Nora Roberts

I don't believe for one moment you can write well what you wouldn't read for pleasure.

I don't base any character on a real person, and really don't do composites either. I make them up.

I loved the process of writing.

I studied international relations and economics at the University of Virginia. I paid my way by working as a bartender in the summer and at three part-time jobs during the year.

I've always been very determined, ever since I was a little girl, to make my way.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.