Yep-- I was in on that. She also had bought an old building in her neck of the Maryland woods with the intent of turning it into a B&B-- saving the building since it was of 18th century vintage. And something like two weeks before it was going to open, it caught fire. At that point, she could've easily cut her losses and run, but she's apparently rebuilding the place because she can't bear the thought of the remains being torn down.
She's very much a straight shooter-- with Nora, seriously, what you see is what you get.
I have read Nora since I read my mom's "Irish Thoroughbred" (I know Plei has horsey issues with...) and have always read and really enjoyed a huge amount of her novels.
Reading her on SBTN has just upped the total-Nora love; she's just really, really cool and nice and no-shit, and my god, how can anyone write that much?
One of the things I SO enjoy about the internet is how it can connect you, even superficially (but also profoundly), with people you never, never, NEVER would have contact with without it.
I realize this is not an earthshakingly new realization, but I think it's so interesting. I grew up a phone and letter-girl, went to college as computers-as-communication-tool were coming in, and now, there's a whole generation who has never been unable to instantly contact whoever they want, via text or net. There are con's, I know, but IMO, it's almost all win.
Nora is a seriously cool woman. Not even an ounce of bullshit there.
Dude. Even before the Internets, it was NOT THAT HARD to figure out the various horse racing CC & Rs and procedures. IT WAS NOT.
There is NO excuse for that book. NONE.
Wow. Yep. Still angry with the thing. HA!
BTW, I just read bad news about Princess Rooney. She's been diagnosed with EPM.
Poor thing. Wow. She's 28?
Time flies.
I have always suspected she compares every man to her true love, Francis Crawford of Lymond, and finds him wanting.
Oh, so true, Ginger. And yet if you don't read Lymond at that age (pre-17, I suspect), you don't get the full impact. Or, well, you shouldn't I think. Like the golden age of SF is 13, the golden age of the Lymond Chronicles is 15.
I know Nutty read the first one and bounced hard off the character, for reasons which struck me as entirely fair--but I'm glad I didn't wait until I had a mature and critical-analytical mind to read them.
My favorite thing about Nora Roberts is her ability to write believable male characters. So many romance authors have a hard time coming up with convincing heroes, whereas she's able to produce guys similar to ones I know in close guy relationships as well as romantic ones.
