's never
been to Montana or the Napa Valley. So sometimes
she has seen the town first hand, other times, she
reads about it or researches it via the Internet.
*Someone asked where she finds all the time to
write all she does and raise a family. I really
loved what Nora said here. It just really struck
home with me. She said you don't find time, you
make time. That most women and more and more men
are learning to juggle family and careers and that
you quickly learn when juggling all those balls,
which ones are rubber and which ones are glass. You
don't want to miss your kid's first ball game, but
you can skip the neighbor's Tupperware party
("She'll get over it!") This struck me as where I
think most women tend to fall down on their paths
to success. The inability to say "No" and not feel
guilty about it. Nora obviously has learned this
lesson and is exercising it well. I kinda wanted to
get up and do a little cheer for her. :) Reminded
me of those Life Lessons Dr. Phil's books talk
about. "Lesson #1: You either get it or you don't.
Be one of those that gets it." Nora obviously gets
it.
She also talked about how much you gotta love
what you do or it isn't worth doing. She said
something here that I just thought, "Oh yeah,
that's a keeper." She said: "If you really love
your job, then you never go to work." I thought to
myself that I knew exactly where she was coming
from. I feel so lucky most days going into work.
Lucky to have the job I do and being able to do
something (and be good at something) that I really
love doing. I realize most people don't have that
in their lives, so I treasure that in mine. What a
great quote!
*Other questions that came up were things most
all of us already know about... Is she Irish
(yes)... When did she start writing (1979).... The
usual...
After Q&A was done, they moved Nora to the
front of the store and set her up to do the book
signings. They told us that Nora would personalize
any books we wanted but to keep it to a 5 book
minimum. And also that if we had more books than 5,
Nora said she'd be more than happy to sign them if
we got back in line so that everyone got a fair
chance. They had us get slips of paper with a
letter on them and then had us line up accordingly.
Luckily, I was one of the first up. Again, she
recognizes me right off. I'm thinking I should
probably tell her I'm not following her around or
stalking her or anything, but I figure I'd just
trip over my own tongue and sound stupid so I
don't. She seemed surprised to see me again so
soon, but not terrified of me, so I thought I was
okay as far as the psycho fan thing goes... :) We
talked about the fact I was getting books signed
for a lot of different people (me, Lt. Patts,
Angela in the UK) and I explained that I was doing
trades with Angela on the JD Robb list and that she
couldn't get the Robb paperbacks after Vengeance in
the UK, so we are doing some exchanges, etc... Part
of my deal was to get some of her books signed
before sending the set off to the UK. We talked a
little bit about my job, that I'd taken the night
off to drive up, that sort of thing. Gave her the
M&Ms.
After she signed that bunch of books for me, I
went to the back of the store and organized my bag,
got into a really nice talk with a store clerk who
told me that Jan Burke was to be at their store
tomorrow (Tuesday) night (I, of course, start in on
how they need to get Janet Evanovich and if so,
I'll park my butt at the door a week in advance to
get a good spot in line!) and that a lot of other
authors are also coming, including Dennis Lehane,
at which I perked up because Nora had been raving
about him at the Dayton signing and I picked up a
couple of his books during Half Priced Books 20%
off sale this past weekend that look REALLY good. I
intend to start on them after I finish the Ed
McBain book I'm reading now (BTW, thanks Wendy and
Angela for hooking me on McBain's 87th Precinct
series. I love it!). Turns out Dennis Lehane will
be at the Joseph Beth in Cleveland on April 10th,
so I'm definitely planning on going up for this.
I checked out their mystery section (nothing
new) and their law/true crime section (found a
couple of hardcovers on forensic identification I
want, but later decided to check the used
bookstores first as they were expensive, however, I
did buy a paperback written about a summer in the
LAPD's homicide unit). I went back to the signing
line to see if I could get back in, and they said
sure, so I took up a few more books, got chatting
with more people in line, took a picture of the gal
in front of me with Nora for her (her camera - not
mine) and had Nora sign a few more. These to Angela
and a few to me (my Robb UK softcovers). I
mentioned to Nora that Dennis Lehane was coming and
she got excited. When? When? she wanted to know.
