My Turn Now

I'm never quite sure what to post on this blog. I ususally don't get the urge to post unless something rattles my chain. I'm a shy little thing but if I expressed all my opinions, no one would ever speak to me again.

But you can't have a blog without posts and poor Lori's been carrying the load. That's cause she's the Idea Lady. So, I'm doing what I'm good at - recycling. This is a post I wrote when we first opened up, but never got used. Why let it loll around doing nothing? Let it earn its keep!

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A Not So Learnéd (Short) Essay

Which do you prefer? Nora Roberts or J. D. Robb? Is there a difference? I submit there is quite a difference. (Please - y'all just pretend this hasn't been gone over before, perhaps to ad nauseum.)

Nora can be rather formulistic. She loves trilogies or - what is the word - quatrolgies? Four books, anyway. And although there is a story arc that encompasses all the books, each book details the romance of one main couple. All the couples have to work together to defeat evil or win whatever game they're involved in.

Her stand alones usually involve suspense and/or mystery and one main couple only, although secondary characters may also have a romance.

The In Death series, on the other hand, now numbers 31 books. (I can't keep the titles straight to save my life, I sometimes wish they weren't so alike.) They detail the growth of the relationship between one couple. Secondary characters grow and change also and even find romance, but all the emphasis is on Eve and Roarke. It has been fascinating to watch Eve progress.

I didn't like Eve at first. I didn't like her a lot, and almost didn't continue on to the next book. I thought she was hard and stubborn and, in her own way, egotistical. But as the series progressed, I learned of her softer side, her fears and the struggle she has to overcome them. The nightmares sucker punched me and that's when I started buying into Eve.

Roarke and Eve could have been broken people, even after they succeeded in the lives they chose. Yes, even Roarke has his weaknesses. One of my favorite parts is when Roarke finds his family and Eve is there for him, just as he has always been there for her since the start of their relationship.

Both Eve and Roarke make each other stronger. They have reached the place where they know they can trust and depend on each other. They may be unhappy when they fight and disagree, but they alway come to a compromise and isn't that part of what a relationship is all about? You can't always have it your own way, and if you love someone, you want them to be happy.

So. One woman; two completely different authors. Two different ways of writing the stories.

I confess I prefer J. D. Robb. Oh - except for the Quinn brothers in Nora's Chesapeake Bay series. Um - and the MacKade brothers ... and can't forget the Irish trilogy ...

Okay, I'm conflicted. Again. *sigh*

Shall we just say she's a damn good writer no matter what name she uses, and leave it at that?

Thank you very much. :-)