Category Archives: Laura’s posts

Cranky Publicist, girl time, Laura's posts, Nora at home

The quiet is nearly over

27 Comments

Hello from The Greenbrier!  This is your friendly Cranky Publicist checking in to assure you all that Nora is alive and well — just finishing a book.

Here she is! Photo by LMR

Last summer I noticed moving the “big” book (i.e., Come Sundown, Shelter in Place) from spring to summer meant instead of finishing before summer travel, Nora’s fitting in the finish while traveling. (Remember, she likes to be a year ahead of a release date.)

So what’s new?  Well it was my birthday last week.  And I’m having cataract surgery next month…

What’s that? You want to know about Nora?

Fine.

The theme of Nora’s summer is Stop then Go.

After the Kayla’s trip to NYC,  Nora had about a week of work before heading off on the annual family trip to the spa.  One highlight was group painting night.  Fascinating to see how everyone interpreted the picture, isn’t it?

Post-spa, Nora had four days of work before her and BW’s annual summer barbeque.  I drove up the day before to serve as line cook and pot washer.    I shelled 3 dozen hard-boiled eggs for deviled eggs, while Kayla made the trifle.

Nora?  Oh she was there too.

A girl and her trifle. Photo by LMR
Trifle closeup. Photo by LMR

Last week, Nora put in another solid four days on the book before she had to break to pack for our week at Greenbrier.  Normally it’s an easy pack but she spent one day of the week shooting video for St. Martin’s Press, so she had to come up with wardrobe for Nora and for JD.  She sacrificed a work day because the weekend was devoted to the Turn the Page Anniversary signing.

In another nod to classic writing at the TTP anniversary signing,  Barbara Delinskey and Linda Howard visited the store and many happy readers.

Classic and classy: Linda Howard, Nora, Barbara Delinskey

You’ll see my reaction to Linda here: 

We met sisters and cousins and moms thrilled to be together.  Groups of sisters of the heart traveled to Maryland, including this Drink Therapy group from Chicago.

Someone forgot her shirt, but remembered the wine!

Despite rain setting in halfway through, the energy remained upbeat and excited for the entire 4 hours.

The next day was the Fall Into the Story brunch at Vesta.  Nora picked five readers to sit at her table from the bag of raffle tickets then everyone else filled in spaces. I stopped at all the tables to chat, then came back with Nora for more chat and photos.

Nora and Nora.

The brunch culminates in a raffle of baskets from Nora, Turn the Page, Gifts Inn BoonsBoro and Inn BoonsBoro. This year, the raffle raised over $1300 for Set The Stage – a non profit chosen by the Nora Roberts Foundation.

And then we came to The Greenbrier.

Evening sky over The Greenbrier. Photo by LMR

Yesterday’s shoot went very smoothly.  I can’t show much but these are  snaps I put on Instagram.

Nora prep. Photo by LMR
Post JD Robb prep. Photo by LMR

After Nora finished, we did a quick Facebook Live, then meandered out to watch the Houston Texans arrive for training camp.  Nora could not care less about football, but she came along for the walk.  Then we paused for a selfie in front of the cameras set up for a press conference with the Texans GM, and the NFL Networks James Palmer joined the snap.

James Palmer, JoAnn, Nora, Laura and Sarah

The rest of the week, Nora will go through the final draft of the July 2019 book in the mornings, I’ll catch up with my own work and then we’re off to hang out with our friends.

Once back and after Kayla’s Sweet 16 party, Nora has a solid week of work before she, Bruce, Jason and Kat set off for Montana.  Travelogues will again be the order of the day for a couple of weeks next month.  Though as I mentioned above and on Facebook Live, I’m having cataract surgery on both eyes, a week apart in August.  There may be a delay or two because of recovery, but I plan to keep things moving smoothly while Nora’s in Montana.

And that’s all the Nora updates fit to print.

One last order of business:  Five lucky readers will win an advance reader copy of Leverage in Death at the end of St. Martin’s Press new sweepstakes. All the details here:  Leverage in Death ARC sweepstakes.

