Author bobbles

May 26, 2007|By DAN DEARTH

HAGERSTOWN-After selling more than 294 million copies of her books and being named to Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world, author and Washington County resident Nora Roberts was immortalized Friday in Hagerstown.

During a brief ceremony at the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, she was presented with a tiny bobblehead doll in her likeness by Will Smith, general manager of the Hagerstown Suns.

"It definitely has some of me in it," said Roberts, an avid baseball fan. "I feel like I've made it now. I feel like I'm the envy of all my writer friends."

The bobbleheads will be presented to the first 1,000 fans who attend the Suns' July 6 game against Delmarva. Roberts is scheduled to throw out the first pitch for the 7:05 p.m. game.

The game will mark a special day in the romance writer's life.

"It's my wedding anniversary," she said.

Roberts tries to attend a few baseball games every year to relax, she said, but her hectic travel schedule often gets in the way.

Smith said the Suns front office knew that Roberts was a baseball fan, so it decided to honor her with a bobblehead - the first that the baseball club has bestowed on an author.

"I found it so amazing that she's a Washington County native," Smith said. "To have her willing to come out and do this is just wonderful."

Each year, Smith said the Suns create about four bobbleheads.

In seasons past, the Suns hosted bobblehead days featuring the likenesses of George Washington and baseball legend Willie Mays.

Smith said the Suns approached Roberts last fall about the bobblehead idea, and hopes that her appeal to women will fill Municipal Stadium on July 6.

The bobblehead giveaway will be co-hosted by the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Turn the Page Bookstore, a business that is owned and operated by Roberts' husband, Bruce Wilder, said Thomas B. Riford, president and CEO of the bureau.

"(Roberts) is the greatest attraction in Boonsboro," he said. "Washington County is proud of Nora Roberts, and proud that she continues to bring worldwide attention to our county."

What is a bobblehead?

Instead of a solid connection, a bobblehead doll's body and head are joined by a spring. The doll takes its name from the resulting bobbling effect.

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