Nora Roberts

Hagerstown Community College has signed an agreement with author Nora Roberts to create the Nora Roberts Writing Institute at HCC. The first conference will be Aug. 2 and 3. “We are thrilled to be able to form a partnership with Nora Roberts in developing an institute that will help develop and support aspiring writers,” said Guy Altieri, HCC president. Roberts has lent her name to HCC's writing institute to help provide participants with a foundation upon which to build a writing career.

The Nora Roberts Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., to help advance the study of romance literature. The school also will use the grant to establish an academic minor in romance fiction and to launch an online creative writing course in the subject. In addition, the college plans to use the funds to help build a core American romance library collection, including the complete works of Roberts, as well as to establish an endowed fund to support the collection.

Becky Jones had her eye on the horseshoe diamond pin and the sapphire earrings in the jewelry case at the Inn BoonsBoro Saturday night. "Those are my picks," Jones said. But the pieces were part of no ordinary assemblage of sparkle and glitter at the boutique inn owned by world-renowned romance novelist Nora Roberts and Bruce Wilder. The jewelry actually was from Roberts' personal collection and slated to be sold at auction to benefit the Washington County Free Library and ProLiteracy Worldwide, LLC.  "When I looked through (my jewelry)

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.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Nora Roberts Foundation has made a five-year pledge to support Renfrew Institute through the institute's "Today's Horizon Fund. " The foundation has made a five-year pledge of $10,000 annually, according to Tracy Holliday, the institute's assistant director. These undesignated funds will help Renfrew maintain daily operations, update technology and insure adequate staffing. Nora Roberts, an author of romance novels, mysteries and popular fiction, lives near Boonsboro.

Nora Roberts, the Keedysville-area author of romance novels and futuristic police procedurals, says she doesn't rely on inspiration, but on hard work, to craft her stories. See Sunday's Herald-Mail for the full story.âEURº

From staff and AP reports ORLANDO, Fla. - Keedysville romance novelist Nora Roberts said Tuesday that she intends to protect her novels, in light of an admission by another romance writer that she had plagiarized Roberts' work. "A writer has to take a strong line against plagiarism," said Roberts in a telephone conversation from Orlando, where she was preparing for today's opening of the Romance Writers of America national conference. Rival romance novelist Janet Dailey acknowledged Tuesday that she had plagiarized Roberts' work and blamed a psychological disorder.

BOONSBORO-Guests who check in at the historic Boone Hotel when its conversion to Inn Boonsboro is complete might relax in the flashy style of Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, experience Gothic mystery with Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester or enjoy old-world charm reminiscent of Elizabeth and Darcy. Best-selling author Nora Roberts' dream is to decorate each of the six rooms at the hotel that she and her husband Bruce Wilder are converting to an inn in the style of great romantic fictional couples, including one of her own. The acclaimed novelist and co-owner of the historic Boone Hotel in Boonsboro's Town Square said she plans to reserve one of those rooms for her own couple, futuristic police lieutenant Eve Dallas and her Irish billionaire Roarke, who are featured in the popular "In Death" series she writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb.

Best-selling author Nora Roberts says she's grateful to have grown up in a family of readers. She read everything - Nancy Drew mysteries, "Black Beauty. " One of her four older brothers was very dramatic and had her reading Shakespeare by the time she was 11. Roberts says she wanted to be a "star" when she grew up, but she never thought about being a writer. [cont. from lifestyle ] A writer she became - and then some. Roberts' 128th book, "River's End," will be released next month, but fans and readers curious about the appeal of this prolific author can get a preview in an excerpt included with millions of packages of diet Coke.

The Herald-Mail will present a live chat with Nora Roberts, starting at 1:00 pm and ending at 2:00 pm today. Questions or comments can be submitted by clicking here before and during the chat. The text of the live discussion will flow into the bottom of this page during its live hour. You can either click "Refresh" on your browser window or hit "F5" on your keyboard to see new responses. Make sure you scroll down to see the latest answers. Name: Cathy Marshall Location: Sharpsburg Guest: Roberts Question: I really enjoy Eve and Roarke, especially as they grow as indivduals and as a couple.