The abbreviated rules of the contest: No purchase necessary. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. who are age 18 or older and of the legal age of majority. Entry period begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on July 16, 2018 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 29, 2018. Void where prohibited. For full Official Rules, visit https://read.macmillan.com/promo/leverageindeatharcsweeps18. Sponsored by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Laura

Connections in Death, Cover reveal, Cranky Publicist, Laura's posts, Random Katness

Notes from the Cranky Publicist desk

16 Comments

Time to share some social media updates!  We’ve had two cover reveal videos on Facebook  recently. (The first is also on the  St. Martin’s Press You Tube channel.)

The first for Of Blood & Bone, book 2 in the Chronicles of The One, out December 4.

 

 

You can pre-order Of Blood & Bone at your favorite retailer now:

Turn the Page: http://bit.ly/2FmYnoZ
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Foe1A5
BN: http://bit.ly/2FqZOCQ
iBooks: https://apple.co/2FqZynm
BAM: http://bit.ly/2FnqAfg
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/2FnFgee
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2FljEix
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2Fn7rKu

 

Then, in early 2019, there’s Connections in Death — #48 in the series —  out February 5.

 

Again, you can pre-order everywhere now.

Turn the Page: http://bit.ly/2xcrzjq
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IICyCB
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2xb4Owf
BN: http://bit.ly/2IMTzvA
Nook: http://bit.ly/2×93078
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/2IMbaUg
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2xjlu55
iBooks: https://apple.co/2x9S6Ov
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2xa3rOl

Nora and JD are on Instagram! OK, we’ll be completely transparent here:  I’m posting on the Instagram pages.  Some people prefer to bypass Facebook but like IG for the photos.  Not all the content will repeat on all social media but I think it could be fun to follow. Search for Nora Roberts  (@norarobertsauthor) and JD Robb (@jdrobbauthor).

Finally, some #randomkatness (and a repeat photo).  Nora mentioned Kat’s design for the baby blanket in the Girls in the City post, right?  Well not only is she designing it to honor the family that came before the baby, but it’s REVERSIBLE like this one she made for her niece.    My mind is completely blown.

Hope you all have a good weekend.
Laura
Dark In Death, Laura's posts, teasers

Dark in Death teasers

64 Comments

The end of the wait is in sight!  Dark in Death is in stores on Tuesday, January 30.  The perfect way to end the first month of the year, don’t you think?  As has become tradition, I’ll share some teasers about the book here.

No spoilers, no plot points for the series as a whole.  No big secrets because, well, that’s just not right.  Instead just some nuggets you may enjoy as the case unfolds.

I’ll update each day this week (I think – honestly it depends on how fast I go through them).

And for kicks and giggles (plus the mental gymnastics for me) I’m going to write them as haikus.  Or post videos (I get bored easily). So check back.

Monday, January 22
Summerset gone? Yay!
Hide? Seek! Find the perfect spot.
Big house, takes a while.

Tuesday, January 23
Cop books that don’t blow?
Some agree it can be done.
But not Jenkinson.

Wednesday, January 24
Mohair! Pink Shantung!
She who rides a hobbyhorse
gets some alpaca.

Came back to lend my opinion to the early comments on the Wednesday haiku:

Um, no.

Thursday, January 25
I know you all feel like this:

Waiting, waiting.

But here’s today’s teaser to perk you up:

Feeney a fanboy?
It’s never whack timing when
rock gods add their voice.

Friday, January 26
Murder cop, reader:
each one looks for a hero
Who’s yours in the end?

And that’s it for teasers!  Back to open the discussion thread on Tuesday!

Laura

Cranky Publicist, Laura's posts, Random Katness, roundup

Bits/Pieces, Sunday 9/10

12 Comments

I don’t want to lose touch this fall so on those weekends Nora doesn’t share a blog post, I’l share updates.

The adventurers arrived home safely on August 27.  Word is that Nora got home, minimally unpacked, napped for a bit, then watched the Game of Thrones season finale.  She had to do this because I’d have whined at her to catch up. since we share our GoT thoughts every Monday.  (We loved the finale, btw.)

Then I left town for a long-planned working vacation at the beach with my husband.  We’ve had the usual mix of Outer Banks weather and since I get up to watch the sunrise, I work early so I can have cocktails on the beach in the afternoon.

