As my two or three followers know, I'm a reader of romances, and I was thrilled to get the latest Nora Roberts book from the library. I dove into it, expecting the usual heart-warming story that I've come to expect from the best-selling romance writer in the world.
The book took place in a small town in Maryland, and was about the rehabbing of a historic inn. I finished the book, and yeah, the romance part was good, but I was a little bored by all the inn construction details. I wondered if the place she described was a real town, and Google told me, yes, it's a real town and there's a real inn with the exact same name as the inn in the story, and, oh surprise surprise! It's owned by NR and her family, who rehabbed it
I feel cheated. The whole book is really a 300-page marketing piece for her inn. And there are thousands of NR fans that will happily pay the $250-300 a night to stay there, just to say they did. And walk across the street to the bookstore in the story, which is an actual bookstore of the same name, owned by NR's husband. Oh yeah, and fans can't miss the pizza place from the book, which, OMG! is a real place of the same name, coincidentally owned by NR's son and daughter-in-law.
Authors shouldn't be allowed to get away with this kind of thing. Marketing your own books, no problem. But using your status as a bestselling author to promote the many family businesses is just WRONG. I'm just glad I got the book from the library and didn't put out my hard-earned money for it. NR's publisher ought to be ashamed. As should NR herself.
Okay, rant over.
