Basically, if you weren’t selling a gift book or your name isn’t Nora Roberts, you weren’t being bought during the holiday season. I think if I was a new author and released during the holiday season, I would think someone hated me.
Nora Roberts, Valley of Silence, No. 48 (Peak 2)
Philippa Gregory, The Boleyn Inheritance, 50 (Peak 36)
Nora Roberts, Dance of the Gods, No. 76 (Peak 2)
Nora Roberts, Morrigan’s Cross, No. 79 (Peak 1)
Nora Roberts, First Impressions, No. 91 (Peak 32)
Nora Roberts, Rebellion, No. 101 (Peak 8 )
Laurell K Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss, No. 113 (Peak 28). I am thrilled that she only peaked at 28 and that she fell quickly. Maybe she’ll add a bit more plot to her next book. Or a plot.
Linda Howard, Drop Dead Gorgeous, No. 141 (Peak 12)
Dear Author 
I have to say as a struggling author I agree wholeheartedly with you. But what really irritates me the most about Nora is that her writing quality has gone downhill. She really needs to pick up her thesaurus and stop using every cliche known to mankind. She also needs to stop rereading her old stuff because she’s been recycling and definitely not the good parts. Her latest JD Robb reads like one of her Silhouette Intimate Moments from once upon a time.
Well, I don’t know that Nora Roberts is preventing authors from selling. It’s my contention that she brings more readers to the romance genre than excludes authors from having careers. I think Christmas sales more reflect that people (read: men) tend to gift Nora Roberts because her name is so familiar. It probably helped that her three paranormals were part of a buy 2 get 1 free special at Waldens and Borders. Although there were several other romance books featured in that special as well.
As for your comments about her writing, you are absolutely entitled to that.