As part of the upcoming Nora Roberts Writing Institute at Hagerstown Community College, HCC will also offer a young writers institute for high school students entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. The young writers institute will be held Aug. 2 and 3, the same weekend as writing institute, and will feature a series of workshops and events geared toward aspiring, young writers. Workshops will include fiction-crafting and publishing, as well as the opportunity to network with other teen writers.

The advisory committee for the Nora Roberts Writing Institute at Hagerstown Community College recently held a planning meeting at Dan's Restaurant and Tap House in Boonsboro. Best-selling author Nora Roberts welcomed the group at the beginning of the meeting. The writing conference will be held Aug. 2 and 3 at HCC and will feature keynote speakers Sylvia Day, New York Times best-selling author, and critically acclaimed author Erica Bauermeister. Roberts has lent her name to HCC's writing institute to help provide participants with a solid foundation upon which to build a writing career.

1. Lifting their voices in song Friends of the Doleman Black Heritage Museum will present the Bowie State University Gospel Choir Saturday, Feb. 23, at The Maryland Theatre, 21 S. Potomac St., downtown Hagerstown. Doors open at 2 p.m.; concert at 3 p.m. African-American inductees of the Washington County Hall of Fame will be honored. $10 per person. For tickets, call 301-790-3500 or go to www.mdtheatre.org . 2. A collection of authors Valentine's book signing with Nora Roberts will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Turn the Page Bookstore, 18 N. Main St., Boonsboro.

Hagerstown resident Amanda Rankin said she didn't mind waiting in a long line Saturday afternoon to take a brief tour of the Inn BoonsBoro. The inn is owned by best-selling romance author Nora Roberts, who Rankin said is one of her favorite storytellers. “I haven't heard much other than it's beautiful on the outside,” Rankin said. “I just wanted to see the inside.” The free, 10- to 15-minute tours of the inn were given as part of the annual Holiday in Boonsboro celebration.

Area artists set up easels and painted in the cold morning air Saturday as throngs of best-selling author Nora Roberts' fans lined up for a noon book signing. Promotions bill Roberts' “Inn BoonsBoro” trilogy as being “inspired by the inn (she) owns and the town she loves.” The inn referenced is the boutique-style bed-and-breakfast hotel of the same name as the trilogy on the square in Boonsboro. Roberts updated the property in 2008 with a $3 million renovation. The Gifts Inn BoonsBoro hosted an en plein air painting event on the streets of Boonsboro on Saturday in coordination with the book signing at Turn the Page Bookstore and the release of “The Perfect Hope,” book three of the trilogy.

A few years ago, as the Boonsboro High School football team was getting ready to play its home opener, its scoreboard went on the fritz and one had to be borrowed from the nearby Boonsboro Area Athletic Association, said Karen Seabright, former secretary of the Boonsboro Athletic Boosters. Another time in recent years, the scoreboard's sound system was out for the homecoming game, so the name of the homecoming queen couldn't be announced, Seabright said. This season, Warrior Stadium events have a different kind of scoreboard theatrics - the good kind.

Rockin' at River Bottom Park Concert headliners are Rhino Bucket and Charm City Devils. Also playing are Calisus, Crush Theory and The Edmund Allan Brown Band. Gates open at 9 a.m. Saturday; meet and greet with Rhino Bucket and Charm City Devils at 3 p.m. River Bottom Park, off U.S. 11, Williamsport. Thunder Over the Blue Ridge The 167th Airlift Wing hosts open house and air show. Saturday and Sunday. Parking lot opens at 7:30 a.m. General parking shuttle at 8:30 a.m. Gates open at 9 a.m. Free, but $10 per person donation to United Way of the Eastern Panhandle is encouraged.

David Heim, a 2012 Boonsboro High School graduate, is this year's recipient of the Nora Roberts Scholarship. The scholarship is a $35,000 award given by the author through her foundation. The award is given to a Boonsboro High senior who demonstrates a talent for creative writing and a desire to teach or become a writer. David's winning short story was titled “The Journey of Bread.” David will attend Gettysburg (Pa.) College. He is the son of Ed and Janet Heim of Hagerstown.