When Jennifer Herz learned that Nora Roberts had a new book coming out July 7, she quickly decided to give herself a birthday present.

She pre-ordered Roberts' newest novel, "Black Hills," which was shipped to her the day it was released.

"It's sitting on my table. I haven't read it yet," Herz said, explaining that she had been too busy preparing for a garage sale. "But I'll have it read by next weekend."

Roberts, a prolific author who has written more than 75 books under various names, has a big following - including Herz, judging from the stacks of Nora Roberts books at her garage sale.

"I like mystery books in general, and she's a good mystery writer in my opinion," Herz said.

Apparently, other local readers share that opinion. Within two days of the book's release, they had snapped up 50 hardback copies of "Black Hills" at Borders bookstore, where "Black Hills" currently tops the hardcover fiction bestseller list.

"She's a big author anyway, but of course, when it's got the local flavor (it's even more popular)," said Borders store manager Tammy Barrows. "She's figured out how to keep her characters fresh and her stories interesting."

"Black Hills" follows the story of South Dakota girl Lil Chance and Cooper Sullivan, a New York boy who spends summers at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch. Their childhood friendship deepens into romance before Sullivan becomes a detective and Chance starts a wildlife refuge in the Hills.

After someone kills Lil's beloved cougar, the two find themselves trying to "unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey," according to the book jacket.

The Black Hills twist was intriguing to Judie Kelley of Rapid City, who was at Borders browsing through the new releases. "I'm definitely interested in everything local," she said.

There are other fiction books, particularly Rapid City author Lori Armstrong's series about private investigator Julie Collins, set in the Black Hills.

Tourists, though, are generally more interested in nonfiction books about South Dakota, Barrows said. Photo books such as Johnny Sundby's "In God's Country," Paul Horsted's "The Black Hills Then & Now," and Dick Kettlewell's "Black Hills: Impressions" are perennial favorites.

Roger Clark's new book, "Fairburn Agate: Gem of South Dakota" has also been popular, Barrows said, as has "The South Dakota Road Guide to Haunted Locations" by Chad Lewis and Terry Fisk.

All are found in the Rapid City Borders store's "local" section. "We were actually one of the first Borders stores to pull out the local stuff and feature it," Barrows said. "Now all the stores do it."

Local residents might also want to watch for Rapid City native Heath Kizzier's memoir, "Can I See Your I.D., Son?," out this month in paperback. Kizzier starred in "The Young & The Restless" for several years.

Popular as local reads might be, though, readers are still flocking to the paranormal. The "Twilight" books are still "huge," Barrows said. So are Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books, which are the basis for HBO's "First Blood" series, as well as Patricia Briggs's werewolf series and Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire-executioner books. ("Those are pretty sexy," Barrows warned. "Be prepared to blush.")

If you're worried about what the other moms at the pool will think, don't be.

"I think there's a lot to be said for reading what entertains you, not what you think you ought to read," Barrows said. "You can't judge people by what they read, I don't think."

She paused, then grinned. "Well, in some cases maybe."

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com.