Just before dawn. Photo by Laura Reeth

Nora adjusted to the time, dove back into the current WIP (an In Death, as we all know) for three days before it was time to prepare for the annual summer barbeque.  I’m afraid she was short one sous chef (me) but I hear the party was a success.  And Kat sent me a photo of her amazing watermelon carving for the fruit salad.

Kat + watermelon = greatness. Photo by kat

Once the Labor Day weekend was over, I hit my beach stride.  Nora hit the manuscript.  What can I say?  We each have our priorities.

Sunrise on the water. Photo by Laura Reeth

And, of course, September 6 brought Secrets In Death release day. The conversation continues on this thread.

On Wednesday, September 7, we shared the brand new author photo for Year One on all social media.  Isn’t it amazing?

Photo by Bruce Wilder.

I shared a couple of quotes on Facebook.

As well as a great review of Secrets in Death on Criminal Element (don’t forget to click on the fun GIFnotes tour of Secrets).

Then suddenly, it was Friday and the end of the week and we knew readers were facing adversity in so many places — recovering from Harvey, preparing for Irma, breathing in ash from western fires — and we wished everyone a safe weekend.

Hope you had exactly that.

Laura

PS.  Kat agreed to continuing with the #randomkatness, but only if I curated the photos and wrote the captions.  I agreed.

Cat in the driver’s seat. Photo by kat
Cranky Publicist, Events, girl time, Laura's posts

Postcards from the summer

16 Comments

Good morning all!

The blog laid dormant  for a few weeks as summer (and deadline) caught up with Nora and I took the time to start considering how else to use this space.  The quiet is about to change as  we’re less than a week from Nora’s 2017 travelogue, this time from Cote d’Azur and Provence.

Here’s a quick catch up:

After New York with Logan, Nora planned to finish writing the 2018 hardcover romantic suspense before leaving for the family trip to the spa.   She ended up working 12-14 hours a day for nearly two weeks in order to meet the goal, and she did.  Shelter in Place went off to her editor on a Sunday morning and she left for the spa less than 24 hours later.

(Did you catch the title?)

The entire group did a paint session and BW sent me the results:

Then it was home for a few days and a dip in the In Death waters for the second 2018 book before the TTP 22nd anniversary signing, the Fall into the Story brunch and our trip to The Greenbrier.

( NO TITLE on that In Death yet — it’s barely started.)

The signing was a lot of fun and the authors had a wonderful time.

Brunch, as always, was a delight.  It’s so much fun to have a little more time to chat and share stories than we do at the signings.

I took the annual panorama of the entire group at the end of the brunch.

The next day, we were off to The Greenbrier for a week of work and relaxation.  Oh, and games.*  Nora, Ruth and I arrived first and took a quick, silly selfie to send BW.

We settled in, welcomed Kat and our Sarah, unpacked, got to know our engaging ghosts (the suite was full of excited energy that wasn’t just ours), and then planted ourselves on the private patio. We only left for walks or workouts or food.

Laura, Ruth, Sarah, Nora and Kat
Our staircase
The mirror along the staircase

Ruth and me.

Thursday, Nora and I did a Facebook Live — 40 minutes of conversation, some laughter and a lot of great information.

The week was wonderful. We’ve already booked next year.

Laura

*Yes, you read that right, games.  BUT no scoreboard.  Ruth Langan taught us Euchre and then Nora taught Ruth and me Hearts.  I have no ability to strategize, but I did ok. So, cards are acceptable.  They won’t be part of the Girls Spa trip so there will still be a Stupid Scoreboard.

Cranky Publicist, girl time, Laura's posts, Spa!

Dear Diary: a conclusion to the Cranky Publicist adventures

15 Comments

Dearest Diary,

I regret to inform you that I ended the week in possession of the gaudy Biggest Loser earrings.  All my “friends” turned on me in my hour of need.  The Mighty and Fearsome Elaine is the Grand Poobah Champion of Spa World with wins in Dance (poor, poor Sarah), Bowling and by getting the most answers in Reverse Charades.

When Nora added up the lowest scores, it  came down to the slimmest margin between Mary and me.  Nicole, sweet Nicole, turned to me and asked, “Wait, when did you start winning games?  You didn’t win when I was here.”  I told her I DIDN’T win, that was the point.  She nodded and said, “Ohhhhh.”

