Janet Dailey

A love of reading romance books challenged Janet Dailey to try her hand at writing one of her own. In 1974, she boldly sent out an American West story to London-based Harlequin and made history. The well-known Mills & Boon publisher, who provided all books to Harlequin at that time, had never signed on an American author before. They didn’t have a category for western romance or the type of self-determined female main characters unbound by rigid societal expectations.

Janet Dailey offered something real and gritty, and she did it well. Over the course of her decades-long career, she released over 100 individual titles. Fifty-seven of them were for Harlequin. In 1979, she switched successfully to single-title romances with Touch of the Wind, a New York Times bestseller. She unfortunately passed away in 2013.

  1. Cord & Stacy Books (1974 – 1978)
  2. Aspen Books (1991 – 1997)
  3. Calder Saga Books (1981 – 2010)
  4. Bannon Brothers (2011 – 2013)
  5. Cowboy Christmas Books (2015 – 2017)
  6. The Tylers of Texas (2014 – 2019)
  7. The Champions Books (2020 – 2022)
  8. Christmas Tree Ranch (2018 – 2023)
  9. Americana Books Over the Years
  10. New Americana Series (2016 – 2023)
  11. Janet Dailey Standalone Books & Anthologies
  12. Linda Howard Books in Order: Dive into Decades or Romance, Suspense, and Family Sagas.

Cord & Stacy Books (1974 – 1978)

This early series included No Quarter Asked, Fiesta San Antonio, and For Bitter or Worse. The trilogy follows the same couple through meeting, nannying the Texas rancher’s little girl, and falling in love.

No Quarter Asked
No Quarter Asked
Fiesta San Antonio
Fiesta San Antonio
For Bitter or Worse
For Bitter or Worse

Aspen Books (1991 – 1997)

Aspen Gold and Illusions add a bit of big-city spice to the usual western setting. From a Colorado ranch to Hollywood, they explore second chance romance and a bodyguard-rockstar bond in the second book.

Aspen Gold
Aspen Gold
Illusions
Illusions

Calder Saga Books (1981 – 2010)

Janet Dailey wrote 11 books about the great Calder family, who own a massive ranching empire in Montana. They include:

This Calder Sky
This Calder Sky
This Calder Range
This Calder Range
Stands A Calder Man
Stands A Calder Man
Calder Born, Calder Bred
Calder Born, Calder Bred
Calder-Pride
Calder-Pride
Green Calder Grass
Green Calder Grass
Shifting Calder Wind
Shifting Calder Wind

Lone Calder Star
Calder Promise
Calder Promise
Calder Storm
Calder Storm
Santa in Montana
Santa in Montana

Bannon Brothers (2011 – 2013)

Strong, no-nonsense brothers act as the romantic leads in this trilogy: Trust, Honor, and Triumph. These three books include suspenseful action including a search for a kidnapped girl, a mysterious double murder, and international intrigue.

trust
Trust
honor
Honor
Triumph
Triumph

Cowboy Christmas Books (2015 – 2017)

Long, Tall Christmas, Christmas on My Mind, and Just a Little Christmas represent Dailey’s first all-holiday series by publication date. The warmth of the season is matched only by the heat of the women and men who fall in love in these three books. The first involves family secrets, the second a busy small-town sheriff and a Christmas party, and the third engages readers with the tale of a divorced city girl and her second-chance romance.

Long, Tall Christmas
Long, Tall Christmas
Christmas on My Mind
Christmas on My Mind
Just a Little Christmas
Just a Little Christmas

The Tylers of Texas (2014 – 2019)

Janet Dailey wrote a few series that overlapped with each other. This one follows another big ranch family with numerous attractive, adventurous sons who find love in the end. They all offer bold, sexy stories with a lot of heart.

Texas True
Texas True
Texas Tough
Texas Tough
Texas Tall
Texas Tall
Texas Fierce
Texas Fierce
Texas Free
Texas Free
Texas Forever
Texas Forever

The Champions Books (2020 – 2022)

A bull rider takes center ring in romance in Whirlwind, the first book in this trilogy. A reluctant heroine and a daredevil man make for a fiery connection. The next book, Whiplash, revisits the rodeo in Vegas and a hopeful Hollywood leading lady who can’t resist a cowboy’s charms. A financial partnership turns to love in the final book, Quicksand.

Whirlwind
Whirlwind
Whiplash
Whiplash
Quicksand
Quicksand

Christmas Tree Ranch (2018 – 2023)

Everyone loves a good holiday romance, and Janet Dailey delivers a whole series.

My Kind of Christmas
My Kind of Christmas
It’s a Christmas Thing
It’s a Christmas Thing
Holding Out for Christmas
Holding Out for Christmas
Santa’s Sweetheart
Santa’s Sweetheart
Somebody like Santa
Somebody like Santa
The Sound of Sleighbells
The Sound of Sleighbells

Americana Books Over the Years

This incredibly prolific romance author wrote over 100 books in her lifetime. Many of them fell into the 50 book “Americana” series. It features a riveting romance story from every single state in the United States, which earned her recognition from the Guinness Book of World Records organization. The book titles in publication order are:

New Americana Series (2016 – 2023)

This collection of books is not directly connected to the state-based series listed above.

It features eight books:

Sunrise Canyon
Sunrise Canyon
Refuge Cove
Refuge Cove
Letters from Peaceful Lane
Letters from Peaceful Lane
Hart's Hollow Farm
Hart’s Hollow Farm
Paradise Peak
Paradise Peak
Hope Creek
Hope Creek
Blue Moon Haven
Blue Moon Haven
Lone Oaks Crossing
Lone Oaks Crossing

Janet Dailey Standalone Books & Anthologies

Over the years, this prolific author has teamed up with others for various romance anthologies. These include Christmas Magic (1991) with Emilie Richards; Marry Me, Cowboy (1995) with Margaret Wey, Susan Fox, and Anne McAllister; Unmasked (1997) with Jennifer Blake and Elizabeth Gage; You’re Still the One (2013) with Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Bass, and Mary Carter; and Happy Is the Bride (2017) with Lori Wilde, Cat Johnson, and Kate Pearce.

Between 1976 and her passing in 2013, Janet Dailey had dozens of standalone romances published. They include:

Although her legacy was tarnished temporarily with a Nora Roberts plagiarism case around the time of her husband’s cancer struggle and subsequent death, there is no doubt that Janet Dailey stands firm as a pioneer of American romance fiction. Her extensive catalog continues to entice, intrigue, and entertain readers today.

We also recommend to check out Linda Howard Books in Order: Dive into Decades or Romance, Suspense, and Family Sagas.