Nora Roberts's Blog, page 60

Fun with Boys

I grew up with four brothers, had two sons, so I’m used to being outnumbered by the male of the species. That experience came in handy the last few days. Last year I took Kayla on a little trip to NYC. A few days where she’d be able to choose what she wanted to do. That included lots of shopping, Cinderella on Broadway, ice skating at Rockefeller Center, and just hanging out. We had Kat and Laura with us–and Laura’s daughter Clare for part of the time. Lots of female energy! This year it wa...

Rainy Days and Sundays

Wrath of God rain whooshed and beat down all of Saturday. From my desk, early morning, I watched the trees whip around in a frenzy and thought, surely that can’t last for long. Wrong. But the deluge meant I had no excuse not to do a mini-purge of my closet and organize all my pretty new things from last weekend’s shopping trip. Or procrastinate tidying the One More Room and gathering the items to go into my Fall Into The Story Brunch raffle basket. Or come up with reasons not to shovel out...

Fun with Girls

Now that school’s out my granddaughter likes to hang out up here. She’ll be thirteen next month, and entertains herself very well while I’m working. We have little conversations when she wants lunch or a snack–for a kid who’s a size 00, she can eat. Since she’s an HGTV addict, she usually ends her afternoon watching that while I end mine with a workout. Then I watch with her until it’s time for her to go home. It’s sweet and rewarding that an almost teenager likes hanging at Nana’s house. Sh...

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

I’m going to start with the bad and ugly, get it out of the way. My guy’s away for a week–nearly over now. I opted not to go as our regular dog and house sitters are out of town, and you just can’t leave three dogs, much less a new one. And this is fine. I also had a lot of work and a deadline, so a week home alone is all good. However. Our Pancho (someone asked last time, and this is the name he came with when we rescued him at age two) decided about two years ago it was just too much tro...

The NR Effect

Nearly three years after The Perfect Hope hit stores, a week still doesn’t go by in which a reader realizes that Inn BoonsBoro is a real place (Turn the Page and Vesta too). A good many readers followed Nora and BW’s rehab of love that restored a broken down, tree-growing, pigeon-hosting old building to its current glory. But there are plenty of others who read the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy and thought they were fabulous works of fiction, only to be stunned when they saw the Inn on CBS Sunday Mor...

Introducing Parker

A few weeks ago, BW and I kicked around the idea of a back-up dog. Our boys are getting up there. Homer’s 11, Pancho 8–and we remember too well how sad and depressed Homer was when we lost Steinbeck–who’d been his boon companion since Homer was a puppy.

When we rescued Pancho, Homer–who’d done little but lie around grieving for a month, Homer did his doggie happy dance the instant Pancho got out of the truck. They’ve been the best of pals ever since.

So, we thought, maybe we should rescue ano...

Blooms, Boys and Ballgames

Those are three of my favorite things, and the weekend offered all. It seems a fair reward for a week focused on writing.

While May (after a glitch or two) proved itself bonny indeed, exceptional flowers generally come with exceptional weeds. Roses are especially lush around here this spring, and so is our pesky jewel weed. It’s an easy pull, but when you’re dealing with millions–or so it seems when you’re dealing–it’s just annoying.

We have another area, mostly shady, and it thrives there....

Upcoming events

The information about the Fall into the Story brunch is up. Click here to get all the details!

After the Turn the Page 20th Anniversary signing and the brunch, Nora and I head to New York for RWA. Don’t forget the Readers for Life Literacy signing at the New York Marriott Marquis on Wednesday, July 22 from 5:30-7:30 pm. You’ll find all the details here: Readers for Life

Nora’s fall schedule is set. She will sign books at Turn the Page on September 19 (Devoted in Death and Down the Rabbit Hole...

All’s Quiet

At least around here. BW and our younger son headed off to Indy for the race this weekend. Fun for them. And I freely admit I did a little happy dance. Come on, let’s be honest. We love our mates, but a little alone time is . . . ahhhh.

Especially for the solitary type. May has been insane for me. Derby, two weddings, Girls’ Night Out, and next weekend a ballgame. This was the only full weekend home, and I was home alone. Just me and the dogs and the quiet. Oh yeah, big ahhhh.

I started the w...

Trouble Spots

I woke up this morning wincing. Stiff shoulders, aching triceps, sore hamstrings. While I work out pretty much every day and consider myself in reasonably good shape, I earned the stiff, sore and aching.

I had an agenda for the weekend, and most of it required hard, sweaty work. I have a few trouble spots around the yard, spaces that have defeated my attempts over the years to pretty them up. One is a steepish slope, shady, on the far side of the house. I’ve tried a rock garden, failed. Tried...