An ear infection and URI can make anyone a little loopy.

Nora said it was too close to call.  Mary said, “Oh just give it to Laura — it will fit her narrative.”  And the rest of them agreed with applause.  I guess accurate and unbiased reporting on the goings on during spa week begets frenemies willing to bring you low.

Sigh.  I need to accept applications for new friends.  The flurry of photos for Elaine’s THIRD coronation in six years ended up looking like this.  I think it accurately shows my feelings on the subject.

But let’s backtrack a bit, shall we Diary Dear?

Thursday evening was a flurry of activity.  The Mighty and Fearsome Elaine took on the Beautiful and Brilliant Sarah in a serious final round of Trivia.  I captured this moment near the end of the round:

That begat the final result:

Elaine took the finals in Just Dance by a hair’s breadth, but my video won’t upload so I can’t prove it.  Does that mean it REALLY happened?

And then she bowled.  A game like no other with seven consecutive strikes.

See what I deal with Diary?

A busy evening for the future champion who moved to the dining table for second round Scrabble  Nicole, Pat and Kat.  Nicole, still obviously somewhat alert despite her symptoms came in second and would play Kat in the finals.

Nora, the soul of tact and discretion, said at least 473 times, “Nicole is in the final!  Let me repeat, Nicole and Kat are in the final!!!!” Perhaps her shock makes her Nicole’s “friend” as well.

Elaine chose her various prizes and then said, “I’m tired of winning. I have to go now.”  Diary, I believe I hissed a little.

[From the Fearsome one’s private journal:  “Yes!  All is in place for my re-coronation!  I shall sleep well  tonight.”]

In the meantime, side bowling games abounded.  Mary Kay had set the multipin scoring record of 560 the night before, so she sat and watched us try in vain to catch her.

[Excerpted from Mary Kay’s annals of fabulousness: “I’m still the bowling queen — I have a golden ball!”]

At one point JoAnne said Mary Kay should take a turn.  Mary Kay replied, “I don’t want to keep demoralizing you.”

Diary, our egos are very healthy during spa week.

We saved Paint and Sip for the final night (though sadly, Pat had to miss it).  For some misguided reason, Diary, I decided to let all the participants have a choice in what we painted so we could send the final pick to the teacher beforehand.  Oh the opinions on color and flower and scene!  But finally I herded my squirrels to one picture with the promise everyone could personalize the colors.

We had as much fun in the 2017 session as we did last year.

And we all remembered our listening skills.

Amanda, the instructor, took this photo of everyone at the end.

And here’s a closer look at what we painted:

We ended the night with Scrabble (Kat won, Nicole placed admirably), Reverse Scrabble Charades (I’m actually not sharing THOSE photos) and the coronation.

And then, Diary, our week was over.  Another wonderful seven days with girls, wine, games (ugh) and laughter.

In all seriousness Diary, it’s a wonderful gift Nora shares with us every spring.  We all started out in different parts of Nora’s life and now all those parts blend like the paint above — we enhance, we embrace and we encourage. Some of us get together regularly, some we don’t see until spa week arrives, but the time doesn’t matter, the relationships do.

And so, I bid you farewell Diary.  Word is my “friend” Nora may try to give her own version of the week.  I would take it all with a grain of salt.

Laura

Cranky Publicist, Laura's posts

The Register, 11/18/16

10 Comments

A quiet-ish week in Nora world.  She’s revisiting a certain couple of someones in 2061 NYC, I hear.  But whispers of a new book are all we get, considering there’s months to go until she shares with the rest of us.  Let’s leave the writer alone and focus focus on finishing 2016 well, ok?

Untitled-1brotherhood

The Obsession and Brotherhood In Death are finalists in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016.  The Obsession is in the Romance category while Brotherhood in Death is in Mystery/Thriller.  Click the category name for your chance to vote.

Last night was Girls’ Night Out at Turn the Page and the turnout was nearly that of a signing.  Gone are the days that Nora and I could wander through stores, check in at TTP so she could sign books, and then head out again.  So many happy faces, so many celebrations, so much good energy showed up at Nora’s table.   We had a very nice evening.

20161117_203534
Post signing selfie.

