Nora Roberts, whose real name is Eleanor Marie Robertson, was born on October 10, 1950, in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. She is an extremely prolific American author of romance novels, having written over 225 books. She is also known for writing the "In Death" series under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, which are futuristic crime thrillers. Her first novel, "Irish Thoroughbred", was published in 1981. She has been awarded numerous prizes and is one of the world's best-selling authors.