Nora Roberts and the numbers game: Is Vision in White her 200th publication?

November 5, 5:14 AMNora Roberts ExaminerCarol Thomas

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Lauren Collins' June 2009 New Yorker article, "Real Romance: How Nora Roberts Became America’s Most Popular Novelist," generated a flurry of new interest in Nora Roberts. That interest focused not just on the contents of Roberts' work, but also on the statistics regarding her output.

 
Based on the figures in FictionDB.com,
Vision in White appears to be Nora
Roberts'  200th publication.

According to Collins, as of the June 22, 2009 date of her article, Roberts had written 182 full-length novels. That figure does not include Roberts' short fiction – the novellas and short stories that she has also published.

 In a message on the Nora Roberts fan site ADWOFF, an ADWOFF participant recently asked Roberts, "Did you ever have your big 200th book party and, if so, was there cake?" Laura Reeth, Nora Roberts' publicist, answered.

In her August 25, 2009 response, Reeth assured the questioner that there would indeed be cake, but the celebration would be held off until Roberts completes her 200th "full-length" book. Reeth estimates that, given Roberts' current publication schedule, Roberts will reach that milestone within two to three years.

Roberts typically creates five new novels each year. These include one standalone romantic suspense title, two In Death series novels, and two installments of her current multi-volume set – a trilogy or, most recently, a quartet.

If her short fiction is added into the count, though, Roberts has already exceeded the 200 mark for her total output. As of November 4, 2009, FictionDBb.com, which indexes over 250,000 fiction titles, lists 167 publications that Roberts has written under her own name, from her first Silhouette series publication, Irish Thoroughbred (May 1981) through Bed of Roses (October 2009).

FictionDBb.com also lists an additional 35 titles in the In Death series which Roberts has published under her J.D. Robb pseudonym, from Naked in Death (July 1995) through Kindred in Death (November 2009). Roberts is also credited with having published one magazine story, "Melodies of Love," under the name Jill March.

Adding these figures together gives Roberts a total current output of 203 published titles. Counting backward, Kindred in Death (November 3, 2009) would be her 203rd publication; Bed of Roses (October 2009), her 202nd; Black Hills (July 2009), her 201st.

This would make the April 2009 Bride Quartet title Vision in White, Roberts' 200th publication – although not, of course, her 200th full-length title. Cake lovers of the world should, however, find in this figure sufficient incentive to start their celebrations now.