I decided to camp out at Nora’s for the evening and when I left this morning, I had to stop my car and take this photo of the drive.  A color combination of fall and Christmas, no?

image

And I posted a couple of quotes on social media — what do you think?  (Belated congratulations to all the Cubs fans out there — and sympathies to the Cleveland faithful).

but-if-we-go-out-again-im-wearing-my-cubs-hat stay-warm-take-2

Much more news next week (though I may play with the timing since I’ve got some travel for the holiday).

Laura

Conversation, Laura's posts, roundup

The Register — 11/11/16

3 Comments

Only a few things to report this Veteran’s Day.

First, thank you to our veterans.  As I posted on Facebook this morning, some of the most wonderful, poignant and gratifying emails are from members of the military and their families thanking Nora for the difference her books make in getting through the strains of deployment.vet-day-greeting

Second, despite the fact we’re all so weary of the voting process in the US, here’s something you can endorse:

Untitled-1brotherhood

The Obsession and Brotherhood In Death made it into the semi-final round of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016.  The Obsession is in the Romance category while Brotherhood in Death is in Mystery/Thriller.  Click the category name for your chance to vote. Voting is open until Sunday.

Nora’s at the spa right now, but will be back in time for Girls Night Out at Turn the Page Bookstore on Thursday, November 17 from 6-9 pm.  I’ve copied/pasted the info from the Facebook page since it’s not on the TTP website:

It’s a fun evening of champagne, refreshments, treats, door prizes, and lots of mingling with authors, artists, and girls galore. Special guests Lorrie Schoettler of Stony Ridge Ridge Farm and Jeanne Brumbaugh will provide farm goodies and healing energy work. Also meet Joyce Taber, creator of the Nora Roberts’ jewelry collection.

Rub elbows with some of our favorite authors who will meet fans and sign books: Anna Bennett, Mary Burton, Lisa Dyson, HelenKay Dimon, Kimberly Kincaid,  and Erika Robuck.

TTP received permission to sell 50 copies of ISLAND OF GLASS at this event (limit one per attendee)! This is pretty exciting for us since the actual release date isn’t until Dec. 6.

Then be sure to wander around town and stop in the many participating businesses, including our lovely neighboring shop Gifts Inn BoonsBoro. Visit all of the participating businesses with your punch sheet and you’ll have a chance to win a free night’s stay at Inn BoonsBoro and other prizes.

There is no charge for this event, but books signed at Turn the Page must be purchased here.  Call TTP at 301-432-4588 for more details.

Finally, I posted some quotes on Facebook this week.  Enjoy!

lean-and-mean you no-matter

Laura

Book connections, Conversation, Laura, Laura's posts, Nora at home

The Register – 11/4/16

22 Comments

For the rest of the year, I plan to compile a weekly round up of social media goings on, photos that appeal to me and tidbits of  info that just don’t fit into other posts.  So, not a Cranky Publicist post (like the one I’ve drafted in my head about how can you be an In Death fan if you misspell Roarke???)  but a neater way to keep you all filled in on what’s new and what’s not.

First up:  the Inn BoonsBoro package featuring an Evening with Nora sold out within hours.  I’m pretty sure if it goes smoothly, there will be another one in the future.  Stay tuned.

Next, St. Martin’s continues to be super excited about their first book with Nora/JD — Echoes in Death.  They will release small bits — one liners really — over the weeks to come to whet appetites even more.  Here’s the first one. echoes-whim-1

(BTW, Heroes & Heartbreakers has some excellent features about and by authors, reviews, reveals and other fun reader-y things. This morning starts with a discussion about Nora Roberts or Nora Ephron — have to love a good Nora, right?)

Continuing on the St. Martin’s Press theme (they are more excited than anyone about working with Nora!):  they have an ongoing sweepstakes tied into Echoes in Death.  The last two prizes are up for grabs soon — the last one is an Eve style leather coat!  Details and rules* are here.

They also created an amazing pop-art poster for Echoes in Death and will giveaway to readers in the US and Canada (ex. Quebec)** who upload their pre-order receipts before midnight, Feb. 6, 2017. All details are listed here.

