Janet Dailey

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Biography

Janet Dailey published her first novel, No Quarter Asked, after being challenged to write by her husband. Her husband, Bill Dailey, who also served as her business manager, passed away in August 2005. Initially published by the Harlequin Presents line, she also went to write for Silhouette. Her website indicates that she's the bestselling female author in North America and third best-selling author in the world. While these claims are difficult to verify, there is no doubt that Janet Dailey was once one of the biggest names in the romance genre.

In mid-1997, Janet Dailey was sued by author Nora Roberts for plagiarizing Roberts' books. Dailey admitted that passages from Aspen Gold and Notorious were indeed plagiarized, the cased was settled, and Nora Roberts donated her settlement to literacy causes. Dailey cited various stress-related issues, including the illness of her husband, as the root causes of plagiarism, and fans since have debated whether or not to continue reading her works. The books in question are no longer available for commercial purchase (naturally, their collectible value rose on the news). A third book was also identified as containing plagiarized passages, but had not been released when the suit was filed.

Janet Dailey wrote 57 books for the Harlequin Presents imprint. She published eight books for the Silhouette Romance line. Her "Americana" series features books set in every one of the United States. She has appeared regularly on the New York Times Bestseller list, starting with 1979's Touch The Wind. After an absence from romance resulting from the plagiarism scandal, she returned to writing for Kensington.

The Romance Writers of America created the Janet Dailey Award for novels with social relevance. The award was discontinued in 1997.

Books

On the Web

Interviews/Articles

  • The Janet Dailey companion : a comprehensive guide to her life and her novels[interviewed by] Sonja Massie and Martin H. Greenberg. New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c1996.
  • Whitehead, Frances. "Janet Dailey: Overview." Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers. Ed. Aruna Vasudevan. 3rd ed. Twentieth-Century Writers Series New York: St. James Press, 1994.