Nora Roberts: The woman who rewrote the rules of romantic fiction | Books | The Observer

I like the way she thinks!

Later, at the bookshop in Boonsboro, the small town in rural Maryland where she lives, she’s doing a signing and answering questions and is equally phlegmatic. What does she find helps keep her going when she’s writing? “Alcoholic beverages.” Does she tweet? “I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a flaming stick.” What does she think of the recent news story claiming that romantic fiction gives women unrealistic expectations? “Because women aren’t supposed to have expectations, right? We’re pretty smart. I think we know the difference between reality and fiction. I don’t think that people read Agatha Christie, and then think: I know, I’ll go and murder someone.”