Well, I thought I ought to finally get around to reading Nora Roberts, and I finally did. I picked up Key of Light at a garage sale and The Next Always at the library.
I started Key of Light (2003) first and finished The Next Always first; as I began both novels I was very disappointed to see that they both had supernatural elements.
Key of Light is about some attractive, thoroughly modern mortals who rescue some trapped Celtic goddesses (I guess you have to be there) and The Next Always is about a bookstore owner and Iraq widow falling in love with the guy who had a crush on her all through high school and is now directing the renovation of a local, historical inn that is haunted.
What surprised me most is that they are so well-written. I expected nothing but romance, but found that Roberts was skilled at description, setting and dialogue.
Some of her dialogue really snaps and is truly witty. Some of it, especially in The Next Always, is a surprisingly accurate portrait of how folks really talk. I greatly admire writers who can capture true speech; it's one of the things I admire about Lee Smith.
And, I was surprised that, in my non-linear way, I gradually became interested in and enjoyed reading both novels (I'd originally planned to just read a little, just to get the flavor). Honestly, I didn't read all of The Next Always -- I read the first few chapters and then, picking it up in the middle, read all the way to the end.
Something else I find interesting is that both novels feature a group of three women who get together and go into business for themselves. In Key of Light, it's a combination bookstore, art gallery, hair salon; in The Next Always, it's a gift shop at the Inn.
A writer named Lauren Collins wrote an interesting and judicious profile of Nora Roberts that appeared in the New Yorker in 2009. I read it when it appeared.
What I read most from the profile is the following passage:
At dinner with Roberts and Wilder one night, I mentioned a scene in her novel "Birthright," in which the heroine, Callie Dunbrook, receives a coffee-table book about Pompeii from a man who may or may not be her father, who confesses to once having made the mistake of selecting an automotive accessory as an anniversary gift for his wife.
"You'll never live it down," Roberts said to Wilder, who was engrossed in a large platter of eggplant parmigiana.
She turned to me. "He doesn't even know what I'm talking about!"
Roberts continued, "First Christmas! What did you give me our first Christmas?"
"I don't remember," Wilder replied.
"I do. Car mats."
I started Key of Light (2003) first and finished The Next Always first; as I began both novels I was very disappointed to see that they both had supernatural elements.
Key of Light is about some attractive, thoroughly modern mortals who rescue some trapped Celtic goddesses (I guess you have to be there) and The Next Always is about a bookstore owner and Iraq widow falling in love with the guy who had a crush on her all through high school and is now directing the renovation of a local, historical inn that is haunted.
What surprised me most is that they are so well-written. I expected nothing but romance, but found that Roberts was skilled at description, setting and dialogue.
Some of her dialogue really snaps and is truly witty. Some of it, especially in The Next Always, is a surprisingly accurate portrait of how folks really talk. I greatly admire writers who can capture true speech; it's one of the things I admire about Lee Smith.
And, I was surprised that, in my non-linear way, I gradually became interested in and enjoyed reading both novels (I'd originally planned to just read a little, just to get the flavor). Honestly, I didn't read all of The Next Always -- I read the first few chapters and then, picking it up in the middle, read all the way to the end.
Something else I find interesting is that both novels feature a group of three women who get together and go into business for themselves. In Key of Light, it's a combination bookstore, art gallery, hair salon; in The Next Always, it's a gift shop at the Inn.
A writer named Lauren Collins wrote an interesting and judicious profile of Nora Roberts that appeared in the New Yorker in 2009. I read it when it appeared.
What I read most from the profile is the following passage:
At dinner with Roberts and Wilder one night, I mentioned a scene in her novel "Birthright," in which the heroine, Callie Dunbrook, receives a coffee-table book about Pompeii from a man who may or may not be her father, who confesses to once having made the mistake of selecting an automotive accessory as an anniversary gift for his wife.
"You'll never live it down," Roberts said to Wilder, who was engrossed in a large platter of eggplant parmigiana.
She turned to me. "He doesn't even know what I'm talking about!"
Roberts continued, "First Christmas! What did you give me our first Christmas?"
"I don't remember," Wilder replied.
"I do. Car mats."
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