Cassie Edwards and Janet Dailey- Plagiarism in the World of Romance Novels

When I was younger, Janet Dailey was one of my heroes. From the time I was around 11 or 12 years old until the present day, I have loved reading romance novels and have entertained dreams of having a career writing romance novels myself. Her books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide. She could write a Harlequin romance in 8 days. She could churn them out at the astounding rate of 10 books per year. In the 80's, Janet Dailey was the undisputed queen of category romances. As I grew older, my tastes changed, and she started writing longer, epic, generation-spanning novels that I had no interest in reading. But still, I I looked up to her, idolized her, wanted to emulate her.

Like anyone who discovers that their golden idol has feet of clay, I was sickened when I learned that Janet Dailey was a plagiarist. For several years, she ripped passages and entire scenes from novels published by fellow bestselling romance novelist Nora Roberts. In 1997, Mrs. Dailey admitted her misdeeds, blaming her actions on a "psychological problem that I never even suspected I had."
Eventually, Nora Roberts and Janet Dailey reached a settlement agreement which resulted in a donation to Literacy Volunteers of America, the amount of which is undisclosed. Mrs. Dailey has gone on to publish more books and still enjoys high sales figures, so apparently the general romance novel buying public is willing to forgive and forget. I doubt that Nora Roberts will ever forget the pain and betrayal she must have felt at having her mind robbed, and I will always feel shame that I looked up to someone so undeserving.