Unfortunately, she'll be in California when he's
here, but it hit me that she's a fan too, ya know?
Pretty cool... So she told the clerks to make sure
they tell Mr. Lehane how much she likes his work
and that she thinks he's just great. Can't get
enough of his books, she says. All of them are
terrific. Since I'm the last person there, we
talked a little bit about his first works (the
series) as opposed to his newest one which is a bit
different but still good, according to Nora.
On my way up the second time, I noticed they had
these spring scented candles for sale. Scents like
Periwinkle and Sweet Pea and they smelled
wonderful. When I saw a large can with the title
"Spring in a Can" (it's a spring scented candle of
some sort that burns in this large tin you can seal
back up and take with you) it hits me that Nora had
been bitching about our weather and while I
couldn't change that (see... there's the control
freak coming out in me again) I could maybe
brighten her day with one of these. It was pretty
inexpensive, so I ran up to the counter and bought
it after she finished signing those second round of
books and gave it to her on my way out. She seemed
to really like that. I told her that as much as she
dislikes this weather, at least she didn't have to
drive in it. (Up in Cleveland, they got a lot more
snow than we did 2 1/2 hours south - they get that
lake effect off Lake Erie - which I'm sure Laurie
can tell you all about as she's on the other side
of the lake in Buffalo).
It had started snowing again, so I had to
defrost my car and brush all the snow off that had
accumulated while I was in the store. I could see
the salt trucks out, already salting the roads, so
I wanted to hightail it south as fast as possible
to get away from that damn lake. Went back in the
store briefly to make sure I had my directions
right. The clerk was so damn nice, she even walked
outside with me to point me in the correct
direction after writing it all down for me. This
store and it's people... man, I just can't say
enough good stuff about them! Wonderful! As was
Nora, as always!
Made the drive home in record time (2 hours 8
mins - including a stop in Akron for fuel!).
Course, I was doin' 80 to 85 most of the way.
<ewg>
Now I've just gotta go see what nice attire I
can dig out for court in the morning... Ugh....
Damn perp... Doesn't he just know to go for the
plea bargain and let me sleep in?!? LOL!!!
Deb
Nora -- added 3/27/01 @ 7
P.M.
Snow. More snow. How can this be?
Seriously cold when Marilyn picked me up for the
evening rounds. Had a great time with the radio
guys. Fun show with a gang you felt you could sit
down and have a drink with.
Out to the burbs to sign stock. The first
Borders was clueless. Ended up feeling bad for the
manager. He'd just come on duty and whoever was on
before hadn't bothered to tell him I was coming in.
He's obviously panicked at first, mistaking this
for a formal. Some of the blood came back into his
face when he realized it was just a stock signing.
Took a little more time that we had, but the
deed was done, and onto the next.
Marilyn called ahead so they could start getting
the books ready. Didn't seem any more prepared than
the first store.
Head through snow flurries to Joseph-Beth.
Running just a little late so I don't arrive until
seven. Lovely store--new here in Cleveland. Nice
cheerful crowd waiting. I get the Seth question and
the pregnant Eve question. Everything runs smooth,
and we step out into snow. Snow, wind, cold.
Back at the hotel, I'm sad to see room service
doesn't have the bowl of soup I'd ordered waiting.
Have to call down. It comes up promptly, but as
they'd gotten mixed up, it came up cold. Oh well.
Woke up to--guess what? Yes, more snow. Going to
check on the weather in Milwaukee.
Nora
Gretchen -- added @ 7
P.M. on 3/27/01
I had the pleasure of seeing Nora Roberts in
person at the Joseph-Beth Booksellers store in
Cleveland, Ohio on March 26, 2001. Ms. Roberts has
a wonderful sense of humor which she displayed as
she answered questions presented. She also was very
gracious when she signed all three of my favorite
books and even gave me release dates of future Eve
Dallas series. She is truly a delight as well as an
excellent author. I look forward to seeing her at
other book signings. Gretchen Heard
Nora's The Villa Tour
2001 