Janet Dailey

Janet Anne Haradon Dailey (; May 21, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American author of numerous romance novels. Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.

Early years Janet Anne Haradon was born on May 21, 1944, in Storm Lake, Iowa,

Dailey always wanted to be a writer and loved books. Her three elder sisters often read to her when she was good. By the age of four, she had her own library card. She graduated in 1962 from Jefferson High School in nearby Independence, Iowa and worked for a construction firm owned by her future husband, Bill Dailey, who was 15 years her senior. The two continued to work together, often spending 17 hours a day, seven days a week at work Mills & Boon acquired the book and released it in 1974. This made Dailey the first American woman to be published by Mills & Boon. In 1976, having already published multiple titles for Mills & Boon, No Quarter Asked was released by Harlequin as part of its Presents line. While many have claimed that Dailey was the first American author published by Harlequin, the Canadian publisher had in fact published many American authors prior to 1958, when it began exclusively reprinting Mills & Book titles.

Category romance Dailey "provide ... [the] first look at heroines, heroes and courtships that take place in America, with American sensibilities, assumptions, history, and most of all, settings." She introduced the Western romance, romance novels set in the American West. The Western romance focused on the female, who was often marginalized in traditional Western novels. Because her novels were set in contemporary times, there is little frontier, but the novels recreate that feeling by introducing "physical confrontation of the elements" and focusing on the "primary nature of the pursuit" by a man and woman "unconstrained by any society's expectations of them." Many of the themes in her novels were groundbreaking for the genre. Her heroines, unlike most, lost their virginity. Others fell in love with poor or unattractive heroes. Dailey was also one of the early writers for the Silhouette lines, for which she wrote 12 titles.

During her most prolific years, Dailey set herself the goal of writing 15 pages per day. Her day began at 4 a.m. On good days, she would meet her quota in 8 to 10 hours; other days would require 12 to 14 hours of work. In April 1998 Dailey settled the case. Although terms were not released, Roberts had previously indicated that any settlement funds should be donated to the Literacy Volunteers of America.

In 2001, Dailey returned to publishing with a four-book deal with Kensington Books. The contract called for two books in the Calder series Dailey has written about a ranching family in Montana, and two books with holiday themes. Kensington expanded their relationship with Dailey in 2002, when she contracted for three more hardcover novels about the Calder family and an additional mass market original novel. At the same time, they purchased the reprint rights to 50 of her previously published romances.

Personal life In 1978, Dailey and her husband Bill moved from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Branson, Missouri, where Bill promoted and produced shows at the Americana Theater. He died on August 5, 2005.

Dailey considered Branson "an ideal place to live. The weather is generally good, the country is beautiful, and the people are so friendly—and unobtrusive."

She died at her home in Branson on December 14, 2013, from complications of heart surgery.