And, because excitement this big can’t be contained, they’ve revealed the cover for September 2017’s Secrets in Death.9781250123152_fc

I’ll have more information about it next week. Pre-order links are coming on line, but it’s still a little too early for some.  Will list all the pre-order links next week.  Promise!

Third:  Love Between the Covers is now available on Netflix and will be out on dvd on December 6 — same date as Island of Glass.  I posted about the documentary here.

Finally, at Saturday’s signing two readers (names escape me right now) told me all about one of their phones that took photos by saying  “Cheese!” “Shoot” or “Capture!”  It was a Samsung 7 and I have a 6.  Nora will attest that I pouted about not having that amazing capability — which just made us laugh.

Back at the Fortress of Solitude that night, I googled voice triggered photos and found out that I could make my Samsung 6 do it.  And it did!  Here’s the evidence.

20161029_183943
Nora, Sarah and Kat enjoying my thrill of snapping a photo by saying “Cheese!”

Then we set BW’s Samsung up as well.  So happy faces all around, except for Nora’s pout that her iPhone didn’t take photos by talking to it.

Still she smiled for the photo.

OK, that’s week one of The Register.

Comments, questions, things you’ve found on your own?  Share in the comments.

Laura

* While we love our worldwide readers and hate they have to miss out on the fun, there are varying rules and regulations regarding contests and sweepstakes in countries outside the US and Canada making it problematic and extremely difficult to create global contests.

**  Canadians in Quebec can’t enter due to their own tight rules on sweepstakes.  All other Canadians must answer a math question to make it a test of skill rather than chance.

Cover reveal, Cranky Publicist, Laura's posts, New York City, shopping

Catching up on everything

9 Comments

It’s been a busy few weeks with birthdays, painting sessions and time in New York.  Nora will get back to her regular weekend blog posts next weekend but I thought I’d share some visuals and some cool info for everyone.  I think I’ll take it in chronological order.

Sunday, October 9
A group of us met at Inn BoonsBoro for their fourth Brushes & Bubbly session.  Nora, Kayla, her mom Stacie, Mary Kay McComas and her sister, our friend Sarah and I joined nine other people in the dining room of the Inn to paint a mermaid, in honor of The Guardians Trilogy.  Local artist Ronald Layman patiently led us through the layers needed to create depth and shadow and texture.  We all had a great time.

20161009_153813
The finished masterpieces.
20161009_155457
Kelsi, Kristen, Nora, Marcella, Bayley and Karen (the IBB team).

Monday, October 10 (Birthday!)
In honor of the birthday girl, St.  Martin’s Press revealed the cover of the 2017 hardcover, Come Sundown:

Pre-order links are up now.  Turn the Page Bookstore will have their link up soon so you can order a signed copy.
BAM
Amazon HC
Kindle
BN HC
Nook
Indiebound
iBooks

Tuesday, October 11/Wednesday, October 12
The beginning of the annual fall trip. Nora, BW and Jason rode up to NYC and I met them at the hotel.    I took this photo because I love those spires.20161012_144239

Thursday, October 13
After some very satisfying shopping and lunch — Kat (who joined us on Wednesday after flying in from a hiking trip with her cousins) scooped up these beauties —

Shoe as art. Photo by LMR.
Shoe as art. Photo by LMR.

we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the party St. Martin’s Press hosted to welcome Nora to the fold.  Rain sprinkled in the afternoon, but the sun came out just as the party started.  We all toasted Nora under the light of the setting sun on the rooftop patio.

20161013_181731
Friday, October 15
Litographs went live with a Naked in Death infinity scarf in addition to t-shirts, totes, and posters! These super soft infinity scarves are available in your choice of 12 colors and 4 fonts. Shop today and Save $5 on your scarf with code NAKSCARF (valid through tomorrow, 10/18) https://litographs.typeform.com/to/Tm5XPa

And to celebrate, we’re giving away one autographed scarf. Enter here to win 1 scarf signed by JD herself→ https://litographs.typeform.com/to/Tm5XPanaked_scarf_inf_sans_forestgreen_zoom_title

The weekend was all about holiday shopping for Nora and spending time with my daughter for me.  I headed back to Maryland early because I’m heading back to NJ next weekend.  I’m sure Nora will fill us all in with what happened next when she gets back to her desk.

Any questions?

Laura