9/ Nora Roberts

I am the admitted lowbrow of the group, and this should clinch it. Although I've written several "romances" for Woman's World, I've never been a romance reader. WW's idea of a romance is boy-meets-girl and then it's up to the read's imagination to figure out what happens next. No bodice ripping. No men with long, wavy hair cascading down their waxed chests. No heaving bosoms.

In the past, if someone asked me to name a romance author, probably the only one I could think of is Nora Roberts. She's so incredibly prolific, it would be hard to hang out in a library without recognizing her name. But I never paid attention to her zillion books. Until . . .

Around 2008, when I was listening to audio books while commuting to my last job, I happened upon a volume in JD Robb's "In Death" series. JD Robb is Nora Roberts. I've been a fan of police procedurals ever since I started reading Elizabeth Linington (a.k.a. Dell Shannon, Lesley Egan) in the 1960s. The "In Death" series has a strong police procedural theme with a couple of additions: The books take place a few decades in the future--just far enough ahead to make for some interesting technology--and the protagonist is a tough NYPD Lieutenant married to one of the richest (and handsomest, most brilliant, kindest, etc.) men in the world. They have a delightful cat. And delightful sex.

The narrator of the audio book did a great job, assigning a unique voice to each of the characters. I went on to read most of the rest in the series, and as I read the paper books I continued to hear those same voices in my head. At some point I wondered, If I like these books so much, might I not also like Nora Roberts' romance novels? I forget which one I tried, but the answer was a firm no.

Then I discovered her romantic suspense novels. The more recent the publication, the better they are, at least to my taste. I've read several. In addition to being entertained by the characters and the mystery plot, I've learned a little something about search and rescue dogs, restaurant kitchens, and smokejumpers, and more than I really wanted to know about home remodeling. When the protagonist was a photographer, I was able to confirm that Roberts does her homework. Or maybe someone does it for her. But in any case, the books are well researched.

The books are light reading for sure, but they have some substance. Most hold my interest and make me care about the characters. I like knowing the main characters will end up alive (and in love) at the end. I stopped reading literary short stories some years ago because I found so many of them depressing. Life can be hard enough without adding more reasons to be sad or anxious. I like light.