Order of Nora Roberts Books

Born: October 10, 1950
Still Writing Like a Storm
Birth Name: Eleanor Marie Robertson
Education: Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland

Let’s start with the basics. Eleanor Marie Robertson—better known to the universe as Nora Roberts—was born on a crisp October day in 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland. But don’t let the ordinary suburban birth deceive you. This wasn’t just the birth of a girl. It was the birth of a literary juggernaut. A titan. A woman whose very fingertips would one day become the high priests of romantic fiction, churning out words that made millions swoon, gasp, and lose sleep.

She didn’t come from a family of artists or novelists. Nope. Just Irish-American parents, a house full of books (thankfully), and a ferociously independent spirit. She went to Montgomery Blair High School, where she was reportedly more of a daydreamer than a desk-sitter. And though she didn’t go the Ivy League route—college was never her scene—let’s just say the world of academia’s loss became the literary world’s jackpot.

So how does a stay-at-home mom with two young sons and no formal writing training become the first author inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame?

Here’s where the irony kicks in: she got snowed in.

No, seriously. In 1979, a snowstorm trapped her inside her home in Keedysville, Maryland. Bored out of her mind, she sat down with a pad and pen and started writing to keep herself sane. The result? A habit. A fire. A machine was born. Within months, she'd churned out manuscript after manuscript. They were all rejected. But you know what didn’t get rejected? Her relentlessness.

By 1981, her first book, “Irish Thoroughbred,” was published under the now-iconic name Nora Roberts. The dam had cracked. The flood came. And it hasn’t stopped since. She’s written more than 230 novels, many of them hitting the New York Times bestseller list before your coffee even cools.

And then came her alter ego: J.D. Robb. Yes, that’s her too. Just in case conquering one genre wasn’t enough, she dipped into futuristic crime fiction like it was her second cup of morning coffee. The "In Death" series was born, featuring the hard-edged, emotionally tangled Lieutenant Eve Dallas—and proving that Roberts could write grit as skillfully as she wrote seduction.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just about quantity. Nora Roberts writes with a voice that’s warm, witty, devastating, and piercing. Her characters are flawed in all the right ways, her worlds immersive, and her ability to mix romance with suspense, family legacy with magical realism, and domestic charm with apocalyptic stakes is the stuff of legend.

She’s not just the queen of happily-ever-afters—she’s the architect of emotional rollercoasters.

And let’s talk impact. She’s sold over 500 million books. There are entire shelves in bookstores that might as well be named "The House That Nora Built." She's been on bestseller lists for over 1,000 weeks combined. That’s more than 19 years of literary dominance.

She’s also a fierce defender of authorship. A vocal critic of plagiarism, a champion of original voices, and not one to shy away from calling out the AI-fueled book scams or the cozy whisperings of corporate greed in publishing.

Still writing. Still evolving. Still Nora.

And what does it say about an author whose most loyal readers still gasp at the twist in book number 200 like it’s the first one they ever read? It says Nora Roberts is more than a name. She’s a force.

So what kind of author can summon witches, unravel FBI conspiracies, craft irresistible love stories, and launch a detective series set in the 2050s... all while gardening and running an inn in Boonsboro, Maryland?

Only Nora.

And if you think you’ve seen everything she has to offer, just wait.

Because with Roberts, the next book always promises a new obsession… and a new secret you didn’t see coming.