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Today Evanovich and her family live near Hanover, N.H., in a house overlooking the Connecticut River Valley, with a golden retriever and "a rude green parrot." What a difference royalties make. "If I see something I like, I can buy it," she marvels. "I have more money than time now. I don't always have to look for the best buy." (One such purchase: a diamond ring from Tiffany's.) In short, says Evanovich, turning out best sellers "allows you to have different priorities." But for her, one priority remains: writing book nine.